JP5901309B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly to a printing apparatus that uses roll paper as printing paper.

  In a conventional photographic printing apparatus, for example, a sublimation type printing apparatus, there are several types of sizes and quality of print paper for photographic printing. In addition, there are a plurality of types of ink sheets, and unless print paper and ink sheets are used in an appropriate combination, print quality deteriorates.

  Conventionally, the user selects and replaces an appropriate type of printing paper for the ink sheet, but means for determining the type of printing paper even when an inappropriate type of printing paper is supplied Therefore, there is a problem that printing with deteriorated print quality is performed.

  Therefore, as a method for determining whether or not an appropriate type of printing paper is supplied in the printing apparatus, a specific mark is printed in advance on the back side of the printing paper and is detected by a sensor built in the printing apparatus. There is a method of determining by doing. There is also a method for determining the type of print paper by detecting a mark arranged on the roll core portion of the roll paper (see Patent Document 1).

  As a method for determining the size of the print paper, for example, a method for determining the size of the print paper by arranging a sensor for detecting the paper width of the print paper is known.

  In the present specification, hereinafter, the type of printing paper means the size of printing paper and the type of paper quality.

JP 2007-216465 A

  However, in any of the conventional determination methods described above, a sensor must be mounted in order to detect the type of print paper, leading to an increase in cost. In addition, an increase in the size of the printing apparatus due to the mounting of the sensor has also been a problem due to design restrictions.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems. The present invention has been made to solve the problem of printing paper supplied to a printing apparatus without imposing a burden on the user and without increasing the cost and the size of the printing apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus capable of determining the type and determining whether or not the combination of the ink sheet and the printing paper is appropriate.

Printing apparatus according to the present invention is a printing apparatus using roll paper as a printing paper, a cutting device for cutting the printing paper, print paper type determines the type of print paper based on the cutting operation of the cutting device A printing paper type determination unit, comprising: a determination unit; and a cutting time measurement unit that measures a cutting time required to cut the print paper and accumulates the cutting time for a predetermined number of cuttings to calculate a cumulative cutting time. Is characterized in that the determination is made based on the cumulative cutting time.

  The printing apparatus according to the present invention generally determines a print sheet based on a cutting operation of a cutting apparatus that cuts the print sheet provided in a print apparatus that uses roll paper as the print sheet. Therefore, it is possible to determine the size and type of the print paper without increasing the cost and the size of the printing apparatus.

1 is a configuration diagram of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram of the cutting device of the printing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the drive timing of the cutting device of the printing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 1 is a functional block diagram of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart of a printing paper determination operation. It is a figure which shows the printing paper cutting frequency and accumulation cutting time.

<Configuration of printing device>
In the present embodiment, a sublimation color printing apparatus is considered as the printing apparatus. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, roll paper 8a is used as print paper 8b for forming a print image. On the ink sheet 9, Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan) ink and an area coated with an OP (overcoat) layer that protects the surface of the printed material are sequentially formed in the longitudinal direction. The ink sheet 9 is supplied from the ink sheet take-up reel 10b and conveyed while being taken up by the ink sheet take-up reel.

  The transfer unit includes a thermal head 2 having a plurality of heating resistors arranged in a main scanning direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the ink sheet 9, a platen roller 6 for pressing the print paper 8b against the ink sheet 9, and a thermal head A thermistor 3 as a sensor for measuring the temperature of 2, a heat sink 4 for cooling the thermal head 2 based on the thermistor 3, and a cooling fan 5. The print paper 8b is conveyed while being sandwiched between the grip roller 7a and the pinch roller 7b.

  The thermal head 2 is heated by selectively energizing a plurality of heating resistors provided in the thermal head 2. The ink sheet 9 and the print paper 8b were pressed between the thermal head 2 and the platen roller 6 and the ink sheet 9 and the print paper 8b were brought into pressure contact with each other. The ink is sublimated and transferred to the print paper 8b. A color print image is formed by transferring each color of Y, M, and C to the same area on the print paper 8b.

  The print paper 8b on which the print image is formed is cut by the cutting device 11 and discharged outside the printing device. Note that the printing apparatus 1 according to the present invention determines the type of the print paper 8b based on the cutting operation of the print paper 8b by the cutting device 11. Hereinafter, the structure of the cutting device 11 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cutting device 11. The fixed blade 13 is disposed on the frame 19, and the movable blade unit 12 fixed to the belt 18 moves along the frame 19, whereby the print paper 8 b sandwiched between the fixed blade 13 and the movable blade unit 12. Is disconnected.

  The movable blade unit 12 can move on the frame 19 by driving the belt via the pulley gear 17 by the pinion gear 16 fixed to the rotating shaft of the motor 15.

  A first switch 14a and a second switch 14b are provided at both ends of the cutter frame 19 to detect the stop of the movable blade unit 12, and a movable blade is used to hold down the first switch 14a or the second switch 14b. Switch pressing portions 20a and 20b are fixed to the units 12, respectively.

  FIG. 3 shows the drive timing of the cutting device 11. As shown in FIG. 2, it is assumed that the movable blade unit 12 has been moved to the end on the first switch 14a side. When the motor 15 is driven in a predetermined rotational direction by the cutter motor control unit (FIG. 4), the movable blade unit 12 starts to move toward the switch 14b, and accordingly, the switch pressing unit 20a is the first. The switch 14a is disconnected. When the movable blade unit approaches the second switch 14b, the switch pressing portion 20b presses the second switch 14b, so that the second switch 14b is turned on. As a result, a short brake is applied to the motor 15 and the movable blade unit stops. When the movable blade unit 12 is moved in the opposite direction, the motor 15 is driven in the direction opposite to the predetermined rotation direction, and the first switch 14a is turned on, whereby a short brake is applied to the motor 15 and the movable blade unit 12 is moved. The unit 12 stops at the position shown in FIG.

  FIG. 4 shows a functional block diagram of the printing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment. The control unit 31 determines whether the combination of the print paper 8b and the ink sheet 9 is appropriate based on information from the cutting device 11 that cuts the print paper 8b and information from the ink type detection unit 29. And the result is displayed on the display unit 28. The control unit 31 includes a motor control unit 22 and a pairing determination control unit 30.

  The motor control unit 22 performs drive control of the motor 15 of the cutting device 11 via the motor driver 21. When the print paper 8b is cut, the motor 15 is driven in a predetermined rotation direction, and when the first switch 14a or the second switch 14b is turned on, a short brake is applied to the motor 15.

  The pairing determination control unit 30 includes information from the ink type determination unit 27 that determines the type of the ink sheet 9 via the ink type detection unit 29, the cutting time measurement unit (cutting time measurement unit) 23, and the threshold storage unit 25. A print paper type determination unit (print paper type determination unit) 24 that determines the type of the print paper 8b based on the print sheet 8b. The pairing determination unit 26 determines whether the combination of the print paper 8b and the ink sheet 9 is appropriate. Judgment is made. For example, an IC tag using RFID (Radio Frequency ID) or a black mark having a reflectance corresponding to the type of the ink sheet 9 is arranged on the ink sheet 9, and ink is detected by detecting these with a corresponding sensor. The type of sheet 9 is determined.

  The cutting time measuring unit 23 acquires the cutting time required for cutting the print paper 8b from the cutter motor control unit 22. As shown in FIG. 3, the cutting time is a time from when the motor 15 is driven, that is, turned on until the switch on the cutting direction side (second switch 14b in the case of FIG. 3) is turned on. Further, the cutting time measuring unit 23 has a calculation function capable of accumulating a predetermined number of cutting times.

  The threshold storage unit 25 stores in advance a threshold for the cumulative cutting time of the print paper 8b expected to be used. This threshold value is stored, for example, when the printing apparatus is manufactured.

<Determination operation>
FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the type determination operation of the ink sheet 9 and the print paper 8b. This operation is performed during the initial operation. The initial operation is, for example, an operation that is automatically performed before printing is started when the roll paper 8a or the ink sheet 9 is replaced or when the setting of the threshold storage unit 25 is changed.

  First, the ink type determination unit 27 determines the type of ink via the ink type detection unit 29 (step ST1).

  Next, as an initial paper feed operation, the leading edge of the print paper 8b is detected by a paper leading edge detection sensor (not shown), and the print paper 8b is conveyed to a predetermined position (step ST2). Then, a predetermined amount of the print paper 8b is cut by the cutting device 11 (step ST3). At this time, the cutting time measuring unit 23 acquires the cutting time, and this cutting time is stored in the cutting time measuring unit 23 (step ST4). Thereafter, the print paper 8b is conveyed by a certain amount, and cutting, cutting time acquisition and storage are repeated (steps ST5, ST6, ST7). In step ST8, the number of times of cutting is determined, and when the number of times of cutting reaches a predetermined number of times, the cutting time measuring unit 23 sequentially adds the stored cutting times for the predetermined number of times, and the cumulative cutting time. Is calculated (step ST9).

  As the next step ST10, the print paper type determination unit 24 compares the cumulative cutting time with the threshold of the cumulative cutting time stored in the threshold storage unit 25, and determines the type of the print paper 8b. A method for determining two types of print sheets having different thicknesses will be described as an example of a method for determining the print sheet 8b with reference to FIG. Generally, it takes longer time to cut thick print paper than to cut thin print paper, but the difference in cutting time is small in one cutting, and the cutting time Therefore, it is difficult to make a precise determination based on this difference in cutting time. Therefore, cutting is repeated and the cumulative cutting time is measured, and determination is made based on this.

  As shown in FIG. 6, as the number of times of cutting is increased, the difference in accumulated cutting time between a thick print sheet and a thin print sheet increases. When the predetermined number of times of cutting has been completed and the difference in accumulated cutting time has sufficiently widened, the accumulated cutting time for the predetermined number of times of cutting is compared with the threshold value stored in the threshold storage unit 25. If the cumulative cutting time exceeds the threshold, the print paper 8b is determined to be a thick print paper. On the other hand, when the cumulative cutting time is less than the threshold, the print paper 8b is determined to be a thin print paper. When there are a plurality of types of print paper 8b, it is possible to make a determination by setting a plurality of thresholds according to the type of print paper 8b. Further, even when the size of the print paper 8b is different, the cutting time varies depending on the size, so that the type can be determined in the same manner.

  Next, the pairing determination unit 26 determines whether or not the pairing of the ink type acquired in step ST1 and the type of the print paper 8b determined in the print paper type determination unit 24 is appropriate (step ST11). ). If the pairing is not appropriate, a warning is displayed on the display unit (step ST13). If pairing is appropriate, the paper leading edge detection sensor transports the print paper 8b to a predetermined initial standby position (step ST12), and the initial operation ends.

<Effect>
The printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is a printing apparatus that uses the roll paper 8a as the printing paper 8b. The cutting device 11 that cuts the printing paper 8b, and the printing paper 8b based on the cutting operation of the cutting device 11. Printing paper type determining means for determining the type.

  Therefore, in order to determine the type of the print paper 8b based on the cutting operation of the cutting device 11 that is generally provided in a printing apparatus that uses the roll paper 8a as the print paper 8b, it is necessary to arrange a sensor as in Patent Document 1. Therefore, it is possible to determine the type of the print paper 8b at low cost and without increasing the size of the printing apparatus. Even when the user supplies an inappropriate type of print paper, the print paper type determination unit determines the type of the print paper 8b and only when the type of the print paper 8b is appropriate for the ink sheet 9. Since printing is performed, printing with degraded quality can be avoided.

  In addition, the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment measures the cutting time required to cut the print paper 8b, accumulates the cutting time for a predetermined number of times of cutting, and calculates the cumulative cutting time. The print paper type determination means performs the determination based on the cumulative cutting time. Therefore, by performing the determination based on the accumulated cutting time, it is possible to reduce the variation for each cutting time and accurately determine the type of the print paper 8b.

  In addition, the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment further includes a threshold storage unit 25 that stores a threshold of the cumulative cutting time according to the type of the print paper 8b, and the print paper type determination unit is stored in the threshold storage unit 25. The determination is made based on the cumulative cutting time with reference to the threshold value. Accordingly, by comparing the magnitude relationship between the cumulative cutting time and the threshold value stored in the threshold value storage unit 25, an error included in the cumulative cutting time and a slight deviation in the cumulative cutting time for each printing apparatus 1 are taken into consideration. Thus, the type of the print paper 8b can be correctly determined.

  Further, in the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the print paper type determination unit performs the determination based on the cutting operation during the initial operation of the printing apparatus 1. Therefore, when the roll paper 8a, that is, the print paper 8b is replaced, the type of the print paper 8b is determined during the initial operation before starting printing, so that printing with degraded quality can be avoided more reliably. Can do.

  In the present embodiment, a sublimation type printing apparatus is employed as the printing apparatus 1, but a printing apparatus of another printing method may be used.

  In the present invention, the embodiments can be appropriately modified and omitted within the scope of the invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printing apparatus, 2 Thermal head, 3 Thermistor, 4 Heat sink, 5 Cooling fan, 6 Platen roller, 7a Clip roller, 7b Pinch roller, 8a Roll paper, 8b Print paper, 9 Ink sheet, 10a Ink sheet take-up reel, 10b Ink sheet take-out reel, 11 cutting device, 12 movable blade unit, 13 fixed blade, 14a first switch, 14b second switch, 15 motor, 16 pinion gear, 17 pulley gear, 18 belt, 19 frame, 20a, 20b switch Presser, 21 Motor driver, 22 Motor controller, 23 Cutting time measurement unit, 24 Print paper type determination unit, 25 Threshold storage unit, 26 Pairing determination unit, 27 Ink type determination unit, 28 Display unit, 29 Ink type detection Department, 30 pairs Ring determination control unit, 31 control unit.

Claims (3)

A printing apparatus that uses roll paper as print paper,
A cutting device for cutting the print paper;
Print paper type determination means for determining the type of the print paper based on the cutting operation of the cutting device;
Cutting time measuring means for measuring the cutting time required to cut the print paper, and accumulating the cutting time for a predetermined number of cutting times to calculate the cumulative cutting time;
With
The print paper type determination unit performs determination based on the cumulative cutting time.
Printing device. A threshold storage unit that stores a threshold of the cumulative cutting time according to the type of print paper;
The print paper type determining means refers to the threshold value and makes a determination based on the accumulated time.
The printing apparatus according to claim 1. The print paper type determination means makes a determination based on the cutting operation during an initial operation of the printing apparatus;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

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