JP4974719B2 - Printing apparatus and printing apparatus control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an initialization process at startup of a printing apparatus, and in a printing apparatus having an upstream paper transport unit and a downstream printing unit, the upstream side to the downstream side during the upstream initialization process. The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that avoids unnecessary printing paper from being conveyed.

  Generally, in a printing apparatus, a paper conveyance path is provided inside the printing apparatus, and when printing is performed, printing data is recorded at a predetermined position while the printing paper moves along the paper conveyance path. In the vicinity of the paper transport path, expensive and easily damaged devices are often arranged. For example, in the case of an electronic copying machine, devices such as a photoconductor, a charger, or a heater are disposed in the vicinity of the paper conveyance path. In the case of an ink jet printer, a head, a multi-sensor, and the like are disposed in the vicinity of the paper conveyance path.

  Both are affected by the state of the printing paper transported in the paper transport path, especially when a paper jam occurs, the device may contact the printing paper, and in the worst case the device may be damaged. is there.

  For this reason, in general, printing paper that is detected in the paper conveyance path at the time of start-up and is detected unexpectedly except when the printing apparatus performs printing is performed before the problem occurs. Before discharging from the discharge port of the printing apparatus in advance.

  Further, depending on the state of the printing paper detected at the time of activation, there is a case where the printing paper cannot be discharged from the paper discharge port of the printing apparatus before the initialization operation.

  For example, if a paper jam occurs in the paper transport path while the printer is in use, and the printer is turned off in that state, the previous jam will be displayed when the printer is turned on the next time the printer is turned on. The printing paper that is raised and stays in the printing apparatus is detected in the paper conveyance path. In this case, if the discharge process is forcibly performed, the state of the printing paper in the paper conveyance path is deteriorated, and it may be possible to contact an expensive and easily damaged device disposed in the vicinity of the paper conveyance path.

  In order to avoid this contact, if there is a jam when the power is turned off, the jam information is stored inside the printing device, and the next time the power is turned on, the printing paper on the paper transport path of the printing device is stored based on the stored jam information. A method for confirming the presence or absence is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

According to this method, when there is printing paper without the previous jam occurrence, the paper is discharged, and when the previous jam occurrence has occurred and the printing paper is present, the user is notified and a jam release request is made. As a result, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the state due to wasteful discharge operation of the printing paper detected on the paper conveyance path, and avoid contact with an expensive and easily damaged device disposed near the paper conveyance path. Can do.
JP 2005-66969 A

  However, the conventional method and the jam paper discharge avoidance method are effective only for printing paper that is preliminarily retained on the paper conveyance path of the printing apparatus when the power is turned on, and printing is performed while the printing apparatus is activated. It is not valid for printing paper that is drawn into the apparatus and transported.

  For example, in a printing apparatus that is mainly composed of a paper transport unit such as an upstream roll unit or sheet feeder and a downstream printing unit, a transport process is performed when the upstream paper transport unit is initialized. The paper is transported to the downstream printing section where the paper stops. As a result, even if the printing paper on the paper conveyance path in the printing unit is confirmed at the start-up, the printing paper is subsequently conveyed into the machine, and as a result, the printing paper is continuously conveyed to the place where the conveyance process is stopped. . Therefore, there is a problem that a paper jam occurs at this portion, a jam occurs inside the printing apparatus, and the device may be damaged.

The present invention can protect a device in the vicinity of a paper conveyance path inside a printing apparatus in a printing apparatus composed of two paper conveyance units on the upstream side and a printing unit on the downstream side. An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus that can safely initialize the apparatus.

The printing apparatus of the present invention includes a roll paper unit that stores roll-shaped printing paper, a conveyance path disposed in the roll paper unit, a conveyance unit that is disposed in the conveyance path and conveys printing paper, and the conveyance path A printing unit comprising: a detecting unit that detects presence or absence of printing paper; and a printing unit that carries out printing by carrying the printing paper fed from the roll paper unit by the carrying unit, and turning on the printing device When the detection means detects the printing paper during the initialization process of the roll paper unit that drives in the direction of transporting the transport section downstream with transport by the printing section stopped The initialization process of the roll paper unit is interrupted, and the printing unit conveys the printing paper until it leaves the upstream side from the conveyance unit. Characterized in that it has a control means for processing again.

According to the present invention, in a printing apparatus constituted by two of an upstream paper conveyance section and a downstream printing section, it is possible to protect equipment and the like in the vicinity of the paper conveyance path inside the printing apparatus, and The printing apparatus can be initialized safely.

  The best mode for carrying out the invention is the following embodiment.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of a control hardware configuration of a printing apparatus PS1 that is Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  The printing apparatus PS1 includes a printing unit 100 and a roll paper unit 200. Further, a system configuration for connecting the host computer 300 or the like may be adopted.

  The printing unit 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 101, a RAM 102, a ROM 103, a sensor 104, an I / F 105, a display unit 106, a transport unit 107, and a head 108.

  A central processing unit (CPU) 101 performs program control of the overall operation of the printing unit 100. The RAM 102 and ROM 103 store programs executed by the CPU 101, table data, and the like. The I / F 105 performs reception of print data, status notification, and the like. The sensor 104 detects the presence or absence of printing paper inside the printing unit 100.

  The display unit 106 displays the state of the printing unit 100, a user guide, an error display, and the like. The conveyance unit 107 and the head 108 print the printing paper detected by the sensor 104 and discharge the printing paper from the printing unit 100.

  The roll paper unit 200 stores the print paper 204 in the roll paper unit 200, and conveys the print paper 204 toward the transport port 201 using the transport unit 203. In this case, the sensor 202 is used to check the transport status. Used, the presence or absence of printing paper is detected in the vicinity of the conveyance port 201.

  Next, overall control of the printing apparatus PS1 will be described.

  When the roll paper unit 200 is controlled and the printing unit 100 is turned on (ON), the printing unit 100 starts to initialize the roll paper unit 200.

  When the roll paper unit 200 is initialized, the conveyance unit 203 is initialized. Depending on the state of the printing paper 204, the printing paper 204 is caught when the conveyance unit 203 is initialized, and passes through the conveyance port 201 as it is. The printing paper 204 may enter the part 100.

  As a countermeasure, when the roll paper unit 200 is initialized, the sensor 202 is used to detect the print paper. When the print paper is detected, the initialization process of the roll paper unit 200 is interrupted, and the transport unit 203 is operated. The printing paper 204 is used to rewind. When the sensor 202 detects the printing paper again during the re-initialization process of the roll paper unit 200 after rewinding, the status is notified to the host computer 300 using the display unit 106 and the I / F 105 of the printing unit 100. The user is notified to remove the printing paper.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a main part of the printing apparatus PS1.

  The printing unit 100 can operate as a single unit. When the printing paper 110 is set in the cassette 109, the printing unit 100 causes the conveyance unit 107 to convey the printing paper 110 from the printing paper conveyance path 400b to 400a. The head 108 prints.

  The roll paper unit 200 is a detachable unit. When the roll paper unit 200 is connected to the printing unit 100, the printing unit 100 and the roll paper unit 200 operate in conjunction with each other. That is, the printing paper 204 is conveyed using the conveyance unit 203 through the printing paper conveyance path 400 c and conveyed from the conveyance port 201 into the printing unit 100, and is printed by the head 108 through the printing paper conveyance path 400 a.

  The roll paper unit 200 is controlled by the printing unit 100, and the printing unit 100 initializes the roll paper unit 200 when the printing unit 100 is turned on. The roll paper unit 200 is initialized in a direction in which the transport unit 203 is sent to the printing unit 100 side. At this time, if the print paper 204 is present near the transport unit 203, the print paper 204 is transferred to the transport unit 203. And is conveyed into the printing unit 100 through the conveyance port 201.

  Since the printing unit 100 stops the conveyance process at this time, as a result, the printing unit 100 cannot convey the inside of the printing unit 100 and a paper jam occurs. In the worst case, the printing unit 100 contacts the head 108 and causes damage.

  For this reason, when the transport unit 203 is initialized when the roll paper unit 200 is initialized when the power is turned on, when the sensor 202 detects the printing paper 204 in advance and detects the printing paper 204, the printing unit 100 Rotates the transport unit 203 in the opposite direction. As a result, the printing paper 204 is separated from the transport unit 203. Thereafter, when the roll paper unit 200 is re-initialized and the sensor 202 detects the printing paper 204 again, the transport unit 203 determines that the paper cannot be transported to the opposite side of the printing unit 100, and the printing paper The display unit 106 notifies the user so as to remove 204.

  After the user removes the printing paper 204, the roll paper unit 200 is initialized again. Further, when the roll paper unit 200 is not provided with the sensor 202, unnecessary rotation of the printing paper 204 is caused by rotating it to the opposite side of the printing unit 100 before the conveyance unit 203 is initialized when the power is turned on. To prevent.

  Next, a series of operations in the first embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a series of operations in the first embodiment.

  In S100, the power is turned on, and in S101, the roll paper unit is initialized. At the time of initialization, the paper outlet sensor detects the printing paper in S103, and if no printing paper is detected, the power-on is completed in S104. If the presence of printing paper is detected in S103, the detected printing paper is discharged to the upstream side which is the roll paper unit side in S105. After the paper is discharged in S105, the roll paper unit is reinitialized in S106, and in S107, the paper discharge port sensor detects the printing paper. At this time, if the printing paper is not detected, the power-on is completed in S104, and if the printing paper is detected, the paper cannot be discharged. Therefore, in S108, the user is notified to remove the printing paper. .

  In step S109, after the user removes the paper, the roll paper unit is initialized again in step S101. Thereafter, by repeating the above process, the printing paper is prevented from being conveyed to the printing apparatus in which the printing paper is caught up when the roll paper unit is initialized and the conveyance of the printing paper is stopped.

  Next, in Embodiment 1, a series of operations in the case where no sensor is provided in the upstream sheet transport mechanism will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a series of operations in the first embodiment when no sensor is provided in the upstream sheet transport mechanism.

  After turning on the power in S300, considering the possibility of printing paper from the beginning in S301, the paper is discharged to the upstream side which is the roll paper unit side. After this paper discharge, the roll paper unit is initialized in S302. Turn into. After that, in step S303, by turning on the power, the printing paper is prevented from being conveyed to the printing apparatus in which the printing paper has been stopped due to the printing paper being caught when the roll paper unit is initialized. To do.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the printing apparatus is turned on, during the upstream initialization process, the printing paper is not conveyed from the upstream side to the downstream side where the paper conveyance is stopped through the conveyance port. Monitoring is performed using a printing paper presence / absence detecting means. When the printing paper is detected, the upstream conveying means is used to convey the printing paper to the upstream side, and after this conveyance, the upstream initialization process is performed again. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent unnecessary printing paper from being transported from the upstream side to the downstream side, to prevent jamming due to jamming of the printing paper on the downstream side where paper transportation is stopped, and to perform initialization processing.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when the printing paper presence / absence detecting means detects the printing paper when performing the upstream initialization process again after the printing paper is conveyed upstream, the error notification means is used to detect the printing paper. Notifies that the initialization process cannot be continued and the printing paper needs to be removed. By this notification, it is possible to prevent unnecessary printing paper from being transported from the upstream side to the downstream side, to prevent jamming due to jamming of the printing paper on the downstream side where paper transportation is stopped, and to perform initialization processing.

  In the above-described embodiment, the printing apparatus includes a conveyance port for conveying printing paper from the upstream side to the downstream side, and upstream conveyance means for conveying the printing paper to the upstream side. When the printer is turned on, the upstream side initialization is performed so that the upstream side does not carry the printing paper from the upstream side through the conveyance port to the downstream side where the paper conveyance is stopped. Prior to conversion, the printing paper is conveyed in advance to the upstream side using the upstream conveying means. After that, the upstream initialization process prevents unnecessary printing paper from being transported from the upstream side to the downstream side, and prevents jamming due to paper jams on the downstream side where paper transportation has stopped. Can do.

  In other words, in the above-described embodiment, in the printing apparatus including the upstream paper transport unit and the downstream printing unit, the transport port for transporting the print paper from the upstream side to the downstream side, and the print paper at the transport port Printing paper presence / absence detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of printing paper. Further, the above-described embodiment includes an upstream conveying unit that conveys the printing paper to the upstream side. Further, when the printing apparatus power is turned on and the upstream initialization process is performed, when the printing paper presence / absence detecting means detects the printing paper stopped in the downstream, the printing paper is sent upstream. And a control means for performing the upstream initialization process again after the transfer.

  In this case, when the upstream conveying unit conveys the printing paper to the upstream side and performs the initialization process again on the upstream side, if the printing paper presence / absence detecting unit detects the printing paper again, it is necessary to remove the printing paper. Error notification means for informing the user of this fact.

  In the above-described embodiment, the upstream paper transport unit, the downstream printing unit, the transport port for transporting the print paper from the upstream side to the downstream side, and the upstream transport means for transporting the print paper to the upstream side And have. In the above embodiment, when the printing apparatus is turned on and the upstream side is initialized, the upstream side initialization is performed after the printing paper is transported to the upstream side before the upstream side initialization. There is an initialization processing means for performing processing.

  Further, the above embodiment can be grasped as a method invention. That is, in the above embodiment, in the control method of the printing apparatus including the upstream paper transport unit and the downstream printing unit, the presence or absence of the print paper at the transport port for transporting the print paper from the upstream side to the downstream side A printing paper presence / absence detecting step for detecting the printing paper. Further, the above-described embodiment includes an upstream conveyance process for conveying the printing paper to the upstream side. In the above-described embodiment, when the printing apparatus is turned on and the upstream initialization process detects the printing paper stopped in the printing paper presence / absence detection process on the downstream side, the upstream side goes to the upstream side. There is a control step in which the printing paper is transported, and after this transport, the upstream side initialization process is performed again.

In the above embodiment, the upstream conveying step for conveying the printing paper to the upstream side, and the upstream conveying step before the upstream initialization at the time of the initialization of the upstream side when the printing apparatus is turned on Then, after the printing paper is conveyed in advance to the upstream side, there is an initialization process step for performing the initialization process on the upstream side.

The printing apparatus configured by the upstream paper transport unit and the downstream printing unit has a configuration in which printing paper is transported from the upstream side to the downstream side during the upstream initialization process when the power is turned on. The present invention can be applied to a system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of a control hardware configuration of a printing apparatus PS1 that is Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a main part of the printing apparatus PS1. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a series of operations in the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a series of operations when a sensor is not provided in the upstream sheet transport mechanism in the first embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

100 ... printing section,
101 ... CPU,
102 ... RAM,
103 ... ROM,
104 ... sensor,
105 ... I / F,
106 ... display section,
107 ... conveying section,
108 ... head,
109 ... cassette,
110 ... printing paper,
200 ... roll paper unit,
201 ... conveying port,
202 ... sensor,
203 ... conveying section,
204 ... printing paper,
300: Host computer,
400a, 400b, 400c... Printing paper conveyance path.

Claims (5)

A roll paper unit storing roll-shaped printing paper, a conveyance path arranged in the roll paper unit, a conveyance unit arranged in the conveyance path for conveying printing paper, and detecting the presence or absence of printing paper in the conveyance path A printing apparatus having a detection unit that performs printing and a printing unit that transports and prints the printing paper fed from the roll paper unit by the transport unit;
When the power of the printing apparatus is turned on, the detection unit prints during initialization of the roll paper unit that drives the conveyance unit in the direction of conveyance downstream while conveyance by the printing unit is stopped. When a sheet is detected, the roll paper unit initialization process is interrupted, and the conveyance unit conveys the print sheet to the upstream side from the conveyance unit, and after this conveyance, the roll paper unit initialization process A printing apparatus comprising control means for performing the operation again. In claim 1,
When the transport unit transports the printing paper to the upstream side and performs the initialization process on the upstream side again, if the detection unit detects the printing paper again, the user is notified that the printing paper needs to be removed. A printing apparatus comprising an error notification means for notification. A roll paper unit that stores roll-shaped printing paper, a conveyance unit that is disposed in the roll paper unit and that conveys the printing paper, and a printing paper that is sent out from the roll paper unit by the conveyance unit is printed. The roll paper unit is a printing apparatus having no detection means for detecting the presence or absence of printing paper,
When the power of the printing apparatus is turned on, the transport unit is driven in the upstream transport direction so that the printing paper existing in the transport unit is transported to the upstream side from the transport unit. A printing apparatus comprising: a control unit that performs initialization processing of the roll paper unit that drives the transport unit in a direction of transporting in the downstream direction in a state where transport by the printing unit is stopped. A roll paper unit storing roll-shaped printing paper, a conveyance path arranged in the roll paper unit, a conveyance unit arranged in the conveyance path for conveying printing paper, and detecting the presence or absence of printing paper in the conveyance path A printing apparatus control method comprising: a detecting unit configured to perform printing; and a printing unit that performs printing by conveying the printing paper fed from the roll paper unit by the conveyance unit,
Detecting the printing paper by the detection means when the printing apparatus is turned on;
When the detection means detects a printing paper, a step of transporting the printing paper by the transport unit until it leaves the upstream side from the transport unit;
When the detection unit does not detect the printing paper, or when the detection unit detects the printing paper, after the step of conveying the printing paper by the conveying unit until it is separated from the conveying unit to the upstream side, An initialization process step of the roll paper unit that drives in the direction of transporting the transport unit downstream with transport by the printing unit stopped;
A control method for a printing apparatus, comprising: A roll paper unit that stores roll-shaped printing paper, a conveyance unit that is disposed in the roll paper unit and that conveys the printing paper, and a printing paper that is sent out from the roll paper unit by the conveyance unit is printed. A printing unit that performs printing, and the roll paper unit is a control method of a printing apparatus that does not have a detection unit that detects the presence or absence of printing paper,
When the power of the printing apparatus is turned on, the transport unit is driven in a direction to transport upstream, and the printing paper existing in the transport unit is transported by the transport unit until it is separated from the transport unit to the upstream side. Process,
An initialization process step of the roll paper unit that drives the transport unit in a direction in which transport in the downstream direction is performed in a state where transport by the printing unit performed after the transport is stopped, and
A control method for a printing apparatus, comprising:

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