JP3809810B2 - Feeding device, feeding method, and printing device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a feeding device, a feeding method, and a printing device. In particular, the present invention relates to a feeding device that feeds a substrate.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printer is known in which a hopper for placing a sheet is driven by a cam to bring a sheet feeding roller into contact with the sheet. In this case, the cam is driven by a motor that drives the paper feed roller.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional printer has a problem that when the paper feed roller and the paper are in contact with each other, a sound generated by the rotation of the hopper, for example, a sound generated when the hopper collides with the paper feed roller is large. Therefore, it has been difficult to supply a printer with high silence.
[0004]
SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a feeding device, a feeding method, and a printing device that can solve the above-described problems. This object is achieved by a combination of features described in the independent claims. The dependent claims define further advantageous specific examples of the present invention.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a feeding device that feeds a printing material, and a feeding roller that feeds the printing material, and a feeding roller that is disposed with at least a part of the printing material. A hopper that moves toward the feed roller to contact the substrate to be printed, a motor that drives the feed roller, a drive cam that drives the hopper as the motor rotates, and the hopper moves toward the feed roller And a rotation control unit that reduces the rotation speed of the motor during the period.
[0006]
Further, the image forming apparatus further includes a rear end detecting unit that detects a rear end of the printed material fed to the feeding roller, and the hopper moves toward the feeding roller after the rear end detecting unit detects the rear end of the printed material. Before starting the rotation, the rotation control unit may decrease the rotation speed of the motor. After the feeding roller comes into contact with the substrate, the rotation control unit may increase the rotation speed of the motor. Further, the drive cam has a cam shape that gradually brings the hopper closer to the feeding roller, and the rotation control unit may reduce the rotation speed of the motor during a period in which the drive cam gradually approaches the hopper to the feeding roller. .
[0007]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a feeding method for feeding a printing material, in which a rotation reduction step for reducing the rotation speed of a motor that drives a feeding roller and at least a part of the printing material are disposed. A hopper moving stage in which the hopper is moved toward the feeding roller as the motor rotates and the substrate is brought into contact with the feeding roller, and a feeding cam that feeds the printing material to the feeding roller A feeding stage.
[0008]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus that performs printing on a printing material, a feeding roller that feeds the printing material, and at least a part of the printing material is disposed toward the feeding roller. A hopper that moves and contacts the substrate with the feed roller, a motor that drives the feed roller, a drive cam that drives the hopper as the motor rotates, and a period during which the hopper moves toward the feed roller A rotation control unit that lowers the rotation speed of the motor, and a printing unit that performs printing on the printing material fed by the feeding roller.
[0009]
The above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be the invention.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the claimed invention, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are the solution of the invention. It is not always essential to the means.
[0011]
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of an ink jet recording apparatus 10 which is an example of a printing apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a schematic side view illustrating an internal configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus 10. The ink jet recording apparatus 10 is configured to reduce the speed at which the hopper 24 for placing the printing material 11 such as paper moves toward the feeding roller 22, thereby causing a collision sound between the feeding roller 22 and the printing material 11. Reduce.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 2, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 is configured to feed a substrate 11 to be printed, and to convey power in the feeding direction to the substrate 11 fed by the feeding unit 20. The printing unit 40 includes a printing unit 40 that performs printing on the printing material 11, and a discharging unit 50 that transmits power in the discharging direction to the printed printing material 11 in this order in the feeding direction.
[0013]
The feeding unit 20 includes a feeding roller 22 that feeds the substrate 11. The feeding roller 22 separates the printing materials 11 one by one from the plurality of printing materials 11 held upstream in the feeding direction, and feeds them to the transport unit 30.
[0014]
The conveyance unit 30 includes a conveyance roller 32 that is rotated by a motor 60, and a conveyance driven roller 34 that rotates with the conveyance roller 32. The conveyance unit 30 sandwiches the printing material 11 at a contact point between the conveyance roller 32 and the conveyance driven roller 34. The substrate 11 fed by the feeding unit 20 is fed to the lower part of the printing unit 40.
[0015]
The printing unit 40 is provided on the carriage 42 on which the ink cartridge is placed, the surface of the carriage 42 that faces the substrate 11, the head unit 44 that discharges ink, the shaft hole 46 that is provided in the carriage 42, and the shaft hole 46. A guide shaft 48 that supports the insertion carriage 42 so as to be slidable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the feeding direction, and a print control unit 49 that controls printing. The head unit 44 has a plurality of ink ejection openings along the feeding direction of the substrate 11.
[0016]
The discharge unit 50 includes a discharge roller 52 that is rotated by a motor 60, and a discharge driven roller 54 that rotates with the discharge roller 52, and sandwiches the printing material 11 at a contact point between the discharge roller 52 and the discharge driven roller 54. The printed material 11 after printing is discharged.
[0017]
The transport driven roller 34 is provided above the transport roller 32 and closer to the head portion 44 than the transport roller 32, and the discharge driven roller 54 is provided above the discharge roller 52 and closer to the head portion 44 than the discharge roller 52. It is done. As a result, the substrate 11 bends downward at a position facing the printing unit 40.
[0018]
In the above-described configuration, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 ejects ink while reciprocating the head unit 44 along the guide shaft 48. The printing unit 40 performs printing on the entire printed material 11 by feeding the printed material 11 every time the head unit 44 performs one scan. Note that the head unit 44 may perform printing in both the forward path and the backward path, and may perform printing in only one of them.
[0019]
The power is transmitted from the motor 60 to the transport unit 30 and the discharge unit 50 via a single belt 62. A tension is applied to the belt 62 by a tensioner 64. The motor 60, the tensioner 64, the conveyance unit 30, and the discharge unit 50 are arranged in this order along the belt flow direction.
[0020]
FIG. 3 shows an example of a detailed configuration of the feeding unit 20. The feeding unit 20 includes a hopper 24, a hopper shaft 104, a paper guide 120, a motor 108, a rotation control unit 112, a driving cam 110, a follower 116, a spring 118, a feeding roller 22, and a rear end detection unit 114.
[0021]
The hopper 24 is a plate-like body that is rotatably held by the hopper shaft 104, and places the lower part of the substrate 11 on the surface. Here, the hopper shaft 104 is fixed to the paper guide 120. The paper guide 120 is a plate-like body having a substantially L-shaped vertical cross section, and has a paper support surface 124 and a paper feed surface 126.
[0022]
The paper support surface 124 is a surface extending in a substantially vertical direction so as to face the back surface of the hopper 24, and supports the upper portion of the substrate 11. The paper feeding surface 126 is a surface extending in a substantially horizontal direction from the lower end of the paper supporting surface 124, and guides the printing material 11 when the feeding roller 22 feeds the printing material 11. The paper feeding surface 126 supports the printed material 11 by placing the lower end thereof. Accordingly, the hopper 24 and the paper guide 120 lean and hold the substrate 11 to be fed to the feeding roller 22.
[0023]
The motor 108 drives the feed roller 22 and the drive cam 110 based on instructions from the rotation control unit 112. The driving cam 110 defines the operation of the follower 116. Here, the follower 116 is fixed to the hopper 24, and the hopper 24 moves according to the follower 116. As a result, the drive cam 110 drives the hopper 24 as the motor 108 rotates.
[0024]
One end and the other end of the spring 118 are fixed to the paper support surface 124 and the back surface of the hopper 24, and urge the hopper 24 in a direction away from the paper guide 120. Accordingly, the hopper 24 moves toward the feeding roller 22 to bring the printing material 11 into contact with the feeding roller 22. Then, the feeding roller 22 feeds the contacted printing material 11 to the transport unit 30 along the paper feeding surface 126.
[0025]
The trailing edge detection unit 114 detects the trailing edge of the printing material 11 fed to the feeding roller 22. In response to the detection, the feeding unit 20 starts feeding the next printing material 11. As a result, the feeding unit 20 can sequentially feed the substrate 11 to the transport unit 30 one by one.
[0026]
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the feeding unit 20. FIG. 4A shows an operation during a period in which the feeding unit 20 does not feed the printing material 11. During this period, the drive cam 110 pushes down and holds the hopper 24 in a direction away from the feed roller 22 by separating the follower 116 from the feed roller 22. As a result, the substrate 11 is held in contact with the feeding roller 22.
[0027]
FIG. 4B illustrates an operation in a transition period from a period in which the feeding unit 20 does not feed the substrate 11 to a feeding period. Here, the drive cam 110 has a cam-shaped portion that gradually brings the follower 116 closer to the feeding roller 22, and the follower 116 slides on this portion of the drive cam 110 during this period. The cam shape is preferably a shape that moves the follower 116 at a constant speed when the drive cam 110 rotates at a constant speed. In this case, the follower 116 can be easily controlled by controlling the rotation of the motor 108 (see FIG. 3).
[0028]
In another embodiment, the cam shape may be a shape that gradually decreases the moving speed of the follower 116 as the follower 116 approaches the feed roller 22. In this case, the moving speed of the hopper 24 can be further reduced immediately before the substrate 11 contacts the feeding roller 22.
[0029]
As the follower 116 slides, the hopper 24 is pushed up by the spring 118 in a direction approaching the feeding roller 22 and gradually moves toward the feeding roller 22. Therefore, the hopper 24 gradually rises and moves the printing material 11 toward the feeding roller 22 at a low speed.
[0030]
When the follower 116 does not slide with respect to the drive cam 110 and the hopper 24 rises due to free opening, the hopper 24 is accelerated by the pressure of the spring 118, and the substrate 11 collides with the feeding roller 22 at a high speed. To do. However, according to the present embodiment, the printing material 11 moves at a low speed and comes into contact with the feeding roller 22, so that the collision noise can be reduced.
[0031]
In the present embodiment, the rotation control unit 112 (see FIG. 3) decreases the rotation speed of the motor 108 during this period. Thereby, the angle (idling angle) at which the feeding roller 22 rotates while the hopper 24 moves can be reduced.
[0032]
Here, if the cam-shaped drive cam 110 in which the moving speed of the hopper 24 is smaller is used, the idling angle increases, and the diameter of the feed roller 22 required to feed the printing material 11 to the transport unit 30 is as follows. Increase. However, according to the present embodiment, by reducing the idling angle, the substrate 11 can be fed by the feeding roller 22 having the same diameter as the conventional one, which increases the product layout and increases the cost. Can be prevented. Therefore, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 can be provided with the same number of parts and assembling ability. Note that the rotation control unit 112 preferably reduces the rotation speed of the motor 108 before the hopper 24 starts moving toward the feeding roller 22.
[0033]
FIG. 4C shows an operation during a period in which the feeding unit 20 feeds the printing material 11. During this period, the follower 116 moves away from the drive cam 110. In this case, the hopper 24 presses the substrate 11 against the feeding roller 22 according to the bias of the spring 118. Accordingly, the hopper 24 brings the printing material 11 into contact with the feeding roller 22, and the feeding roller 22 feeds the printing material 11. Moreover, the rotation control part 112 raises the rotational speed of the motor 108 after the said contact. Thereby, the feeding roller 22 can feed the printing material 11 at a high speed.
[0034]
According to the present embodiment, by moving the hopper 24 toward the feeding roller 22 at a low speed, it is possible to reduce a collision sound that occurs when the feeding roller 22 and the substrate 11 are in contact with each other. Furthermore, the substrate 11 can be fed at an appropriate speed by increasing the rotational speed of the motor 108 again after contact between the feeding roller 22 and the substrate 11.
[0035]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the ink jet recording apparatus 10. In the present embodiment, first, the trailing edge detection unit 114 detects whether or not the substrate 11 is on the trailing edge detection unit 114. If there is no substrate 11 in the trailing edge detection unit 114 (S112) and there is data to be printed next (S104), the print control unit 49 reduces the rotation speed of the motor 108 (S106), and the hopper 24 is raised toward the feeding roller 22 to bring the feeding roller 22 into contact with the substrate 11 (S108). Next, the rotational speed of the motor 108 is increased (S110), and the substrate 11 is fed to the feeding roller 22 (S112).
[0036]
Next, the printing control unit 49 lowers the hopper 24 (S114), returns to S102, and waits until the trailing edge detection unit 114 detects the trailing edge of the printing material 11. In this case, the trailing edge detection unit 114 repeatedly detects whether or not the printing material 11 is present on the trailing edge detection unit 114, thereby detecting the trailing edge of the printing material 11.
[0037]
According to the present embodiment, the collision noise between the feeding roller 22 and the printing material 11 is reduced by reducing the speed at which the hopper 24 for placing the printing material 11 moves toward the feeding roller 22. Can do. Therefore, it is possible to provide a printing apparatus that generates a collision sound that is small when the paper feed roller and the paper are in contact with each other and that feeds the printing material at an appropriate speed. Thereby, it is possible to provide a printing apparatus with high silence.
[0038]
FIG. 6 is a partially exploded perspective view of the ink jet recording apparatus 10 as viewed from the back side. This figure includes the feeding unit 20 shown in FIG. In the ink jet recording apparatus 10 shown in the figure, the conveyance roller 32 (not shown) and the discharge roller 52 (not shown) are connected to each other through a conveyance side gear 36 and a discharge side gear 56 provided on one side surface. Gear driven by a motor (not shown).
Further, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 includes a frame 43 erected in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction on the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the carriage 42. The frame 43 has a print control unit 49 on the end of the surface that does not oppose the carriage 42, that is, on the side of one side having the conveyance side gear 36. The feeding unit 20 is attached to the other side surface. Thereby, the printing control unit 49 and the feeding unit 20 can be provided at the same position in the feeding direction.
The discharge driven roller 54 is attached to a substantially rectangular sheet discharge frame 58 so as to be capable of rotating. The paper discharge frame 58 is installed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction.
[0039]
FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. The follower 116 is a part of the hopper 24 and is a lower end of a guide that regulates a lateral position of the printing material 11 placed on the placement unit 12.
For this reason, the drive cam 110 and the follower 116 are located at a position avoiding the feeding surface, for example, the other side surface. Accordingly, the drive cam 110 and the follower 116 are not actually interfered with the printing substrate 11 being fed, although they are arranged in the vertical direction so as to interfere with the printing substrate 11 being fed.
Further, the hopper 24 rotates around a hopper shaft 104 provided at the upper end of the hopper 24. For this reason, even if the force applied to the follower 116 from the drive cam 110 is small, the hopper 24 can be rotated by the lever principle.
[0040]
As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. Various modifications or improvements can be added to the above embodiment. It is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a printing apparatus with high silence.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of an ink jet recording apparatus 10. FIG.
2 is a schematic side view showing an internal configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus 10. FIG.
3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a detailed configuration of a feeding unit 20. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of a feeding unit. FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an operation during a period in which the substrate 11 is not fed. FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an operation in a transition period from a period in which the printing material 11 is not fed to a period in which the printing material 11 is fed. FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating an operation in a period during which the substrate 11 is fed.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the ink jet recording apparatus 10;
FIG. 6 is a partially exploded perspective view of the ink jet recording apparatus 10 as viewed from the back side.
7 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Inkjet recording device, 11 ... To-be-printed object, 20 ... Feeding part, 22 ... Feeding roller, 24 ... Hopper, 30 ... Conveying part, 32 ... Conveying Roller 34 ... Conveyance driven roller 40 ... Printing unit 42 ... Carriage 44 ... Head unit 46 ... Shaft hole 48 ... Guide shaft 49 ... Printing control , 50... Discharge unit, 52... Discharge roller, 54... Discharge driven roller, 60... Motor, 62... Belt, 64. ... Motor, 110 ... Drive cam, 112 ... Rotation controller, 114 ... Rear end detector, 116 ... Follower, 118 ... Spring, 120 ... Paper guide, 124 ... Paper support surface, 126 ... Paper feeding surface

Claims (5)

A feeding device for feeding a substrate,
A feed roller for feeding the substrate;
A hopper for placing at least a portion of the substrate to be moved toward the feeding roller and bringing the substrate into contact with the feeding roller;
A motor for driving the feeding roller;
A drive cam for driving the hopper as the motor rotates;
A rotation control unit that reduces the rotation speed of the motor during a period in which the hopper moves toward the feeding roller;
A rear end detection unit for detecting a rear end of the printed material fed to the feed roller;
After the trailing edge detection unit detects the trailing edge of the substrate, the rotation control unit lowers the rotation speed of the motor before the hopper starts moving toward the feeding roller. A feeding device.   The feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotation control unit increases the rotation speed of the motor after the feeding roller comes into contact with the substrate. The drive cam has a cam shape that gradually brings the hopper closer to the feeding roller,
The feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation control unit reduces the rotation speed of the motor during a period in which the driving cam gradually approaches the hopper to the feeding roller. A feeding method for feeding a substrate,
A trailing edge detection step of detecting a trailing edge of the substrate to be printed fed to the feeding roller;
Rotation reduction that lowers the rotational speed of the motor that drives the feeding roller after the trailing edge of the substrate is detected in the trailing edge detection stage and before the hopper starts moving toward the feeding roller. Stages,
As the motor rotates, the hopper is moved toward the feeding roller to drive the hopper for placing at least a part of the printing material, and the printing material is brought into contact with the feeding roller. A hopper moving stage;
And a feeding step of feeding the substrate to the feeding roller. A printing apparatus for printing on a substrate,
A feed roller for feeding the substrate;
A hopper for placing at least a portion of the substrate to be moved toward the feeding roller and bringing the substrate into contact with the feeding roller;
A motor for driving the feeding roller;
A drive cam for driving the hopper as the motor rotates;
A rotation control unit that reduces the rotation speed of the motor during a period in which the hopper moves toward the feeding roller;
A rear end detecting unit that detects a rear end of the printed material fed to the feeding roller, and a printing unit that performs printing on the printed material fed by the feeding roller,
After the trailing edge detection unit detects the trailing edge of the substrate, the rotation control unit lowers the rotation speed of the motor before the hopper starts moving toward the feeding roller. A printing device.

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