JP2603676B2 - Sheet width detector and recording device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet width detector and a recording apparatus, and more particularly, to a sheet width detector, which is mounted on a carriage and scans the surface of a recording material by moving the carriage, and scans the sheet. The present invention relates to a sheet width detector for detecting a width and a recording device.

[Prior art] Conventionally, an optical reflection type photosensor including an LED as a light emitting element and a phototransistor as a light receiving element is generally used as a sheet width detector provided in this type of recording apparatus. The sheet width has been detected by mounting such a sensor on the carriage.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-described conventional sheet width detector, light emitted from the light emitting element is reflected from the surface of the sheet, and the reflected light is received by a light receiving element such as a phototransistor to be electrically operated. Since the signal is obtained, if the recording material sheet is translucent paper such as OHP paper, it cannot be detected. The light amount was not constant, and there was a risk of malfunction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet width detector and a recording apparatus capable of reliably detecting a sheet width regardless of the type of a recording material in order to solve the conventional problem.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is mounted on a carriage traveling along a recording material, and the sheet width of the recording material can be detected by traveling of the carriage. In the sheet width detector, a moving member which is urged so as to be able to contact the recording material, and a moving member driving means which can urge the moving member toward the recording material and retract from the recording material When,
Displacement detecting means of the moving member capable of detecting a state in which the moving member is in contact with the recording material and a state in which the moving member is detached from the edge of the recording material are provided.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus having a sheet width detector mounted on a carriage traveling along a recording material and capable of detecting a sheet width of the recording material by traveling of the carriage. A moving member which is urged so as to be able to abut against the material, a moving member driving means which urges the moving member toward the recording material and retracts from the recording material; A sheet width detector having a displacement detecting means of the moving member capable of detecting a state in which the moving member is in contact with the moving member and a state in which the moving member is separated from the edge of the recording material; and a means for detecting a traveling position of the carriage. When the carriage reaches the recording area, the moving means is brought into contact with the recording material to scan the surface of the recording material, and the displacement of the moving member is detected by detecting the displacement of the moving member by the displacement detecting means. Detect sheet width And controlling.

[Operation] According to the present invention, when the carriage moves and reaches the recording area, the moving member contacts the surface of the recording material, scans the recording material along the surface, and determines the width of the recording material. When the moving member is separated from the recording material at the edge in the direction, the moving member biased by the driving means moves in the thickness direction of the recording material, and the movement is performed by a displacement provided in relation to the moving member. The sheet width can be detected by the detection unit. When the sheet width is detected, the moving means is driven, the contact portion is lowered from the scanning position, and a carriage return is performed while keeping the retracted state so as to prepare for the next recording. Therefore, regardless of whether the recording material is a transparent sheet or the degree of whiteness of the recording material, the sheet width can be reliably detected irrespective of the degree of whiteness, and the state without the recording material is also detected. It becomes possible.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail and specifically with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. Here, 1 is a sheet width detector mounted on the carriage 2, 3 is a recording head also mounted on the carriage 2, 4 is a recording sheet held by a platen 5 and a holding plate 6 at a position facing the recording head 3. It is. The carriage 2 is moved along a guide shaft 7 by driving means (not shown), and during that time, the recording head 3 is moved.
, The recording is performed on the recording sheet 4, while the sheet width detector 1 detects the sheet width of the recording sheet 4 by moving the carriage 2. Reference numeral 8 denotes a sheet feed roller.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet width detector 1 includes a solenoid 9, a movable member 11 main body that includes a permanent magnet 10 having both ends of different polarity and is movable along the solenoid 9, It has a contact portion 11A attached to the distal end portion and a movement detecting portion 11C protruding from a rear end flange portion 11B of the moving member 11. Reference numeral 12 denotes a photo interrupter for detecting a displacement of the moving member 11. Therefore, assuming that the solenoid 9 is energized and excited, the moving member 11 is repelled by the permanent magnet 10.
2, that is, the moving member 11 is in the state shown in FIG. 2, that is, the moving member 11 is projected rightward from the solenoid 9, and the movement detecting unit 11 </ b> C of the moving member 11 is pulled from the photo interrupter 12. It can be in a lowered state.

Now, the moving state of the moving member 11 when the sheet width of the recording sheet 4 is detected by the sheet width detector 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C.

FIG. 3A shows a state in which the permanent magnet 10 is repelled by energizing the solenoid 9 in the recording area, the moving member 11 is moved to the right, and the contact portion 11A is brought into contact with the recording sheet 4 (hereinafter, referred to as the following). (Referred to as a sheet scanning state). That is, in this state, the movement detecting unit 11C of the moving member 11 interrupts the optical path of the photo interrupter 12, and it is determined that a recording sheet is present.

FIG. 1 shows a state before the moving member 11 has been driven to the right (hereinafter referred to as a retracted state). In this state, when the solenoid 9 is energized in one direction, a contact portion is formed. 11A can be in a sheet scanning state in which the sheet is in contact with the sheet surface.

Next, when the sheet width detector 1 scans to a position beyond the edge in the width direction of the recording sheet 4 with the movement of the carriage 2, the moving member 11 is biased by the solenoid 9, and the sheet surface is 3B (hereinafter, referred to as a width detection completion state), and the completion is confirmed by the movement detection unit 11C opening the optical path of the photointerrupter 12. Thereafter, the moving member 11 is moved to the left by reversing the direction of energization to the solenoid 9 to return to the standby state shown in FIG. 3C, and the carriage is returned so that the next recording is not hindered. .

FIG. 4 shows a block circuit configuration of the recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. Here, reference numeral 20 denotes a control circuit for controlling the operation of the entire recording apparatus, and is configured by a microprocessor or the like. Reference numeral 23 denotes a RAM (random access memory) that rewritably stores various control information in addition to the recording data, and includes a reversible counter 22 that stores the position of the carriage. Reference numeral 24 denotes a ROM (Read Only Memory) storing various drive control procedures in addition to a sheet width detection control procedure (FIG. 5) described later. The control circuit 20 controls the solenoid 9, the carriage pulse motor 25, and the recording head 26 according to the control procedure of the ROM 24 and based on the output of the photointerrupter 12.
Are driven via drivers 21, 27, and 28, respectively, to execute sheet width detection, recording operation, and the like.

Here, the carriage motor 25 is a pulse motor, and the counter 22 recognizes the current position of the carriage by adding or subtracting the number of pulses applied to the motor 25. Therefore, the control circuit 20 determines the value of the counter 21 and
A value indicating the recording area stored in the ROM 24 in advance, or
The values indicating the sheet width detection completion positions are compared with each other to determine whether the carriage is in the recording area, whether the sheet width detection has been completed, and the like.

Next, a series of operation procedures for detecting the sheet width will be described with reference to FIG.

First, in step S1, the solenoid 9 is driven, and
11A is lowered, the retreat state shown in FIG. 3C is established, the carriage 2 is moved in step S2, and it is determined in step S3 whether the carriage 2 has reached the recording area by counting from the counter 22. Thus, when the carriage 2 is moved until it reaches the recording area, the process proceeds to step S4, in which the solenoid 9 is driven to urge the moving member 11, and the contact portion 11A is brought into contact with the sheet surface in the scanning state ( 3A). Then, the carriage 2 continues at step S5.
Is moved to move the sheet surface by the contact portion 11A, the pulse corresponding to the scanning distance is counted by the counter 22, and whether or not the detection of the sheet width is completed based on the signal from the photo interrupter 12 in step S6. After the completion, the process proceeds to step S7, in which the solenoid 9 is driven to return the moving member 11 to the standby state shown in FIG. 3C, and the next step S8 is performed while the contact portion 11A is in the lowered position. To return the carriage to prepare for the next recording.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the present invention. Here, reference numeral 12 denotes a flange 11B of the moving member 11 and a second permanent magnet provided at a position facing the solenoid 9 on the side of the solenoid 9, and when the same poles face each other, repulsive forces are generated. .
Other configurations are the same as those of the sheet width detector shown in FIG.

According to this example, as long as the solenoid 9 is not energized, it can be kept in the retracted state as shown in this figure by the repulsive force generated between the pair of second permanent magnets. By causing a current to urge the moving member 11 to the right against the repulsive force to the solenoid 9, a scanning state in which the contact portion 11 </ b> A is brought into contact with the surface of the recording sheet 4 can be achieved. . The sheet width is detected by detecting the state shown in FIG. 3B in the same manner as in the previous embodiment.
By stopping the supply of power to the power supply, it is possible to return to the retracted state. According to this example, a driver for changing the direction of the current flowing through the solenoid 9 becomes unnecessary.

FIG. 7 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the moving member moves from the scanning state or the width detection completion state to the standby state.
An elastic body 13 such as a return spring is
This is provided between the flange portion 11B and the side surface of the solenoid 9 opposed to the flange portion 11B. The other configuration and operation are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

In the above description, the displacement of the moving member from the sheet scanning state to the width detection completed state is detected by the photo interrupter. However, such displacement detection means is not limited to optical means such as a photo interrupter. Of course, for example, a Hall element or the like can be used.

In the above-described embodiment, only the sheet width is detected only. However, the present invention can also be applied to the detection of the presence or absence of a recording material, that is, whether or not the recording material is set at a recording position. Needless to say.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, in a sheet width detector mounted on a carriage and capable of detecting the sheet width of a recording material, the sheet width detector can be biased toward the recording material. A moving member, a moving member driving unit capable of urging the moving member toward the recording material and retreating from the recording material, and a state in which the moving member is in contact with the surface of the recording member and the moving member. Means for detecting the state of deviation from the edge of the recording member, and means for detecting the movement position of the carriage are provided on the recording apparatus side, and the carriage is moved by the driving means when the carriage reaches the recording area. When the moving member comes off the edge of the recording material due to the movement of the carriage, the detecting means detects this when the member is urged to come into contact with the recording material. Is undetectable This makes it possible to reliably detect the sheet width without being affected by the whiteness of OHP paper or sheets.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3A to 3C are three views of a moving member according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a circuit for performing sheet width detection according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a detecting operation of the present invention, FIG. 6 and FIG. FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sheet width detector, 2 ... Carriage, 3 ... Recording head, 4 ... Recording sheet, 9 ... Solenoid, 10 ... Permanent magnet, 11 ... Moving member, 11A ... Contact part, 11B ... ... Flange, 11C ... Movement detector, 12 ... Photo interrupter, 12 ... Second permanent magnet, 13 ... Elastic body (return spring), 20 ... Control circuit, 21 ... Driver, 22 ... Counter .

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A sheet width detector mounted on a carriage traveling along the recording material and capable of detecting a sheet width of the recording material by traveling of the carriage; A moving member which is urged to be able to contact, a moving member driving means which can urge the moving member toward the recording material and retreat from the recording material, and wherein the moving member is the recording material. And a displacement detecting means for detecting a state in which the moving member is out of the edge of the recording material. 2. A recording apparatus having a sheet width detector mounted on a carriage traveling along a recording material and capable of detecting a sheet width of the recording material by traveling of the carriage. A moving member that is urged so as to be able to abut against the moving member; a moving member driving unit that can urge the moving member toward the recording material and withdraw from the recording material; A sheet width detector including a displacement detecting unit for a moving member capable of detecting a state in which the moving member is in contact with the recording material and a state in which the moving member is separated from an edge of the recording material; Means for detecting a traveling position, and when the carriage reaches a recording area, the moving means is brought into contact with the recording material to scan the surface of the recording material, and the displacement detecting means Moving member displacement The recording apparatus controls so as to detect the sheet width of the recording material by detecting the sheet width.