JP2022107132A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a printer capable of holding a printing medium on a drum outer peripheral surface, suppressing a cost increase, and being realized with simple control.SOLUTION: A printer body 1 comprises: a drum 3 capable of holding a printing medium M on an outer peripheral surface 31a; a paper feed roll 4 for feeding the medium M and a wind-up roll 5 for winding up the printing medium M positioned in the drum 3; and a print head 6 arranged while separated from the outer peripheral surface 31a of the drum 3. A dryer 7 for drying ink printed on the printing medium M is arranged downstream of the print head 6, and a mark sensor 8 for detecting a pre-mark inscribed on the printing medium M in advance is arranged upstream of the print head 6. The drum 3 has a drum rotary shaft 9 positioned at its center, and is rotated by drum driving means 10 rotating the drum rotary shaft 9. A wind-up roll shaft 5a is mounted with wind-up driving means 14, and a paper feed roll shaft 4a is provided with deceleration means 15 suppressing its rotation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a printer that holds a print medium on the outer peripheral surface of a drum, has a paper feed roll and a take-up roll of the print medium inside the drum, and can print on the print medium while being held by the drum.

Conventionally, there is known a printer in which a paper feed roll and a take-up roll are provided inside a drum, and printing is performed while holding a print medium on the outer peripheral surface of the drum. For example, according to Patent Document 1, a print medium is supplied from a paper feed roll to a take-up roll via an outer peripheral surface of a drum, and then the drum rotates so that the print medium passes under the print head to enable printing. ing. By arranging the paper feed roll and the take-up roll inside the drum in this way, it is possible to save space in the entire printer.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-094615

In a conventional printer, the paper feed roll and the take-up roll are rotated at the same time while shifting the timing to prevent the print medium from sagging. That is, it is necessary to provide a motor or the like on both the paper feed roll and the take-up roll, which leads to an increase in cost. In addition, it is necessary to control both motors and the like, which may complicate the control.

An object of the present invention is to provide a printer capable of holding a print medium on the outer peripheral surface of a drum, which can be realized by simple control while suppressing cost increase.

The present invention includes a printer body and the printer main body including a drum capable of holding a print medium on the outer peripheral surface, a paper feed roll and a take-up roll located inside the drum, and a print head arranged apart from the outer peripheral surface. A printer including a control device for controlling a printer body, the drum driving means for rotating the drum, the winding driving means for rotating the winding roll, and the decelerating means for suppressing the rotation of the paper feed roll. The drum includes an arc portion forming the outer peripheral surface and a closing plate for closing one of the arc portions, and the arc portion has a separating portion in which a ring is interrupted in a part in the circumferential direction thereof. The print medium is held by the take-up roll via the paper feed roll, one end of the separation portion, the outer peripheral surface of the drum, and the other end of the separation portion, and the control device is driven by the drum. The means is rotated to enable printing on the print medium held on the outer peripheral surface, and the take-up drive means is rotated to follow-rotate the paper feed roll via the print medium to obtain the print medium. It is characterized by keeping the tension constant.

According to such an invention, since the paper feed roll is rotated following the take-up roll, it is not necessary to separately provide a drive means for the paper feed roll, cost increase can be suppressed, and simple control is used. be able to.

The paper feed roll and the take-up roll are rotatably held by the closing plate of the drum.
Therefore, the paper feed roll and the take-up roll can be stably mounted inside the drum.

The control device is characterized in that the drum is rotated to the origin position before the start of printing and after the completion of printing.
By rotating the drum to the origin position, the printing start point can be kept constant, and the printing medium can be attached and replaced at the same position.

The control device is characterized in that the drum is rotated until the print end position of the print medium passes through the print head, and then the drum is further rotated until the print end position passes through the dryer. And.
Therefore, even when the print head and the dryer are separated from each other, it can be reliably dried.

The printer according to the present invention includes a take-up drive means for rotating the take-up roll and a deceleration means for suppressing the rotation of the paper feed roll, and can convey the print medium without sagging by driving only the take-up drive means. .. Since it is not necessary for the paper feed roll to be provided with a driving means, it is possible to suppress an increase in cost and realize simple control.

Schematic diagram showing the configuration of the printer according to the embodiment of the present invention. Cross-sectional view when the drum is cut at the center of the axis Diagram showing the printing process Flowchart showing the flow of the printing process Flowchart showing the flow of the printing process

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the printer P according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a printer main body 1 and a control device for controlling the printer main body 1. The printer body 1 is housed in the casing 2. At least one side of the casing 2 can be opened and closed, and the print medium M can be set in the printer main body 1 from this openable side.

The printer main body 1 includes a drum 3 capable of holding the print medium M on the outer peripheral surface 31a, a paper feed roll 4 located inside the drum 3 for supplying the print medium M, a take-up roll 5 for winding the print medium M, and a drum. A print head 6 arranged apart from the outer peripheral surface 31a of 3 is provided. A dryer 7 for drying the ink printed on the print medium M is arranged downstream of the print head 6, and a premark sensor 8 for detecting a premark pre-marked on the print medium M is located upstream of the print head 6. Be placed. The dryer 7 includes a heater and a blower, and can dry the ink by blowing warm air onto the print medium M.

The drum 3 has a drum rotation shaft 9 located at the center thereof, and is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise by the drum driving means 10 for rotating the drum rotation shaft 9. As the drum driving means 10, for example, a servomotor can be used. The drum rotation shaft 9 is provided with an origin sensor 11 that detects the origin position of the drum 3.

The drum 3 is a substantially hollow cylinder made of stainless steel or the like, and includes an arc portion 31 forming the outer peripheral surface 31a and a closing plate 32 that closes one of the side portions of the arc portion 31. The arc portion 31 includes a separating portion 31b in which the ring is interrupted in a part in the circumferential direction, and the printing medium M is supplied from the inside of the drum 3 to the outer peripheral surface 31a through the separating portion 31b, and the printing medium M is supplied to the outer peripheral surface 31a through the separating portion 31b. The print medium M is held. Such a drum 3 is connected and fixed to the drum rotating shaft 9 by a closing plate 32, and the drum 3 and the drum rotating shaft 9 are rotatably supported by the casing 2. The outer peripheral surface 31a of the drum 3 is processed into a flat state without unevenness. By flattening in this way, the adhesion to the print medium M can be improved, and the print medium M can be made difficult to shift on the outer peripheral surface 31a of the drum 3.

The paper feed roll 4 and the take-up roll 5 are arranged inside the drum 3 as described above. The paper feed roll 4a is rotatably attached to the closing plate 32 of the drum 3, and the winding roll 5a is also rotatably attached to the closing plate 32. Therefore, the paper feed roll 4 and the take-up roll 5 can move with the rotation of the drum 3 while maintaining the tension of the print medium M. The paper feed roll shaft 4a, the take-up roll shaft 5a, and the drum rotation shaft 9 are arranged so that their axis centers are aligned in a straight line. A paper feed side auxiliary roll 12 is arranged at the end of the separation portion 31b on the paper feed roll 4 side, and guides the paper feed print medium M to the outer peripheral surface 31a of the drum 3. Similarly, a take-up side auxiliary roll 13 is arranged at the end of the take-up roll 5 side of the separation portion 31b, and guides the print medium M on the outer peripheral surface 31a to the take-up roll 5. The separating portion 31b is located on a straight line passing through the center of the paper feed roll shaft 4a and the take-up roll shaft 5a.

A take-up drive means 14 is attached to the take-up roll shaft 5a and is rotated in either clockwise or counterclockwise direction. In this embodiment, a servomotor can be used as the take-up drive means 14, and the take-up roll 5 rotates clockwise. The paper feed roll shaft 4a is provided with a speed reducing means 15 for suppressing the rotation of the paper feed roll shaft 4a, so that the paper can be fed to the print medium with a constant tension between the paper feed roll shaft 4a and the take-up roll 5. In this embodiment, a pneumatic disc brake can be used as the deceleration means 15. The braking force of the disc brake can be appropriately changed depending on the material of the printing medium, the basis weight, and the like. By using the pneumatic disc brake as the deceleration means 15, the tension of the print medium can be adjusted only by setting the pneumatic pressure, and the control of the motor or the like is not required. That is, the air pressure can be set only by manually operating the regulator, and this air pressure may be set by default according to the type of print medium. According to such a method, the tension of the print medium can be adjusted cheaply and easily as compared with the case where a motor is attached to the paper feed roll and the two motors for winding and feeding are controlled while measuring the timing. Can be done.

In the printer main body 1 as described above, the winding ball of the print medium M is set on the paper feed roll 4. More specifically, the openable / closable surface of the casing 2 is opened, a roll-shaped roll of the print medium M is inserted from the opposite side of the closing plate 32 of the drum 3, and the roll-shaped print medium M is set on the paper feed roll 4. The end of the print medium M pulled out from the winding ball is guided from the paper feed roll 4 to the outer peripheral surface 31a of the drum 3 via the paper feed side auxiliary roll 12, and after making a substantially round of the outer peripheral surface 31a, the winding side. It is wound around the take-up roll 5 inside the drum 3 via the auxiliary roll 13. The print medium M is set manually without wrinkles or sagging. In such a printer main body 1, when the take-up drive means 14 is driven by the control device and the take-up roll 5 rotates, the paper feed roll 4 follows and rotates via the print medium M. Since the paper feed roll shaft 4a is provided with the deceleration means 15, the print medium M is maintained at a constant tension.

FIG. 3 shows the state of rotation of the drum 3 in the printing process, and in this embodiment, the drum 3 rotates clockwise. 4 and 5 are flowcharts showing the flow of the printing process.

Referring to FIG. 4, in step S1, the operator performs the initial setting via the input means of the control device. As initial settings, the resolution of the print head 6 is set, the temperature of the dryer 7 is set, the speed of the drum driving means 10 is set, the speed of the winding driving means 14 is set, and the braking force of the decelerating means 15 is set. , Other necessary settings can be made.

In step S2, the operator confirms whether or not there is paper which is the print medium M in the printer P. If there is no paper, the operator inputs to proceed to step S3 via the input means of the control device.

In step S3, the control device drives the drum driving means 10 to rotate the drum 3 clockwise, thereby rotating the drum 3 to the winding ball exchange position. That is, the control device rotates the drum 3 to the origin position shown in FIG. 3A.

In step S4, the control device detects whether or not the drum 3 is rotated to the winding ball replacement position by the origin sensor 11. If it has not rotated to the winding ball replacement position, the control device returns to step S3. On the other hand, when rotating to the winding ball exchange position, the control device proceeds to step S5 and stops the drum 3 at the winding ball exchange position by stopping the drum driving means 10.

In step S6, the operator installs the winding ball of the print medium M on the paper feed roll 4. In step S7, the operator determines whether or not the winding ball installation is completed. If the winding ball installation is not completed, the operator returns to step S6. When the winding ball installation is completed, the operator proceeds to step S8.

In step S8, the operator performs the paper threading operation. That is, the operator transfers the print medium M from the winding ball of the print medium M of the paper feed roll 4 to the take-up roll 5 via the paper feed side auxiliary roll 12, the outer peripheral surface 31a of the drum, and the take-up side auxiliary roll 13. Let it through. In step S9, the operator confirms whether or not the paper threading operation is completed. If the paper threading operation is not completed, the operator returns to step S8. When the paper threading operation is completed, the operator inputs to proceed to step S10 via the input means of the control device.

In step S10, the control device detects the position of the drum 3 by the origin sensor 11 and drives the drum driving means 10 to rotate the position of the drum to the origin position. In step S11, the control device confirms whether or not the rotation of the drum 3 to the origin position is completed. If the drum 3 has not rotated to the origin position, the control device returns to step S10. When the drum 3 is rotated to the origin position, the control device proceeds to step S12. In step S12, the control device stops the drum 3 at the origin position by stopping the drum driving means 10.

When the operator determines in step S2 that there is paper in the printer P and when the drum 3 stops at the origin position in step S12, the operator proceeds to step S13. In step S13, the operator turns on the heater and the blower of the dryer 7 in preparation for printing. In step S14, the operator determines whether or not the printing preparation is completed. If the print preparation is not completed, the worker returns to step S13, and if the print preparation is completed, the worker proceeds to step S15.

In step S15, the operator inputs to start the printing process via the input means of the control device. In step S16, the control device reads the data for printing. In step S17, the control device determines whether or not the reading of the data is completed. If the reading is not completed, the control device returns to step S16, and if the reading is completed, the control device proceeds to step S18.

In step S18, the control device starts rotating the drum 3. That is, the control device drives the drum driving means 10 to rotate the drum 3 clockwise. In step S19, the control device starts printing. The printing start position is the position shown in FIG. 3B, and this position is defined as the printing start position 0 ° of the drum 3. Specifically, the control device starts printing at the timing when the premark sensor 8 detects the premark of the print medium M. It is desirable to start printing at the timing when the separating portion 31b of the drum 3 passes through the print head 6. This is because the length of the printable print medium M can be maximized by setting such timing. In this embodiment, when the print start position is 0 °, the separation portion 31b is located at a position where the separation portion 31b is rotated 45 ° clockwise from the print head 6. The print end position is the position where the print start position is set to 0 ° and then rotated 270 ° clockwise. In step S20, the control device rotates the drum 3 to the print end position, and the print ends (see FIGS. 3 (c) to 3 (e)).

In this embodiment, since the dryer 7 is located 90 ° downstream of the print head 6, after printing by the print head 6 is completed, the entire printed area is covered by the dryer 7 unless it is further rotated by 90 °. Cannot be dried. Therefore, the control device rotates the drum 3 until the print end position of the print medium M passes through the print head 6, and then further rotates the drum 3 until the print end position passes through the dryer 7. That is, the control device rotates the drum 3 by 90 ° after printing is completed (see FIG. 3 (f)).

In step S21, the operator confirms the print medium M after printing and determines whether or not to perform high-resolution printing (see FIG. 3 (g)). When performing high-resolution printing, the operator inputs to return to step S19 via the input means of the control device, and the control device prints again. If high resolution printing is not performed, the operator proceeds to step S22. In step S22, the operator determines whether or not to perform high-density printing. When performing high-resolution printing, the operator inputs to return to step S19 via the input means of the control device, and the control device prints again. If high resolution printing is not performed, the operator proceeds to step S23 of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 5, in step S23, the operator confirms the dry state (see FIG. 3 (h)). In step S24, if the dry state is bad, the operator inputs to proceed to step S25 via the input means of the control device, and the control device rotates the drum 3 once and returns to step S23. If the dry condition is good, the operator inputs to proceed to step S26 via the input means of the control device. In step S26, the control device turns off the heater of the dryer 7 as the drying is completed. In step S27, the control device determines whether or not to end printing. When the printing is finished, the control device proceeds to step S28, and the control device rotates the drum 3 to the origin position (see FIG. 3 (i)). In step S29, the control device determines whether or not the rotation of the drum 3 to the origin position has been completed. If not, the control device returns to step S29, and if it has finished, the control device steps. Proceed to S30.

In step S30, the control device stops the drum 30 at the origin position, and in step S31, the control device turns the blower of the dryer 7 "OFF". In step S32, the control device ends the printing process and ends the printing process.

If printing is not completed in step S27, that is, printing is continued, the control device proceeds to step S33. In step S33, the control device determines whether the winding ball of the print medium M has finished, that is, whether all the winding balls of the print medium M have been used up or are still left. When the winding ball is completed, the control device proceeds to step S3 to replace the winding ball. If the winding ball is not finished, the control device proceeds to step S34 to rotate the drum 3 to the origin position. In step S35, the control device determines whether or not the rotation of the drum 3 to the origin position is completed. If not, the control device returns to step S34, and if it is completed, the control device proceeds to step S36. .. In step S36, the control device stops the drum 3 at the origin position.

In step S37, the control device replaces the paper wound on the outer peripheral surface 31a of the drum 3. That is, the control device draws out the unprinted print medium M from the winding ball of the paper feed roll 4 and sets it on the outer peripheral surface 31a of the drum 3. In step S38, the control device determines whether or not the paper exchange is completed. If the paper exchange is not completed, the control device returns to step S37, and if the paper exchange is completed, the control device proceeds to step S39, turns on the heater of the dryer 7, and proceeds to step S18 of FIG. Start printing.

In each of the steps shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the control device may instead perform the steps performed by the operator, and vice versa. If the control unit executes on behalf of the operator, the printer P is provided with the necessary sensors.

According to such a printer P, printing can be performed while holding the print medium M on the outer peripheral surface 31a of the drum 3, so that the slack and meandering of the print medium M are reduced as compared with the case where the print medium M is hollowly conveyed. can do. Since the slack and meandering of the print medium can be suppressed, there is no problem caused by the print medium M coming into contact with the print head 6. Further, since printing can be performed by rotating the drum 3, additional printing or the like can be easily performed only by rotating the drum 3 a plurality of times. Although the drum 3 is rotated clockwise in this embodiment, it may be rotated counterclockwise, or may be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise in one printing process. ..

In this embodiment, the take-up roll 5 is provided with a drive means such as a motor, and the paper feed roll 4 is not provided with a drive means. That is, the paper feed roll 4 only rotates following the take-up roll 5. Therefore, the cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the drive means are provided in both, and since the control in which the timing of both is not required is required, the control of the drive means is also simple. Further, since the pneumatic disc brake is used as the deceleration means 15 for the paper feed roll 4 and the regulator is manually adjusted, an expensive device for holding the print medium M at a constant tension is not required. In addition to the pneumatic disc brake, various devices can be used as the speed reduction device, and automatic control can be performed.

In the printer main body 1, the origin sensor 11 is provided on the drum rotation shaft 9, and the drum 3 is rotated to the origin position at the start and end of printing, so that printing can always be started from the same position. Further, the print medium M can be attached or replaced at the same position.

Further, since the control device rotates the drum 3 until the print end position of the print medium M passes through the print head 6, and then further rotates the drum 3 until the print end position passes through the dryer 7. Even when the print head 6 and the dryer 7 are separated from each other, the ink of the print medium M after printing can be reliably dried.

Since the paper feed roll shaft 4a, the take-up roll shaft 5a, and the drum rotation shaft 9 are arranged on the same line, the design is easy and rattling is unlikely to occur. In this embodiment, the dryer 7 is arranged 90 ° downstream of the print head 6 in order to reduce the influence of the heat of the dryer 7 on the print head 6. Therefore, if the heat of the dryer 7 does not act on the print head 6, the dryer 7 may be arranged close to the print head 6. Further, the arrangement of the print head 6, the dryer 7, the premark sensor 8 and the like can be appropriately changed according to the size of the drum 3 and the like in addition to those shown in this embodiment. Further, in this embodiment, the series of printing steps is completed when the drum 3 rotates twice, but the number of drum rotations required for the series of printing steps differs due to changes in the arrangement of the above-mentioned components and the like.

P Printer 1 Printer body 2 Casing 3 Drum 4 Paper feed roll 5 Winding roll 6 Printhead 7 Dryer 8 Premark sensor 9 Drum rotating shaft 10 Drum driving means 11 Origin sensor 12 Paper feeding side auxiliary roll 13 Winding side auxiliary roll 14 Winding drive means 15 Deceleration means 31 Arc portion 32 Closure plate

Claims (4)

A drum that can hold a print medium on the outer peripheral surface,
The paper feed roll and take-up roll located inside the drum,
A printer including a printer main body including a print head arranged apart from the outer peripheral surface, and a printer including a control device for controlling the printer main body.
A drum driving means for rotating the drum and
A take-up drive means for rotating the take-up roll and
A deceleration means for suppressing the rotation of the paper feed roll is provided.
The drum includes an arc portion forming the outer peripheral surface and a closing plate that closes one of the arc portions, and the arc portion has a separating portion in which a ring is interrupted in a part in the circumferential direction thereof.
The print medium is held by the take-up roll via the paper feed roll, one end of the separation portion, the outer peripheral surface of the drum, and the other end of the separation portion.
The control device rotates the drum drive means to enable printing on the print medium held on the outer peripheral surface, and rotates the take-up drive means to feed the paper feed roll via the print medium. A printer characterized in that the tension of the printing medium is kept constant by rotating following. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the paper feed roll and the take-up roll are rotatably held by the closing plate of the drum. The printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control device rotates the drum to an origin position before the start of printing and after the completion of printing. The control device is characterized in that the drum is rotated until the print end position of the print medium passes through the print head, and then the drum is further rotated until the print end position passes through the dryer. The printer according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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