JP5785964B2 - Printer device - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a printer apparatus having a skew check function.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a system having a function of checking a skew (inclination) in a printing direction with respect to a side of a sheet when the sheet is fed obliquely at the time of feeding is considered. The angle with respect to the prescribed posture of the paper is calculated using the time difference between the detection times of the two skew sensors and the conveyance speed of the cut paper by the stepping motor to detect the presence or absence of a skew error.

  However, when a narrow paper is used, only one skew sensor can be detected. In this case, there is a problem that even though the skew state is not set, it is detected as a skew sensor error and a narrow paper cannot be used.

  In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable to increase the number of skew sensors, reduce the installation interval of the skew sensors, and detect even narrow paper. This causes a new problem of cost increase due to an increase in the number of skew sensors.

JP 2013-1507 A

The problem to be Solved by the Invention is to provide a printer apparatus which can also realize the skew detection for narrow with a small clearance Interview Sensa paper.

A printer apparatus according to an embodiment includes a paper feeding port to which paper is supplied, a printer unit that performs a printing operation on the paper supplied from the paper feeding port, and a pair of opposingly arranged with a predetermined gap. An upper sheet guide and a lower sheet guide; a guide path for guiding the sheet; and first and second skew sensors arranged on the left and right guide paths in the conveyance direction of the sheet to detect the sheet; The distance or time from when the first skew sensor is turned on until the second skew sensor is turned on is X, the preset allowable distance or time is X1, and the preset upper limit distance or time is XMax, when X is not less than the X1, it is determined that the skew is within the allowable range, the X is more than the X1, and if the X is less than the XMax is Sukyuera And a control unit to determine that.

1 is a side view illustrating a first embodiment of a printer apparatus. It is a side view of a paper feed unit. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a sheet feeding unit. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control part of an office machine. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a relationship between a sheet and a skew sensor. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a relationship between a sheet and a skew sensor. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the printer apparatus. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating 2nd Embodiment concerning a printer apparatus. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of 2nd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a side view showing a first embodiment of a printer apparatus, with a part of a housing cut away. FIG. 1 illustrates an office machine 100 equipped with a printer device as an example.

  A display 11 is attached to the front surface of the housing 10. A keyboard 20 that is an input device is disposed below the display 11. In a region between the keyboard 20 and the display 11 in the housing 10, a paper feed port 12 through which the paper S1 is supplied is formed.

  On the upper surface of the housing 10, a paper discharge port 13 that communicates with the paper supply port 12 is provided on the upper surface. On the back surface of the paper discharge port 13, a rear paper feed port 14 for feeding the web-like continuous paper S <b> 2 is provided. A paper discharge tray 15 is attached to the upper surface of the housing 10 so as to be positioned behind the paper discharge outlet 13 and for stacking and holding the paper S2 discharged from the paper discharge outlet 13.

  Inside the housing 10, a guide path 16 that connects the paper feed port 12 and the paper discharge port 13 is provided. The guide path 16 is composed of a pair of an upper sheet guide 161 and a lower sheet guide 162 that are arranged to face each other with a predetermined gap. The guide path 16 having such a configuration connects the paper feed port 12 and the paper discharge port 13 in a curved shape.

  A printer unit 17 that is built in the housing 10 and executes a printing operation is disposed in a region on the discharge path 13 side of the guide path 16. The printer unit 17 has a structure in which a platen 18 and a printer head 19 are arranged to face each other via a guide path 16.

  The guide path 16 is provided with a plurality of conveyance roller pairs FR arranged via the guide path 16. These conveyance roller pair FR is configured by a driving roller DR and a driven roller SR.

  Regarding the conveyance roller pair FR, the first conveyance roller pair FR1, the second conveyance roller pair FR2, the third conveyance roller pair FR3, and the fourth conveyance roller pair FR4 are arranged in this order from the position near the paper feed port 12 to the paper discharge port 13. Is arranged in.

  The first transport roller pair FR1 includes a first drive roller DR1 and a first driven roller SR1. The second transport roller pair FR2 includes a second drive roller DR2 and a second driven roller SR2. The third transport roller pair FR3 includes a third drive roller DR3 and a third driven roller SR3. The fourth transport roller pair FR4 includes a fourth drive roller DR4 and a fourth driven roller SR4.

  The first transport roller pair FR1, the second transport roller pair FR2, and the third transport roller pair FR3 are sequentially positioned in the region from the paper feed port 12 to the printer 17. The first conveyance roller pair FR1 functions as a roller pair that starts conveyance of the sheet S1. The fourth transport roller pair FR4 is positioned between the printer 17 and the paper discharge port 13 and functions as a paper discharge roller pair.

  The drive roller DR included in each conveyance roller pair FR is rotated under drive control by the CPU 42 (see FIG. 4) of the office machine 100. As a result, the sheet S1 inserted from the sheet feeding port 12 is conveyed along the guide path 16.

  A tractor 9 is disposed on the back surface of the housing 10. The tractor 9 includes a pin belt (not shown) that is movably wound around a drive shaft 9a and a driven shaft 9b, and the pin belt rotates integrally with the drive shaft 9a, whereby the continuous paper S2 is guided through the guide path. 16 is fed. Further, a changer 8 is provided at a connecting portion between the tractor 9 and the guide path 16 so as to be able to switch between transport by the transport roller pair FR and transport by the tractor 9.

  Here, a part formed by each part from the paper feed port 12 to the second transport roller pair FR <b> 2 is referred to as a paper feed unit 200. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the paper feed unit 200. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the paper feed unit 200.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the paper sensor PS is embedded in the lower paper guide 162 at a position upstream of the first transport roller pair FR <b> 1. The paper sensor PS is for detecting the presence or absence of the paper S1. It is assumed that the sheet S1 is detected when the sheet sensor PS is on.

  In addition, a first skew sensor SS1 is embedded in, for example, the lower paper guide 162 from the left in FIG. 3 at a position downstream of the first transport roller pair FR1. A second skew sensor SS2 is embedded in, for example, the lower paper guide 162 at a distance from the skew sensor SS1.

  The first and second skew sensors SS1, SS2 are disposed at positions facing each other in the longitudinal direction of the first transport roller pair FR1. The first and second skew sensors SS1 and SS2 are sensors that are turned on when the sheet S1 is positioned on the upper surface thereof and notify the detection result. Detection outputs of the first and second skew sensors SS1, SS2 are input to the CPU 42 (see FIG. 4) of the office machine 100. When the first and second skew sensors SS1, SS2 are turned on, the detection output input to the CPU 42 changes from “H level” to “L level”.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit of the office machine 100. As shown in FIG.

  The office machine 100 has a microcomputer 41 as a control unit. The microcomputer 41 is configured by connecting a ROM (Read Only Memory) 43, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 44, and a flash ROM 45 to a CPU (Computer Processor Unit) 42 via a bus line BL.

  The CPU 42 executes various arithmetic processes and controls each unit centrally. The ROM 43 stores a program executed by the CPU 41 and the like. The RAM 43 stores data in a rewritable manner and functions as a work area for the CPU 42.

  The display 11, the keyboard 20, the stepping motor 46, the printer unit 17, the paper detection sensor PS, and the skew sensors SS1 and SS2 are connected to the microcomputer 41 via the bus line BL.

  Further, a communication interface for executing communication with an external device (not shown), an HDD for storing various information, and the like are connected to the microcomputer 41 via the bus line BL. The microcomputer 41 constitutes a control unit of the printer unit 17.

  The ROM 43 stores software (control program) for controlling the operation of the printer. The RAM 44 temporarily stores print data and the like.

  The stepping motor 46 rotates the drive roller DR forward or backward based on a control signal from the microcomputer 41. By performing normal rotation or reverse rotation, the conveyance direction of the sheet S1 can be changed.

  The flash ROM 45 stores various parameters used for printer operation control, contents related to printer registration, and the like. In the flash ROM 45, an allowable step number X1 and an upper limit step number XMax for comparison with the step number obtained by counting the steps of the stepping motor 46 are also stored in advance. The allowable step number X1 is a reference value for confirming the skew state of the inserted sheet S1. The allowable number of steps X1 is 50, for example. The upper limit step number XMax is set to 150, for example.

  5 and 6 are explanatory diagrams for explaining the relationship between the conveyed paper S1 and the first and second skew sensors SS1, SS2.

  FIG. 5 shows a state in which the normal-size paper S1 that can be detected by the first and second skew sensors SS1, SS2 is tilted to the right side in the drawing. The normal size paper S1 can be detected by the first and second skew sensors SS1, SS2.

  In the figure, P1 indicates a point where the first skew sensor SS1 detects the normal sheet S1 in the process in which the normal size sheet S1 is conveyed in the direction of the white arrow. Further, P2 in the drawing indicates a point where the second skew sensor SS2 detects the normal size paper S1 in the process of transporting the normal size paper S1. X represents the number of steps (= movement distance) of the stepping motor 46 after the first skew sensor SS1 detects the normal size paper S1 at the point P1.

  FIG. 6 shows a state in which a narrow-size paper S1 that can be detected by either one of the first and second skew sensors SS1, SS2 is conveyed. In FIG. 6, the first skew sensor SS1 can detect the narrow-size paper S1. P1 in the drawing indicates a point where the first skew sensor SS1 detects the sheet S1 in the process in which the sheet S1 is conveyed in the direction of the white arrow.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 7 shows a skew error process when the normal size sheet S1 of FIG. 5 is fed in a state skewed to the right side and a print process of the narrow size sheet S1 of FIG.

  When the user places the paper S1 on the table, the paper detection sensor PS is turned on and automatic paper feeding is started.

  When the sheet detection sensor PS is turned on, it is determined whether or not the sheet S1 is loaded from the sheet feeding port 12 (ACT1).

  In ACT1, when the paper detection sensor PS is turned on (Yes), the CPU 42 drives the stepping motor 46 (ACT2). The stepping motor 46 starts automatic feeding of the inserted paper S1 to the guide path 16.

  The CPU 42 determines whether the first skew sensor SS1 is turned on in the process in which the sheet S1 is conveyed through the guide path 16 from the sheet feeding port 12 (ACT3).

  The CPU 42 that has determined that the sheet S1 has been detected temporarily stores the number of steps of the stepping motor 46 in the RAM 44 (ACT4). The stepping motor 46 transports, for example, 0.125 mm paper S1 in one step. The moving distance of the sheet S1 after 100 steps is 12.5 mm. Counting up the number of steps of the stepping motor 46 starts when the first skew sensor SS1 is turned on and stops when the first skew sensor SS2 is turned on.

  The CPU 42 compares the allowable step number X1 stored in the RAM 44 with the step number X of the stepping motor 46 in ACT4, and determines whether the allowable step number X1 (X1 = 50) stored in advance in the ROM 43 has been exceeded (ACT5). ).

  In ACT5, when it is determined that the step number X does not exceed the allowable step number X1 (No), it is determined that there is no skew error, printing is performed by the printer unit 17, and the sheet is discharged from the discharge port 13 (ACT6). The case where the step number X does not exceed the allowable step number X1 is when the second skew sensor SS2 is turned on and the count-up is stopped before the step number X reaches the value of the allowable step number X1.

  In ACT5, when it is determined that the number of steps X exceeds the allowable number of steps X1 (Yes), the process proceeds to ACT7.

  In ACT7, it is determined whether the step number X exceeds the upper limit step number XMax.

  In ACT 7, when it is determined that the step number X exceeds the upper limit step number XMax (No), the process proceeds to ACT 6, printing is performed by the printer unit 17, and the paper discharge process is performed from the paper discharge port 13.

  If it is determined in ACT7 that the step number X does not exceed the upper limit step number XMax (Yes), the process proceeds to ACT8.

  In ACT 8, the stepping motor 46 is rotated in the reverse direction and the sheet S 1 is conveyed to the position of the sheet feeding port 12.

  As described above, in ACT5, if the step number X does not exceed the allowable step number X1, printing is performed and the sheet is discharged. In ACT7, when the second skew sensor SS2 is turned on with a step number X smaller than the upper limit step number XMax, it is determined that a skew error has occurred, and the paper S1 is conveyed and returned to the paper supply port 12. In ACT7, when the number of steps exceeds the upper limit number of steps XMax, it is determined that the sheet S1 has a narrow width, and printing is performed and the sheet is discharged.

  That is, the skew check is performed for the allowable number of steps X1, the number of steps X, and the upper limit number of steps XMax from the relationship of X1 <X and X <XMax. When the step number X is smaller than the allowable step number X1 and the step number X is larger than the upper limit step number XMax, printing is performed on the sheet S1 and the sheet is discharged. When the number of steps X is larger than the allowable number of steps X1 and the number of steps X is smaller than the upper limit number of steps XMax, a skew error is generated and the sheet is returned to the paper feeding position.

  In the above description, the skew check is performed based on the difference between the allowable step number X1 and the step number X corresponding to the distance. You may change this to time. That is, processing is performed by replacing the allowable step number X1 with the allowable time T1, the step number X with the time T, and the upper limit step number XMax with the upper limit time TMMax. In this case, the same effect as in the case of the step is achieved.

  In addition, the skew check is performed based on the number of steps in the period in which the second skew sensor SS2 is turned on after the first skew sensor SS1 is turned on. Actually, of the first and second skew sensors SS1 and SS2, the paper S1 is first checked for skew based on the detection result of the skew sensor. That is, the CPU 42 preferentially executes the shift process of the first and second skew sensors SS1, SS2 that detects the paper S1 first. By this processing, it is possible to deal with the left and right queues.

  In this embodiment, the skew check can be performed by a small number of skew sensors, and a skew error can be avoided and printing can be performed even for a narrow-size sheet.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a second embodiment of the printer apparatus. In this embodiment, a third skew sensor SS3 that can detect even a narrow-size sheet is installed on the downstream side. Then, after the first skew sensor SS1 detects the sheet S1, the conveyance of the sheet S1 is continued, and the normal size depends on which of the second skew sensor SS2 and the third skew sensor SS3 detects the sheet S1 first. It is discriminated whether the paper skew error or paper of narrow size is fed.

  Hereinafter, the skew check according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the same processes as those in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description here will be different processes.

  In ACT3, even after the first skew sensor SS1 is turned on, the driving of the stepping motor 46 is continued and the sheet S1 is further conveyed (ACT11).

  Next, the CPU 46 determines which of the second skew sensor SS2 and the third skew sensor SS3 is turned on first (ACT12).

  If it is determined in ACT12 that the second skew sensor SS2 has been turned on first (Yes), it is determined that there is a skew error, and the process proceeds to ACT13.

  In ACT 13, the stepping motor 46 is rotated in the reverse direction to transport the sheet S 1 to the position of the sheet feeding port 12.

  In ACT12, when it is determined that the third skew sensor SS3 is turned on first (No), it is determined that there is no skew, and the process proceeds to ACT14.

  In ACT 14, it is determined that the sheet S 1 is a narrow-sized sheet, and printing is performed by the printer unit 17, and the sheet is discharged from the discharge port 13.

  The paper S1 shown in FIG. 8 has a narrow size. For this reason, the third skew sensor SS3 is turned on before the second skew sensor SS2. In this case, the sheet S1 does not have a skew error, and can be printed with a narrow width.

  As described above, it is possible to determine whether the skew error of the normal width paper or the feeding of the narrow paper is made depending on which of the second skew sensor SS2 and the third skew sensor SS3 is turned on. .

  In this case as well, the skew check can be performed by the same process when the turn-on order of the first skew sensor SS1 and the first skew sensor SS1 is switched. However, when the paper S1 is left-aligned and fed, it is unlikely that the first skew sensor SS1 will not turn on even if the paper S1 has a narrow size. For this reason, when the paper S1 is fed left-aligned, the second skew sensor SS2 is turned on, and even when the number of steps X until the first skew sensor SS1 is turned on exceeds the upper limit number of steps X1, a skew error is set. You may control to.

  By the way, after the first skew sensor SS1 is turned on, the skew check is performed until the second skew sensor SS2 is turned on or the third skew sensor SS3 is turned on. However, serious jamming is also possible. For this reason, when the second and third skew sensors SS2, SS3 are not turned on, an allowable step may be provided and a skew error may be generated after the allowable step has elapsed.

  In this embodiment, although the number of skew sensors is increased by one, the skew check can be performed by a small number of skew sensors, and skew errors can be avoided and printing can be performed even for narrow-sized paper. It becomes.

  It is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, paper feeding may be started by pressing a switch W on the control panel for starting paper feeding in addition to manual feeding. In addition, when it is determined that a skew error has occurred, the fact may be notified by voice or display.

  Although several embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, combinations, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

100 Office machine S1, S2 Paper 12 Paper feed port 13 Paper discharge port 16 Guide path 161 Upper paper guide 162 Lower paper guide 17 Printer unit DR Drive roller FR Conveying roller pair 41 Microcomputer 42 CPU
46 Stepping motor 200 Paper feed section PS Paper sensor SS1 First skew sensor SS2 Second skew sensor SS3 Third skew sensor

Claims (3)

A paper feed slot to which paper is supplied,
A printer unit that performs a printing operation on the paper supplied from the paper supply port;
A pair of upper paper guides and lower paper guides arranged to face each other with a predetermined gap therebetween, and a guide path for guiding the paper;
A first skew sensor and a second skew sensor arranged on the left and right guide paths in the conveyance direction of the sheet to detect the sheet;
The distance or time from when the first skew sensor is turned on until the second skew sensor is turned on is X, the preset allowable distance or time is X1, and the preset upper limit distance or time is XMax, when X is not less than the X1, it is determined that the skew is within the allowable range, the X is more than the X1, and if the X is less than the XMax includes a control unit for determining the skew error, A printer device comprising:   The printer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the control unit determines that a skew error has occurred, the sheet is returned to a sheet feeding position.   2. The printer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the X is larger than the XMax, and the sheet printed by the printer unit is determined to be a size that can be detected by any one of the first and second skew sensors.

Images