JP2021178390A - Carrying device, control method, program and recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technique for cutting a sheet by reducing the influence of a skew.SOLUTION: A carrying device includes: carrying means that carries a sheet S in a carrying direction D1; skew detecting means that detects a skew of the sheet S conveyed by the carrying means; a cutter 25 that moves in a width direction D2 of the sheet, intersecting the carrying direction D1, and cuts the sheet S; and control means that, based on a detection result of the skew detecting means, controls the carrying means when the sheet S is cut by the cutter 25 while the sheet S is carried by the carrying means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for transporting and cutting sheets.

In a recording device or the like, a technique of transporting and cutting a sheet pulled out from a roll sheet has been proposed. Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus for forming a slack (loop) of the roll paper before cutting the roll paper so as not to stop the recording operation when the roll paper is cut by the cutter. When cutting the roll paper, the transport operation on the downstream side of the slack is stopped, while the transport operation on the upstream side of the slack continues. As a result, the recording operation can be continued while stopping the transport of the roll paper at the cut portion by the cutter.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-220498

In the device for transporting the sheet, skewing of the sheet may occur. If the sheet is cut while the sheet is skewed, the shape may be distorted, such as the sheet becoming trapezoidal.

The present invention provides a technique for cutting a sheet by reducing the influence of skewing.

According to the present invention
A transport means for transporting the sheet in the transport direction and
The skew detecting means for detecting the skew of the sheet conveyed by the conveying means, and the skew detecting means.
A cutter that moves in the width direction of the sheet that intersects the transport direction to cut the sheet,
A control means for controlling the transport means based on the detection result of the skew detecting means when the sheet is cut by the cutter while the sheet is being transported by the transport means.
A transport device characterized by this is provided.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique for cutting a sheet by reducing the influence of skewing.

The general external perspective view of the recording apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the schematic structure of a recording head. A side sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the recording device of FIG. 1. The block diagram which shows the structure of the control part of the recording apparatus shown in FIG. The schematic diagram which shows the structural example of the skew detection unit and a cutter. (A) to (C) are explanatory views of an example of the calculation method of the skew amount. (A) to (C) are explanatory views of an example of a sheet cutting method at the time of skewing. (A) to (C) are explanatory views of an example of a sheet cutting method at the time of skewing. The flowchart which shows the processing example of slack control. A flowchart showing a processing example for specifying the amount of skew. The flowchart which shows the processing example of the cutting control which cuts the rear end of a sheet. (A) and (B) are explanatory views of an example of a sheet cutting method at the time of skewing. (A) to (C) are explanatory views showing another example of the skew detection unit. Explanatory drawing which shows another arrangement example of the skew detection unit.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although a plurality of features are described in the embodiment, not all of the plurality of features are essential for the invention, and the plurality of features may be arbitrarily combined. Further, in the attached drawings, the same or similar configurations are given the same reference numbers, and duplicate explanations are omitted.

<First Embodiment>
<Overview of recording device>
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the recording device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a full-line type inkjet recording device will be described, but the present invention can also be applied to other types of recording devices.

In "recording", not only when significant information such as characters and figures is formed, but also images, patterns, patterns, etc. are widely formed on a recording medium, or the medium is processed, regardless of whether it is significant or unintentional. Cases are also included, and it does not matter whether or not it is manifested so that it can be visually perceived by humans. Further, in the present embodiment, a sheet-shaped paper is assumed as the "recording medium" to be recorded, but a sheet-shaped cloth, a plastic film, or the like may be used.

The recording device 1 includes an operation panel 100 for making various settings related to recording and displaying the state of the device. Further, the recording device 1 is supported by a stand 101, and the recording unit thereof is usually covered by a cover 16 that can be opened and closed. Further, the recording device 1 has an ink tank cover 2 that is operated when the ink tank is replaced. As will be described later, the recording device 1 is provided with a full-line recording head (hereinafter referred to as a recording head) having a recording width corresponding to the width direction of the sheet and ejecting ink droplets onto the recording medium to record an image. There is.

The recording head is composed of four color recording heads having the same configuration, black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). Therefore, four ink tanks containing black, cyan, magenta, and yellow inks are housed in the lower portion of the ink tank cover 2. These ink tanks can be replaced independently of each other.

The recording device 1 may be loaded with a roll sheet R having a width of, for example, 10 inches to 40 inches, corresponding to the recording width of the recording head, and the sheet may be conveyed to the recording area of the recording head for recording. can. That is, the recording device 1 includes a device for feeding and transporting a sheet from the roll sheet R as a transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The sheet is a continuous sheet, and the roll sheet R is a cylindrical core material in which the sheet is wound in a roll shape. The roll sheet R refers to a particularly roll-shaped portion of the sheet. In the following description, the upstream side and the downstream side mean the upstream side on the transport source side and the downstream side on the transport destination side with reference to the forward transport direction of the sheet, unless otherwise specified.

As shown in FIG. 1, the recording device 1 can mount the roll sheet R on the upper mounting portion 4a and the lower mounting portion 4b, respectively, and can record on any of the mounted roll sheets. be. In addition, in FIG. 1, the roll sheet R is attached to the lower attachment portion 4b <configuration of the recording head>.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a recording head 3 provided in the recording device 1. The recording head 3 is a line-type recording head in which 15 element substrates 10 capable of ejecting four colors of ink of C / M / Y / K are arranged in a straight line (arranged in-line). In addition to this configuration, four recording heads 3 ejecting one color of ink are arranged in the transport direction of the recording medium to provide four colors of C / M / Y / K. It may be configured to eject ink.

The recording head 3 includes a signal input terminal 91 electrically connected to each element board 10 via a flexible wiring board 40 and an electric wiring board 90, and a power supply terminal 92. The signal input terminal 91 and the power supply terminal 92 are electrically connected to the control unit of the recording device 1, and supply the discharge drive signal and the power required for discharge to the element substrate 10, respectively. By consolidating the wiring by the electric circuit in the electric wiring board 90, the number of the signal output terminals 91 and the power supply terminals 92 can be reduced as compared with the number of the element boards 10. As a result, the number of electrical connections that need to be removed when the recording head 3 is attached to the recording device 1 or when the recording head is replaced can be reduced.

An electric heat conversion element (heater) (not shown) is formed on the element substrate 10 corresponding to each ejection port. The electric heat conversion element is energized and heated to foam ink, and the foaming energy is used to foam the ink. Discharge from the discharge port.

<Internal structure of recording device>
FIG. 3 is a side sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the recording device 1. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the roll sheet R1 is loaded in the mounting portion 4a and the roll sheet R2 is loaded in the mounting portion 4b. In FIG. 4, when the user loads the roll sheet R1 in the broken line portion in the mounting portion 4a, the roll sheet R1 rotates and moves to the shaded portion and is fixed and attached to the recording device. Similarly, when the user loads the roll sheet R2 in the portion of the broken line in the attachment portion 4b, the roll sheet R2 rotates and moves to the shaded portion and is fixed and attached to the recording device.

For example, when an image is recorded on the roll sheet R1, a motor (not shown) that rotates the rotation axis of the mounting portion 4a is driven, and the sheet is sent out from the roll sheet R1. When the tip of the sheet is detected by the paper feed sensor 21, it is niped by the feed roller pair 23. Then, the sheet is further conveyed by the rotation of the feeding roller pair 23, the tip end portion of the sheet is cut by the cutter 25, and the shape is trimmed.

Similarly, when an image is recorded on the roll sheet R2, a motor (not shown) that rotates the rotation axis of the mounting portion 4b is driven, and the sheet is sent out from the roll sheet R2. When the tip of the sheet is detected by the paper feed sensor 22, it is niped by the feed roller pair 24. Then, the sheet is further conveyed by the rotation of the feeding roller pair 24, the tip portion of the sheet is cut by the cutter 26, and the shape is trimmed.

The sheet sent out from the roll sheet R1 or R2 is further conveyed in the direction of the arrow by the feeding roller pair 23 or 24 as a forward transfer. When the tip of the sheet is detected by the tip detection sensor 27 supported by the fixed guide 30, the transport roller pair 28 is driven to start rotation. Then, the sheet nipped by the transfer roller 28 is further conveyed and reaches the transfer roller 29 on the downstream side of the transfer roller pair 28. The sheet is nipped into the transfer roller 29 and the transfer belt 41. The sheet is conveyed by the transfer roller 29 and the transfer roller 28, and the roll sheet is conveyed on the transfer belt 41. The transport belt 41 is an endless belt and travels cyclically.

When the sheet transfer speed (V0) by the transfer roller 29 and the sheet transfer speed (V) by the transfer roller pair 28 are different and controlled so that the relationship of V0 <V is controlled, the transfer roller pair 28 and the transfer roller 29 A slack (loop) 31 is formed between the two, as shown by the broken line in FIG. The sheet transfer speed depends on the rotation speeds of the transfer rollers 28 and 29. When the transfer rollers 28 and 29 have the same diameter, controlling so that V is slightly larger than V0 has the same meaning as controlling so that the rotation speed of the transfer roller 28 is slightly faster than that of the transfer roller 29. Is.

A flapper 32 is provided between the transfer roller pair 28 and the transfer roller 29. The flapper 32 is rotatably provided between the position shown by the solid line and the position shown by the broken line with one end on the downstream side as the rotation center. The flapper 32 is configured to rotate to the position indicated by the broken line with the formation of the loop 31 so as not to interfere with the formation of the loop 31.

A loop sensor 33 is provided between the transfer roller pair 28 and the transfer roller 29. The loop sensor 33 detects the occurrence of the loop 31. The loop sensor 33 is, for example, a reflection type optical sensor, and utilizes the fact that the amount of received light received from the sheet or flapper 32 differs between the case where the loop 32 is formed and the case where the loop 32 is not formed. The occurrence of the loop 31 is detected.

The sheet is further conveyed by the transfer roller 29 and the transfer belt 41 to reach the recording position between the recording head 3 and the platen 40. The platen 40 is provided below the transport belt 41 traveling on the upper side, and is connected to the suction fan 43 via the duct 42. A plurality of holes are formed on the surface of the platen 40. By operating the suction fan 43 to suck the air inside the duct 42 and generate a negative pressure, the sheet can be brought into close contact with the transport belt 41 through the hole provided in the platen 41. This prevents the sheet from floating during transportation.

A skew detection unit 34 is provided between the recording head 3 and the transport roller 29. The skew detection unit 34 detects the skew of the sheet at the detection position between the recording head 3 and the transport roller 29.

The recording head 3 ejects ink onto the sheet. As a result, the image is recorded on the sheet. When recording an image, the ink ejection of the recording head 3 may be controlled so that the image on the sheet is recorded corresponding to the skew of the sheet based on the detection result of the skew detection unit 34.

A recovery unit 51 is provided on the upstream side of the recording head 3, and a cap 52 and a drying unit 53 are provided on the downstream side thereof. The recovery unit 51 is movable in the sheet transport direction as shown by an arrow in FIG. As shown by the arrow in FIG. 3, the cap 52 is configured to be rotatable around the rotation shaft 52a. The recording head 3 is immovable during recording, but is configured to be movable in the vertical direction as shown by an arrow in FIG. 3 except for the recording operation.

With such a configuration, for example, when recovering the ejection state of the recording head 3, the recording head 3 moves upward, and the recovery unit 51 is moved to the space created thereby. After that, the recovery unit 51 performs a recovery operation by wiping the ink ejection surface of the recording head 3, sucking the ejection port, pre-discharging the recording head 3, and the like. When neither the recording operation nor the recovery operation is performed, the recording head 3 is moved upward and the cap 52 is rotated and arranged in the space created by the recording head 3 in order to prevent the ink ejection surface of the recording head 3 from drying out. .. After that, the recording head 3 is moved downward and the recording head 3 is capped by the cap 52.

A drying unit 53 is provided on the downstream side of the recording head 3. The drying unit 53 heats the surface of the sheet to dry the sheet for which recording has been completed by ejecting ink from the recording head 3. Further, a fan 54 and a duct 55 are provided above the recording head 3. By operating the fan 54, external air is blown out through the duct 55 in the direction of the arrow, and the air promotes the drying of the sheet after recording.

When a sheet having a length corresponding to a preset recording length (L) is conveyed with reference to the position of the cutter 25 or 26, the rear end of the sheet is cut by the cutter 25 or 26. The sheet after cutting may be called a cut sheet. The recorded cut sheet is discharged to the back basket 60 or the front stacker 61. The selection of the discharge location can be set by the user.

When the cut sheet is discharged to the back basket 60, the flapper 62 rotates to the position of the solid line and forms a transport path in the direction of the back basket 60. As a result, the cut sheet falls into the back basket 60 as shown by the broken line in FIG. In addition, the tip detection, the passage detection, and the rear end detection of the cut sheet are performed based on the detection result of the sheet detection sensor 63.

When the cut paper is discharged to the front stacker 61, the flapper 62 rotates to the position of the broken line to form a transport path in the direction of the front stacker 61. As a result, the cut sheet is conveyed to the discharge roller pairs 64 and 65, and finally discharged to the front stacker 61. The sheet detection sensors 66 and 67 and the discharge detection sensor 68 are provided on the transport path to the front stacker 61 to detect each position of the cut sheet. A rear end holding lever 69 is provided between the discharge roller pair 65 and the discharge sensor 68 to prevent the rear end of the cut sheet from bouncing.

The scanner unit 70 conveys and reads the image when the user inserts the image document in the direction of the arrow of the solid line.

<Explanation of control unit>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control unit (control circuit) of the recording device 1. The recording device 1 is mainly composed of a print engine unit 417 that controls the recording unit, a scanner engine unit 411 that controls the scanner unit 70, and a controller unit 410 that controls the entire recording device 1. The print controller 419 having a built-in MPU or non-volatile memory (EEPROM or the like) controls various mechanisms of the print engine unit 417 according to the instruction of the main controller 401 of the controller unit 410. Various mechanisms of the scanner engine unit 411 are controlled by the main controller 401 of the controller unit 410.

In the controller unit 410, the main controller 401 configured by the CPU controls the entire recording device 1 while using the RAM 406 as a working area according to the programs and various parameters stored in the ROM 407. For example, when a print job is input from the host device 400 via the host I / F 402 or the wireless I / F 403, the image processing unit 408 performs predetermined image processing on the received image data according to the instruction of the main controller 401. Apply. Then, the main controller 401 transmits the image data subjected to the image processing to the print engine unit 417 via the print engine I / F405.

The recording device 1 may acquire image data from the host device 400 via wireless communication or wired communication, or may acquire image data from an external storage device (USB memory or the like) connected to the recording device 1. May be good. The communication method used for wireless communication and wired communication is not limited. For example, Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) (registered trademark) and Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be applied as a communication method used for wireless communication. Further, as a communication method used for wired communication, USB (Universal Serial Bus) or the like can be applied. Further, for example, when a read command is input from the host device 400, the main controller 401 transmits this command to the scanner engine unit 411 via the scanner engine I / F409.

The operation panel 404 is a unit for the user to input / output to the recording device 1, and is shown as the operation panel 100 in FIG. The user can instruct operations such as copying and scanning via the operation panel 404, set the recording mode, and recognize the information of the recording device 1.

In the print engine unit 417, the print controller 419 configured by the CPU controls various mechanisms of the print engine unit 417 with the RAM 421 as a work area according to the program and various parameters stored in the ROM 420.

When various commands and image data are received via the controller I / F418, the print controller 419 temporarily stores them in the RAM 421. The print controller 419 is converted into the image processing controller 422, and the saved image data is converted into the recording data so that the recording head 3 can be used for the recording operation. When the recorded data is generated, the print controller 419 causes the recording head 3 to execute a recording operation based on the recorded data via the head I / F 427. At this time, the print controller 419 drives the transfer roller 29 via the transfer control unit 426 to transfer the sheet. According to the instruction of the print controller 419, the recording operation by the recording head 3 is executed in conjunction with the sheet conveying operation, and the recording process is performed.

The head carriage control unit 425 changes the position of the recording head 3 according to an operating state such as a maintenance state or a recording state of the recording device 1. The ink supply control unit 424 controls the liquid supply unit 220 so that the pressure of the ink supplied to the recording head 3 falls within an appropriate range. The maintenance control unit 423 controls the operation of the recovery unit 51 and the cap 52 when performing the maintenance operation on the recording head 3.

In the scanner engine unit 411, the main controller 401 controls the hardware resources of the scanner controller 415 according to the programs and various parameters stored in the ROM 407 while using the RAM 406 as a working area. As a result, the scanner unit 70 is controlled. For example, the main controller 401 controls the hardware resources in the scanner controller 415 via the controller I / F 414, and the document inserted into the scanner unit 70 by the user is conveyed via the transfer control unit 413 by the sensor 416. Read. Then, the scanner controller 415 stores the read image data in the RAM 412.

The print controller 419 can cause the recording head 3 to execute a recording operation based on the image data read by the scanner unit 70 by converting the image data acquired as described above into the recording data.

<Cut operation corresponding to skew>
If the sheet is stopped and cut while the sheet is skewed, the shape may be distorted, such as the sheet becoming trapezoidal. Further, when an image is recorded on the sheet in consideration of the influence of skewing, the cutting line and the image may be misaligned in the direction, and the quality of the recorded material may be deteriorated. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the effect of skewing is reduced to cut the sheet.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the skew detection unit 34 and the cutter 25. The following description targets the cutter 25, but the same applies to the cutter 26 and its disconnection control operation. In the figure, the arrow D1 indicates the transport direction of the sheet S sent out from the roll sheet R1 (and R2), and the arrow D2 indicates the width direction of the sheet S intersecting the transport direction of the sheet S. In the case of this embodiment, the transport direction D1 and the width direction D2 are orthogonal to each other. Regarding the transport direction D1, the forward direction usually indicates the direction in which the sheet S is transported, and the reverse direction indicates the direction opposite to the forward direction. In the present embodiment, the sheet S may be conveyed in the opposite direction when cutting the sheet S, which will be described later.

The cutter 25 is provided so as to be reciprocally movable in the width direction D2 on the guide shaft 25a extending in the width direction D2. The cutter 25 moves between the position P1 which is the outer position in the width direction D2 with respect to the seat S and the position P2. The cutter 25 has a blade (not shown) for cutting the sheet S, and while applying the blade to the sheet S, the cutter 25 is moved in the width direction D2 to cut the sheet S. The cutter 25 is moved by a drive mechanism 25b using the motor 25c as a drive source. The drive mechanism 25b is a belt transmission mechanism in this embodiment, and the cutter 25 is attached to the belt and moves. The drive mechanism 25b is not limited to the belt transmission mechanism, and may be another type of drive mechanism such as a rack-pinion mechanism.

In the case of this embodiment, the skew detection unit 34 includes a plurality of sensors 34a and 34b separated in the width direction D2. The sensors 34a and 34b are both arranged below the seat S and are sensors that detect the presence or absence of the seat S at the detection positions of the sensors 34a and 34b. The sensors 34a and 34b are, for example, reflection type optical sensors. The detection position of the sensor 34a is set inside one edge of the sheet S in the width direction D2, and the detection position of the sensor 34b is set inside the other edge of the sheet S in the width direction D2. When the sheet S is conveyed without skewing, the sheet S passes over the detection positions of the sensors 34a and 34b.

6 (A) to 6 (C) are explanatory views of an example of a method of calculating the skew amount of the sheet S based on the detection result of the skew detection unit 34. The detection positions of the sensors 34a and 34b are separated by a distance L0. FIG. 6A shows a stage in which the sheet S is transported in the forward direction while being slanted to the front of the sensors 34a and 34b. FIG. 6B shows a stage in which the sheet S is detected by the sensor 34a. The sensor 34b does not detect the seat S. FIG. 6C shows a stage in which the sheet S is detected by the sensor 34b.

The skew amount θ of the sheet S can be expressed by tan θ = L1 / L0. If the transport speed of the sheet S is V, and the time from the detection of the sheet S on one of the sensors 34a and 34b to the detection of the sheet S on the other is t, it can be expressed as L1 = V × t. As shown in FIG. 6C, the skew amount θ is a positive value and a negative value depending on the direction of the skew, and in the illustrated example, the case where the skew amount θ is to the right (clockwise tilt) with respect to the forward direction. A positive value is used, and a negative value is used when the value is to the left (counterclockwise inclination).

In the present embodiment, the amount of skew is expressed by the inclination (angle) of the sheet S with respect to the transport direction D1, but it may be the amount of deviation in the detection timing of the sheets S of the sensors 34a and 34b as in the distance L1. ..

Next, a method of cutting the rear end (upstream end) of the skewed sheet S so as to cancel the skew amount θ will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 (A) to 7 (C). Assuming that the transport speed of the sheet S is Vr and the moving speed of the cutter 25 is Vc, when Vc is a constant speed, the transport speed Vr (= Vc × tanθ) is set so as to satisfy the relationship of tanθ = Vr / Vc. , The sheet S can be cut at a cutting line orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the sheet S.

FIG. 7A shows a stage in which the sheet S is transported in the forward direction while being skewed. The transport speed of the sheet S is changed from the normal transport speed V to Vr (= Vc × tan θ). The cutter 25 is moved from the position P1 to the position P2. FIG. 7B shows a stage in which the cutter 25 is in the process of moving. The sheet S is cut by the cutting line CL. Since the sheet S is transported in the forward direction at the transport speed Vr, the cutting line CL appears to be inclined with respect to the width direction D2. FIG. 7C shows a stage in which the cutting of the sheet S by the cutter 25 is substantially completed. Apparently, the cutting line CL appears to be inclined with respect to the width direction D2, but the cutting line CL is orthogonal to the left and right edges of the sheet S. When the cutting is completed, the transport speed of the sheet S is returned to the normal transport speed V. By controlling the transport of the sheet S based on the detection result of the skew detection unit 34, the sheet S can be cut so as to cancel the skew amount θ in this way.

8 (A) to 8 (C) illustrate the case where the orientation of the sheet S is different from that of FIGS. 7 (A) to 7 (C). In this case, by moving the cutter 25 while transporting the sheet S in the opposite direction, the sheet S can be cut so as to cancel the skew amount θ.

FIG. 8A shows a stage in which the sheet S is transported in the forward direction while being skewed. The transport speed of the sheet S is changed from the normal transport speed V to −Vr. The cutter 25 is moved from the position P1 to the position P2. FIG. 8B shows a stage in which the cutter 25 is in the process of moving. The sheet S is cut by the cutting line CL while being conveyed in the opposite direction. Compared with the example of FIG. 7 (B), in the example of FIG. 8 (B), the inclination of the apparent cutting line CL is opposite to that of the example of FIG. 7 (B). FIG. 8C shows a stage in which the cutting of the sheet S by the cutter 25 is substantially completed. Apparently, the cutting line CL appears to be inclined with respect to the width direction D2, but the cutting line CL is orthogonal to the left and right edges of the sheet S. When the cutting is completed, the transport direction of the sheet S is returned to the forward direction, and the transport speed is also returned to the normal transport speed V. By controlling the transport of the sheet S based on the detection result of the skew detection unit 34, the sheet S can be cut so as to cancel the skew amount θ in this way.

<Control example>
A control example related to cutting the sheet S in consideration of the skew of the sheet S will be described. In the case of this embodiment, the drive control of the cutters 25 and 26, the transfer roller pair 28, the transfer roller 29, and the feed roller pair 23 and 24 is executed by the transfer control unit 426. Hereinafter, a control example of the transport control unit 426 will be described.

First, the slack control of the seat S will be described. In the cutting methods exemplified in FIGS. 7A to 8C, the transport speed of the sheet S may be changed to Vr, or the transport direction of the sheet S may be changed in the opposite direction. If the loop 31 shown in FIG. 3 is formed, the loop 31 serves as a buffer, and the sheet S is continuously conveyed to the recording head 3 on the downstream side thereof, while the transfer speed of the sheet S is increased on the upstream side. The transport direction can be changed.

FIG. 9 shows a control example in which the loop 31 of the sheet S illustrated in FIG. 3 is formed between the transfer roller pair 28 and the transfer roller 29. This is executed when the tip of the sheet S reaches the transport roller 29. The feeding rollers 23 and 24 are controlled to carry corresponding to the feeding of the feeding rollers 28.

In S1, the transport speed on the upstream side of the sheet S is increased. In other words, the rotation speed of the transport roller pair 28 is increased so that the transport speed of the transport roller 29 <the transport speed of the transport roller pair 28. In S2, it is determined whether or not the amount of slack between the transfer roller pair 28 and the transfer roller 29 exceeds a predetermined amount. The slack amount is the difference between the amount of sheet S conveyed by the transfer roller pair 28 and the amount of sheet S conveyed by the transfer roller 29. The determination in S2 may be performed by calculating each transport amount and comparing the difference with the predetermined amount. Further, since the amount of slack increases in proportion to the elapsed time from the start of the control of S1, the determination of S2 may be performed based on the elapsed time.

An example of the size of a predetermined amount of S2 will be described. The cutting illustrated in FIGS. 7A to 7C is conveyed to the recording head 3 during the cutting operation of the sheet S by the cutter 25 in that the cutting does not affect the transfer of the sheet S to the recording head 3. An amount corresponding to a slack having a length larger than the transport amount of the sheet S can be set. For example, let Tc be the time required for cutting the cutter 25 exemplified in FIGS. 7 (A) to 7 (C). Let X be the amount of sheet S conveyed to the recording head 3 during the time Tc. Then, the predetermined amount is at least a value larger than X.

Further, in that the cutting exemplified in FIGS. 8A to 8C does not affect the transfer of the sheet S to the recording head 3, the reverse direction of the sheet S during the cutting operation of the sheet S by the cutter 25. It is possible to set an amount corresponding to a slack having a length larger than the transport amount of. For example, let Tc be the time required for cutting the cutter 25 exemplified in FIGS. 8 (A) to 8 (C). The amount of the sheet S transported in the reverse direction during the time Tc is Tc × Vr. Then, the predetermined amount is set to a value larger than X + Tc × Vr. In the case where the formation of the slack is executed after the calculation of the skew amount θ, the predetermined amount of S2 can be set each time according to the calculated skew amount θ, but the transport amount in the reverse direction (Tc × Vr) may be the maximum amount (fixed value) assumed in advance by design.

If it is determined in S2 that the amount of slack exceeds a predetermined amount, the process proceeds to S3. In S3, the detection result of the loop sensor 33 is acquired, and it is confirmed whether or not the slack is actually formed. If slack is detected, the process proceeds to S4, and if not, the process proceeds to S5.

In S4, the transport speed on the upstream side of the sheet S increased in S1 is restored. In other words, the rotation speed of the transport roller pair 28 is restored. In S5, it is considered that an error has occurred in the transportation of the sheet S, and error processing is performed. Here, for example, the transportation of the sheet S is stopped, and a process for urging the user to inspect is performed.

FIG. 10 shows a processing example relating to the skew detection of the sheet S and the calculation of the skew amount. In S11, each detection result of the sensor 34a and 34b is acquired. In S11, for example, the processes illustrated in FIGS. 6 (A) to 6 (C) are performed. That is, when the seat S is detected by one of the sensors 34a and 34b, the time counting is started, and when the seat S is detected by the other sensor, the time counting is ended and the process proceeds to S12.

In S12, the skew amount is calculated based on the detection result of S11. The amount of skew is calculated by, for example, the methods illustrated in FIGS. 6 (A) to 6 (C). In S13, it is determined whether or not the skew amount calculated in S12 exceeds the threshold value 1. If the amount of skew is large, the intended recorded material cannot be obtained even if the recording operation is performed as it is. Therefore, when the skew amount exceeds the threshold value 1, the process proceeds to S15 and error processing is performed. In the error processing, for example, the transfer of the sheet S by the transfer roller pair 28, the transfer roller 29, the feed roller pair 23 or 24 and the cutting of the sheet S by the cutter 25 or 26 are stopped, and the user is urged to inspect.

If it is determined in S13 that the skew amount is equal to or less than the threshold value 1, the process proceeds to S14, and the skew amount calculated in S12 is stored in the memory or the like.

FIG. 11 shows a control example in which the rear end (upstream end) of the sheet S is cut by the cutter 25 (or 26). The process of FIG. 11 is a process executed after the formation of the slack of the sheet S by the process of FIG. 9, and the sheet S is conveyed by the preset recording length (L) with respect to the position of the cutter 25 or 26. It will be executed at the stage. In S21, the skew amount saved in S14 is acquired. In S22, it is determined whether or not the skew amount acquired in S21 is less than the threshold value 2 (<threshold value 1). When the amount of skew of the sheet S is small, the shape of the sheet S does not become as distorted as to the left even if the feeding of the sheet S is stopped and the sheet S is cut. In this embodiment, the cutting process is distinguished according to the degree of skewing. If the amount of skew is less than the threshold value 2, the process proceeds to S23, and if the amount of skew is greater than or equal to the threshold value 2, the process proceeds to S26.

In S23, the transport on the upstream side of the sheet S is stopped. Specifically, the rotation of the transport roller pair 28 is stopped. The rotation of the transport roller 29 continues. Even if the rotation of the transfer roller pair 28 is stopped and the rotation of the transfer roller 29 is continued, the loop 31 is only reduced, the transfer of the sheet S to the recording head 3 is continued, and the recording operation is continued. In S24, the cutter 25 (or 26) is moved to cut the sheet S.

In S26 to S27, the processing related to the cutting illustrated in FIGS. 7 (A) to 8 (C) is performed. First, in S26, the transport direction and the transport speed on the upstream side of the sheet S are set based on the skew amount acquired in S21. As illustrated in FIGS. 7 (A) to 8 (C), the transport direction of the sheet S is selected to be either forward or reverse depending on the direction of the skew of the sheet S. The transport speed can be set according to the above Vr calculation formula. In S27, the drive of the transfer roller pair 28 is controlled according to the setting of S26, and the cutter 25 (or 26) is moved to cut the sheet S. In this case as well, the rotation of the transport roller 29 continues. Even if the transfer direction and transfer speed of the sheet S by the transfer roller pair 28 are changed, only the size of the loop 31 changes, the transfer of the sheet S to the recording head 3 is continued, and the recording operation is continued. ..

In S25, the transport state on the upstream side of the sheet S is restored to the original state. Specifically, the control content of the transport roller pair 28 changed in S23 or S27 is returned to the content before the change. This completes the process.

<Second embodiment>
In the first embodiment, an example in which the sheet S is cut when the cutter 25 moves from the position P1 to the position P2 with the position P1 as the standby position has been described. When the cutters 25 and 26 are configured to be able to cut the seat S in both directions in the reciprocating movement direction, both the position P1 and the position P2 can be used as the standby positions. When cutting the sheet S so as to cancel the amount of skew, the sheet S is transported in the forward direction or in the reverse direction depending on the current standby positions of the cutters 25 and 26 and the direction of the skew of the sheet S. Can be set. This setting is performed in S26 in the case of the processing example of FIG.

12 (A) and 12 (B) show an example of cutting the sheet S from the state where the cutter 25 is waiting at the position P2. FIG. 12A illustrates a case where the skew amount θ of the sheet S is positive. Unlike the examples of FIGS. 7A to 7C, the cutter 25 is moved to cut the sheet S while transporting the sheet S in the opposite direction. FIG. 12B illustrates a case where the skew amount θ of the sheet S is negative. Unlike the examples of FIGS. 8A to 8C, the cutter 25 is moved to cut the sheet S while transporting the sheet S in the forward direction.

In the case of the present embodiment, since the two positions P1 and P2 can be used as the standby positions of the cutters 25 and 26, it is not necessary to simply return the cutters 25 and 26 from the position P1 to the position P1. ..

<Third embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the skew detection unit 34 is composed of a plurality of reflection type optical sensors 34a and 34b, but other sensors can also be used. FIG. 13A shows an example thereof. In the example of the figure, the skew detection unit 34 is composed of an image pickup device 34c that images the surface of the sheet S. The image pickup device 34c is, for example, a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor. The image pickup device 34c captures an image of a certain area on the surface of the sheet S.

13 (B) and 13 (C) show an example of a method of calculating the amount of skew from the image of the surface of the sheet S which is the image pickup result of the image pickup element 34c. In FIG. 13B, feature points T1 and T2 in the image are specified. The feature points T1 and T2 may be anything as long as the parts such as irregularities existing on the surface of the sheet S can be specified. FIG. 13C shows an image after a minute time has elapsed from the state of FIG. 13B (after the sheet S is forwardly conveyed at a constant speed for a minute time). The relative positions of the feature points T1 and T2 change by the angle Δθ. The image of the sheet S can be imaged by the image pickup device 34c every minute time, and the skew amount θ can be calculated by θ = ΣΔθ from the result. In the case of the present embodiment, the amount of skew of the sheet S can be calculated at a portion other than the tip of the sheet S.

<Fourth Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the skew detection unit 34 is arranged between the recording head 3 and the transport roller 29 so as to detect the skew of the sheet S, but the place where the skew detection unit 34 is arranged is limited to this. I can't. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the skew detection unit 34 may be arranged between the transport roller pair 28 and the cutters 25 and 26 so as to detect the skew of the sheet S. When the skew detection unit 34 is arranged at a position close to the recording head 3 as in the first embodiment, it becomes easy to align the cutting line CL at the rear end of the sheet S with the recorded image. When the skew detection unit 34 is arranged at a position close to the cutters 25 and 26 as in the present embodiment, it becomes easy to align the cutting line CL at the rear end of the sheet S with the front end side of the sheet S.

<Fifth Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which the moving speed Vc of the cutter 25 is set to a constant speed and the transport speed Vr = Vc × tan θ of the sheet S is set in order to cut so as to cancel the skew amount θ. However, the moving speed Vc of the cutter 25 may be changed by setting the transport speed Vr to a constant speed so as to satisfy the relationship of tan θ = Vr / Vc. Alternatively, both the transport speed Vr and the movement speed Vc may be changed so as to satisfy the relationship of tan θ = Vr / Vc.

<Sixth Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, an example of cutting the rear end of the sheet S while the sheet S forms the loop 31 is shown, but FIGS. 7A to 8C are shown even when the loop 31 is not formed. ), It is also possible to cut the rear end of the sheet S. In this case, the transfer roller pair 28 can be omitted from the configuration of the apparatus, and the cutting process illustrated in FIGS. 7 (A) to 8 (C) can be performed by controlling the drive of the transfer roller 29. In this embodiment, the recording on the sheet S by the recording head 3 may be affected, but the sheet S may be cut at the stage where the recording is finished, or the recording may be temporarily interrupted and the sheet S may be cut.

<7th Embodiment>
In each of the above embodiments, an example of application to a recording device has been exemplified, but the sheet cutting technique of the present invention can be applied to various transport devices for transporting sheets.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. It can also be realized by the processing to be performed. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

The invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, a claim is attached to publicize the scope of the invention.

1 Recording device, 28 transport roller pair, 34 skew detection unit, 426 transport control unit

Claims (19)

A transport means for transporting the sheet in the transport direction and
The skew detecting means for detecting the skew of the sheet conveyed by the conveying means, and the skew detecting means.
A cutter that moves in the width direction of the sheet that intersects the transport direction to cut the sheet,
A control means for controlling the transport means based on the detection result of the skew detecting means when the sheet is cut by the cutter while the sheet is being transported by the transport means.
A transport device characterized by that. The transport device according to claim 1.
The control means controls the sheet transport speed based on the skew amount of the sheet detected by the skew detecting means.
A transport device characterized by that. The transport device according to claim 1 or 2.
The control means controls the transport direction of the sheet based on the direction of the skew of the sheet detected by the skew detecting means.
A transport device characterized by that. The transport device according to claim 1 or 2.
The cutter is
The operation of moving from the state of waiting at the first position on one side of the sheet to the second position on the other side of the sheet in the width direction and cutting the sheet.
Both the operation of moving from the state of waiting at the second position to the first position and cutting the sheet can be executed.
The control means controls the sheet conveying direction based on the position where the cutter is waiting and the direction of the skew of the sheet detected by the skew detecting means.
A transport device characterized by that. A transport means for transporting the sheet in the transport direction and
The skew detecting means for detecting the skew of the sheet conveyed by the conveying means, and the skew detecting means.
A cutter that moves in the transport direction and the width direction of the sheet to cut the sheet,
A control means for controlling the moving speed of the cutter based on the detection result of the skew detecting means when the sheet is cut by the cutter while the sheet is being conveyed by the conveying means.
A transport device characterized by that. The transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The control means selects and executes one control from a plurality of controls based on the detection result of the skew detecting means.
The plurality of controls are at least
Control to cut the sheet by the cutter while transporting the sheet by the transport means, and
A control for stopping the transfer of the sheet by the transfer means and cutting the sheet by the cutter.
A transport device characterized by that. The transport device according to claim 6.
The plurality of controls are at least
The control including the transfer of the sheet by the transfer means and the control of stopping the cutting of the sheet by the cutter.
A transport device characterized by that. A transport means for transporting the sheet in the transport direction and
The skew detecting means for detecting the skew of the sheet conveyed by the conveying means, and the skew detecting means.
A cutter that moves in the width direction of the sheet that intersects the transport direction to cut the sheet,
It is a control method of a transport device equipped with
When the sheet is cut by the cutter while being conveyed by the conveying means, the control step of controlling the conveying means based on the detection result of the skew detecting means is provided.
A control method characterized by that. A transport means for transporting the sheet in the transport direction and
The skew detecting means for detecting the skew of the sheet conveyed by the conveying means, and the skew detecting means.
A cutter that moves in the width direction of the sheet that intersects the transport direction to cut the sheet,
It is a control method of a transport device equipped with
When the sheet is cut by the cutter while being conveyed by the conveying means, the control step of controlling the moving speed of the cutter based on the detection result of the skew detecting means is provided.
A control method characterized by that. A program that causes a computer to execute the control method according to claim 8 or 9. The first transport means for transporting the sheet sent out from the roll sheet,
A second transport means arranged downstream of the first transport means in the sheet transport direction and transporting the sheet, and a second transport means.
A recording means arranged downstream of the second transport means in the transport direction and recording on a sheet, and a recording means.
The skew detection means for detecting the skew of the sheet,
A cutter that is arranged upstream of the first transport means in the transport direction and moves in the width direction of the sheet that intersects the transport direction to cut the sheet.
A slack control means that controls the first transport means and the second transport means to form a slack in the sheet between the first transport means and the second transport means.
When the sheet is cut by the cutter while the sheet is being conveyed by the first conveying means after the slack of the sheet is formed, the cutting that controls the first conveying means based on the detection result of the skew detecting means. With control means,
A recording device characterized by that. The recording device according to claim 11.
The cutting control means controls the sheet transport speed based on the skew amount of the sheet detected by the skew detecting means.
A recording device characterized by that. The recording device according to claim 11 or 12.
The cutting control means controls the transport direction of the sheet based on the direction of the skew of the sheet detected by the skew detecting means.
A recording device characterized by that. The recording device according to claim 11 or 12.
The cutter is
The operation of moving from the state of waiting at the first position on one side of the sheet to the second position on the other side of the sheet in the width direction and cutting the sheet.
Both the operation of moving from the state of waiting at the second position to the first position and cutting the sheet can be executed.
The cutting control means controls the sheet conveying direction based on the position where the cutter is waiting and the direction of the skew of the sheet detected by the skew detecting means.
A recording device characterized by that. The recording device according to any one of claims 11 to 14.
The skew detecting means detects skewing of a sheet at a position between the recording means and the second transporting means.
A recording device characterized by that. The recording device according to any one of claims 11 to 14.
The skew detecting means detects the skew of the sheet at a position between the first transport means and the cutter.
A recording device characterized by that. The recording device according to any one of claims 11 to 16.
The skew detecting means is arranged apart from each other in the width direction, and includes a plurality of sensors for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet.
A recording device characterized by that. The recording device according to any one of claims 11 to 16.
The skew detecting means includes an image pickup element that captures an image of a sheet.
A recording device characterized by that. The recording device according to any one of claims 11 to 18.
The slack control means forms a slack having a length larger than the amount of the sheet conveyed to the recording means during the sheet cutting operation by the cutter.
A recording device characterized by that.

Images