JP2015009963A - Conveyance apparatus, printing apparatus, and conveyance method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveyance apparatus, etc. capable of materializing conveyance in which skewing (meandering) in both normal and reverse directions is suppressed in a relatively simplified manner.SOLUTION: The conveyance apparatus conveying a long sheet-like medium in both normal and reverse direction, includes: conveyance rollers for conveying the sheet-like medium when driven; a guide which is disposed upstream of the conveyance rollers in the normal direction, and abuts on the width-direction end parts of the sheet-like medium to guide the sheet-like medium; and pressing rollers which are disposed downstream of the conveyance rollers in the normal direction, and press the sheet-like medium in a thickness direction of the sheet-like medium. The pressing rollers are capable of assuming a nip state in which the sheet-like medium is pressed, and a release state in which the sheet-like medium is released. In the conveyance in the normal direction, the pressing rollers assume the release state; in the conveyance in the reverse direction, the pressing rollers assume the nip state.

Description

  The present invention relates to a long sheet-shaped medium conveyance device and the like, and more particularly to a conveyance device and the like that can realize conveyance while suppressing skew (meandering) in both forward and reverse directions by a relatively simple method.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an apparatus such as a printer, an apparatus that transports a sheet-like medium is used to perform processing on a sheet-like medium such as paper. In such a transport apparatus, generally, the transported object is transported by a pair of rollers provided so as to sandwich a sheet-like medium as a transported object from above and below. Further, the sheet-like medium once conveyed in the forward direction is returned in the opposite direction and adjusted to the next processing position, for example, in the opposite direction.

  As an example of such a transport device, a pair of driving rollers that move a sheet held as roll paper to a feeding processing position, and a sheet guide that is provided on the upstream side of the pair of driving rollers and abuts against an end in the width direction of the sheet. There is a configuration that becomes. In the apparatus, skewing (meandering) is suppressed by the correction force of the paper guide when transporting in the forward direction, and satisfactory transport is possible.

  Patent Document 1 below describes a printer that can prevent a skew of a recording sheet when a long recording sheet is conveyed in a forward direction and a reverse direction by two drive roller pairs separated in the conveying direction. Yes.

JP2013-60265A

  However, in the configuration of the pair of rollers and the paper guide described above, when the paper is transported in the reverse method, when the paper is skewed and comes into contact with the paper guide, no force acts in the direction of correcting the skew, and the paper There is a risk of problems such as loosening.

  Further, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, two drive roller pairs are provided, but even in a configuration using a pair of drive rollers, skewing can be suppressed relatively when transporting in the reverse direction. A simple method is desired.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a transport device for a long sheet-like medium, which can realize transport with suppressed skew (meandering) in both forward and reverse directions by a relatively simple method. That is.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, a conveying device that conveys a long sheet-like medium in a forward direction and a reverse direction is driven, and a conveyance roller that conveys the sheet-like medium; A guide that is provided on the upstream side of the transport roller in the positive direction and that abuts against an end portion in the width direction of the sheet-like medium to guide the sheet-like medium; and provided on the downstream side of the transport roller in the positive direction. And a presser roller that presses the sheet-like medium in the thickness direction of the sheet-like medium, and the presser roller opens the nip state that presses the sheet-like medium and the sheet-like medium. The release state can be taken, and in the forward conveyance, the press roller is in the release state, and in the reverse conveyance, the press roller is in the nip state.

  Furthermore, in the above-described invention, a preferable aspect thereof is characterized in that the pressing roller is driven when the sheet-like medium is conveyed.

  Furthermore, in the above-mentioned invention, the preferable aspect is that the length in the width direction of the sheet-like medium in which the press roller presses the sheet-like medium in the nip state is such that the transport roller holds the sheet-like medium. The sheet-like medium being pressed is shorter than the length in the width direction.

  Furthermore, in the above-described invention, a preferable aspect thereof is characterized in that the pressing roller is provided at a substantially central position in the width direction of the sheet-like medium.

  Furthermore, in the above-mentioned invention, a preferable aspect thereof is that the sheet roller is pressed in the nip state by the center in the width direction of the sheet medium at the portion where the transport roller presses the sheet medium. The center of the pressed part in the width direction of the sheet-like medium is located on the same line in the transport direction.

  Furthermore, in the above-described invention, a preferable aspect thereof is that the transport roller is provided on the upstream side in the positive direction with respect to a position where the sheet-shaped medium is processed, and the presser roller is configured to process the sheet-shaped medium. It is provided on the downstream side in the positive direction with respect to the position.

  In order to achieve the above object, another aspect of the present invention is a printing apparatus that includes any one of the above-described transport devices and performs printing on the sheet-like medium.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to still another aspect of the present invention, in a transport method in a transport device that transports a long sheet-like medium in the forward direction and the reverse direction, the sheet-like medium is driven by driving. A conveyance roller, a guide provided upstream of the conveyance roller in the positive direction, and a guide that contacts the widthwise end of the sheet medium and guides the sheet medium; and A pressing roller that is provided on the downstream side and presses the sheet-like medium in the thickness direction of the sheet-like medium, and the pressing roller holds the sheet-like medium in a nip state that presses the sheet-like medium. In the forward direction, the presser roller is in the release state, and in the reverse direction, the presser roller is in the nip state. , Is that.

  Further objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the embodiments of the invention described below.

It is a schematic block diagram concerning the example of an embodiment of a printing device provided with a conveyance device to which the present invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the conveyance state of the normal / reverse direction. It is the figure which looked at the conveyance system at the time of forward / reverse direction conveyance from the top.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, such an embodiment does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. In the drawings, the same or similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals or reference symbols.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram according to an embodiment of a printing apparatus including a transport device to which the present invention is applied. The printer 2 shown in FIG. 1 is a printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. The printing apparatus conveys a sheet 26 that is a sheet-like medium stored as a roll sheet 25 to a printing position by a conveyance roller 29. A printing process is executed. A paper guide 28 (guide) is provided on the upstream side of the transport roller 29, and a press roller 31 is provided on the downstream side of the transport roller 29. The nip state / release state of the roller 31 is switched to effectively prevent skewing in both forward and reverse conveyance.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 2 is a device that executes a printing process in response to an instruction from a host device 1 such as a computer. Here, as an example, the printer 2 is an ink jet printer. In addition, the paper 26 to be used is held in the form of a roll paper 25, and printing is performed on the paper surface fed out therefrom.

  In FIG. 1, the schematic configuration of the printer 2 is schematically illustrated. However, the printer 2 includes a printing system that controls printing contents and executes a printing process on the paper 26 and a transport system that transports the paper 26.

  The printing system is provided with a printing control unit 21, which receives a printing instruction from the host device 1, issues a printing command to the head unit 23 in accordance with the instruction, and conveys the conveyance control unit 22. The paper 26 is requested to be conveyed. The head unit 23 executes a printing process on the paper 26 positioned between the head unit 23 and the platen 24 in accordance with the print command.

  In the transport system, as shown in FIG. 1, a paper 26 held as a roll paper 25 at a print medium (sheet-like medium) storage location is transported to a head unit 23 along a transport path 34, and then discharged. A transport operation for discharging from the printer 2 via the paper roller 35 and the cutter 36 is executed. In addition, after one print process is completed, a transport operation for returning the leading edge of the paper 26 to a predetermined position is performed for the next print process. In addition, the conveyance moved from the position stored as the roll paper 25 toward the printing position (the position of the head unit 23) is referred to as forward conveyance, and the opposite conveyance is referred to as reverse conveyance. .

  A roll drive unit 27 including a speed reducer, a motor, and the like is provided in the storage unit of the roll paper 25, and the roll drive unit 27 rotates the roll paper under the control of the conveyance control unit 22.

  The sheet guide 28 is a device for preventing skew (skew), and includes a pair of guide plates that sandwich the conveyance path 34 from the width direction of the sheet 26, and is disposed at the end in the width direction of the sheet 26 during conveyance. The paper 26 is guided by contact.

  Next, the transport roller 29 includes a drive roller and a driven roller that are provided at positions facing each other with the paper 26 sandwiched in the vertical direction (direction perpendicular to the transport direction).

  The driving roller is rotated by the torque of the motor transmitted through the speed reducer, and moves the paper 26 by a frictional force between the driving roller and the paper 26 pressed together with the driven roller. Further, the driven roller is in a state in which pressure is applied to the side of the paper 26 (nip state) in the transport state of the paper 26, and rotates as the driving roller rotates.

  The speed reducer, the motor, and the like that rotate the drive roller are the roller drive unit 30 illustrated in FIG. 1, and drive the drive roller according to the control by the conveyance control unit 22. Moreover, a rotary encoder is provided in a drive roller and / or a driven roller, and the conveyance control part 22 performs the said control based on the signal output from there.

  Next, the presser roller 31 includes a pair of rollers provided at positions facing each other with the paper 26 sandwiched in the vertical direction (direction perpendicular to the transport direction, thickness direction). The pressing roller 31 is provided on the downstream side in the forward direction of the head unit 23, whereas the transport roller 29 is provided on the upstream side in the forward direction of the head unit 23. Further, the presser roller 31 does not rotate by itself, but is driven to rotate as the paper 26 moves.

  The installation position of one of the presser rollers 31 (lower side in the embodiment) is fixed at a predetermined position, while the other roller (upper side in the embodiment) moves up and down. Take the upper and lower positions. At the lower position (nip position), pressure is applied to the paper 26 side (nip state), and the paper 26 is pressed together with the lower roller. That is, a force is applied to the paper 26 in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction. On the other hand, in the upper position (release position), the sheet 26 is released and the sheet 26 is released (release state).

  This movement of the vertical position is executed by driving the roller moving unit 32 under the control of the conveyance control unit 22.

  Further, the width of the pressing roller 31, more precisely, the length in the sheet width direction (hereinafter referred to as pressing width) for pressing the sheet 26 in the nip state is shorter than the pressing width of the transport roller 29. Moreover, it is preferable that the installation position of the pressing roller 31 in the conveyance direction is a position where the distance between the pressing roller 31 and the conveyance roller 29 becomes longer. The installation position of the press roller 31 in the paper width direction is the center of the paper width (width direction of the conveyance path 34).

  The conveyance control unit 22 shown in FIG. 1 is a part that controls the conveyance system, and controls the conveyance operation of the paper 26 based on an instruction from the print control unit 21.

  Although not shown, the transport control unit 22 is configured by a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an NVRAM (nonvolatile memory), and the like, and the processing executed by the transport control unit 22 is mainly a program stored in the ROM. It is executed by the CPU operating according to the above. The RAM and NVRAM hold data necessary for processing.

  In addition, the said conveyance system containing the paper guide 28, the conveyance roller 29, the press roller 31, and the conveyance control part 22 grade | etc., Corresponds to the conveying apparatus of this invention.

  The present printer 2 having the above-described configuration is characterized in the conveyance operation of the paper 26 in the forward direction and the reverse direction, and the specific contents thereof will be described below.

  First, forward conveyance will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a conveyance state in the forward / reverse direction. FIG. 3 is a top view of the transport system during forward / reverse transport. When a normal printing instruction is received from the host device 1 and printing processing is executed, the paper 26 is conveyed continuously or intermittently in the forward direction.

  In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, the conveyance control unit 22 drives the roller moving unit 32 to move the upper roller of the press roller 31 to the release position described above, thereby releasing the press roller 31. State. Further, the transport roller 29 is in a nip state. In this state, the conveyance control unit 22 drives the conveyance roller 29 by the roller driving unit 30 and rotates it in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. Thereby, the paper 26 is conveyed in the forward direction. This state is also shown in FIG. In the figure, the presser roller 31 in the released state is indicated by a dotted line.

  In this transport, the transport roller 29 pulls the upstream paper 26 and feeds it downstream. When the paper 26 is tilted and the end in the width direction comes into contact with the paper guide 28, it is generated there. The resultant reaction force and frictional force act as a moment with the contact point of the conveyance roller 29 with the paper 26 as a fulcrum to the method of correcting the inclination of the paper 26, thereby correcting the skew of the paper 26. The

  When such forward conveyance is performed and the printing process is completed, a conveyance operation for returning the leading edge of the paper 26 to a predetermined position in preparation for the next printing process, that is, conveyance in the reverse direction is performed.

  In the case of conveyance in the reverse direction, as shown in FIG. 2B, the conveyance control unit 22 drives the roller moving unit 32 to move the upper roller of the presser roller 31 to the nip position described above, and presser The roller 31 is set to the nip state. Further, the transport roller 29 is in a nip state. In this state, the conveyance control unit 22 drives the conveyance roller 29 by the roller driving unit 30 to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. Thereby, the paper 26 is conveyed in the reverse direction. This state is also shown in FIG.

  FIG. 3B shows the horizontal positional relationship of the transport roller 29, the presser roller 31, the paper guide 28, and the like. As described above, the presser width W2 of the presser roller 31 is shorter than the presser width W1 of the transport roller 29. Further, the separation distance L between the press roller 31 and the transport roller 29 is long. The installation position of the press roller 31 in the paper width direction is on the center line CL of the paper 26. The center in the paper width direction of the portion (W2) where the press roller 31 presses the paper 26 and the center in the paper width direction of the portion (W1) where the transport roller 29 presses the paper 26 are the same line. Located on the center line CL.

  When the paper 26 is conveyed in the reverse direction in such a state, the paper 26 is nipped by the pressing roller 31 on the upstream side (in the reverse direction) of the conveyance roller 29 that applies a conveyance force to the paper 26. Therefore, back tension (tension from behind) acts and the conveyance is stabilized. Further, since the paper 26 is pressed at two points separated in the transport direction, it is difficult to be affected by disturbances that cause the paper 26 to skew. And the effect can be enlarged by making the separation distance L as long as possible.

  Further, as described above, since the presser width W2 of the presser roller 31 is reduced, it is difficult to adversely affect the transport direction defined by the transport roller 29. In other words, the adverse effect when the direction defined by the presser width W2 of the presser roller 31 and the direction specified by the presser width W1 of the transport roller 29 are deviated can be reduced.

  In this way, the conveyance in the reverse direction is performed while suppressing skew.

  In this embodiment, the presser roller 31 is composed of two upper and lower rollers, but one of them may be composed of a spherical member. In this case, the presser width can be made very small (mostly contact at a point). Further, the pressing roller 31 may be constituted by one roller on one side pressed against the paper 26. In this case, the same constant effect can be obtained.

  As described above, in the printer 2 and its transport system according to the present embodiment, the paper guide 28, the transport roller 29, and the press roller 31 are installed in the forward direction in this order, and the press roller 31 is released in the forward direction. In the reverse conveyance, the presser roller 31 is in the nip state. Accordingly, the skew of the paper 26 is effectively suppressed by the correction force of the paper guide 28 in the forward direction conveyance and by the pressing force of the presser roller 31 in the reverse direction conveyance.

  Moreover, since the pressing roller 31 is a driven roller, the roller drive system can be simplified.

  Further, since the presser width of the presser roller 31 is smaller than the presser width of the transport roller 29, the transport direction of the paper 26 defined by the transport roller 29 is not adversely affected.

  Further, since the press roller 31 is positioned at the center of the paper 26 in the paper width direction, the skew of the paper 26 can be suppressed.

  Further, since the presser roller 31 is installed on the downstream side of the printing position in the forward direction, the distance between the presser roller 31 and the transport roller 29 can be increased, and the skew of the paper 26 can be effectively suppressed.

  As described above, the printer 2 can accurately convey the sheet 26 while suppressing the skew of the paper 26 in the forward direction and the reverse direction, thereby realizing high-quality printing.

  In this embodiment, the print medium (sheet-like medium) is paper, but the present invention is not limited to this as long as it is a sheet-like medium.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the processing for the sheet-like medium to be conveyed is printing, and has been described using a printer having the conveyance system. However, the present invention is various in that the processing for the sheet-like medium is executed. Can be applied to various devices.

  The protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but covers the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Host device, 2 Printer, 21 Print control part, 22 Conveyance control part, 23 Head part, 24 Platen, 25 Roll paper, 26 Paper, 27 Roll drive part, 28 Paper guide, 29 Conveyance roller, 30 Roller drive part, 31 Presser roller, 32 roller drive section, 34 transport path, 35 paper discharge roller, 36 cutter

Claims (8)

A transport device for transporting a long sheet-like medium in the forward and reverse directions,
A transport roller for driving and transporting the sheet-like medium;
A guide that is provided on the upstream side of the transport roller in the positive direction and guides the sheet-like medium in contact with an end in the width direction of the sheet-like medium;
A press roller provided on the downstream side of the transport roller in the positive direction and pressing the sheet medium in the thickness direction of the sheet medium;
The presser roller can take a nip state that presses the sheet-like medium and a release state that opens the sheet-like medium,
In the forward conveyance, the press roller is in a release state, and in the reverse conveyance, the press roller is in a nip state. In claim 1,
The transporting device, wherein the press roller is driven when transporting the sheet-like medium. In claim 1 or 2,
The length in the width direction of the sheet medium that the pressing roller presses the sheet medium in the nip state is the width direction of the sheet medium that the transport roller presses the sheet medium. A conveying device characterized by being shorter than the length. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3,
The transporting device, wherein the pressing roller is provided at a substantially central position in the width direction of the sheet-like medium. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4,
The center of the sheet-shaped medium in the width direction of the portion where the transport roller presses the sheet-shaped medium, and the portion of the sheet-shaped medium where the press roller presses the sheet-shaped medium in the nip state. The center in the width direction is located on the same line in the transport direction. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5,
The transport roller is provided on the upstream side in the positive direction from the position where the sheet-like medium is processed,
The transporting device, wherein the pressing roller is provided on the downstream side in the forward direction with respect to a position where the sheet-like medium is processed.   A printing apparatus comprising the transport device according to claim 1 and performing printing on the sheet-like medium. A transport method in a transport device for transporting a long sheet-like medium in the forward direction and the reverse direction,
A transport roller for driving and transporting the sheet-like medium;
A guide that is provided on the upstream side of the transport roller in the positive direction and guides the sheet-like medium in contact with an end in the width direction of the sheet-like medium;
A pressing roller that is provided on the downstream side of the transport roller in the positive direction and that presses the sheet medium in the thickness direction of the sheet medium;
The presser roller can take a nip state that presses the sheet-like medium and a release state that opens the sheet-like medium,
In the forward conveyance, the pressing roller is in a release state, and in the reverse conveyance, the pressing roller is in a nip state.

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