JP2742486B2 - Paper feed control method and apparatus for printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling the paper feed of a printer, and more particularly to a printer which is a kind of an output device of a word processor or a computer, such as a thermal printer, an ink jet printer, a wire dot printer and the like. The present invention relates to a paper feed control method and apparatus for a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, various types of paper are frequently used as recording media for printers, which are a type of output device of a word processor or a computer.

[0003] Paper feeding (paper feeding mode) of paper to a printing position of a printer includes a "manual paper feeding mode" in which paper is manually fed to a desired printing position, and an appropriate paper feeding to a predetermined printing position. There are two modes, an "automatic paper feed mode" in which paper is supplied by means. The printer can be freely selected from a “manual feed mode” and an “automatic feed mode”.

Hereinafter, such a conventional paper feed control method and apparatus for a printer will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the structure of a main part of a paper feeder of a conventional printer, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a paper feed control method of the conventional printer.

As shown in FIG. 3, a paper feeder 1 of a printer applied to a conventional printer comprises a paper feed roller 3 and an auxiliary roller 4 as paper feed means 2. The paper feed roller 3 is formed of a suitable material into a substantially circular cross section, mounted on a suitable frame (not shown), and is rotatable forward and backward by a suitable drive means such as a drive motor (not shown). The auxiliary roller 4 is formed of a suitable material and has a substantially circular cross-section, and is capable of freely contacting and separating with the paper feed roller 3 with a predetermined contact force.
It is free to rotate.

A paper guide 5 is disposed below the paper feed roller 3 in the drawing, and is located at an appropriate position on the upstream side of the paper feeding roller 3 in the paper conveyance direction indicated by an arrow A in the drawing. Appropriate detection means 6 such as a limit switch for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet (not shown) is provided.

The feed roller 3 is controlled by a suitable control means 7 such as a rotation direction, a drive and a stop based on at least information of the detection means 6.

Further, a platen 8 in the form of a flat plate facing a print head (not shown) is provided above the paper feeding means 2 in the drawing.

The paper feeding operation will be described. In the above-mentioned "manual paper feed mode", the auxiliary roller 4 of the paper feeding means 2 is separated from the paper feeding roller 3 and the paper is detected by the detecting means 6. Is detected, the paper feed roller 3 is stopped, and the paper is manually loaded into a predetermined printing position. In the “automatic paper feed mode”,
The auxiliary roller 4 of the paper feeding means 2 is brought into contact with the paper feeding roller 3 and when the paper is detected by the detecting means 6, the paper feeding roller 3 is driven counterclockwise in the drawing, The paper is automatically loaded at a predetermined printing position.

The paper feeding operation will be further described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step ST10, the operator determines whether or not the mode is the "manual feed mode" by using an indicator or the like arranged on an operation panel (not shown). After performing a predetermined "manual feed mode" paper feeding process, such as manually loading at a predetermined printing position, the process proceeds to the next step ST12, where printing is performed and the process is terminated.

If the determination in step ST10 is NO, the process proceeds to step ST13, and it is determined whether the detection means 6 is ON (paper is present). If the determination is YES, the process proceeds to the next step ST14. After performing a predetermined "automatic paper feed mode" paper feed process such as bringing the auxiliary roller 4 of the paper feed means 2 into contact with the paper feed roller 3, the process proceeds to the next step ST12. Print and finish.

If the determination in step ST13 is NO, the process waits until the detecting means 6 is turned on (there is a sheet).

[0015]

However, in the above-described conventional paper feed control method and apparatus of the printer, the operator himself / herself determines whether the "manual paper feed mode" or the "automatic paper feed mode". In addition to checking with an indicator or the like arranged on the panel, the operator has to select and operate the contact / separation state of the auxiliary roller 4 of the paper feeding means 2 in accordance with a desired paper feeding mode, thereby increasing the burden on the operator. There was a point.

When a sheet is manually fed in an erroneous operation, for example, in the "automatic sheet feeding mode", the detecting means 6 detects the sheet and turns on the sheet. There is a problem that the sheet is immediately conveyed, and the leading position of the sheet is not at a predetermined printing position, and a malfunction occurs. In this case, due to the speed difference between the rotation speed (paper transport speed) of the paper feed roller 3 of the paper feed means 2 and the speed of manual paper insertion, the paper feed roller 3 and the auxiliary roller 4 There is a problem that dirt adheres. Further, there is a problem that paper jam occurs.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and overcomes the above-described problems in the conventional art.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a paper feed control method and apparatus for a printer which can reliably determine a paper feed mode by a printer itself with a simple structure, and can surely correspond paper feed to a paper feed mode. .

[0018]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feed control method for a printer in which at least one of nipping and conveying a recording medium is freely movable toward and away from the other. A paper feeder having a driving member and a driven member, and a paper detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a recording medium upstream of the paper feed means in the recording medium traveling direction. An automatic paper feed mode in which the drive member and the driven member are in contact with each other based on information from the contact / separation state detection means. And a manual feed mode in which the driving member and the driven member are separated from each other, and thereafter, a predetermined operation is performed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feeder for a printer according to the present invention, comprising: a paper feeder having a driving member and a driven member that allow at least one of nipping and conveying a recording medium to be able to freely contact and separate from the other; Paper detection means for detecting a recording medium upstream of the paper supply means in the recording medium traveling direction, contact / separation state detection means for detecting a contact / separation state between a driving member and a driven member of the paper supply means, Based on the detection result of each detecting means, a manual feeding mode in which the driving member and the driven member of the paper feeding means are separated from each other and an automatic paper feeding mode in which the driving member and the driven member are in contact with each other are determined. Control means for instructing a predetermined operation thereafter.

[0020]

By operating the paper feeder of the printer of the present invention in accordance with the paper feed control method of the printer of the present invention,
A manual feed mode in which the driving member and the driven member of the paper feeding unit are in the separated state, based on the detection result of the contact / separation state detecting unit that detects the contact / separation state of the driving member and the driven member of the paper feeding unit,
The automatic feeding mode in which the driving member and the driven member are in contact with each other is determined, and the sheet feeding means detects the presence or absence of the recording medium upstream of the sheet feeding means in the recording medium traveling direction. Since it is possible to cause the paper unit to perform a predetermined operation, it is possible to reliably prevent a problem that an erroneous operation is eliminated and a heavy burden is imposed on an operator.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a configuration of a main part of an embodiment in which a paper feed control method of a printer according to the present invention is applied to a paper feed device of a printer.

As shown in FIG. 1, a paper feeding device 9 of a printer to which the paper feeding control method of the present invention is applied includes a paper feeding means 10 for feeding a recording medium (not shown) to a desired printing position. An appropriate sheet detecting unit 11 such as a limit switch for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet disposed at an appropriate position on the upstream side of the sheet feeding unit 10 in the sheet conveying direction indicated by an arrow A in the figure; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an appropriate contact / separation state detecting means 12 such as a limit switch for detecting the state of the paper feeding means 10 disposed below in FIG. 1; a paper guide 13 for regulating the running position of the paper; A flat platen 14 opposed to a print head (not shown) arranged in the middle and upper direction, and the paper feeding means 10 are rotated in the rotation direction, at least on the basis of information of each of the detection means 11 and 12,
An appropriate control means 15 for performing control such as stop is provided.

The paper feeding means 10 is composed of a paper feeding roller 16 as a driving member and an auxiliary roller 17 as a driven member. One of the paper feed rollers 16 is formed in a substantially circular cross section by a suitable material, and is mounted on a suitable frame (not shown). In accordance with a command from the control means 15, the driving force of an appropriate driving means such as a driving motor (not shown) is transmitted through desired driving force transmitting means (not shown) such as a pulley and a belt, so that the driving force can be freely rotated forward and backward. ing. Further, the auxiliary roller 17 is formed of a suitable material and has a substantially circular cross-section, and is freely rotatable and rotatable with a predetermined contact force with respect to the paper feed roller 16.

The paper detecting means 11 and the contact / separation state detecting means 12 may be, for example, various contact sensors or various optical sensors, and are not particularly limited to this embodiment. Then, the contact / separation state detecting unit 12 does not directly contact the auxiliary roller 17 which is the movable side of the sheet feeding unit 10. For example, the detection end may be brought into contact with a release lever (not shown) or the like, and the invention is not particularly limited to this embodiment.

The driven member of the sheet feeding means 10 includes
Any shape may be used as long as the sheet can be freely separated and brought into contact with the sheet feeding roller 16 with a desired contact force and the sheet can be transported, for example, an arc-shaped slide plate, and is not particularly limited to the present embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the paper feeding means 10 moves the auxiliary roller 17 so as to be able to freely move toward and away from the paper feeding roller 16, but at least one of the auxiliary roller 17 and the paper feeding roller 16 is used. The auxiliary roller 17 and the paper feed roller 16 may be freely moved toward and away from each other by moving with respect to the other, or by moving both of them, and the present invention is not particularly limited to this embodiment.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

First, a method of determining the paper feed mode will be described.

In the present embodiment, the discrimination between the "manual sheet feeding mode" and the "automatic sheet feeding mode" of the sheet feeding mode is performed by bringing the contact member into contact with the auxiliary roller 17 which is a driven member of the sheet feeding means 10. The detection is performed by the control unit 15 based on the detection result of the contact / separation state detection unit 12.

To describe this operation further, the contact / separation state detecting means 12 determines whether the auxiliary roller 17 is separated from or in contact with the paper feed roller 16 by, for example, ON (contact state) and OFF (contact state). (Contact / separation state) as a signal to the control means 15. Upon receiving this signal, the control means 15 determines whether the sheet feeding roller 16 of the sheet feeding means 10 is in the “manual sheet feeding mode” in which the auxiliary roller 17 is separated from the sheet feeding roller 16 or the sheet feeding roller 16 of the sheet feeding means 10. It is determined whether or not the "automatic paper feed mode" is set so that the auxiliary roller 17 is in contact with the auxiliary roller 17.

The above operation will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step ST20, it is determined whether or not the contact / separation state detecting means 12 is ON (separated state).
In the case of S, the paper feed roller 16 and the auxiliary roller 17 of the paper feed unit 10 are determined to be in the “manual feed mode” in which the paper feed roller 16 and the auxiliary roller 17 are separated from each other. After the paper is loaded at a predetermined printing position, a predetermined "manual paper feeding mode" paper feeding process such as bringing the paper feeding roller 16 and the auxiliary roller 17 into contact with each other is performed, and then the process proceeds to the next step ST22. Then, it is determined whether or not the contact / separation state detection means 12 is OFF (contact state). If YES (contact state), the process proceeds to the next step ST23, where desired printing is performed and the process ends. If the determination in step ST22 is NO
In the case of (separated state), the process returns to step ST21 and repeats until the determination in step 22 becomes YES.

If the determination in step 20 is NO (contact state), the "automatic paper feed mode" in which the paper feed roller 16 and the auxiliary roller 17 of the paper feed means 10 are in a contact state.
Then, the process proceeds to the next step ST24, where it is determined whether or not the sheet detecting means 11 is ON (there is a sheet). In the case of YES, the sheet feeding means 10 is operated to place the sheet at a predetermined printing position. After performing a predetermined "automatic paper feed mode" paper feeding process such as cueing to feed to the next step, the process proceeds to the next step ST23, where printing is performed and the process is terminated. Then, the step ST24
Is NO (no paper), step ST24
It waits until the judgment of YES is made.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in the "manual paper feeding mode", the separation state between the paper feeding roller 16 and the auxiliary roller 17 of the paper feeding means 10 and the "automatic paper feeding mode"
The control unit 15 can determine the contact state between the sheet supply roller 16 and the auxiliary roller 17 of the sheet supply unit 10 at the time based on the information of the contact / separation state detection unit 12, and corresponds to each sheet supply mode. Since the paper can be fed, the burden on the operator can be extremely reduced.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as needed.

[0037]

As described above, according to the paper feed control method and apparatus of the printer of the present invention, the printer itself judges the manual paper feed mode and the automatic paper feed mode and responds to each paper feed mode. Since the paper feeding operation can be performed, the burden on the operator is extremely reduced,
An extremely excellent effect that a malfunction at the time of a malfunction is reliably prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a configuration of a main part of an embodiment in which a paper feeding control method of a printer according to the present invention is applied to a paper feeding device of a printer.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a paper feed control method of the printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a configuration of a main part of a paper feeder of a printer to which a conventional paper feed control method of the printer is applied.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a paper feed control method of a conventional printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 9 paper feeder of printer 10 paper feeding means 11 paper detecting means 12 contact / separation state detecting means 15 control means 16 paper feeding roller 17 auxiliary roller

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet feeding means having a driving member and a driven member which allow at least one of nipping and conveying a recording medium to and from the other, and a recording medium upstream of the sheet feeding means in a recording medium traveling direction. Paper detecting means for detecting the presence / absence of a sheet, and contact / separation state detecting means for detecting a contact / separation state between a driving member and a driven member of the sheet feeding means. Based on the information, an automatic paper feed mode in which the drive member and the driven member are in contact with each other and a manual paper feed mode in which the drive member and the driven member are separated from each other are determined. A paper feed control method for a printer. 2. A sheet feeding means having a driving member and a driven member capable of holding at least one of holding and conveying a recording medium to and from the other, and a recording medium upstream of the sheet feeding means in a recording medium traveling direction. Paper detection means for detecting
A contact / separation state detecting means for detecting a contact / separation state between a driving member and a driven member of the paper feeding means; and a driving member and a driven member of the paper feeding means in a separated state based on a detection result of each of the detecting means. A paper feeder for a printer, comprising: a manual feed mode; and an automatic feed mode in which a driving member and a driven member are in contact with each other, and control means for instructing a predetermined operation thereafter. .