JP4855510B2 - Inkjet printer with cutting head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet printer with a cutting head in which image quality on a sheet of paper is constant regardless of a section and cutting head can cut the sheet of paper with good accuracy. <P>SOLUTION: The inkjet printer 10 with the cutting head is provided with a pair of side pinch rollers 14a, 14b which sandwich both ends of the sheet of paper 34, and central pinch rollers 15a, 15b provided between the side pinch rollers 14a and 14b. In printing with an inkjet head 40, the side pinch rollers 14a, 14b and the central pinch rollers 15a, 15b sandwich the sheet of paper 34. In cutting the sheet paper 34 with the cutting head 30, the side pinch rollers 14a, 14b sandwich the sheet of paper 34, and the central pinch rollers 15a, 15b do not sandwich the sheet of paper 34. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an inkjet printer with a cutting head capable of creating an image and cutting out the image, and more particularly to an inkjet printer with a cutting head capable of accurately creating an image and cutting out the image.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an inkjet printer with a cutting head that performs desired printing on a sheet and then cuts the printed product along its outline or the like is commercially available. In such an inkjet printer with a cutting head, the cutter and the inkjet head are moved in the main scanning direction, and the paper is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction.

  In a conventional inkjet printer with a cutting head, sub-scanning is performed by sandwiching a sheet of paper with a drive roller and two pinch rollers that hold both ends of the sheet, both when printing with an inkjet head and when printing with a cutter. It was transported in the direction.

  When the paper is sandwiched between the drive roller and the pinch roller only at both ends in the sub-scanning direction of the platen and ink-jet printing is performed, the central portion rises due to the penetration of the ink into the paper, resulting in improved image quality. There was a problem of getting worse. Also, when roll paper is used as the paper, the paper feed speed differs between the center and both ends due to the tension of the roll paper, etc., or the weight of the paper itself, and the image quality differs between both ends and the center. There was a problem that occurred.

  On the other hand, in order to cope with this, it is possible to solve the problem by sandwiching the paper between the driving roller and the pinch roller at the center portion and printing. In order to cut a line or a curve, the paper must be reciprocated, which causes the problem that the paper floats and a paper misalignment occurs.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer with a cutting head in which the image quality on paper is constant regardless of location and can be cut accurately. And

  An inkjet printer with a cutting head according to the present invention is movable in a first direction and cuts a sheet, an inkjet head that is movable in the first direction and performs printing on a sheet, and the sheet An ink jet printer with a cutting head, comprising: a sheet conveying unit configured to convey in a second direction intersecting with the first direction, wherein the sheet conveying unit sandwiches the sheet between a driving roller and the driving roller. A pinch roller that conveys the paper, and the pinch roller includes a pair of side pinch rollers that sandwich both ends of the paper in the first direction, and a center pinch provided between the pair of side pinch rollers. A side pinch roller when printing on the paper by the inkjet head Preliminary the central pinch roller pinching the paper, when cutting the sheet by the cutting head, the side pinch roller pinching the paper, the central pinch roller are those pinch the paper.

  When cutting, the paper is pinched only by the side pinch rollers at both ends of the paper, so there is no paper misalignment even when the paper is reciprocated, and at the time of printing, the side pinch rollers including both ends and the center of the paper Since the printing can be performed with the paper pinched by the central focus roller, there is no problem that the image quality is deteriorated due to the central portion rising due to the penetration of ink into the paper. As a result, it is possible to provide an inkjet printer with a cutting head in which the image quality on the paper is constant regardless of the location and can be cut accurately.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an inkjet printer with a cutting head according to an embodiment of the present invention. The inkjet printer 10 with a cutting head prints a desired image on a sheet in accordance with an instruction from a host computer such as a personal computer (not shown), and cuts the outer periphery of the image with a cutter provided on the cutting head.

  Referring to FIG. 1, an inkjet printer 10 with a cutting head includes a main body 11 and legs 13 that support the main body 11. The main body 11 includes a linear motion rail 12 that serves as a guide for moving the inkjet head 40 that outputs printing ink in the main scanning direction (left-right direction indicated by arrows in the figure, X direction, first direction), and the main body 11. And an operation panel 31 provided at one end thereof.

  The operation panel 31 includes a display unit for displaying an operation state, a cursor key for designating the positions of the inkjet head 40 and the cutting head 30, and a predetermined image data to be created or cropped based on a signal of image data. A start area setting key for designating a region of a part, or print / cut selection for starting image creation using the inkjet head 40 or image cutting using the cutting head 30 from the set start area An operation start key (operation selection means) is provided. The inkjet printer 10 with a cutting head includes a CPU (not shown) that controls the entire inkjet printer 10 with a cutting head in order to perform the above-described operation.

  A front cover (not shown) is provided on the front surface of the main body 11, and a platen 20 is provided below the ink jet head 40 and the cutting head 30 of the main body 11. The inkjet head 40 and the cutting head 30 are connected to each other, and are driven through a wire by a motor (not shown) along the linear motion rail 12 in the main scanning direction. On the other hand, the paper to be printed has side pinch rollers 14a and 14b and center pinch rollers 15a and 15b in the sub-scanning direction (direction indicated by arrow Y in FIG. 1, the second direction) orthogonal to the main scanning direction. It is moved by a sheet conveying means constituted by a driving roller (indicated by 17 in FIG. 3).

  The inkjet head 40 outputs yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) ink. The cutting head 30 has a holder (not shown), and the cutter is held at a predetermined position by the cutter holder. The cutter is normally pulled upward by a coil spring (not shown). When cutting paper or the like using a cutter, a solenoid (not shown) provided in the cutting head 30 is operated, and the plunger is lowered against the coil spring by the plunger against the coil spring.

  The inkjet head 40 is provided on the linear motion rail 12 so as to be positioned on the right side of the cutting head 30. The magnet fixed to the left side wall of the inkjet head 40 and the magnet fixed to the right side wall of the cutting head 30 are configured so that both can be connected or detached as appropriate.

  FIG. 1 shows a state where printing is performed by the inkjet printer 10 with a cutting head. During printing, the inkjet head 40 is moved by the cutting head 30 to perform desired printing. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, not only the side pinch rollers 14a and 14b slidably provided at both end portions on the platen 20, but also a plurality (not shown in FIG. Center pinch rollers 15a and 15b are provided, and the paper is sandwiched by the four pinch rollers over the entire width of the paper. Therefore, as in the past, there is a problem that the center rises due to the penetration of ink into the paper and the image quality deteriorates, and even when roll paper is used as the paper, there is a difference in image quality between the both ends and the center. Such a problem does not occur.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which cutting is performed by the cutting head 30 of the inkjet printer 10 with a cutting head. With reference to FIG. 2, in this case, the inkjet head 40 stands by at a capping position (not shown) and is moved by the cutting head 30 alone.

  In this case, the paper 34 is sandwiched only between the side pinch rollers 14 a and 14 b at both ends of the platen 20. As a result, even if the paper is reciprocated and cut, no paper misalignment occurs. Next, the attachment state of the side pinch rollers 14a and 14b will be described. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 3, the side pinch rollers 14a and 14b include a pinch roll lever 22 and a pinch roll that rotatably support the pinch roll 21 and the pinch roll 21 provided on the driving roller 17 via a shaft 21a. And a pinch roll mounting member 23 that holds the lever 22.

  The pinch roll attachment member 23 has a U-shaped concave portion, and the concave portion is fitted to the rectangular holding shaft 16. The pinch roll mounting member 23 has a shaft 26 that rotatably supports the pinch roll lever 22 and a rectangular opening 24, and the pinch roll lever 22 has a protrusion 25 on the side surface. The portion 25 can freely move inside the opening 24 and abuts against the bottom surface portion 24 a of the opening 24 to serve as a stopper to maintain an appropriate gap between the pinch roll 21 and the driving roller 17.

  The pinch roll lever 22 is always loaded in a clockwise direction by a torsion coil spring 27. As a result, by rotating the holding shaft 16 in the clockwise direction, when the side pinch roller 14 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in the figure, the pinch roll 21 presses the sheet against the driving roller 17 and can be conveyed.

  The pinch roll mounting member 23 has a retainer 60 integrated with the pinch roll mounting member 23. The retainer 60 is a flat plate having a predetermined width, and has a front end 61 bent upward and a rear end 62 bent downward, and the rear end 62. Is bent downward and engages one side of the holding shaft 16 so that the pinch roll mounting member 23 does not come off the holding shaft 16.

  Next, the center pinch roller 15 will be described. 4 is an arrow view of a portion indicated by IV-IV in FIG. Referring to FIG. 4, the configuration of the central pinch rollers 15a and 15b is the same as that of the side pinch rollers 14a and 14b, and the pinch roll mounting portion 23 has a U-shaped concave portion, and the concave portion is square on To the holding shaft 16. The pinch roll mounting member 23 has a shaft 26 that rotatably supports the pinch roll lever 22 and a rectangular opening 24, and the pinch roll lever 22 has a protrusion 25 on the side surface. The portion 25 can freely move inside the opening 24 and abuts against the bottom surface portion 24 a of the opening 24 to serve as a stopper to maintain an appropriate gap between the pinch roll 21 and the driving roller 17. The pinch roll lever 22 is always loaded in the clockwise direction by a torsion coil spring. This is a load for holding the sheet.

  The pinch roll mounting member 23 has a retainer 60 integrated with the pinch roll mounting member 23. The retainer 60 is a flat plate having a predetermined width, and has a front end 61 bent upward and a rear end 62 bent downward, and the rear end 62. Is bent downward and engages one side of the holding shaft 16 so that the pinch roll mounting member 23 does not come off the holding shaft 16.

  Next, the attachment state of the side pinch roller 14 and the center pinch roller 15 and the holding shaft 16 will be described. FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in which the side pinch roller 14 and the center pinch roller 15 are attached to the holding shaft 16. With reference to FIG. 5, a line segment a connecting the rotation center of the holding shaft 16 and the center position of the pinch roll constituting the side pinch roller 14, the rotation center of the holding shaft 16, and the central pinch roller 15 are constituted. The side pinch roller 14 is provided below the center pinch roller 15 so as to form a center angle α at the rotation center of the holding shaft 16 with the line segment b connecting the center position of the pinch roll. . Accordingly, as will be described below, when the holding shaft 16 is rotated in the direction of the arrow c in the figure, the side pinch roller 14 comes into contact with the drive roller 17 before the central pinch roller 15, and when the holding shaft 16 rotates in the reverse direction, Only the pinch roller 15 is separated and only the side pinch roller 14 contacts the drive roller.

  Next, the holding shaft 16 will be described. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a driving device (rotating means) for rotating the holding shaft 16 incorporating the side pinch rollers 14a and 14b and the central pinch rollers 15a and 15b. Referring to FIG. 6, both end portions of holding shaft 16 are cut into a circular shape, and the cylindrical portions are rotatably provided through bushes 52 that are pressure-bonded to frames L50 and R51. The driving device includes a large worm gear 53 provided at an end of the holding shaft 16 and fixed by a set screw (not shown), and a motor 54 fixed to a side surface of the frame L50 and fixed with a small worm gear 55. 55 meshes with the large worm gear 53.

Here, the side pinch rollers 14a and 14b are lifted from the driving roller 17 by the holding shaft 16, and the worm gear 55 is rotated by the rotation of the motor 54 and the holding shaft 16 is rotated for paper conveyance. Rotating clockwise, the pinch roll 21 descends in the direction of the arrow in the figure and contacts the drive roller.
Next, the operation of the CPU (not shown) in paper conveyance will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation performed by the CPU (not shown) during paper conveyance.
Referring to FIG. 7, when the user selects a cut by operating the print / cut selection operation start key on operation panel 31 (“Cut” in Step S <b> 11, the following steps are omitted), motor 54 that rotates is driven. However, the holding shaft 16 is rotated clockwise as shown in FIG. 5, and the holding shaft 16 is set to the first position where only the side pinch roller 14 contacts the drive roller 17 (S12). This state is shown in FIG. FIG. 8 shows the state of the side pinch roller 14 and the center pinch roller 15 during cutting. The rotational force from the motor 54 shown in FIG. 6 is transmitted to the holding shaft 16 via the worm gears 53 and 55, and only the pinch roll 21 (14) of the side pinch roller 14 is in pressure contact with the drive roller 17, and the center pinch roller The paper is conveyed in a state where the 15 pinch rolls 21 (15) are not in contact with each other (S14). On the other hand, when printing is selected for printing by ejecting ink from the inkjet head 40 (“print” in S11), not only the side pinch roller 14 but also all the pinch rollers 15 including the center pinch roller 15 are driven rollers. The holding shaft 16 is rotated until it is set to the second position in contact with 17 (S13). This state is shown in FIG. All the pinch rollers 14 and 15 hold the paper 34 and transport the paper 34 (S14).
In this case, the pinch rollers 14 and 15 are urged by springs so as to contact the drive roller 17. When all the pinch rollers 14 and 15 contact the drive roller 17, the central pinch roller 15 is pressed. Although the abutting force to the driving roller 17 is smaller than that of the side pinch roller 14, there is no particular problem.

  Next, operations during printing and cutting by the cutting head 30 and the inkjet head 40 will be described. First, the holding shaft 16 is set to the second position to hold the paper 34 so that it can be conveyed, and the magnet fixed to the left side wall of the inkjet head 40 and the magnet fixed to the right side wall of the cutting head 30 are attracted. Then, the cutting head 30 is moved, and a desired image is created on the surface of the paper 34 by the ink jet head 30 based on image data output from a host computer (not shown).

  When cutting is performed, the holding shaft 16 is rotated counterclockwise by the rotation of the motor 54 and set to the first position. The central pinch rollers 15 a and 15 b are separated from the driving roller 17, and only the side pinch rollers 14 a and 14 b are kept in pressure contact with the driving roller 17.

  Then, the magnet fixed to the left side wall of the inkjet head 40 and the magnet fixed to the right side wall of the cutting head 30 are released, and only the cutting head 30 can move in the main scanning direction, and according to the cutting data read from the host computer. The paper 34 can be cut by a cutter held by the cutting head 30.

  The ink jet printer with a cutting head according to the present invention can be advantageously used as a printing and cutting device because pinch rollers can be installed at different positions for cutting and printing.

It is a front view at the time of printing of the inkjet printer with a cutting head concerning the form of one Example of this invention. It is a front view at the time of cutting of the inkjet printer with a cutting head concerning the form of one Example of this invention. In FIG. 1, it is sectional drawing of the part shown by III-III. In FIG. 1, it is sectional drawing of the part shown by IV-IV. It is a figure which shows the attachment state with the holding shaft of a side pinch roller and a center pinch roller. It is a perspective view which shows the drive device which rotates the holding shaft incorporating the side pinch rollers 14a and 14b and the center pinch rollers 15a and 15b. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation performed by a CPU during sheet conveyance. It is a figure which shows the state which contact | abutted the side pinch roller to the drive roller. It is a figure which shows the state which contact | abutted the side pinch roller and the center pinch roller to the drive roller.

10 Inkjet Printer with Cutting Head 14 Side Pinch Roller 15 Center Pinch Roller 16 Holding Shaft 17 Drive Roller 30 Cutting Head 40 Inkjet Head

Claims (5)

A cutting head that is movable in a first direction and cuts the paper;
An inkjet head that is movable in the first direction and that prints on paper;
A paper transporting means for transporting the paper in a second direction intersecting the first direction, and an inkjet printer with a cutting head,
The paper conveying means includes a driving roller, and a pinch roller that conveys the paper with the paper sandwiched between the driving rollers,
The pinch roller includes a pair of side pinch rollers that sandwich both ends of the sheet in the first direction, and a center pinch roller provided between the pair of side pinch rollers,
When printing on the paper by the inkjet head, the side pinch roller and the center pinch roller sandwich the paper,
An ink jet printer with a cutting head, wherein when the paper is cut by the cutting head, the side pinch roller sandwiches the paper, and the central pinch roller does not sandwich the paper. A holding shaft that holds the side pinch roller and the central pinch roller;
Rotating means for rotating the holding shaft in a direction in which the side pinch roller and the central pinch roller are in contact with or separated from the driving roller;
The rotating means positions the holding shaft at a first position where the side pinch roller and the center pinch roller sandwich the paper when printing is performed on the paper by the inkjet head, and the cutting head is used to place the paper by the cutting head. 2. The inkjet printer with a cutting head according to claim 1, wherein when cutting, the holding shaft is positioned at a second position where the side pinch roller sandwiches the sheet and the central pinch roller does not sandwich the sheet. An operation selecting means for selecting cutting or printing of the paper;
When the printing of the paper is selected by the operation selecting unit, the rotating unit is operated so that the holding shaft is positioned at the first position. When the cutting of the paper is selected by the operation selecting unit, the holding is performed. A CPU for operating the rotating means such that a shaft is positioned at the second position;
An inkjet printer with a cutting head according to claim 2, comprising: An operation selecting means for selecting cutting or printing of the paper;
When the printing of the paper is selected by the operation selecting means, the side pinch roller and the center pinch roller are positioned at the position where the paper is sandwiched, and when the cutting of the paper is selected by the operation selecting means, the paper is pinched. A CPU that positions the side pinch roller at a position and positions the central pinch roller at a position that does not sandwich the paper;
An inkjet printer with a cutting head according to claim 1, comprising: A holding shaft for holding the side pinch roller and the central pinch roller;
The side pinch roller and the center pinch roller are configured so that the side pinch roller and the center pinch roller rotate the holding shaft in a direction in which the sheet is sandwiched between the side pinch roller and the center pinch roller than the center pinch roller. The inkjet printer with a cutting head according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet printer is attached to the holding shaft so as to contact the paper first.

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