JP4715411B2 - Reading / cutting composite apparatus, medium cutting program, and medium cutting method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cutting apparatus and a recording / cutting composite apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a cutting device that cuts a designated area on a medium, and a reading and cutting composite device that also has a function of reading an image recorded on a medium that is a cutting target of the cutting device.

  There is a cutting device called a cutting machine or a cutting plotter that cuts out a piece of a desired shape from a sheet-like medium such as paper, cloth, or resin sheet. The cutting device described in Patent Document 1 below includes a knife that reciprocates in the Y-axis direction orthogonal to the X-axis with respect to the fabric conveyed by one table that runs in the X-axis direction. Therefore, the knife is scanned over the entire fabric by combining the transport of the fabric in the X direction by the table and the reciprocating movement of the knife in the Y direction. As a result, a cut piece having a desired shape is cut out from the fabric.

Patent Document 2 describes a drawing / cutting plotter that can cut out a desired shape from a sheet-like recording sheet. This drawing / cutting plotter also includes a drawing head that reciprocates and a group of rollers that convey the recording paper in a direction orthogonal to the reciprocating direction of the drawing head, and scans the drawing head over the entire surface of the recording paper. Accordingly, when a writing tool is attached to the drawing head, a figure is recorded in a desired area on the recording sheet, and when a cutting tool is attached to the drawing head, a cut piece having a desired shape is cut out from the recording sheet as a medium.
7-90511 JP 2001-225297 A

  A medium to be cut by the cutting apparatus as described above initially has a certain size and shape determined by the standards for each material. However, the shape of the cut piece and the remaining medium after cutting are indefinite and cannot be handled by a recording apparatus, a copying machine, or the like. For this reason, it was not considered to reuse the medium cut out from one cutting area.

  However, in view of the function of the cutting apparatus for cutting out a part of the medium, it is often the part of the medium that is cut out and used as the designated area. For this reason, when a cutting device is used, a larger amount of medium is consumed than the target cut piece.

  The above situation is the same for a recording object in a recording apparatus. That is, the recording material used in the recording apparatus is, for example, Japanese Industrial Standard A row No. 4 (hereinafter referred to as “A4 size”) ordinary high-quality paper, postcard-size thick paper, L-print printing paper Etc., and so forth, in a predetermined size and shape.

  However, in many cases, an image actually recorded on the medium as described above cannot fill a specified dimension. For this reason, when a document or the like is produced using a recording apparatus, the area where the original blank sheet is left may be wider than the area where the image is recorded. As described above, when a cutting device or a recording device is used, there is a problem that a larger amount of medium or recording material is consumed than necessary.

  Therefore, for the purpose of solving the above problems, as a first embodiment of the present invention, a cutting unit that cuts out a specified area on the medium and an existing image recorded on the surface of the medium are read to generate existing image information. A reusable medium including a size of a reusable medium, a reusable medium extracting unit that extracts unused area information on which no existing image is recorded on the surface of the medium, and a reusable medium A reusable judgment unit that holds information and compares the unused area information with the reused medium information to determine whether or not the reused medium is included in the unused area. There is provided a reading / cutting composite apparatus that cuts out a reuse medium determined to be included in the unused area by the determination unit. Thereby, the margin on the medium on which the image is recorded can be used again as the medium. That is, since the unused area of the medium can be reproduced as a reuse medium, a larger area in the original medium can be used without being discarded. Such an effect is also effective for a medium partially used by the cutting apparatus itself and a medium partially used by another apparatus such as a recording apparatus.

  In the above-described reading / cutting composite apparatus, the cutting unit includes a transport unit that transports the medium in the transport direction, a carriage that reciprocates in a direction crossing the transport direction at a position facing the medium transported by the transport unit, and a medium. And a cutting blade that is held by the carriage so as to be able to advance and retreat, penetrates the medium while reciprocating with the carriage, and cuts the medium. Thereby, the unused area | region of a medium can be cut | judged by arbitrary shapes. Therefore, various reusable media can be cut out according to the size and shape of the unused area. In addition, a plurality of or a plurality of types of reusable media can be cut out from one unused area for use. In this way, the medium utilization efficiency is further improved.

  In the above-described reading / cutting compound apparatus, the reading unit is mounted on the carriage, the conveyance unit that conveys the medium in the conveyance direction, the carriage that reciprocates in the direction crossing the conveyance direction at a position facing the medium conveyed to the conveyance unit, and the carriage. And an image sensor for reading an image recorded on the medium while reciprocating with the carriage, and an existing image may be read from any part of the medium surface. Thereby, an image can be read from an arbitrary area on the medium. Therefore, the unused area on the medium can be extracted without any excess.

  In the reading and cutting composite apparatus, the cutting unit and the reading unit include a transport unit that transports the medium in the transport direction, and a carriage that reciprocates in a direction intersecting the transport direction at a position facing the medium transported to the transport unit. Further, a cutting blade that is mounted on the carriage so as to be able to advance and retreat with respect to the medium and reciprocates together with the carriage and cuts the medium by cutting into the medium while being reciprocated together with the carriage, And an image sensor that reads an image recorded on the camera. Thus, it is possible to execute image reading and cutting on the medium using one carriage driving unit. Therefore, the structure of the cutting device can be simplified.

  In the above-described reading / cutting composite apparatus, the carriage may further include a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid onto the medium to record an image. Thereby, the recording of the image with respect to a medium can also be processed in the cutting device.

  In the above-described reading / cutting composite apparatus, a previously designated image may be automatically recorded on a reuse medium having a specific size and shape. As a result, it is possible to automatically produce a standard product such as a business card by recording an image designated in advance on the reuse medium obtained by cutting.

  In the reading and cutting compound apparatus, the reading unit includes a transport unit that transports the medium in the transport direction, and a line sensor that extends in a direction intersecting the transport direction at a position facing the medium transported to the transport unit. Also good. Thereby, the image of the whole medium surface can be read, without moving the line sensor as an image sensor.

  In the above-described reading / cutting composite apparatus, the reuse determining unit holds a plurality of reuse medium information regarding reuse media having different sizes and shapes, and selects the reuse medium information according to the type of the medium. It may be determined whether or not the reuse medium is included in the use area. As a result, an optimum reuse medium can be generated according to the type and quality of the medium.

  In the reading and cutting composite apparatus, the reuse determining unit may select the largest reuse medium information that can be included in the unused area among the plurality of reuse medium information. As a result, a reusable medium that can be easily reused is obtained.

  In the above-described reading / cutting composite apparatus, the reuse determining unit selects two or more reuse medium information from the plurality of reuse medium information so that the area remaining after inclusion in the unused area is minimized. May be. Thereby, the utilization efficiency of the medium is further improved.

  In the above-described reading / cutting composite apparatus, the reuse determination unit may hold the reuse medium information designating an arbitrary shape and size. Thereby, a reusable medium having a desired shape and size can be manufactured.

  In the above-described reading / cutting composite apparatus, the reuse determining unit holds the diverted medium information including the size and shape of the diverted medium that is smaller than the smallest reusable medium, and the unused area is smaller than the smallest reusable medium. If it is larger than the diverting medium, the diverting medium may be cut out by the cutting part. As a result, even when the reuse area defined by the standard cannot be cut out because the unused area of the medium is small, the entire medium can be efficiently used by the reuse medium.

  The above-described reading / cutting composite apparatus may further include a diverting medium storage unit that accumulates diverting media. This makes it possible to automatically produce a small document whose recorded content does not change, such as a business card.

  In the above-described reading / cutting multifunction device, when a designated cutting area to be cut out is designated from the outside, the reading unit reads an area other than the designated cutting area of the medium to generate existing image information, and the cutting unit adds the designated cutting area to the designated cutting area. Thus, the reuse medium designated by the reuse determination unit may be cut out together. Thereby, the unused area | region which generate | occur | produces in large quantities when using as a cutting device can be manufactured automatically.

  As a second aspect of the present invention, a step of reading an existing image recorded on the surface of the medium and generating existing image information, and an existing image is recorded on the surface of the medium based on the existing image information. A step of extracting no unused area information, holding the reuse medium information including the size and shape of the reuse medium, and comparing the unused area information with the reuse medium, thereby reusing the reuse medium in the unused area A medium cutting program is provided that includes a step of determining whether or not a medium is included and a step of cutting out a reuse medium determined to be included in the unused area from an unused area of the medium.

  Furthermore, as a third aspect of the present invention, a procedure for reading existing images recorded on the surface of the medium and generating existing image information, and existing images are recorded on the surface of the medium based on the existing image information. The procedure for extracting unused area information and the reuse medium information including the size and shape of the reuse medium are retained, and the unused area information and the reuse medium information are compared to reuse the unused area information. There is provided a medium cutting method including a procedure for determining whether or not a medium is included and a procedure for cutting out a reuse medium determined to be included in an unused area from an unused area of the medium. Thus, high utilization efficiency of the medium is realized without depending on the hardware structure.

  Note that the summary of the invention described above does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention. In addition, a sub-combination of these feature groups can also be an invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. In addition, not all the combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential for the solving means of the invention.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an overall shape of a reading / cutting composite apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10 includes a casing 180 in which a cutting unit 100 that directly cuts a medium 500 is housed, a loading tray 160 mounted in front of the casing 180, A discharge tray 110 mounted on the rear side of the housing 180 is provided.

  In the housing 180, a cutting and conveying unit that takes in the medium 500 from the loading tray 160 and conveys the medium 500 in the conveying direction indicated by an arrow Y in the drawing, and a cutting unit 100 that cuts the medium 500 below the cutting carriage 130 described later. And an internal mechanism including a discharge unit disposed behind the cutting unit 100 and sending the medium 500 to the discharge tray 110 is accommodated. Of these internal mechanisms, the transport driven roller 142, which is a part of the cutting transport unit, and the cutting unit 100 are visible in FIG.

  The transport driven roller 142 presses the medium 500 against the transport roller hidden under the medium 500. The conveyance roller is driven to rotate, and the medium 500 pressed against the conveyance roller is fed onto the rear cutting platen 150. The cutting platen 150 has a horizontal, substantially horizontal, and flat upper surface, supports the medium 500 placed from below, and performs positioning in the vertical direction.

  The cutting unit 100 is horizontally disposed in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the medium 500, and is reciprocated along the guide rails 120 and 122 through the guide rails 120 and 122 parallel to each other and the guide rails 120 and 122. And a cutting carriage 130 that is formed substantially above the cutting platen 150. In the figure, the reciprocating direction is indicated by an arrow X.

  The cutting carriage 130 reciprocates horizontally along the guide rails 120 and 122 by a driving mechanism (not shown). A cutter 250 is mounted on the lower surface of the cutting carriage 130. The cutter 250 can move up and down relatively with respect to the cutting carriage 130. Therefore, when the cutter 250 is lowered with respect to the medium 500 located on the cutting platen 150, the lower end of the cutter 250 penetrates the medium 500.

  Further, the cutter 250 can be inserted into an arbitrary place of the medium 500 by combining the transport of the medium 500 in the Y direction by the transport unit and the reciprocating movement of the cutting carriage 130 in the X direction. Further, the medium 500 can be cut into an arbitrary shape by relatively moving the medium 500 and the cutting machine 30 in a state where the cutter 250 is inserted. The medium 500 after cutting is sent out to the rear of the housing 180 by a discharge unit that is not visible in the drawing.

  In this embodiment, the medium 500 loaded from the loading tray 160 is cut inside the housing 180, and then the cut medium 500 is sent to the discharge tray 110. However, in order to cut out a cutting area having a desired shape from the medium 500, it is preferable that the medium 500 can be reciprocated at least by the length of the cutting area in the transport direction. Therefore, the transport unit and the discharge unit cooperate to reciprocate the medium 500 in the direction indicated by the arrow Y in the drawing. Further, by the function of reciprocating the medium 500, the finally cut pieces can be discharged not to the discharge tray 110 but to the loading tray 160 side.

  Further, the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10 includes an image sensor 190 on the front surface of the cutting carriage 130. The image sensor 190 can optically read an image formed on the surface of the medium 500. Further, since the image sensor 190 reciprocates together with the cutting carriage 130, the entire surface of the medium 500 can be scanned by reciprocating the cutting carriage 130 in the X direction and transporting the medium 500 in the Y direction. Therefore, by using the image sensor 190, an image recorded on the surface can be read from the entire area on the medium 500.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the control mechanism 11 in the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10 shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10 includes a control unit 400 that controls the operations of the reading unit 200 including the image sensor 190 and the cutting unit 100 that cuts the medium 500. Yes. The control unit 400 includes an unused area extraction unit 410, a reuse determination unit 420, and a cutting control unit 430.

  The unused area extraction unit 410 extracts an unused area where no image is formed on the medium 500 based on the existing image information read from the medium 500 by the reading unit 200. The extracted unused area is provided to the next reuse determination unit 420 as unused area information.

  The reuse determining unit 420 holds the reused medium information, and by comparing this with the unused area information obtained from the unused area extracting unit 410, the size and shape of the reused medium are unused. Judge whether it can be included in the area. When it is determined that the reuse medium can be cut out from the unused area on the medium 500, the cutting information including the reuse medium information and the cutting position is generated and transmitted to the cutting control unit 430 described below. It is done.

  The cutting control unit 430 controls the operation of the cutting unit 100 based on the cutting information acquired from the reuse determining unit 420. As a result, a reusable medium having a specific size and shape and not recorded with an image is cut out from an unused area on the medium 500.

  Furthermore, an information processing apparatus 300 such as a personal computer also serving as a user operation unit is connected to the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10. For example, information specifying a cutting area on the medium 500 is transferred from the information processing apparatus 300 to the control unit 400. Note that the cutting area designated in this case is an area designated by the user for the purpose of obtaining a product. In other words, the area other than the area designated to be cut on the medium 500 is an area unnecessary for the user at that time.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart F100 for explaining the operation of the control unit 400 in the control mechanism 11 shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, when the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10 is instructed to execute processing, first, the reading unit 200 waits for the medium 500 to be loaded (S101: NO). The image sensor 190 scans the entire medium 500 loaded in the reading unit 200 and extracts existing image information already formed on the medium 500. Further, based on the existing image information, the unused area extraction unit 410 extracts an area left without recording an image on the medium 500 as unused area information (S102).

  Next, the reuse determination unit 420 compares the unused area information with the reuse medium information to determine whether or not the reuse medium can be cut out from the unused area (S103). As a result, when it is determined that the reusable medium cannot be cut out (S104: NO), the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10 stops the processing. Alternatively, when other specifications of the reuse medium can be selected as described later, the process returns to step S104.

  Thus, when the reuse determining unit 420 determines a reuse medium to be cut out, the best determining unit 420 generates cutting information including information on the determined reuse medium, and the cutting control unit 430 performs cutting based on the cutting information. Generate line information. Further, according to the cutting line information, the cutting unit 100 cuts out a reuse medium from an unused area of the medium 500 (S105).

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing one layout 510 on the medium 500 of the reuse medium 504 cut out as described above. As shown in the figure, a rectangular existing image 502 is already recorded on the top of the medium 500. However, no image is recorded in the lower part of the medium 500, which is an unused area. Therefore, as shown by a dotted line in the figure, when the medium 500 is cut at the center in the height direction, a reuse medium 504 having an area half that of the medium 500 is obtained.

  In addition, the paper size prescribed | regulated as A row | line | column, B row | line | column etc. in Japanese Industrial Standards adapts to the small specification in each row | line | column by cutting in half. Therefore, for example, if the medium 500 was originally the A4 version, the reusable medium 504 shown in FIG. 4 can be used as the A5 version medium 500.

  FIG. 5 shows a layout 520 that compares the standard dimensions of reusable media 501, 503, 505, 507, and 509 that can be cut out from the A4 size medium 500 by the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10. As shown in the figure, from the A4 size medium 500, in addition to the A5 size reuse medium 501, the postcard size reuse medium 503, the L size print size reuse medium 505, and the business card size reuse medium 507. Etc. can be cut out. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a reusable medium 509 having a memo chip size smaller in size than any of the reusable media 501, 503, 505, and 507 is defined as “a diversion medium”. These various reuse media 501, 503, 505, 507, and 509 are appropriately selected according to the size and shape of the unused area left on the medium 500. In this way, by cutting out the reusable media 501, 503, 505, and 507 having dimensions defined by the standard, they can be handled again as recording paper or the like. On the other hand, the reusable medium 509, which is a diversion medium, has a small size and cannot be loaded as a recording medium in a recording apparatus or the like. However, since it is trimmed to a certain size, it can be used for other purposes.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another layout 530 of the reuse medium 504 on the medium 500. As shown in the drawing, an existing image 502 having a height exceeding half of the height direction is already recorded on the medium 500. Accordingly, when the size of the medium 500 is the A4 size, the A5 size reusable medium 504 cannot be cut out from this unused area.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the layout is such that two reuse media 505 of L size print size are cut out. Note that, for example, a single postcard-sized reuse medium 503 can be cut out in accordance with an instruction from the user. Further, a large number of business card size reusable media 509 can be cut out.

  On the other hand, as described above, unless a special layout is designated by a user instruction or the like, it is preferable that the size of the reuse medium 504 to be cut out is as large as possible. This is because the large reuse medium 504 can be further cut and used as a smaller reuse medium.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another operation mode of the combined read / cut apparatus 10 together with the layout 540 of the reuse media 503, 507, and 509 on the medium 500. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10 is instructed to cut out an existing image 502 already recorded on the medium 500 in accordance with a specified cutting line 541.

  On the other hand, since the area outside the cutting line 541 is an unused area, the reusable media 503, 507, and 509 are cut out together with the cutting line 541. In this case, the cutting of the existing image 502 by the cutting line 541 is based on a user instruction, but the cutting of the reusable media 503, 507, and 509 is by an autonomous process by the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10. As described above, even when the user's instruction specifies and uses a part of the medium 500, the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10 performs processing so that other areas of the medium 500 can be effectively reused. Is done.

  Note that the cutting process in which unused areas of the medium 500 are reused media 503, 507, and 509 can be executed in a stand-alone manner even when the processing for the medium 500 is not designated. As a result, it is possible to insert the medium 500 in which the existing image 502 is recorded in part without connecting or starting the information processing apparatus 300 or the like only by turning on the power of the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10. Reusable media 503, 507, and 509 are obtained.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 7, by cutting out a plurality of reuse media 503, 507, and 509 having a plurality of specifications, the area of the medium 500 that must be finally discarded can be reduced to the limit. The specification of the minimum reuse medium 509 is defined for such a purpose. That is, every time a part of the medium 500 is used and an unused area is generated, a small reuse medium 509 is cut out with a predetermined size. Further, by providing the discharge tray 110 of the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10 with an opening that allows the minimum reuse medium 509 to pass therethrough, the reuse medium 509 can be stored at a predetermined position. Such accumulated reuse medium 509 can be used as, for example, a memo paper.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another layout 550 of the reuse medium 503 on the medium 500. As shown in the figure, a plurality of existing images 502 are already recorded on the medium 500. However, if the reuse medium 503 is relatively small, two sheets can be cut out from the medium 500.

  In addition, when the specification of the reuse medium 504 cut out from the medium 500 is selected from the specifications of a plurality of types of reuse media 501, 503, 505, 507, and 509, not only the size and shape of the unspecified area, but also the medium 500 itself. It is also desirable to refer to information on materials and the like. That is, for example, among the dimensions of some of the reuse media 501, 503, 505, 507, and 509 shown in FIG. 5, the postcard-size reuse media 503, the business card-size reuse media 507, etc. are slightly thicker. It is preferable to cut out from the medium 500. Further, it is preferable that the reuse medium 505 of the L size print size is cut out from photographic quality recording paper such as photographic paper.

  FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an overview of the structure of a recording / cutting composite device 20 in which a recording unit 22 is combined with a cutting unit 24 having a function equivalent to that of the reading / cutting composite device 10 as another embodiment. As shown in the figure, the recording / cutting composite apparatus 20 is configured such that a lower cutting unit 24 and an upper recording unit 22 are stacked and integrated by a single casing 380. Further, a lift tray 360 for conveying the medium 500 from the upper recording unit 22 to the lower cutting unit 24 is provided on the front surface of the housing 380. In the cutting unit 24 shown in FIG. 1, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 are assigned to members having the same functions as those of the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10 shown in FIG.

  In the upper recording unit 22, a paper feed tray 310 mounted behind the housing 380, a conveyance unit including a conveyance roller 340 and a conveyance driven roller 342, a recording platen 350, and a discharge unit including a discharge driven roller 372, Forms a transport system. That is, the recording paper as the medium 500 is loaded into the paper feed tray 310, fed one by one onto the recording platen 350 by the transport unit, and fed out to the front of the housing 380 by the discharge unit.

  In addition, a pair of guide rails 320 and 322 that are parallel to each other are horizontally disposed above the recording platen 350 so as to be orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the medium 500. In addition, a carriage 330 that is inserted through the guide rails 320 and 322 and that can reciprocate horizontally on the recording platen 350 is disposed. The carriage 330 is driven by a driving unit (not shown). Further, since the carriage 330 is inserted through the pair of guide rails 320 and 322, the carriage 330 does not tilt forward or backward.

  The carriage 330 reciprocates together with the ink cartridge 332 mounted from above and the recording head 334 suspended on the lower surface. Accordingly, ink can be ejected toward the medium 500 on the recording platen 350. Therefore, by combining the movement of the medium 500 in the conveyance direction by the conveyance unit described above and the reciprocation of the carriage 330, ink can be ejected to any area of the medium 500 and the image 172 can be recorded.

  The medium 500 on which the image 172 is recorded by the recording unit 22 as described above is sent out to a lift tray 360 mounted on the front surface of the housing 380 by a discharge unit including a discharge driven roller 372. The lift tray 360 can be moved up and down on the front surface of the housing 380 while maintaining a constant angle with respect to the housing 380. Thereby, the medium 500 on which the image 172 is recorded in the recording unit 22 is moved in front of the lower cutting unit 24. That is, the lift tray 360 functions as a discharge tray for the recording unit 22 and functions as a loading tray for the cutting unit 24. Note that a mechanism for raising and lowering the lift tray 360 is housed in the housing 380, and the lift tray 360 is displaced via the connecting portion 362. This lifting mechanism will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The internal mechanism of the lower cutting unit 24 is substantially the same as the internal mechanism of the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10 shown in FIG. The difference is that the loading tray 160 of the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10 is removed, and the lowered lift tray 360 is replaced by it.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the recording / cutting composite apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 9, and the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those in FIG.

  As shown in the figure, the lift tray 360 is supported by a ball screw 366 inserted through a screw hole formed at the end thereof. A ball screw driving unit 364 is coupled to the lower end of the ball screw 366, and the ball screw 366 can be driven to rotate. Accordingly, by appropriately operating the ball screw driving unit 364, the lift tray 360 can be raised or lowered as indicated by an arrow E in the drawing.

  In the recording / cutting composite apparatus 20 having the lift tray 360 as described above, the medium 500 initially loaded in the paper feed tray 310 is sandwiched between the transport roller 340 and the transport driven roller 342 and placed on the recording platen 350. It is sent. Ink is ejected downward from the recording head 334 mounted on the lower surface of the carriage 330 to the medium 500, and an image 172 is formed on the upper surface of the medium 500.

  Eventually, the leading edge of the medium 500 on which the image 172 is recorded on the upper surface reaches the discharge unit, is sandwiched between the discharge roller 370 and the discharge driven roller 372, and is discharged onto the lift tray 360 that also serves as the discharge tray. When the medium 500 is completely discharged onto the lift tray 360, the ball screw 366 driven by the ball screw driving unit 364 rotates and the lift tray 360 is lowered. When the lowered lift tray 360 is lowered to the height of the lower conveyance unit, the medium 500 is again taken into the housing 380 and conveyed onto the cutting platen 150 by being sandwiched between the conveyance roller 140 and the conveyance driven roller 142 of the cutting unit 24. Is done.

  The medium 500 thus taken into the cutting unit 24 is cut by the cutter 250, sandwiched between the discharge roller 390 and the discharge driven roller 392, and discharged onto the discharge tray 110. The medium 500 discharged through these recording and cutting processes is recorded with an image 172 and cut.

  Note that the cutting operation in the cutting unit 24 is the same as that of the combined cutting and cutting apparatus 10 shown in FIG. Further, for convenience of explanation, the front side of the housing 380 is described as a transport unit, and the rear side is described as a discharge unit. However, in order to cut out one cutting region, it is preferable to reciprocate the medium 500 at least once. Therefore, the transport unit and the discharge unit transport the medium 500 either toward the front of the housing 380 or toward the rear. In addition, the medium 500 that has been finally cut may be discharged to the front or rear of the housing.

  Further, since the recording / cutting composite apparatus 20 includes the recording unit 22, it is possible to further record an image on the reuse medium cut out by the cutting unit 24. Therefore, for example, by recording the business card description on a reusable medium cut out to a business card size, it is possible to designate an operation in which a business card is created each time a surplus area occurs in the medium 500 to be handled. .

  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. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above-described 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.

1 is a perspective view showing an overall shape of a reading / cutting composite apparatus 10. The structure of the control mechanism 11 of the reading / cutting composite apparatus 10 is schematically shown. It is a flowchart F100 which shows the process in the control part 400. FIG. A reuse medium layout 510 in medium 500 is shown. The specifications of various reusable media 501, 403, 505, 507, 509 are shown as a reusable media layout 520 in comparison with the media 500. A reusable medium layout 530 in medium 500 is shown. A reusable medium layout 540 in medium 500 is shown. A reusable medium layout 550 in medium 500 is shown. The recording cutting composite apparatus 20 as other embodiment is shown. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the recording / cutting composite apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 9.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Reading cutting compound apparatus, 11 Control mechanism, 20 Recording cutting compound apparatus, 22 Recording part, 24, 100 Cutting part, 110 Discharge tray, 120, 122, 320, 322 Guide rail, 130, 330 Carriage, 140, 340 Conveyance roller , 142, 342 Conveyor driven roller, 150 cutting platen, 160 loading tray, 172 image, 174 cutting line, 180, 380 housing, 190, 192 image sensor, 200 reading unit, 250 cutter, 300 information processing device, 310 Paper tray, 332 ink cartridge, 334 recording head, 350 recording platen, 360 lift tray, 362 connecting section, 364 ball screw driving section, 366 ball screw, 370, 390 discharging roller, 372, 392 discharging driven roller, 400 control section, 410 Unused area extraction unit, 420 Reuse determination unit, 430 Cutting control unit, 500 medium, 501, 503, 505, 507, 509 Reuse medium, 502 Existing image, 504, 542, 544, 546 Reuse medium, 510, 520, 530, 540, 550 Layout of reused media, 541 Cut line

Claims (6)

A reading unit that reads an existing image recorded on the surface of the medium and generates existing image information;
An unused area extracting unit that extracts unused area information in which the existing image is not recorded on the surface of the medium based on the existing image information;
A plurality of reusable medium information having different sizes and shapes are stored in advance , and the reusable medium is included in the unused area by comparing the unused area information and the plurality of reusable medium information. and reuse determination unit for determining whether,
The reuse determination unit by the unused cutting the recycled medium is determined to be included in the reading region that includes a <br/> a cutting unit cutting the composite device. The read cutting according to claim 1, wherein the reuse determination unit determines whether the reuse medium is included in the unused area after selecting reuse medium information according to a type of the medium. Compound device. The reuse determination unit, among the plurality of reusable media information, reading cutting composite apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 to select the largest reuse medium information in which the can is enclosed in an unused area. The reuse determination unit, the so area remaining after being incorporated into a unused area is minimized, according to claim 1 or to select two or more recycling medium information of the plurality of reusable medium information reading cutting composite apparatus according to 2. The reading / cutting composite apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the reuse determination unit stores reuse medium information designating an arbitrary shape and size. When the designated cutting area to be cut out is designated from the outside,
The reading unit reads an area other than the designated cutting area of the medium to generate existing image information,
Reading cutting composite apparatus according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the cutting portion is cut out along the reusable medium in which the specified reuse determination unit in addition to the designated cutting regions.

Images