JP2018176572A - Printer and method for controlling printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To readily print on a small number of plates.SOLUTION: A plate 900 inserted from an insertion outlet 39 is transported in a second transportation direction until a printing area 91 of the plate 900 passes across a printing position p1. Then, transportation in a first transportation direction of the plate is started, a print head 621 moving in the printing position p1 prints on the printing area 91 of the plate and the plate 900 is discharged from the inversion outlet 39.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer, in particular, a printer for printing on a plate such as a preparation, and a control method of the printer.

  Conventionally, a thermal transfer printer is known in which the lowermost glass plate is fed out one by one from a cassette containing a plurality of glass plates for preparation and printed on the fed glass plate (for example, Patent Document 1).

  By using a cassette in which a plurality of such preparations is stored, printing can be continuously performed on a large number of preparations.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-312063

  However, printing is not always performed on a large number of plates such as a slide, but printing is performed when printing on a single plate or a small number of plates, or printing on a small number of plates of different sizes. Each time it becomes necessary to load the plate into the cassette, it becomes complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a printer capable of easily performing printing on a small number of plates.

  The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

A transport unit capable of transporting the plate in a first transport direction toward the insertion / discharge port or in a second transport direction opposite to the transport direction, on both side surfaces in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the plate A transport unit that includes a pair of transport members in contact with each other and sandwiches and transports the plate by the pair of transport members;
A print head capable of swinging between a printing position and a retracted position away from the printing position is provided, and printing is performed on a printing area on the surface of the plate conveyed by the conveyance unit by the printing head moved to the printing position. The printing unit,
A detection unit that has a sensor and detects the transport position of the plate;
And a control unit that controls the transport unit and the printing unit.
The control unit causes the plate inserted from the insertion / discharge port to be printed by the printing area of the plate based on the detection output of the detection sensor when the print head is retracted to the retracted position. The sheet is conveyed in the second conveyance direction until it exceeds the position, and then conveyance of the plate in the first conveyance direction is started, and the printing head moves to the printing position to the printing area of the plate A printer that performs printing and controls to eject the plate from the insertion and ejection port.

  The printer according to the present invention transports the plate inserted from the insertion and discharge port in the second transport direction until the printing area of the plate exceeds the printing position, and then starts transporting the plate in the first transport direction At the same time, printing is performed on the printing area of the plate by the print head moved to the printing position, and the plate is discharged from the insertion and discharging port. By doing this, it is possible to provide a printer capable of easily printing on a small number of plates.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the plate for a preparation. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an internal configuration of the entire printer according to a first embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a conveyance part periphery. It is a top view which shows the structure of a conveyance part periphery. It is a side view showing composition of a conveyance part and a printing part. 5 is a flowchart showing a control method of the printer in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an internal configuration of the entire printer according to a second embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a supply part. It is a side view which shows the structure of a supply part. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a conveyance part. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a conveyance part. It is a figure explaining composition of a connection part and contact part holding part. It is a figure explaining the movement of a conveyance member. It is a flowchart which shows the control method of the printer in 2nd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements will be denoted by the same reference symbols, without redundant description. Also, the dimensional proportions of the drawings are exaggerated for the convenience of the description, and may differ from the actual proportions.

  FIG. 1 is a view showing the appearance of a printer 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view showing a plate 900 for preparation as an example of a plate printed by the printer 10. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the entire printer 10 according to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, in the attached drawings, the vertical direction is the Z direction, the front and back directions of the printer 10 are the X direction, and the directions orthogonal to the X and Z directions are the Y direction. Further, in the following description, the conveyance direction of the plate 900 is the X direction, and the width direction is the Y direction, unless otherwise specified. Further, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 3, in particular, the direction toward the insertion / discharge port in the transport direction is referred to as "first transport direction", and the opposite direction is also referred to as "second transport direction".

(Overall Configuration of Printer 10 According to First Embodiment)
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the printer 10 includes a control unit 20, a display unit 25, an exterior 30, a detection unit 40, a conveyance unit 50, and a printing unit 60. The control unit 20 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, an auxiliary storage unit, and the like, and controls the entire printer 10. An insertion / discharge port 39 for inserting / discharging the plate 900 is provided on the device front side of the exterior 30. In the printer 10, under the control of the control unit 20, the printing unit 60 performs printing on the surface of the plate 900 inserted from the insertion / discharge port 39 by the user.

  As shown in FIG. 1, on the front side of the printer 10, there is further provided a display unit 25 for displaying mode status and various data and inputting settings. For the display unit 25, a liquid crystal display on which a touch panel is superimposed, an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence), or the like is adopted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a plate 900 as a printing medium used in the present embodiment is a glass plate for preparation, and for example, the size of one sheet is 25 mm wide, 85 mm long, and 1.0 mm thick. An observation sample 92 is attached onto the plate 900, and is pressed with a cover glass 93 to prepare a preparation 90 to be observed by a microscope or the like. In the plate 900, information (management number, date, a letter indicating a note, etc., or a bar code) of the observation sample 92 called a so-called frost portion 91 is covered with a writing instrument or the like across a partial region of one surface. There is one provided with a "printing area" which is processed to facilitate recording. In the present embodiment, the printing unit 60 prints on the frosted portion 91 of the plate 900. The size and position of the frost unit 91 may be stored in advance in the storage unit of the control unit 20, or may be appropriately input by the user through the display unit 25 or the like. The frosted portion 91 is provided in the vicinity of one end of the plate 900 or one end (hereinafter, referred to as “print area side” or “leading side”). Then, the user inserts the plate 900 from the insertion / discharge port 39 with the printing area side in front.

(Detection unit 40)
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration around the transport unit 50, and FIG. 5 is a top view. FIG.5 (b) is the figure which extracted the one part component of Fig.5 (a). FIG. 6 is a side view showing the configuration of the transport unit 50 and the printing unit 60. As shown in FIG. As shown in these drawings, the detection unit 40 includes detection sensors 41 and 42 and a support plate 43. Each of the detection sensors 41 and 42 includes a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit, emits light from the light emitting unit toward the lower detection area, and receives light reflected by the detection area at the light receiving unit. The plate 900 reaches the detection area, and the irradiation light is reflected on the surface to detect the transport position of the plate 900.

  The detection sensor 41 is disposed such that the inner vicinity of the insertion / discharge port 39 on the transport path of the plate 900 is a detection area. The detection sensor 41 detects the presence or absence of the plate 900 in the detection area in the vicinity of the insertion / discharge port 39. The detection sensor 42 is mounted on the support plate 43, and is disposed such that the rear side of the platen roller 52 on the transport path is a detection area. Then, the detection sensor 42 detects that the leading end of the transported plate 900 has passed and that the frost portion 91 has passed. This detection can be detected by the difference in reflectance in the area other than the frosted portion 91 and the frosted portion 91 on the surface of the plate 900. The control unit 20 detects that the plate 900 is inserted by the user from the insertion / discharge port 39 by the output of the detection sensors 41 and 42, and (the rear end of the frosted portion 91 of the transported plate 900 exceeds the platen roller 52). Determine that.

(Transporting unit 50)
The transport unit 50 includes transport rollers 511 and 512 formed of a pair of rollers sandwiching the plate 900 from both sides, a platen roller 52, a guide plate 53, and a drive motor (not shown). The conveyance rollers 511 and 512 are provided in the vicinity of the inside of the insertion and discharge port 39, and rotate in the forward and reverse directions by the drive motor. The conveyance rollers 511 and 512 abut on both side surfaces in the width direction (Y direction) of the plate 900 inserted from the insertion and discharge port 39, and sandwich and convey the plate 900.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, the conveyance rollers 511 and 512 are connected via a plurality of gears. The driving force of the driving motor is transmitted from the upstream gear g1 to the transport rollers 511 and 512 via the plurality of gears. Further, at least one of the rotation shafts of the transport rollers 511 and 512 is movable in the width direction (Y direction) within a predetermined range, and retracts to the outside (in the arrow direction in FIG. 6) according to the insertion of the plate 900. The transport rollers 511 and 512 are urged inward in the width direction by the elastic force of an elastic body formed of a spring or the like. By providing such a configuration, the transport rollers 511 and 512 are retracted to the outside in the width direction corresponding to the width of the plate 900 inserted between them, and are rotated by being urged inward, While holding the plate 900, it is conveyed in the conveying direction.

(Printing unit 60)
Next, the configuration of the printing unit 60 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the printing unit 60 loads the thermal transfer unit 62 that transfers the ink of the ink ribbon 61 onto the plate 900, and loads the original winding R0 of the roll-shaped ink ribbon and discharges the ink ribbon 61. A supply unit 63, an ink ribbon winding unit 64 for winding the ink ribbon 61, and a drive motor 65 (see FIG. 3) for driving these are provided.

  The ink ribbon 61 is conveyed in a state of being bridged by the plurality of support rollers r1 to r5. The ink ribbon 61 includes at least a support layer 61 b and an ink layer 61 a applied on the support layer 61 b. The ink ribbon 61 is unwound from the original winding R0, and the ink corresponding to the print data is transferred to the plate 900 by the thermal transfer portion 62 at the printing position p1 (also referred to as “transfer position”) corresponding to the platen roller 52.

  The thermal transfer unit 62 includes a print head 621 and a pressing / releasing mechanism 622. The print head 621 is also referred to as a thermal head, and is swung between the retracted position (see FIG. 3) and the print position p1 (see FIG. 6) by the pressure / release mechanism 622. At the time of transferring the ink, the print head 621 moves from the retracted position to the printing position p1 that is in pressure contact with the platen roller 52 via the plate 900. The print head 621 includes a plurality of minute heating elements. At the print position p1 of FIG. 6, the print head 621 is in pressure contact with the surface of the plate 900 conveyed via the ink ribbon 61. In this state, a current is selectively applied to the heating element of the print head 621 according to the image data to generate heat, whereby a part of the ink of the heated ink ribbon 61 is locally printed on the surface of the plate 900 at the printing position p1. To form an image on the surface.

(Control of Printer in First Embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control method of the printer 10 which the control unit 20 executes.

  First, the control unit 20 monitors the output of the detection sensor 41 after the power is turned on to determine whether the plate 900 has been inserted from the insertion / discharge port 39 (S101). In the initial state immediately after the power is turned on, the print head 621 is maintained at the retracted position.

  When the plate 900 is inserted by the user (S101: YES), driving of the conveyance rollers 511 and 512 is started, and the plate 900 is conveyed toward the second conveyance direction, that is, the rear side of the apparatus (S102).

  After the start of conveyance, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the printing area of the plate 900 exceeds the printing position p1, ie, the frosted part 91 of the plate 900 being conveyed, by the output of the detection sensor 42. (S103).

  If the printing area passes the printing position p1 (S103: YES), the control unit 20 controls the drive motor to reverse the transport rollers 511 and 512, and the plate 900 in the first transport direction, that is, the insertion discharge port Transport toward 39 (S104).

  Further, at the time of stop immediately before reverse rotation in the process of step S104 or immediately after start of reverse rotation, the control unit 20 controls the pressure contact / cancellation mechanism 622 to move the print head 621 down and move it to the print position p1. (S105).

  Then, the control unit 20 performs printing by the printing unit 60 according to the position of the frost unit 91, which is a printing area passing the printing position p1 (S106).

  Thereafter, the sheet 900 is conveyed as it is in the first conveyance direction, and the plate 900 is discharged from the insertion and discharge port 39 to end (S107, end).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, it is not necessary to load the plate in the cassette 71, and the user can easily print on the plate simply by inserting the plate 900 from the insertion / ejection port 39 provided in the exterior 30 of the device. be able to. In particular, plates 900 of various sizes (in the width direction) can be transported by transport rollers 511 and 512 provided in the vicinity of the insertion / discharge port 39, and stable printing can be performed corresponding to plates of different sizes.

Second Embodiment
In the printer 10 according to the first embodiment, the supply of the plate is performed from the insertion and discharge port 39. On the other hand, in the printer 10B according to the second embodiment described below, it is possible to supply the plate from the cassette (cartridge) 71 in addition to the supply from the insertion and discharge port 39.

  The printer 10B according to the second embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 8 to 14. In these figures, the same components as those of the first embodiment will be assigned the same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted. The printer 10B according to the second embodiment includes a supply unit 70 including a plurality of cassettes 71 in which a plurality of plates 900 are accommodated, in addition to the components of the first embodiment. The cassette 71 functions as a "storage portion". Further, in addition to the pair of transport rollers 511 and 512 that exist in the first embodiment, the transport unit 50B includes a pair of contact portions 541 and 542. The pair of contact portions 541 and 542 function as a “first transport member pair”, and the pair of transport rollers 511 and 512 function as a “second transport member pair”.

(Supply unit 70)
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the entire printer 10B. 9 and 10 are a perspective view and a side view showing the configuration of the supply unit 70, respectively.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the supply unit 70 includes a plurality of cassettes 71, claw members 72, a movement mechanism 73, a swing mechanism 74, a support housing 75, and a drive unit 77.

(Cassette 71)
The plurality of plates 900 are stored in a state of being stacked on a metal cassette 71. Each cassette 71 accommodates about 100 sheets of the plate 900. The plates 900 stored in the cassette 71 are fed one by one from the lowermost stage by the supply unit 70 in the first transport direction. After the lowermost plate 900 is fed out, the upper next lower plate 900 drops to a predetermined position regulated by a stopper (not shown). The printer 10 includes a drive mechanism (not shown) that moves the two cassettes 71 in the width direction. When the plate 900 of one of the two cassettes 71 set at the supply position is used up, the cassette 71 slides in the Y direction by the drive mechanism, and the other cassette 71 is set at the supply position. Thereafter, the supply of the plate 900 is resumed from the other cassette 71 set in the supply position.

(Supply operation by the claw member 72)
As shown in FIG. 9 and the like, the moving mechanism 73 has a mount 731 holding the claw member 72, a slide shaft 732 guiding the mount 731 along the transport direction, and a position detection sensor 739 detecting the position of the mount 731 in the X direction. Equipped with The drive unit 77 includes a drive motor 770 and a drive belt 771 that transmits the drive. By operating the drive motor 770, the rack 731 connected to the drive belt 771 and the claw members 72 held by the drive belt 771 are moved from the "home position" at the upstream end to the downstream end Reciprocate between the other end positions. The position detection sensor 739 can detect the position at the other end position. The home position can be detected by a similar position detection sensor (not shown).

  The supply operation of the plate 900 by the supply unit 70 will be described with reference to FIG. Under the control of the control unit 20, the drive motor 770 is operated, whereby the claw member 72 moves in the transport direction. The height of the claw member 72 is switched to a first height and a second height lower than this by the swing mechanism 74 as described later. At the first height, the claw members 72 contact the side surface of the lowermost plate 900 in the cassette 71 as shown in FIG. That is, the first height is the height at which the inclined tip end of the claw member 72 is located between the height of the lower surface of the lowermost plate 900 and the height of the upper surface, preferably the side surface of the claw member 72 is The contact height is about half the thickness of the plate 900. At the second height, the claw members 72 do not contact with the lowermost plate 900 in a state where a predetermined amount of clearance (for example, 1 mm to 2 mm) is secured.

(Height adjustment by swing mechanism)
The assembly members shown in FIG. 9, that is, the claw members 72, the moving mechanism 73, the support housing 75, and the drive unit 77 are integrally formed with the printer 10 by the swing shafts 751 and 752 in the conveyance direction (X direction). In the ZY plane which is perpendicular to the direction (a1). Hereinafter, these assembled members shown in FIG. 9 will be referred to as "rocking assembly". The rocking shafts 751 and 752 are engaged with bearings (not shown) provided on a housing of the printer 10 main body. The height adjustment plate 757 (shown in gray in FIG. 9) of the support housing 75 contacts the upper surface of the rocking mechanism 74 disposed therebelow. The entire rocking assembly is supported from below by the rocking mechanism 74, and the whole rocking assembly rotates about the rocking shafts 751 and 752 by the rocking mechanism 74 vertically moved by the driving force of the drive motor (not shown). Swing as. The raising and lowering operation of the swing mechanism 74 swings the entire swing assembly, whereby the claw member 72 is switched to the first height and the second height described above. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, when the claw member 72 moves in the first transport direction, the claw member 72 is set to the first height and moves in the second transport direction. , (Downstream single return to home position) the pawl member 72 is set to a second height.

  By doing this, when moving the claw members 72 in the first transport direction, the lowermost plate 900 is pushed out by the claw members 72 to supply the plate 900 in the first transport direction. Do. Then, when the claw member 72 is returned to the contact position, the claw member 72 is set to the second height. That is, the claw members 72 do not contact the lower surface of the next plate 900. This can prevent the surface of the plate 900 from being damaged.

(Transporting unit 50B)
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the transport unit 50B, and FIG. 12 is a top view. As shown in these figures, in addition to the above-described transport rollers 511 and 512, the platen roller 52, and the guide plate 53 described in the first embodiment, the transport unit 50B is a pair of sandwiching the plate 900 from both sides. The contact parts 541 and 542 and the drive part 58 are provided. The pair of contact portions 541 and 542 are plate-like members provided with contact surfaces 541 e and 542 e facing each other, and the contact surfaces 541 e and 542 e contact the side surfaces in the width direction (Y direction) of the plate 900 Hold 900.

  The drive unit 58 includes a drive motor 580 (see FIG. 8), a drive pulley 581, a drive transmission belt 582, a connecting portion 583, an abutment portion holding portion 584, and a slide shaft 585. As the drive motor 580 operates, the drive pulley 581 and the drive transmission belt 582 rotate, whereby the connecting portion 583 fixed to the drive transmission belt 582 extends along the slide shaft 585 extending in the X direction, Reciprocate. The contact portion holding portion 584 in which the contact portions 541 and 542 are disposed is connected to the connection portion 583. As the connecting portion 583 and the contact portion holding portion 584 reciprocate, the contact portions 541 and 542 also reciprocate. Further, one contact portion 541 of the pair of contact portions 541 and 542 swings in the width direction along with the reciprocating movement in the transport direction according to the configuration described below.

  FIG. 13 is a view mainly explaining the configuration of the connecting portion 583 and the contact portion holding portion 584, FIG. 13 (a) is a top view, and FIG. 13 (b) is a side view viewed from the front of the device. . FIG. 13C is a top view showing the rocking guide 586. As shown in FIG.

  The contact portion holding portion 584 includes a base portion 4a, an arm 4b, a slide contact shaft 4c, an arm 4d, a slide shaft 4e, and a spring 4f. An abutting portion 541 is fixed to the arm 4 b and an abutting portion 542 is fixed to the arm 4 d.

  Among them, the arm 4b, the slide contact shaft 4c (displayed in gray in FIG. 13B), and the contact portion 541 fixed to the arm 4b are a slide shaft 4e integrally extending in the Y direction. Move along. Also, these members are biased in the negative Y direction (upward in the figure) by the spring force of the spring 4f. However, the movement of the slide contact shaft 4c in the negative Y direction is restricted by the edge e3 of the swinging guide 586 fixed to the housing of the printer 10 main body. And this edge e3 is comprised by the parallel line which followed the X direction which the center became depressed, as shown in FIG.13 (c). With such a configuration, the contact portions 541 and 542 move in the X direction according to the reciprocation of the connecting portion 583 and the contact portion holding portion 584 in the X direction, and the contact portion 541 further It also swings in the Y direction. Hereinafter, specific operations of the contact portions 541 and 542 when such a contact portion holding portion 584 is used will be described.

  FIG. 14 is a view for explaining the movement of the contact portions 541 and 542 of the transport unit 50B. Unlike FIG. 12, the display of the detection unit 40 is omitted in FIG. Also, the orientation of the plate 900 is different. 12 and 14 show the state of the plate 900 supplied in the first and second modes, respectively. As shown in FIG. 12, when the contact parts 541 and 542 are in the home position (right side in FIG. 14), one contact part 541 retracts in a direction away from the other contact part 542, that is, outward. ing. At this time, the slide abutting shaft 4c abuts at a position on the right side of the central depression of the edge e3 of the swinging guide 586 (retraction range in FIG. 13C). In this state, the distance between the opposing contact surfaces 541 e and 542 e is set to be slightly longer than the width of the plate 900. For example, the width of the plate 900 is about 1 to 2 mm longer. By doing this, the plate 900 fed out in the first transport direction by the supply unit 70 does not collide with the contact portions 541 and 542.

  Then, after the delivery of the plate 900 by the supply unit 70 is completed, the control unit 20 controls the drive unit 58 to move the contact units 541 and 542 to the downstream side in the first transport direction. Along with the movement in the transport direction, the plate 900 is also moved in the width direction (arrow a2 in FIG. 14), and the plate 900 is held by the pair of contact portions 541 and 542. At this time, the slide contact shaft 4c approaches the central hollow side of the edge e3 of the swing guide 586 until the contact portion 541 contacts the side surface of the plate 900 (holding range in FIG. 13C). In the pinching range, when the plate 900 is actually pinched, the slide contact shaft 4c approaches the edge e3 but does not reach a contact and is in a floating state. At this time, the plate 900 slightly moves toward the contact portion 542 by the movement of the contact portion 541 in the width direction. In the sandwiched state, the contact portion 541 is biased toward the contact portion 542 by the spring force of the spring 4 f.

  The pair of contact portions 541 and 542 moves downstream while holding the plate 900. After the leading end side of the plate 900 pinched and conveyed by the contact portions 541 and 542 reaches the position of the platen roller 52, the printing unit 60 performs printing on the plate 900 (the area of the frost portion 91). After printing on the plate 900 is completed, that is, when the frosted portion 91 has left the printing position p1 (see FIG. 6) corresponding to the platen roller 52, the abutting portion 541 is moved away from the other abutting portion 542 Evacuate and release plate 900. At this time, at this time, the slide abutment shaft 4c abuts at a left position (retracting range in FIG. 13C) that has left the hollow at the center of the edge e3 of the swinging guide 586.

  Thereafter, the plate 900 is discharged from the insertion / discharge port 39 to the outside of the machine by the rotating platen roller 52 and the downstream conveyance rollers 511 and 512. Thereafter, the control unit 20 controls the drive unit 58 to return the contact portions 541 and 542 to the home position at the right end, and ends. Although the description is omitted in FIG. 1 and the like, it is possible to mount a stacker for storing and storing one or a plurality of printed plates 900 at the insertion / discharge port 39. As shown in FIG. 12 and the like, the platen roller 52 shares the same shaft as the drive pulley 581 and is driven by the drive motor 580.

  As described above, in the conveyance unit 50B according to the second embodiment, a pair of plate-like contact portions 541 and 542 provided with opposing contact surfaces is adopted, and the plate 900 is formed by the pair of contact portions 541 and 542 It moves to the conveyance direction downstream while holding it. By doing this, the plate 900 can be stably transported, and higher quality printed matter can be output.

(Control of Printer According to Second Embodiment)
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a control method of the printer 10B according to the second embodiment, which the control unit 20 executes.

  First, the control unit 20 selects either the “first mode” for printing on the plate 900 inserted by the user from the insertion / ejection port 39 or the “second mode” for printing on the plate 900 supplied from the cassette 71. It is determined whether it has been done (S201). The user can select the first and second modes from the display unit 25 or a PC (personal computer) connected via a communication interface (not shown) such as USB.

  If the first mode is selected, the mode is switched to the first mode (S201: YES), the process proceeds to step S101, and thereafter the processes after step S101 shown in FIG. 7 are executed.

  On the other hand, if the second mode is selected, the mode is switched to the second mode (S201: NO), and input of a print start instruction is awaited (S202). When an instruction to start printing is input by pressing the start button on the front panel or the like (S202: YES), the control unit 20 controls the supply unit 70 to supply the plates 900 one by one from the cassette 71 (S203). ).

  Next, the control unit 20 controls the transport unit 50B, and transports the supplied plate 900 in the first transport direction by the contact portions 541 and 542 which are the second transport member pair (S204). The plate 900 accommodated in the cassette 71 is accommodated so that the end on the printing area side comes first when conveyed in the first conveyance direction. When the direction of the plate 900 loaded in the cassette 71 is incorrect, an error determination may be made by the output of the detection sensor 42 and the result may be displayed on the display unit 25.

  The control unit 20 determines whether the frosted portion 91 of the plate 900, that is, the leading end of the printing area has reached the printing position p1 based on the output of the detection sensor 42, and if reached (S205: YES) The print head 621 is moved down to the print position p1 by the same process as the above-described S105 (S206).

  Then, the control unit 20 causes the printing unit 60 to print according to the position of the frost unit 91 passing the printing position p1 (S207). As described above, in the first mode and the second mode, the direction of the plate 900 at the time of printing is opposite. When printing here, the orientation of the image to be printed is aligned with the orientation of the plate 900.

  After that, the sheet 900 is conveyed in the first conveyance direction as it is, and the plate 900 is discharged from the insertion discharge port 39 (S208).

  If printing is to be performed on the next plate 900 that is continuous (S209: YES), the processing after step S203 is repeated, and if printing is not continued (S209: NO), the processing is ended (END).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when printing is continuously performed on a plurality of plates, continuous printing using the cassette 71 is performed in the second mode. Otherwise, insertion and discharge are performed in the first mode. Only by inserting the plate 900 from the outlet 39, printing on the plate can be easily performed.

  The configuration of the printer described above is the main configuration in the description of the features of the above-described embodiment and modification, and is not limited to the above configuration. In addition, the configuration provided in a general printer is not excluded. Further, the above embodiments are intended to illustrate the subject matter of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

  The control method of controlling the printer according to the present invention can be realized by a dedicated hardware circuit for executing each of the above-described procedures or by the execution of a program in which each of the above-described procedures is described. When the present invention is realized by the latter, the program for operating the image forming apparatus may be provided by a computer readable recording medium such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk or a CD-ROM, or a network such as the Internet. It may be provided online through.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Printer 20 control part 25 display part 30 exterior 39 insertion discharge port 40 detection part 41, 42 detection sensor 43 support plate 50 conveyance part 511, 512 conveyance roller (2nd conveyance member pair)
52 Platen Rollers 53 Guide Plates 541 and 542 Conveying Members (First Conveying Member Pair)
541e, 542e contact surface 58 drive unit 580 drive motor 581 drive pulley 582 drive belt 583 connection unit 584 contact unit holding unit 4a base unit 4b arm 4c slide contact shaft 4d arm 4e slide shaft 4f spring 585 slide shaft 586 swing Guide 60 printing unit 61 ink ribbon 62 thermal transfer unit 621 print head 622 pressure contact / release mechanism 70 supply unit 71 claw member 73 moving mechanism 731 frame 732 slide shaft 739 position detection sensor 74 moving mechanism 75 support housing 751, 752 swing shaft 757 Height adjustment plate 77 Drive part 770 Drive motor 771 Drive belt P1 Printing position 90 Preparation part 91 Frost part (printing area)
900 plate (glass plate for preparation)

Claims (9)

A transport unit capable of transporting the plate in a first transport direction toward the insertion / discharge port or in a second transport direction opposite to the transport direction, on both side surfaces in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the plate A transport unit that includes a pair of transport members in contact with each other and sandwiches and transports the plate by the pair of transport members;
A print head capable of swinging between a printing position and a retracted position away from the printing position is provided, and printing is performed on a printing area on the surface of the plate conveyed by the conveyance unit by the printing head moved to the printing position. The printing unit,
A detection unit that has a sensor and detects the transport position of the plate;
And a control unit that controls the transport unit and the printing unit.
The control unit causes the plate inserted from the insertion / discharge port to be printed by the printing area of the plate based on the detection output of the detection sensor when the print head is retracted to the retracted position. The sheet is conveyed in the second conveyance direction until it exceeds the position, and then conveyance of the plate in the first conveyance direction is started, and the printing head moves to the printing position to the printing area of the plate A printer that performs printing and controls to eject the plate from the insertion and ejection port.   The printer according to claim 1, wherein the pair of conveyance members includes a pair of conveyance rollers provided in the vicinity of the insertion and discharge port.   The printing area is provided over a range of a predetermined length from one end in the transport direction in a partial area of the surface of the plate, and the plate is provided with the printing area. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer is inserted from the insertion / discharge port with the end thereof at the top. A storage unit for loading and storing a plurality of plates;
And a supply unit configured to supply the lowermost plate of the lowermost storage unit one by one.
The control unit is capable of switching between a first mode of printing on a plate inserted from the insertion and discharge port and a second mode of printing on a plate supplied from the storage unit.
In the first mode, when the print head is retracted to the retracted position, the printing area of the plate is inserted from the insertion / discharge port based on the detection output of the detection sensor. The plate is conveyed in the second conveyance direction until it exceeds the printing position, and thereafter, conveyance of the plate in the first conveyance direction is started, and printing of the plate is performed by the print head moved to the printing position. Printing on the area and controlling the plate to be discharged from the insertion and discharge port;
In the second mode, the printing section of the plate is moved to the printing position by transporting the plate supplied by the feeding section in the first transport direction by the transport section, and the printing position 3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein printing is performed on a printing area of the plate by the print head moved to and the plate is controlled to be discharged from the insertion discharge port. 4. A storage unit for loading and storing a plurality of plates;
A supply unit configured to supply the lowermost plate of the storage unit one by one;
The plate inserted from the insertion / discharge port, or the plate fed from the supply unit can be conveyed in a first conveyance direction toward the insertion / discharge port or in a second conveyance direction opposite thereto. A transport unit that includes a pair of transport members in contact with both side surfaces in a width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the plate, and sandwiches and transports the plate by the pair of transport members;
A printing unit including a printing head capable of swinging between a printing position and a retracted position separated from the printing position, and printing on the surface of the plate conveyed to the conveyance unit by the printing head moved to the printing position; ,
A detection sensor that detects the transport position of the plate;
A control unit configured to control the supply unit, the transport unit, and the printing unit;
The control unit is capable of switching between a first mode of printing on a plate inserted from the insertion and discharge port and a second mode of printing on a plate supplied from the storage unit.
In the first mode, when the print head is retracted to the retracted position, the printing area of the plate is inserted from the insertion / discharge port based on the detection output of the detection sensor. The plate is conveyed in the second conveyance direction until it exceeds the printing position, and thereafter, conveyance of the plate in the first conveyance direction is started, and printing of the plate is performed by the print head moved to the printing position. Printing on the area and controlling the plate to be discharged from the insertion and discharge port;
In the second mode, the printing section of the plate is moved to the printing position by transporting the plate supplied by the feeding section in the first transport direction by the transport section, and the printing position A printer, which performs printing on a printing area of the plate by the print head moved to and controls the plate to be discharged from the insertion and discharging port. The printing area is provided in a partial area of the surface of the plate over a predetermined length from one end of the transport direction or the vicinity of the one end,
When printing while conveying in the first conveyance direction by the printing unit, in the first mode, in the first mode, the plate is inserted and discharged from the one end where the printing area is provided as the head. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the sheet is inserted from the feed section toward the second transport direction, and is supplied from the supply section toward the first transport direction starting from the one end in the second mode. The printer according to claim 5. The pair of transport members includes a first transport member pair and a second transport member pair,
The first transport member pair is a plate-like member provided with an opposing contact surface, and the first transport member pair sandwiches the plate with the contact surface, and the first transport member The plate is transported by moving the pair in the first transport direction,
The printer according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the second conveyance member pair is a pair of conveyance rollers provided in the vicinity of the insertion / discharge port. A transport unit capable of transporting the plate in a first transport direction toward the insertion / discharge port or in a second transport direction opposite to the transport direction, on both side surfaces in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the plate It has a pair of conveying members in contact, and has a conveying portion that holds and conveys the plate by the pair of conveying members, and a print head that can swing between a printing position and a retracted position away from the printing position. A control method of a printer, comprising: a printing unit printing on a printing area of the surface of the plate transported by the transporting unit by a printing head moved to the printing position; and a detection sensor detecting a transportation position of the plate There,
When the print head is retracted to the retracted position, the plate inserted from the insertion / discharge port is extended until the printing area of the plate exceeds the printing position based on the detection output of the detection sensor. Transport in the transport direction 2;
Starting transport of the plate in the first transport direction;
Printing on a printing area of the plate by the print head moved to the printing position;
Discharging the plate from the insertion discharge port;
Printer control method including: A storage unit for loading and storing a plurality of plates, a supply unit for supplying the plates at the lowermost stage of the storage unit one by one, a plate inserted from an insertion / discharge port, or a plate supplied from the supply unit A transport unit capable of transporting in a first transport direction toward the insertion / discharge port or in a second transport direction opposite to the transport direction, and on both side surfaces in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the plate It has a pair of conveying members in contact, and has a conveying portion that holds and conveys the plate by the pair of conveying members, and a print head that can swing between a printing position and a retracted position away from the printing position. A printer comprising: a printing unit printing on the surface of the plate conveyed to the conveyance unit by the print head moved to the printing position; and a detection sensor detecting the conveyance position of the plate There is provided a method,
It includes a step of determining which of a first mode of printing on a plate inserted from the insertion and discharge port and a second mode of printing on a plate supplied from the storage unit is selected. ,
If the first mode is selected:
When the print head is retracted to the retracted position, the plate inserted from the insertion / discharge port is selected based on the detection output of the detection sensor until the printing area of the plate exceeds the printing position. Transporting in a second transport direction;
Starting transport of the plate in the first transport direction;
Printing on a printing area of the plate by the print head moved to the printing position;
Discharging the plate from the insertion discharge port.
If the second mode is selected:
Transporting the plate supplied by the supply unit in the first transport direction by the transport unit, and moving a printing area of the plate to the printing position;
Printing on a printing area of the plate by the print head moved to the printing position;
Discharging the plate from the insertion and discharge port.
Printer control method.