JP5767781B2 - Continuous paper transport control method and printer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer including a paper feed roller and a tractor as a paper transport mechanism for transporting continuous paper. More specifically, the present invention relates to a continuous paper conveyance control method and printer capable of feeding continuous paper with high accuracy.

  A tractor mounted on a printer is described in Patent Document 1, for example. In the tractor of the same document, a tractor pin (engagement portion) that can be inserted into a sprocket hole (engagement hole) formed along the length direction of continuous paper and a tractor pin formed at a predetermined interval on the outer peripheral surface. A tractor belt, and a driving sprocket and a driven sprocket over which the tractor belt is stretched. The continuous paper is set so that the tractor pin is inserted into the sprocket hole. When the continuous paper is set, the tractor rotates the drive sprocket by the driving force from the drive source to rotate the tractor belt, and the tractor pins are sequentially engaged with the sprocket holes of the continuous paper, and the continuous paper is loaded. Transport.

  A printer including a tractor as a paper transport mechanism for transporting continuous paper along a paper transport path passing through a printing position by a print head is described in Patent Document 2, for example. The printer of this document includes a tractor and a paper feed roller as a paper transport mechanism, and the paper feed roller is disposed between the printing position and the tractor. In this document, while a printing process is being performed, the continuous paper is intermittently fed by a predetermined feed amount by driving and controlling the paper feed roller pair and the tractor in synchronization.

JP 2006-232470 A JP 2009-119574 A

  In printers equipped with a pair of paper feed rollers and a tractor as the paper transport mechanism, the transport force by the tractor is generally set larger than the transport force by the paper feed roller, and the continuous paper feed amount is managed by the tractor. doing.

  However, since the diameter of the tractor pin is smaller than the diameter of the sprocket hole of continuous paper, the position of the tractor pin in the sprocket hole changes when the continuous paper is conveyed by the tractor, and the continuous paper feed amount varies. May occur. Here, if the feed amount varies, there arises a problem that the print quality is deteriorated.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to propose a continuous paper conveyance control method and printer capable of accurately conveying continuous paper by a paper feed roller and a tractor.

In order to solve the above problem, the continuous paper conveyance control method of the present invention is:
Using the tractor that conveys the continuous paper while sequentially engaging the engaging portions with the engaging holes formed along the length direction of the continuous paper, the continuous paper is transferred to the paper feed roller. Conveys continuous paper,
When the continuous paper is delivered to the paper feed roller, the conveyance by the tractor is stopped, and the tractor is switched to a followable state following the conveyance of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller. To intermittently feed the continuous paper,
Printing on the continuous paper conveyed by the paper feed roller at a printing position;
During the conveyance of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller, the set feed amount of the continuous paper is calculated based on the rotation amount by which the paper feed roller is rotated, the calculated set feed amount of the continuous paper, and the tractor A difference between the continuous feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller calculated based on the driven amount of the paper is calculated each time the continuous paper is fed, and the paper can be eliminated at a predetermined timing. The amount of rotation of the feed roller is controlled.

  In the present invention, when the continuous paper transported by the tractor is delivered to the paper feed roller, the transport of the continuous paper by the tractor is stopped, and the subsequent continuous paper transport is performed by the paper feed roller. Since the paper feed roller is transporting continuous paper by frictional engagement force, compared to the case of transporting continuous paper by a tractor that transports continuous paper by mechanical engagement of the engagement hole and the engagement portion, Continuous paper can be accurately conveyed.

  Here, in the present invention, after the conveyance of the continuous paper by the tractor is stopped, the tractor can follow the conveyance of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller. For this reason, during the conveyance of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller, the engaging portion of the tractor may move in the engagement hole of the continuous paper, thereby changing the load applied to the continuous paper. When the load on the continuous paper increases, the continuous paper slides with respect to the paper feed roller, causing a problem that the continuous paper feed amount by the paper feed roller is insufficient. On the other hand, since the actual feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller can be calculated based on the driven amount of the tractor, the shortage of the continuous paper feed amount is calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller. It can be calculated as a difference between the actual feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller calculated based on the set feed amount and the driven amount of the tractor. Therefore, in the present invention, this difference is calculated while the continuous paper is conveyed by the paper feed roller, and the rotation amount of the paper feed roller is controlled so that the difference can be eliminated at a predetermined timing. As a result, even when the amount of continuous paper fed by the paper feed roller is insufficient, the shortage can be corrected, so that the continuous paper can be accurately conveyed.

In the present invention, during the transport of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller, the pre-Symbol continuous paper when the paper feed to the next page, to control the amount of rotation of the paper feed roller to allow eliminate the difference It is desirable. In this way, when printing a new page is started, the print start position on the continuous paper can be set to an accurate position.

In the present invention, it is desirable that the rotation amount of the paper feed roller is controlled by the paper feed roller so that the difference can be eliminated in the next paper feed. In this way, the shortage of the continuous paper feed amount can be corrected each time the continuous paper is fed.

  In the present invention, in order to calculate the actual feed amount of continuous paper, it is desirable to attach a detector to the tractor and calculate the actual feed amount based on the detection result by the detector.

  In the present invention, a paper feed motor for driving the paper feed roller and a tractor drive motor for driving the tractor are arranged, and when the continuous paper is delivered to the paper feed roller, the drive of the tractor drive motor is stopped. It is desirable to make it. In this way, since the transmission path of the driving force from the paper feed motor to the paper feed roller and the transmission path of the driving force from the tractor drive motor to the tractor can be configured separately, the configuration of each transmission path becomes simple, Generation of noise can be suppressed. In addition, since the transmission path of the driving force from the tractor drive motor to the tractor can be configured separately from the transmission path of the driving force from the paper feed motor to the paper feed roller, the tractor can be easily detached from the printer body. . Here, when the drive sources are separated, the performance of each drive source can be kept low, so that an increase in the manufacturing cost of the apparatus can be suppressed.

  In the present invention, when the paper feed roller and the tractor are driven by a single motor and the continuous paper is delivered to the paper feed roller, the transmission path for transmitting the driving force from the motor to the tractor is cut off. It may be. In this way, since only one motor is required, the manufacturing cost of the apparatus can be suppressed.

Next, the printer of the present invention is
A tractor that conveys the continuous paper along a paper conveyance path that passes through a printing position by a print head while sequentially engaging an engaging portion with an engagement hole formed along the length direction of the continuous paper. ,
A paper feed roller disposed between the printing position and the tractor for transporting the continuous paper along the paper transport path;
A paper detector disposed between the paper feed roller and the tractor;
When the continuous paper is detected by the paper detector, the continuous paper is transported by a predetermined transport amount by the tractor, and the continuous paper is delivered to the paper feed roller, and then the transport by the tractor is stopped, A tractor drive control means for switching the tractor to a followable state following the conveyance of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller;
When the continuous paper is delivered from the tractor to the paper feed roller, the paper feed roller is rotated, and the continuous paper is intermittently fed by the paper feed roller to print the continuous paper at the printing position. Printing control means;
A set feed amount calculating means for calculating a set feed amount of the continuous paper based on a rotation amount by which the print control means rotates the paper feed roller during conveyance of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller;
An actual feed amount calculating means for calculating an actual feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller based on a driven amount of the tractor during conveyance of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller;
At a predetermined timing, a difference between the set feed amount calculated by the set feed amount calculation unit and the actual feed amount calculated by the actual feed amount calculation unit is calculated every time the continuous paper is fed. Difference calculation means;
When the difference is calculated, paper feed roller rotation amount control means for controlling the rotation amount of the paper feed roller so that the difference can be eliminated;
It is characterized by having.

  According to the present invention, when the continuous paper is delivered from the tractor to the paper feed roller, the conveyance of the continuous paper by the tractor is stopped by the tractor drive control means. In addition, when the continuous paper is delivered from the tractor to the paper feed roller, the print control unit conveys the continuous paper by the paper feed roller and performs printing on the continuous paper at the printing position. Since the paper feed roller conveys the continuous paper by the frictional engagement force, the continuous paper is compared with the case where the continuous paper is conveyed by the tractor that conveys the continuous paper by the mechanical engagement of the engagement hole and the engaging portion. Can be accurately conveyed.

  Here, in the present invention, the tractor drive control means is in a state where the tractor can follow the continuous paper transport by the paper feed roller after the continuous paper transport by the tractor is stopped. For this reason, during the conveyance of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller, the engaging portion of the tractor may move in the engagement hole of the continuous paper, thereby changing the load applied to the continuous paper. When the load on the continuous paper increases, the continuous paper slides with respect to the paper feed roller, causing a problem that the continuous paper feed amount by the paper feed roller is insufficient. On the other hand, since the actual feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller can be calculated based on the driven amount of the tractor, the shortage of the continuous paper feed amount is calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller. It can be calculated as a difference between the actual feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller calculated based on the set feed amount and the driven amount of the tractor. Therefore, in the present invention, the difference calculation means calculates the difference between the set feed amount and the actual feed amount at a predetermined timing, and the roller rotation amount control means controls the rotation amount of the paper feed roller so that this difference can be eliminated. As a result, even when the amount of continuous paper fed by the paper feed roller is insufficient, the shortage can be corrected, so that the continuous paper can be accurately conveyed.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the difference calculation unit calculates the difference every time printing for one page by the print control unit is completed. In this way, when printing a new page is started, the print start position on the continuous paper can be set to an accurate position.

  In the present invention, the printing control means intermittently feeds the continuous paper by the paper feed roller, and the difference calculating means calculates the difference every time the continuous paper is fed. Is desirable. In this way, each time the continuous paper is fed, the shortage of the continuous paper feed amount can be corrected.

  In the present invention, in order to calculate the actual feed amount of continuous paper, it has a detector that detects the follower amount of the tractor, and the actual feed amount calculation means is based on the detection result by the detector. It is desirable to calculate the actual feed amount.

In the present invention, a paper feed motor that drives the paper feed roller;
A tractor drive motor for driving the tractor,
The tractor drive control means may stop driving the tractor drive motor when the continuous paper is delivered to the paper feed roller. In this way, since the transmission path of the driving force from the paper feed motor to the paper feed roller and the transmission path of the driving force from the tractor drive motor to the tractor can be configured separately, the configuration of each transmission path becomes simple, Generation of noise can be suppressed. In addition, since the transmission path of the driving force from the tractor drive motor to the tractor can be configured separately from the transmission path of the driving force from the paper feed motor to the paper feed roller, the tractor can be easily detached from the printer body. . Here, when the drive sources are separated, the performance of each drive source can be kept low, so that an increase in the manufacturing cost of the apparatus can be suppressed.

  In the present invention, it has a single motor for driving the paper feed roller and the tractor, and the tractor drive control means, when the continuous paper is delivered to the paper feed roller, from the motor to the tractor. It is desirable to interrupt the transmission path for transmitting the driving force. In this way, since only one motor is required, the manufacturing cost of the apparatus can be suppressed.

  In the present invention, when the continuous paper transported by the tractor is delivered to the paper feed roller, the transport of the continuous paper by the tractor is stopped, and the subsequent continuous paper transport is performed by the paper feed roller. Since the paper feed roller is transporting continuous paper by frictional engagement force, compared to the case of transporting continuous paper by a tractor that transports continuous paper by mechanical engagement of the engagement hole and the engagement portion, Continuous paper can be accurately conveyed.

  Here, in the present invention, after the conveyance of the continuous paper by the tractor is stopped, the tractor can follow the conveyance of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller. For this reason, during the conveyance of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller, the engaging portion of the tractor may move in the engagement hole of the continuous paper, thereby changing the load applied to the continuous paper. When the load on the continuous paper increases, the continuous paper slides with respect to the paper feed roller, causing a problem that the continuous paper feed amount by the paper feed roller is insufficient. On the other hand, since the actual feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller can be calculated based on the driven amount of the tractor, the shortage of the continuous paper feed amount is calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller. It can be calculated as a difference between the actual feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller calculated based on the set feed amount and the driven amount of the tractor. Therefore, in the present invention, this difference is calculated while the continuous paper is conveyed by the paper feed roller, and the rotation amount of the paper feed roller is controlled so that the difference can be eliminated at a predetermined timing. As a result, even when the amount of continuous paper fed by the paper feed roller is insufficient, the shortage can be corrected, so that the continuous paper can be accurately conveyed.

1 is a perspective view and a schematic sectional view of a printer to which the present invention is applied. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a printer. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a continuous sheet printing operation.

  A printer to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(overall structure)
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the printer, and FIG. 1B is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing the main part of the printer. The printer 1 performs printing on continuous paper 2 having sprocket holes (engagement holes) 2a provided at both end portions in the paper width direction. The printer 1 includes a printer main body 3 and a tractor 4 mounted on a rear portion of the printer main body 3 in the front-rear direction of the apparatus. The continuous paper 2 is fed into the printer main body 3 from the rear side of the apparatus by the tractor 4, and after printing is performed, the continuous paper 2 is discharged from the printer main body 3 to the front side of the apparatus.

  Inside the printer main body 3, a paper transport path 6 for transporting the continuous paper 2 via the print position A by the print head 5 is configured to extend linearly in the front-rear direction of the apparatus. The printing position A is defined by a platen 7 disposed below the paper conveyance path 6. The print head 5 is a serial impact dot matrix (SIDM) print head that prints by applying a recording wire to the ink ribbon and causing the ink of the ink ribbon to adhere to the continuous paper 2 for printing. 7 is opposed.

  A paper feed roller 8 for supplying the continuous paper 2 to the printing position A is disposed between the printing position A and the tractor 4. A paper feed pressing roller 9 for pressing the continuous paper 2 against the paper feed roller 8 is in contact with the paper feed roller 8 from above with a predetermined urging force. Further, as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 1B, the driving force from the paper feeding motor 10 is transmitted to the paper feeding roller 8 via a first driving force transmission mechanism 11 comprising a gear train. ing. The paper feed motor 10 is mounted on the printer main body 3.

  A paper discharge roller 12 for discharging the continuous paper 2 on which printing has been performed is arranged in front of the apparatus from the printing position A (downstream direction in the paper conveyance direction). A pressure roller 13 for pressing the continuous paper 2 against the paper discharge roller 12 is in contact with the paper discharge roller 12 from above with a predetermined urging force. The drive force of the paper feed motor 10 transmitted to the paper feed roller 8 is transmitted to the paper discharge roller 12 via a second drive force transmission mechanism 14 formed of a gear train.

  A paper detector 15 is installed between the paper feed roller 8 and the tractor 4 at a position adjacent to the rear of the paper feed roller 8 (upstream in the paper transport direction). The paper detector 15 is, for example, a reflection type photosensor, and detects the continuous paper 2 conveyed into the paper conveyance path 6 by the tractor 4.

The tractor 4 has a tractor pin (engagement portion) 16 that can be inserted into the sprocket hole 2 a of the continuous paper 2, a tractor belt 17 in which the tractor pins 16 are formed on the outer peripheral surface at predetermined intervals, and a tractor belt 17. The drive sprocket 21 and the driven sprocket 19 are provided. The drive sprocket 21 is equipped with a rotary encoder (detector) 20 for detecting the amount of rotation of the drive sprocket 21 (the amount of tractor follow).

The drive force from the tractor drive motor 18 is transmitted to the drive sprocket 21 via the third drive force transmission mechanism 22. The third driving force transmission mechanism 22 includes a clutch mechanism 23, and the clutch mechanism 23 can control disconnection and connection of a driving force transmission path between the tractor driving motor 18 and the tractor 4. . The tractor drive motor 18 is mounted on the tractor 4.

Here, when the continuous paper 2 is conveyed by the tractor 4, the continuous paper 2 is set so that the tractor pin 16 is inserted into the sprocket hole 2a. Thereafter, the driving sprocket 21 is rotated by the driving force of the tractor driving motor 18 to rotate the tractor belt 17, and the tractor pins 16 are sequentially engaged with the sprocket holes 2 a to convey the continuous paper 2.

  In addition, when the printer 1 performs printing on the continuous paper 2, the printing operation is performed by moving the print head 5 in the scanning direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction, and the continuous paper 2 is fed by a predetermined predetermined feed amount. The paper feeding operation for feeding paper is performed alternately.

(Control system)
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a control system of the printer. The control system of the printer 1 is configured around a control unit 30 including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. A printing command from an external device (not shown) and signals from the paper detector 15 and the rotary encoder 20 are input to the control unit 30. The print head 5 is connected to the output side of the control unit 30 via a head driver 31. Further, the paper feed motor 10 is connected via the first motor driver 32, and the tractor drive motor 18 is connected via the second motor driver 33.

  The control unit 30 includes a tractor drive control unit 34, a print control unit 35, a set feed amount calculation unit 36, an actual feed amount calculation unit 37, a difference calculation unit 38, and a roller rotation amount control unit 39.

When the control unit 30 receives a print command, the tractor drive control unit 34 drives the tractor 4 by driving and controlling the tractor drive motor 18 to convey the continuous paper 2. Further, when the continuous paper 2 is detected by the paper detector 15, the tractor drive control means 34 transports the continuous paper 2 by a predetermined transport amount by the tractor 4, and the leading end portion of the continuous paper 2 is pressed by the paper feed roller 8 and the press. The roller 9 is sandwiched between the nip portions.

Furthermore, the tractor drive control means 34 stops the tractor drive motor 18 and stops the conveyance of the continuous paper 2 by the tractor 4 after the continuous paper 2 is put between the paper feed roller 8 and the pressing roller 9. At the same time, the clutch mechanism 23 is controlled to cut off the driving force transmission path in the driving force transmission mechanism configured between the tractor drive motor 18 and the drive sprocket 21 of the tractor 4. When the transmission path is interrupted, the tractor 4 follows the conveyance of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 and can be driven. That is, when the continuous paper 2 is fed by the paper feed roller 8, the tractor pin 16 inserted in the sprocket hole 2a moves in the paper transport direction, the tractor belt 17 rotates, and the drive sprocket 21 and the follower are driven. The sprocket 19 is rotated.

When the continuous paper 2 is detected by the paper detector 15, the print control unit 35 drives the paper feed motor 10 to start the rotation of the paper feed roller 8, and delivers the continuous paper 2 from the tractor 4. receive. When the transport of the continuous paper 2 by the tractor 4 is stopped, the continuous paper 2 is transported by the paper feed roller 8 and the continuous paper 2 is set at the printing position A. Thereafter, the print head 5 and the tractor drive motor 18 are driven and controlled, the printing head 5 is moved in the scanning direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction, printing is performed, and the continuous paper 2 is predetermined by the paper feed roller 8. Printing is performed on the continuous paper 2 while alternately performing the paper feeding operation of feeding the paper by the feeding amount.

  The set feed amount calculation unit 36 calculates the set feed amount of the continuous paper 2 calculated based on the rotation of the paper feed roller 8 every time printing for one page by the print control unit 35 is completed. Here, the set feed amount is a theoretical value of the feed amount of the continuous paper 2 that is conveyed by the print control means 35 while the printing for one page is being performed. It can be calculated from the rotation amount obtained by rotating the feed roller 8.

The actual feed amount calculation means 37 is a driven amount of the tractor 4 (rotation amount of the drive sprocket 21) that is rotated with the continuous paper 2 fed by the paper feed roller 8 every time printing of one page by the print command is completed. ) Based on the signal from the rotary encoder 20. Further, the actual feed amount of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 is calculated based on the acquired follower amount of the tractor 4.

  The difference calculating unit 38 calculates the difference between the set feed amount calculated by the set feed amount calculating unit 36 and the actual feed amount calculated by the actual feed amount calculating unit 37 every time printing for one page by the print command is completed. calculate.

  When the difference is calculated, the roller rotation amount control means 39 controls the rotation amount of the paper feed roller 8 so that the difference can be eliminated at the next paper feed, so that the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 is controlled. Correct the feed amount. More specifically, when the continuous paper 2 is fed to the next page, the paper feed is performed by adding a feed amount corresponding to the calculated difference to a predetermined feed amount determined in advance.

(Printing operation)
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the printing operation of the continuous paper 2. First, when the printer 1 receives a print command from an external device, the tractor drive control unit 34 drives the tractor 4 to feed the continuous paper 2 into the paper conveyance path 6. Thereafter, when the leading end of the continuous paper 2 is detected by the paper detector 15, the tractor drive control means 34 transports the continuous paper 2 by a predetermined transport amount by the tractor 4 and feeds the leading end of the continuous paper 2 to the paper. The roller 8 and the pressure roller 9 are sandwiched (step ST1).

  When the leading end portion of the continuous paper 2 is sandwiched between the nip portions of the paper feed roller 8 and the pressure roller 9 and the delivery of the continuous paper 2 is completed, the tractor drive control means 34 stops the tractor 4 and causes the tractor 4 to move to the paper. Following the conveyance of the continuous paper 2 by the feed roller 8, a followable state is set (step ST2).

  When the conveyance of the continuous paper 2 by the tractor 4 is stopped, the printing control unit 35 conveys the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 and sets the continuous paper 2 at the printing position. Then, a printing operation in which printing is performed by moving the print head 5 in a scanning direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction and a paper feeding operation in which the continuous paper 2 is fed by a predetermined feeding amount are alternately performed to form the continuous paper 2. Printing is performed (step ST3).

  Here, in step ST 3, every time printing for one page is completed (step ST 31), the set feed amount by the paper feed roller 8 is calculated by the set feed amount calculation unit 36 and continuously by the actual feed amount calculation unit 37. The actual feed amount based on the follower amount of the tractor 4 following the sheet 2 is calculated. Further, based on the calculated set feed amount and actual feed amount calculating means 37, the difference is calculated by the difference calculating means 38 (step ST32).

  When the difference is calculated, the roller rotation amount control means 39 adds the calculated difference to the predetermined feed amount when feeding the continuous paper to the next page, and the paper by the paper feed roller 8 is added. Feeding is performed (step ST33).

  Here, step ST32 and step ST33 are repeated each time printing for one page is completed until the print job by the print command is completed (step ST34).

(Function and effect)
According to this example, when the continuous paper 2 is delivered from the tractor 4 to the paper feed roller 8, the tractor drive control means 34 stops the conveyance of the continuous paper 2 by the tractor 4. When the continuous paper 2 is delivered from the tractor 4 to the paper feed roller 8, the print control unit 35 conveys the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 and prints the continuous paper 2 at the printing position. Since the paper feed roller 8 conveys the continuous paper 2 by the frictional engagement force, it is compared with the case where the continuous paper 2 is conveyed by the tractor 4 that conveys the continuous paper 2 by mechanical engagement of the engagement hole and the engaging portion. Thus, the continuous paper 2 can be conveyed with high accuracy.

  Here, in this example, the tractor drive control means 34 is in a state where the tractor 4 can follow the conveyance of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 after the conveyance of the continuous paper 2 by the tractor 4 is stopped. . For this reason, during conveyance of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8, the tractor pin 16 of the tractor 4 may move in the sprocket hole 2a of the continuous paper 2 to vary the load applied to the continuous paper 2. When the load applied to the continuous paper 2 increases, the continuous paper 2 slips with respect to the paper feed roller 8, causing a problem that the feed amount of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 is insufficient. On the other hand, since the actual feed amount of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 can be calculated based on the driven amount of the tractor 4, the shortage of the feed amount of the continuous paper 2 is based on the rotation of the paper feed roller 8. It can be calculated as a difference between the calculated set feed amount of the continuous paper 2 and the actual feed amount of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller calculated based on the driven amount of the tractor 4. Therefore, in this example, the difference calculation means 38 calculates this difference, and the roller rotation amount control means 39 controls the rotation amount of the paper feed roller 8 so that the difference can be eliminated. As a result, even when the feed amount of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 is insufficient, the shortage can be corrected, so that the continuous paper 2 can be accurately conveyed.

  In this example, every time printing for one page is completed, the difference between the set feed amount and the actual feed amount is calculated, and the roller rotation amount control means 39 can eliminate the difference when printing the next page. Thus, the rotation amount of the paper feed roller 8 is controlled. Accordingly, when the next page is printed, the print start position on the continuous paper 2 becomes accurate.

Furthermore, in this example, the tractor drive motor 18 for driving the tractor 4 is a motor different from the paper feed motor 10 for driving the paper feed roller 8 and is mounted on the tractor 4. As a result, the transmission path of the driving force from the paper feed motor 10 to the paper feed roller 8 and the transmission path of the driving force from the tractor drive motor 18 to the tractor 4 can be configured separately, so that the configuration of each transmission path is simplified. , Noise generation can be suppressed. Moreover, since the transmission path of the driving force from the tractor drive motor 18 to the tractor 4 can be configured in the tractor 4, the tractor 4 can be easily detached from the printer body. Here, when the drive sources are separated, the performance of each drive source can be kept low, so that an increase in the manufacturing cost of the apparatus can be suppressed.

(Other embodiments)
In the above example, the difference calculation unit 38 calculates the difference every time printing for one page is performed, but calculates the difference every time the continuous paper 2 is fed by the paper feed roller 8. May be. In this way, if the feed amount of the continuous paper 2 by the paper feed roller 8 is insufficient, the shortage of the feed amount of the continuous paper 2 is corrected by the roller rotation amount control means 39 at the next paper feed. .

  Further, when the roller rotation amount control means 39 corrects the predetermined feed amount, the continuous paper 2 can be transported by the tractor 4 in parallel with the paper feed by the paper feed roller 8. In this case, the tractor 4 conveys the continuous paper 2 by the feed amount obtained by adding the difference to the predetermined feed amount in synchronization with the paper feed by the paper feed roller 8.

  In the above example, the drive source of the paper feed roller 8 and the tractor 4 is a separate motor, but the drive force is transmitted from this motor to the paper feed roller 8 and the tractor 4 using one motor as the drive source. You may make it do. In this case, the clutch mechanism 23 is provided in the middle of the transmission path for transmitting the driving force from the motor to the tractor 4, and the tractor drive control means 34 transmits the driving force between the motor and the tractor 4 by the clutch mechanism 23. It can be configured to control path connection and disconnection. In this way, since only one motor is required, the manufacturing cost of the apparatus can be suppressed.

1. Printer, 2. Continuous paper, 2a, Sprocket hole, 3. Printer body, 4. Tractor, 5. Print head, 6. Paper transport path, 7. Platen, 8. Paper feed roller, 9. Press roller, 10. -Paper feed motor, 11-First driving force transmission mechanism, 12-Paper discharge roller, 13-Press roller, 14-Second driving force transmission mechanism, 15-Paper detector, 16-Tractor pin, 17-Tractor belt, 18- Tractor drive motor , 19- Driven sprocket, 20-Rotary encoder (detector), 21- Drive sprocket , 22-Third drive force transmission mechanism, 23-Clutch mechanism, 30-Control unit, 31-Head driver, 32・ First motor driver 33 ・ Second motor driver 34 ・ Tractor drive control means 35 ・ Print control means 3 Configuring feeding amount calculating means, 37, Minoru feeding amount calculating means, 38-difference calculating unit, 39 roller rotation amount control means, A-printing position

Claims (10)

Using the tractor that conveys the continuous paper while sequentially engaging the engaging portions with the engaging holes formed along the length direction of the continuous paper, the continuous paper is transferred to the paper feed roller. Conveys continuous paper,
When the continuous paper is delivered to the paper feed roller, the conveyance by the tractor is stopped, and the tractor is switched to a followable state following the conveyance of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller. To intermittently feed the continuous paper,
Printing on the continuous paper conveyed by the paper feed roller at a printing position;
During the conveyance of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller, the set feed amount of the continuous paper is calculated based on the rotation amount by which the paper feed roller is rotated, the calculated set feed amount of the continuous paper, and the tractor A difference between the continuous feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller calculated based on the driven amount of the paper is calculated each time the continuous paper is fed, and the paper can be eliminated at a predetermined timing. A method for controlling conveyance of a continuous sheet, wherein the rotation amount of a feed roller is controlled. In claim 1 ,
The pre-Symbol continuous paper when the paper feed to the next page, a conveyance control method of the continuous paper and controls the amount of rotation of the paper feed roller to allow eliminate the difference. In claim 1 ,
A continuous paper transport control method, wherein the rotation amount of the paper feed roller is controlled so that the difference can be eliminated at the time of the next paper feed. In any one of claims 1 to 3,
Attach a detector to the tractor,
A continuous paper conveyance control method, wherein the actual feed amount is calculated based on a detection result by the detector. In any one of Claim 1-4,
A paper feed motor for driving the paper feed roller, and a tractor drive motor for driving the tractor,
When the continuous paper is delivered to the paper feed roller, driving of the tractor drive motor is stopped. In any one of Claim 1-4,
The paper feed roller and the tractor are driven by a single motor,
When the continuous paper is delivered to the paper feed roller, a transmission path for transmitting a driving force from the motor to the tractor is blocked. A tractor that conveys the continuous paper along a paper conveyance path that passes through a printing position by a print head while sequentially engaging an engaging portion with an engagement hole formed along the length direction of the continuous paper. ,
A paper feed roller disposed between the printing position and the tractor for transporting the continuous paper along the paper transport path;
A paper detector disposed between the paper feed roller and the tractor;
When the continuous paper is detected by the paper detector, the continuous paper is transported by a predetermined transport amount by the tractor, and the continuous paper is delivered to the paper feed roller, and then the transport by the tractor is stopped, A tractor drive control means for switching the tractor to a followable state following the conveyance of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller;
When the continuous paper is delivered from the tractor to the paper feed roller, the paper feed roller is rotated, and the continuous paper is intermittently fed by the paper feed roller to print the continuous paper at the printing position. Printing control means;
A set feed amount calculating means for calculating a set feed amount of the continuous paper based on a rotation amount by which the print control means rotates the paper feed roller during conveyance of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller;
An actual feed amount calculating means for calculating an actual feed amount of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller based on a driven amount of the tractor during conveyance of the continuous paper by the paper feed roller;
At a predetermined timing, a difference between the set feed amount calculated by the set feed amount calculation unit and the actual feed amount calculated by the actual feed amount calculation unit is calculated every time the continuous paper is fed. Difference calculation means;
When the difference is calculated, paper feed roller rotation amount control means for controlling the rotation amount of the paper feed roller so that the difference can be eliminated;
A printer comprising: Oite to claim 7,
Having a detector to detect the follower amount of the tractor;
The actual feed amount calculating means calculates the actual feed amount based on a detection result by the detector. In any one of claims 7 to 8 ,
A paper feed motor for driving the paper feed roller;
A tractor drive motor for driving the tractor,
The tractor drive control means stops the drive of the tractor drive motor when the continuous paper is delivered to the paper feed roller. In any one of claims 7 to 9 ,
Having a single motor to drive the paper feed roller and the tractor;
The tractor drive control means cuts off a transmission path for transmitting a driving force from the motor to the tractor when the continuous paper is delivered to the paper feed roller.

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