JP2021154622A - Feeding device and recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress that continuous medium transport failure occurs by an operation for attaching/detaching a tray to/from a housing.SOLUTION: A feeding device K includes a housing 100a, a tray 11, two rollers 14, 15 for rotatably supporting a roll sheet R, a paper feeding part 2, a pair of holding rollers 31, 32, a drive mechanism, and a control part 7. The control part 7 executes return processing for controlling the drive mechanism so as to return a sheet P transported in a transport direction A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a paper feeding device and a recording device in which a tray capable of accommodating a roll medium is detachably provided in a housing.

Patent Document 1 describes two paper feed trays that are freely retractably attached to the main body of an image processing apparatus and can accommodate a roll medium in which roll paper (continuous medium) is wound in a roll shape. These paper feed trays are arranged in two stages, upper and lower, respectively, and have a feeding roller for transporting the roll paper unwound from the roll medium, a paper feed passage for guiding the roll paper conveyed by the feeding roller, and a paper feed passage. A cutter capable of cutting the roll paper passing through the paper feed passage is provided.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-187495

Since the paper feed tray described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a cutter in addition to the feeding roller, the paper feed tray itself has a complicated structure. Therefore, the present inventor, for example, examined to simplify the configuration of the paper feed tray itself, and found the following problems.

When a cutting mechanism such as a cutter is provided on the housing side on which the paper feed tray is mounted, the tip of the roll paper cut by the cutting mechanism is arranged at a position protruding above the paper feed tray. When the paper feed tray is moved in this state, removed from the housing, and then reattached to the housing, the tip of the roll paper is provided in the housing (for example, feeding). The roll paper may bend due to contact with rollers (such as rollers). If the roll paper is bent due to the attachment / detachment operation of the paper feed tray in this way, there is a problem that a transport failure occurs after mounting.

An object of the present invention is to provide a feeding device and a recording device capable of suppressing the occurrence of poor transport of a continuous medium due to the operation of attaching and detaching a tray to and from a housing.

The feeding device of the present invention includes a tray capable of accommodating a roll medium in which a continuous medium is wound in a roll shape, a housing to which the tray can be attached and detached, and a lower portion of the roll medium accommodated in the tray. A plurality of support rollers that rotatably support the roll medium in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the roll medium, and a feed roller that conveys the continuous medium unwound from the roll medium in a transport direction away from the roll medium. The drive mechanism for driving at least one transfer roller capable of contacting the continuous medium unwound from the roll medium, the plurality of support rollers, and at least one of the at least one transfer rollers, and the drive mechanism. It is equipped with a control unit for controlling. Then, the control unit can execute a return process that controls the drive mechanism so as to return the continuous medium conveyed in the transfer direction.

The recording apparatus of the present invention comprises a tray capable of accommodating a roll medium in which a continuous medium is wound in a roll shape, a housing to which the tray can be attached and detached, and a lower portion of the roll medium accommodated in the tray. The roll includes a plurality of support rollers that come into contact with the outer peripheral surface to rotatably support the roll medium, and a feed roller that conveys the continuous medium unwound from the roll medium in a transport direction away from the roll medium. From the feed roller, at least one transport roller capable of contacting the continuous medium unwound from the medium, a drive mechanism for driving at least one of the plurality of support rollers and the at least one transport roller, and the feed roller. Is also arranged downstream in the transport direction, and includes a transport mechanism including a pair of intermediate rollers that carry the continuous medium in the transport direction while sandwiching the continuous medium, and a recording unit that records an image on the continuous medium transported by the transport mechanism. And, in the transport direction, a cutting mechanism arranged between the recording unit and the pair of intermediate rollers to cut the continuous medium, the cutting mechanism, the driving mechanism, the transport mechanism, and the recording unit. It is equipped with a control unit that controls the above. Then, the control unit can execute a return process that controls the drive mechanism so as to return the continuous medium transported in the transport direction after the continuous medium is cut by the cutting mechanism.

According to the feeding device of the present invention, since it is possible to perform a return process for returning the conveyed continuous medium, the roll medium is rotated so that the continuous medium is wound, and the tip of the cut continuous medium is trayed. It will be possible to put it back inside. Therefore, when the tray is removed from the housing and when the tray is reattached to the housing, the tip of the continuous medium is less likely to come into contact with the housing or the like, and is less likely to bend. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the continuous medium from being poorly conveyed due to the operation of attaching and detaching the tray to and from the housing.
According to the recording apparatus of the present invention, after the continuous medium is cut by the cutting mechanism, it is possible to perform a return process for returning the conveyed continuous medium, so that the roll medium rotates so that the continuous medium is wound up. , The tip of the cut continuous medium can be returned to the tray. Therefore, when the tray is removed from the housing and when the tray is reattached to the housing, the tip of the continuous medium is less likely to come into contact with the housing or the like, and is less likely to bend. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the continuous medium from being poorly conveyed due to the operation of attaching and detaching the tray to and from the housing.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the internal structure of the printer which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a partially enlarged view of a paper cassette. The schematic configuration of the transmission mechanism and the drive mechanism for transmitting power to the two rollers for supporting the roll paper and the pair of sandwiching rollers for holding the paper is shown, and (a) shows the power transmission state when the drive motor rotates in the forward direction. (B) is a diagram showing a power transmission state when the drive motor rotates in the reverse direction. It is a block diagram of a control part. (A) is a diagram showing a situation when the roll paper is stored in the paper feed cassette, and (b) is a diagram showing a situation when the paper P of the roll paper stored in the paper feed cassette is conveyed. .. (A) is a diagram showing a situation when the return process of returning the tip of the paper cut at the cutting portion is executed, and (b) is a diagram showing a situation when the paper feed cassette is removed from the housing. be. It is a flow chart which shows the process which the control part of the printer shown in FIG. 1 executes. A schematic configuration of a feeding device according to a modified example of the present invention is shown, and FIG. ) Is a diagram showing a situation when the paper cassette is removed from the housing.

Hereinafter, the printer 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printer (recording device) 100 includes a housing 100a, a paper cassette 1, a paper feed unit 2, a transport unit 3, a cutting unit 4, a head 5, and a paper output tray 6. The control unit 7, the drive mechanism 8 (see FIG. 3), and the sensor 9 are included. The lower half of the printer 100 constitutes the feeding device K, which includes a part of the housing 100a, a paper feeding unit 2, a part of the conveying unit 3, a cutting unit 4, a control unit 7, a drive mechanism 8, and a sensor. 9 and the like are included. The paper cassette 1 is removable from the lower part of the housing 100a. The output tray 6 constitutes one side wall of the upper part of the housing 100a and can be opened and closed with respect to the housing 100a.

The paper feed cassette 1 can accommodate the roll paper R corresponding to the "roll medium" of the present invention. The roll paper R is a roll of paper P corresponding to the "continuous medium" of the present invention wound on the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical core member (paper tube) Rc. The roll paper R is arranged so that the axial direction (vertical direction on the paper surface in FIG. 1) along the rotation axis Rx (central axis of the core member Rc) is orthogonal to the vertical direction. The axial direction of the rotation axis Rx also corresponds to the width direction of the paper P. Further, in the present embodiment, the direction A in which the paper P is unwound from the roll paper R and is conveyed away from the roll paper R is the conveying direction. The rotation direction of the roll paper R when the paper P is conveyed is the unwinding direction B of the roll paper R.

As shown in FIG. 1, the paper feed cassette 1 includes a tray 11, a support portion 12 that rotatably supports the roll paper R while supporting the outer peripheral surface of the lower portion of the roll paper R, and a pair of holding rollers. It has 31, 32, an urging mechanism 33, a pressing portion 19, and a transmission mechanism 20 (see FIG. 3). The tray 11 has a box shape that opens upward, and is configured to accommodate the roll paper R. The support portion 12 has a support base 13 and three rollers 14 to 16.

As shown in FIG. 2, the support base 13 has two base portions 13a and 13b arranged apart from each other in the horizontal direction C orthogonal to the rotation axis Rx. These two base portions 13a and 13b are detachably provided on the bottom portion 11a of the tray 11. Further, the base portions 13a and 13b extend long along the axial direction of the rotation axis Rx. The base portions 13a and 13b in the present embodiment are formed to be slightly longer than the width of the paper P, that is, the roll paper R. The base portion 13a is arranged on the upstream side (left side in FIG. 2) of the rotation axis Rx of the roll paper R supported by the support portion 12 in the transport direction A in FIG. The base portion 13a has an inclined surface 13a1. The base portion 13b is arranged on the downstream side (right side in FIG. 1) of the rotation axis Rx of the roll paper R supported by the support portion 12 in the transport direction A in FIG. The base portion 13b also has an inclined surface 13b1. The two inclined surfaces 13a1 and 13b1 of the support base 13 are inclined so that the height from the bottom surface 11a1 of the tray 11 increases as the distance from the rotation axis Rx increases in the horizontal direction C.

The three rollers 14 to 16 also extend long along the axial direction of the rotation axis Rx, and are formed to be slightly longer than the width of the roll paper R. Each roller 14 to 16 has a shaft member 14a to 16a and a cylindrical member 14b to 16b through which the shaft member 14a to 16a is inserted. The rollers 14 to 16 may have a plurality of cylindrical members through which the shaft members 14a to 16a are inserted and arranged apart from each other along the axial direction of the rotation shaft Rx.

The shaft member 14a of the roller 14 is rotatably supported by the base portion 13a around a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis Rx. Further, the roller 14 is arranged on the lower side of the inclined surface 13a1. The shaft member 15a of the roller 15 is rotatably supported by the base portion 13b around a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis Rx. The roller 15 is arranged on the lower side of the inclined surface 13b1. The shaft member 16a of the roller 16 is rotatably supported by the base portion 13b around a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis Rx. The roller 16 is arranged on the upper side of the inclined surface 13b1. In the present embodiment, of the three rollers 14 to 16, two rollers 14 and 15 are the outer peripheral surfaces of the lower portion of the roll paper R as shown in FIG. 2, and are the outer peripheral surfaces of the roll paper R. The roll paper R is supported from below in a state of being in contact with the lower semicircular region Ra of the surface. Further, the two rollers 14 and 15 are in contact with the outer peripheral surface (lower semicircular region Ra) of the roll paper R at the two support positions Ra1 and Ra2 sandwiching the lower end of the roll paper R in the horizontal direction C. It is configured to be able to support the roll paper R.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, gears 14a1 and 15a1 are fixed to one end of the shaft members 14a and 15a of the two rollers 14 and 15. The power of the drive mechanism 8 is transmitted to the gears 14a1 and 15a1 via the transmission mechanism 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pressing portion 19 has a plate-shaped member 19a bent in an abbreviated shape. The plate-shaped member 19a is supported by the tray 11 so as to be rotatable about the rotation shaft 19b. As a result, the pressing portion 19 presses the roll paper R toward the supporting portion 12 by rotating the plate-shaped member 19a around the rotation shaft 19b by its own weight. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the roll paper R from floating from the rollers 14 and 15 and falling off. The plate-shaped member 19a of the pressing portion 19 may press the roll paper R by the urging force of the urging member such as a spring.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pair of holding rollers 31 and 32 extend long along the axial direction of the rotation axis Rx, and are formed to be slightly longer than the width of the roll paper R. Each of the holding rollers 31 and 32 has a shaft member 31a and 32a and a cylindrical member 31b and 32b through which the shaft member 31a and 32a are inserted.

The holding roller 31 is supported by the tray 11 so that its shaft member 31a can rotate around a rotating shaft parallel to the rotating shaft Rx. Further, the holding roller 31 is arranged between the paper feed roller 2a and the support base 13 in the state where the tray 11 is mounted on the housing 100a in the horizontal direction C. The sandwiching roller 32 is arranged above the sandwiching roller 31 so as to face the sandwiching roller 31, and is supported by the urging mechanism 33.

The urging mechanism 33 has a roller support portion 33a, an elastic member 33b, a slide portion 33c, and a case (not shown). The case is supported by the tray 11 in a state where the roller support portion 33a, the elastic member 33b, and the slide portion 33c are slidably held in the vertical direction. The roller support portion 33a rotatably supports the sandwiching roller 32 via the shaft member 32a. The elastic member 33b is arranged in the vertical direction between the roller support portion 33a and the slide portion 33c in contact with each other. The slide portion 33c has an inclined surface 33c1 whose upper surface is inclined. The housing 100a is formed with a contact portion 34 having an inclined surface 34a whose lower surface is inclined. When the tray 11 is mounted on the housing 100a, the contact portion 34 is positioned so that the inclined surface 34a engages with the inclined surface 33c1 of the slide portion 33c and the slide portion 33c can be moved downward. Have been placed. As a result, when the tray 11 is mounted on the housing 100a, the elastic member 33b is compressed between the slide portion 33c and the roller support portion 33a by the downward movement of the slide portion 33c. As a result, the roller support portion 33a is pressed downward by the restoring force of the elastic member 33b, and the holding force of the paper P by the pair of holding rollers 31 and 32 increases. When the tray 11 is removed from the housing 100a, when the slide portion 33c is separated from the contact portion 34, the slide portion 33c is pushed upward by the restoring force of the elastic member 33b, and the pair of holding rollers 31 and 32. The holding force of the paper P becomes small.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a gear 31a1 is fixed to one end of the shaft member 31a of the holding roller 31. The power of the drive mechanism 8 is transmitted to the gears 31a1 via the transmission mechanism 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, the transmission mechanism 20 has seven gears 21 to 27, and transmits the power from the drive mechanism 8 to the two rollers 14 and 15 and the sandwiching roller 31. Of these seven gears 21 to 27, six gears 21 to 26 are arranged in a meshed state in order, and the gear 27 is arranged in a meshed state with the gear 21 and can rotate around a rotating shaft parallel to the rotating shaft Rx. It is supported by the tray 11. Further, the gear 26 meshes with the gear 14a1, the gear 22 meshes with the gear 15a1, and the gear 27 meshes with the gear 31a1.

The drive mechanism 8 is provided in the housing 100a, and selectively transmits power to the transmission mechanism 20 to drive the two rollers 14, 15 and the sandwiching roller 31. As shown in FIG. 3, the drive mechanism 8 has three gears 8a to 8c and a drive motor 8M (see FIG. 4). These three gears 8a to 8c mesh with each other in order. Further, when the drive motor 8M is driven, the gear 8a rotates by transmitting the rotational force thereof. The two gears 8a and 8b are rotatably supported by the housing 100a. The two gears 8b and 8c are connected by a connecting member 8d. One end of the connecting member 8d is rotatably supported by the shaft portion of the gear 8b, and the other end portion is rotatably supported by the shaft portion of the gear 8c. As a result, the gear 8c is supported by the connecting member 8d so as to be swingable around the rotation axis of the gear 8b.

In such a configuration of the drive mechanism 8, when the drive motor 8M is driven to rotate in the forward direction, as shown in FIG. 3A, the gear 8a rotates counterclockwise in the drawing, and the gear 8b is shown in FIG. It rotates in the middle clockwise direction, and the gear 8c rotates counterclockwise in the figure. At this time, the connecting member 8d swings clockwise in FIG. 3A about the rotation axis of the gear 8b, and the gear 8c is separated from the gear 21 of the transmission mechanism 20. That is, when the drive motor 8M rotates in the forward direction, the drive mechanism 8 is in a state in which the power is not transmitted to the transmission mechanism 20. On the other hand, when the drive motor 8M is driven so as to rotate in the reverse direction, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the gear 8a rotates clockwise in the figure, the gear 8b rotates counterclockwise in the figure, and the gear 8c rotates clockwise in the figure. At this time, the connecting member 8d swings counterclockwise in FIG. 3B about the rotation axis of the gear 8b, and the gear 8c is in a state of meshing with the gear 21 of the transmission mechanism 20. That is, the drive mechanism 8 is in a state of transmitting the power to the transmission mechanism 20 when the drive motor 8M rotates in the reverse direction. In the transmission mechanism 20, when power is transmitted from the drive mechanism 8, the seven gears 21 to 27 rotate in the direction of the middle arrow in FIG. 3 (b). As a result, the three gears 14a1, 15a1, 31a1 rotate, and the two rollers 14, 15 and the holding roller 31 both rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 3 (b). As a result, the roll paper R rotates in the direction D for winding the paper P, and the paper P is wound. The drive mechanism 8 and the transmission mechanism 20 in the present embodiment correspond to the "drive mechanism" of the present invention, but in the "drive mechanism" of the present invention, the drive mechanism 8 has rollers 14, 15 and holding rollers 31. The transmission mechanism 20 may not be provided as long as it is directly driven.

As shown in FIG. 1, the paper feed unit 2 includes a paper feed roller 2a, an arm 2b, and a transmission mechanism (not shown). The paper feed roller (feed roller) 2a is pivotally supported at the tip of the arm 2b. The arm 2b is rotatably supported by the support shaft 2c. When the drive motor 8M is driven by the control of the control unit 7, the transmission mechanism transmits the power to the paper feed roller 2a. That is, when the drive motor 8M is driven so as to rotate in the forward direction, the paper feed roller 2a rotates so that the paper P is fed in the transport direction A. At this time, the transmission mechanism urges the arm 2b to rotate in the direction in which the paper feed roller 2a approaches the bottom surface 11a1 of the tray 11 (clockwise in FIG. 1). As a result, the paper P is fed in the transport direction A. Further, the transmission mechanism has an urging force such that when the drive motor 8M is driven to rotate in the reverse direction, the arm 2b rotates in the direction in which the paper feed roller 2a separates from the bottom surface 11a1 (counterclockwise in FIG. 1). Works. As a result, the paper feed roller 2a is easily lifted from the paper P, and the rotational force of the paper feed roller 2a hardly acts on the paper P. As a result, the paper P is not fed toward the roll paper R depending on the paper feed roller 2a. The arm 2b is configured to be retractable upward when the tray 11 is attached / detached.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transport unit (convey mechanism) 3 includes three sets of transport roller pairs 3a to 3c, a first transport motor 3Ma (see FIG. 4), and a second transport motor 3Mb (see FIG. 4). have. The transfer roller pair 3a (a pair of intermediate rollers) is composed of a drive roller that is rotated by driving the first transfer motor 3Ma and a driven roller that is carried around by the drive roller. The two sets of transfer rollers 3b and 3c are composed of a drive roller that is rotated by driving the second transfer motor 3Mb and a driven roller that is carried around by the drive roller. The first and second transfer motors 3Ma and 3Mb are driven by the control of the control unit 7, and the transfer rollers 3a to 3c rotate while sandwiching the sheet P to transfer the sheet P.

The sensor 9 is provided in the housing 100a, and is arranged upstream of the transport roller pair 3a and downstream of the paper feed roller 2a in the transport direction A of the paper P. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the sensor 9 is arranged immediately above the tip end portion of the tray 11 mounted on the housing 100a. The sensor 9 outputs an ON signal to the control unit 7 when there is paper P facing the paper P, and outputs an OFF signal to the control unit 7 when there is no paper P facing the paper P.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cutting portion (cutting mechanism) 4 is fixed to the housing 100a and is arranged above the transport roller pair 3a. The cutting portion 4 includes a cutter 4a and a cutting motor 4M (see FIG. 4) that drives the cutter 4a. The paper P unwound and conveyed from the roll paper R is cut by the cutter 4a by driving the cutting motor 4M under the control of the control unit 7. As a result, the rear end is formed on the paper P conveyed to the head 5.

The head 5 includes a plurality of nozzles (not shown) formed on the lower surface and a driver IC 5a (see FIG. 4). When the driver IC 5a is driven by the control of the control unit 7, ink is ejected from the nozzle and an image is recorded on the paper P conveyed by the transfer unit 3. The head 5 corresponds to the "recording unit" of the present invention, and is a line type that ejects ink from the nozzle in a fixed position, and ejects ink from the nozzle while moving in the axial direction of the rotation axis Rx. It may be any serial type. The paper P on which the image is recorded by the head 5 and cut by the cutter 4a is received by the output tray 6 in a state of being open with respect to the housing 100a.

As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 7 is connected to the drive motor 8M, the first transfer motor 3Ma, the second transfer motor 3Mb, the driver IC5a, the cutting motor 4M, and the sensor 9 via the internal bus 100b. There is.

The control unit 7 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 7a, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 7b, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 7c. The ROM 7b stores programs and data for the CPU 7a to perform various controls. The RAM 7c temporarily stores data used when the CPU 7a executes a program.

Subsequently, with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7, the operation of accommodating the roll paper R in the paper feed cassette 1 and taking out the paper feed cassette 1 from the housing 100a after recording the image of the roll paper R on the paper P. explain.

When accommodating the roll paper R in the paper feed cassette 1, first, the paper feed cassette 2 is removed from the housing 100a. After that, as shown in FIG. 5A, the roll paper R is placed on the two rollers 14 and 15 of the support portion 12, and the roll paper R is directed toward the support portion 12 by the plate-shaped member 19a of the pressing portion 19. Press.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5A, the user turns the roll paper R in the unwinding direction B so that the tip of the paper P passes between the pair of holding rollers 31 and 32 and the tip of the tray 11. Place it near the part. Then, the paper feed cassette 1 containing the roll paper R is mounted on the housing 100a. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5B, the inclined surface 34a of the contact portion 34 and the inclined surface 33c1 of the slide portion 33c are engaged with each other, and the slide portion 33c slides downward. As a result, the restoring force of the compressed elastic member 33b presses the holding roller 32 together with the roller supporting portion 33a against the holding roller 31. In this way, a predetermined holding force for holding the paper P between the pair of holding rollers 31 and 32 is generated.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 7 determines whether or not the print job has been received (S1). The print job referred to here is a command for performing an operation from recording an image on a paper P having a predetermined length until the paper P is discharged to the paper ejection tray 6. If no print job is received (S1: NO), S1 is repeated. When the print job is received (S1: YES), the process proceeds to S2, and the printing process on the paper P based on the print job is executed. That is, the control unit 7 first drives the drive motor 8M so as to rotate in the forward direction. As a result, the paper P is fed in the transport direction A by the paper feed roller 2a. At this time, the two rollers 14 and 15 that support the roll paper R rotate as the roll paper R rotates as the paper P of the paper feed roller 2a is fed. Further, the rollers 16 and the pair of holding rollers 31 and 32 also rotate as the paper P of the paper feed roller 2a is fed. Then, when the control unit 7 receives the ON signal from the sensor 9 that detects the tip of the paper P, the control unit 7 reaches a position where the paper P can be sandwiched between the transport rollers 3a as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 5 (b). The drive motor 8M is driven and then stopped.

Next, the control unit 7 drives the first and second transport motors 3Ma and 3Mb so as to rotate in the forward direction, and transports the paper P by three sets of transport roller pairs 3a to 3c. Then, when the paper P passes through the position facing the head 5, the control unit 7 drives the driver IC 5a to eject ink from the nozzle of the head 5. In this way, the desired image is recorded on the paper P. At this time, the control unit 7 stops driving the first and second transport motors 3Ma and 3Mb, and then drives the cutting motor 4M to cut the paper P at a desired position by the cutter 4a. After that, the control unit 7 drives the second transport motor 3Mb to transport the cut paper P. At this time, when further recording an image on the paper P, the control unit 7 drives the driver IC 5a to eject ink from the nozzle of the head 5. Then, the paper P on which the image is recorded is discharged to the paper discharge tray 6, and the control unit 7 stops driving the second transport motor 3Mb. In this way, the printing process based on the print job is completed. When an image is recorded on a plurality of sheets of paper P in one print job, the printing process is completed by ejecting the plurality of cut sheets of paper P on which the image is recorded to the output tray 6. do.

Next, in S3, the control unit 7 executes a return process of returning the tip of the paper P cut by the cutting unit 4. The control unit 7 executes this return process every time the printing process is completed (every time the paper P is cut by the cutting unit 4 and the ejection of one or more sheets P on which an image is recorded is completed). The control unit 7 drives the first transport motor 3Ma and the drive motor 8M so as to rotate in the reverse direction in the return process. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6A, the transport roller pair 3a rotates in the direction opposite to that when the paper P is transported in the transport direction A, and the paper P is fed toward the roll paper R. At this time, the pair of holding rollers 31 and 32 also rotate in the direction opposite to that when the paper P is conveyed in the conveying direction A, and the paper P is fed toward the roll paper R. At this time, the two rollers 14 and 15 rotate counterclockwise and the roll paper R rotates in the direction opposite to the unwinding direction B (winding direction D), and the unwound paper P is the roll paper. It is wound up by R. When the control unit 7 receives the OFF signal from the sensor 9 that detects the tip of the paper P, the control unit 7 stops driving the first conveyor motor 3Ma and, as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 6A, the paper. The tip of P is a position downstream of the paper feed roller 2a in the transport direction A, and is a position below the upper end of the tip of the tray 11 in the movement direction when the paper feed cassette 1 is mounted on the housing 100a. The drive motor 8M is driven and then stopped until it is located at. As a modification, the drive of the first transfer motor 3Ma and the drive motor 8M may be stopped at the timing when the OFF signal is received from the sensor 9. Also in this case, the tip of the paper P is located near the upper end of the tip of the tray 11, and as described later, the tip of the paper P is less likely to come into contact with the housing 100a or the like when the tray 11 is attached or detached, and is less likely to bend. .. In this way, a series of flows is completed.

After that, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the user removes the paper cassette 1 from the housing 100a at a predetermined timing, the arm 2b retracts upward and the paper cassette 1 moves from the housing 100a. It will be removed. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6B, the engagement between the inclined surface 34a of the contact portion 34 and the inclined surface 33c1 of the slide portion 33c is released, and the slide portion 33c is moved upward by the restoring force of the elastic member 33b. As it moves, the holding force of the pair of holding rollers 31 and 32 with respect to the paper P becomes smaller. Further, at this time, since the tip of the paper P is located below the upper end of the tip of the tray 11, the tip of the paper P is less likely to come into contact with the paper feed roller 2a, the housing 100a, or the like. Further, even when the paper cassette 1 is removed from the housing 100a to the position shown in FIG. 6B and reattached, the tip of the paper P is less likely to come into contact with the paper feed roller 2a, the housing 100a, or the like. The tip of the paper P is less likely to bend. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of poor transport of the roll paper R due to the operation of attaching and detaching the paper feed cassette 1 to and from the housing 100a.

The printer 100 in the present embodiment corresponds to the "recording device" of the present invention. The feeding device K (peripheral portion of the paper feed cassette 1 of the printer 100) in the lower half of the printer 100 in the present embodiment corresponds to the "feeding device" of the present invention. The two rollers 14 and 15 in the present embodiment correspond to the "support rollers" of the present invention. The paper feed roller 2a and the pair of holding rollers 31 and 32 in the present embodiment correspond to the "conveyor roller" of the present invention. The control unit 7 in the present embodiment corresponds to the "control unit" of the present invention. The transport roller pair 3a in the present embodiment corresponds to the "pair of intermediate rollers" of the present invention. The transport unit 3 in the present embodiment corresponds to the "transport mechanism" of the present invention. The sensor 9 of the present embodiment corresponds to the "medium sensor" of the present invention. The pressing portion 19 of the present embodiment corresponds to the "pressing portion" of the present invention. The cutting portion 4 of the present embodiment corresponds to the "cutting mechanism" of the present invention.

As described above, according to the printer 100 (including the feeding device K) of the present embodiment, it is possible to perform a return process of returning the paper P after the paper P has been cut by the cutting unit 4. The roll paper R rotates so that the paper P is wound up, and the tip of the cut paper P can be returned to the tray 11. Therefore, when the tray 11 is removed from the housing 100a and when the tray 11 is reattached to the housing 100a, the tip of the paper P is less likely to come into contact with the housing 100a or the like, and is less likely to bend. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of poor transport of the paper P due to the operation of attaching and detaching the tray 11 to the housing 100a.

The control unit 7 executes a return process every time the print process based on the print job is completed. As a result, for example, even if the tray 11 is removed from the housing 100a at the user's timing by the time the current printing is completed and the next printing is started, the tip of the paper P is unlikely to come into contact with the housing 100a or the like. Become.

The control unit 7 controls to return the paper P so that the tip of the paper P is arranged below the upper end of the tip of the tray 11 in the return process of S3. As a result, when the tray 11 is removed from the housing 100a and when the tray 11 is reattached to the housing 100a, the tip of the paper P is less likely to come into contact with the housing 100a or the like.

Further, the control unit 7 controls the first transport motor 3Ma so as to rotate the transport roller pair 3a in the direction opposite to that when the paper P is conveyed in the return process of S3. As a result, even if the paper P is provided with the transfer roller pair 3a, the paper P can be smoothly returned by the return process.

Further, the control unit 7 finishes returning the paper P based on the signal from the sensor 9 in the returning process of S3. This makes it possible to prevent the tip of the paper P from being returned to the upstream side of the transport direction A from the paper feed roller 2a in the return process. Therefore, the state in which the paper P can be conveyed by the paper feed roller 2a is maintained.

Further, by providing the pressing portion 19 that presses the roll paper R toward the support portion 12, it is possible to prevent the roll paper R from floating from the rollers 14 and 15 and falling off.

Further, the drive mechanism 8 is configured to be able to drive the sandwiching roller 31 of the pair of sandwiching rollers 31 and 32. As a result, the return processing can be performed using the holding roller 31 arranged upstream of the paper feed roller 2a in the transport direction A, so that the roll paper R is rotated so that the paper P is wound more reliably. Can be done.

In the above-described embodiment, in the return processing of S3, the two rollers 14 and 15 and the pair of holding rollers 31 and 32 are rotated to return the tip of the paper P, but the rotational force of the paper feed roller 2a is applied to the paper. The tip of the paper P may be returned by acting on P. In such a modification, as shown in FIG. 8, the urging mechanism 202 is provided in the housing 100a of the printer 100. The urging mechanism 202 is provided above the arm 2b and has a regulating arm 202a that regulates the rotation of the arm 2b and a transmission mechanism (not shown). The regulation arm 202a is rotatably supported by the support shaft 202c. Further, the support shaft 202a is provided with a coil spring (not shown) for urging the regulation arm 202a so as to take a retracted state (state shown in FIG. 8B) in which the arm 2b is not urged. The transmission mechanism takes an urging state (state shown in FIG. 8A) in which the regulation arm 202a urges the arm 2b only when the drive motor 8M is rotated in the reverse direction under the control of the control unit 7. An urging force larger than the urging force of the coil spring is transmitted to the regulation arm 202a to rotate it. As described above, the urging mechanism 202 is configured to be capable of selectively taking a retracted state in which the arm 2b is not urged and an urging state in which the arm 2b is urged so that the paper feed roller 2a approaches the bottom surface 11a1. ing.

In such a configuration, when the control unit 7 executes the return process of S3, the drive motor 8M is driven so as to rotate in the reverse direction. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8A, the regulation arm 202a of the urging mechanism 202 changes from the retracted state to the urging state for urging the arm 2b, and the paper feed roller 2a also rotates in the reverse direction of the drive motor 8M. Is in contact with the paper P. As a result, the paper feed roller 2a is less likely to slip with respect to the paper P, and the paper P can be returned to the roll paper R by the paper feed roller 2a.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made as long as they are described in the claims. For example, in the above-described embodiment, in the return process, the two rollers 14 and 15 and the pair of sandwiching rollers 31 and 32 are driven to wind the paper P on the roll paper R, and the tip of the paper P is wound on the tray 11. Although it was returned to the inside, the drive mechanism 8 may drive only one of the two rollers 14 and 15 and the pair of sandwiching rollers 31 and 32. Further, also in the above-described modified example, in the return process, the paper P may be fed back to the roll paper R only by the rotation of the paper feed roller 2a. In this case, the transmission mechanism 20 may not be provided.

Further, in the above-described embodiment and modification, the holding roller 31 is driven in the return process, but the holding roller 32 may be driven instead of the holding roller 31. In this case, as in the configuration of the paper feed roller 2a and the arm 2b, the holding roller 32 is provided on the housing 100a side so as to be rotatable by the arm, and when the tray 11 is mounted on the housing 100a, a pair of holding rollers The configuration may be such that the paper P can be sandwiched between 31 and 32. Further, the urging mechanism of the holding roller 32 to the holding roller 31 may have any configuration, and even if the holding force of the holding roller 32 causes a holding force for the paper P between the pair of holding rollers 31 and 32. good.

Further, instead of the pair of holding rollers 31 and 32, a holding roller for holding the paper P with the roller 16 may be provided above the roller 16. Also in this case, either one of the roller 16 and the sandwiching roller may be driven during the return processing to feed the sandwiched paper P back to the roll paper R.

Further, in the return process, the control unit 7 may be arranged so that the tip of the paper P is slightly above the upper end of the tip of the tray 11 when the tray 11 is mounted on the housing 100a. Also in this case, when the tray 11 is reattached to the housing 110a, the tip of the paper P of the roll paper R is less likely to come into contact with the housing 110a or the like, and is less likely to bend. Further, the control unit 7 does not have to execute the return process every time the print process based on the print job is completed. For example, the return process may be executed based on the return command from the user, or the return process may be executed after a predetermined time has elapsed after the print process. In short, the above-mentioned effect can be obtained by being able to execute the return process.

The feeding device K in the lower half of the printer 100 may be configured as an extension unit that can be attached to and detached from the lower end of the housing 100a. Even in such a feeding device, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

Further, the roll paper R may be coreless without a core member Rc. The present invention can be applied to all feeding devices capable of accommodating roll paper R and all recording devices including this feeding device.

2a Paper feed roller (feed roller: transport roller)
3 Transport unit (convey mechanism)
3a Conveying roller pair (pair of intermediate rollers)
4 Cutting part (cutting mechanism)
5 head (recording section)
7 Control unit 8 Drive mechanism 9 Sensor (medium sensor)
11 Tray 11a1 Bottom surface 12 Support parts 14, 15 Rollers (support rollers)
19 Pressing parts 31, 32 Holding rollers (conveying rollers)
100 printer (recording device)
K Feeding device P Paper (continuous medium)
R roll paper (roll medium)
Rx rotation axis

Claims (9)

A tray that can accommodate a roll medium in which a continuous medium is wound in a roll shape,
A housing to which the tray can be attached and detached
A plurality of support rollers that rotatably support the roll medium in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the lower portion of the roll medium housed in the tray.
At least one transport roller capable of contacting the continuous medium unwound from the roll medium, including a feed roller that transports the continuous medium unwound from the roll medium in a transport direction away from the roll medium.
A drive mechanism for driving at least one of the plurality of support rollers and at least one transfer roller, and
It is provided with a control unit that controls the drive mechanism.
The control unit is a feeding device capable of executing a return process for controlling the drive mechanism so as to return the continuous medium transported in the transport direction. The feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit executes the return process each time printing of the continuous medium based on a print job is completed. The control unit returns the continuous medium so that the tip of the continuous medium is arranged below the upper end of the tip of the tray when the tray is mounted on the housing in the return process. The feeding device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the feeding device is characterized by the above. The housing is provided with a transport mechanism that is arranged downstream of the feed roller in the transport direction and includes a pair of intermediate rollers that transport the continuous medium in the transport direction while sandwiching the continuous medium.
The control unit controls the transport mechanism so that when the continuous medium is returned in the return process, the pair of intermediate rollers are rotated in the transport direction in the direction opposite to that when the continuous medium is transported. The feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The housing is provided with a medium sensor that is arranged between the pair of intermediate rollers and the feeding roller in the transport direction and outputs a signal regarding the presence or absence of the continuous medium to the control unit.
The fourth aspect of claim 4, wherein the control unit terminates the return of the continuous medium based on the signal from the medium sensor that changes from the presence of the continuous medium to the absence of the continuous medium in the return process. Feeding device. The feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a pressing portion that presses the roll medium toward the support roller. An arm that is rotatably provided and rotatably supports the feeding roller at the tip,
Further, it is further provided with an urging mechanism capable of selectively taking an urging state in which the arm is urged so as to bring the feeding roller closer to the bottom surface of the tray and a retracted state in which the arm is not urged.
The drive mechanism drives the feed roller, and the drive mechanism drives the feed roller.
The feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control unit controls the urging mechanism from the retracted state to the urging state in the return processing. .. The transport roller
With the feeding roller
It includes a pair of holding rollers arranged upstream of the feeding roller in the transport direction and capable of holding a continuous medium unwound from the roll medium.
The feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the driving mechanism drives one of the pair of holding rollers. A tray that can accommodate a roll medium in which a continuous medium is wound in a roll shape,
A housing to which the tray can be attached and detached
A plurality of support rollers that rotatably support the roll medium in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the lower portion of the roll medium housed in the tray.
At least one transport roller capable of contacting the continuous medium unwound from the roll medium, including a feed roller that transports the continuous medium unwound from the roll medium in a transport direction away from the roll medium.
A drive mechanism for driving at least one of the plurality of support rollers and at least one transfer roller, and
A transport mechanism including a pair of intermediate rollers arranged downstream of the feed roller in the transport direction and transporting the continuous medium in the transport direction while sandwiching the continuous medium.
A recording unit that records an image on a continuous medium conveyed by the transfer mechanism, and a recording unit.
A cutting mechanism arranged between the recording unit and the pair of intermediate rollers in the transport direction to cut the continuous medium.
It includes the cutting mechanism, the driving mechanism, the transporting mechanism, and a control unit that controls the recording unit.
The control unit is capable of executing a return process that controls the drive mechanism so as to return the continuous medium transported in the transport direction after the continuous medium has been cut by the cutting mechanism. Recording device.

Images