JP5966545B2 - Medium loading apparatus and recording apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer and a medium loading apparatus provided in the recording apparatus.

  In general, inkjet printers are widely known as a type of recording apparatus. In this printer, printing is performed by supplying ink to the recording head and ejecting the supplied ink from the nozzles of the recording head toward the recording medium. Some printers use large roll paper as a recording medium (for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the printer of this patent document 1, when the user performs the setting operation of the roll body, first, the roll body is accommodated in the roll body housing part so that the roll body housing part is opened and pivotally supported by the roll support shaft. To do. Then, the recording paper is pulled out from the roll body, and the recording paper is passed between the recording head and the guide plate, and is passed between the paper feed roller and the driven roller.

  At this time, a force required for the user to pull out the recording paper from the roll body is reduced by applying a rotational force in the normal rotation direction (direction for feeding out the recording paper) to the roll body by the roll body rotation motor. I am doing so.

  Then, the roll body setting operation is completed by closing the lid of the roll body housing portion.

JP 2009-234177 A

  By the way, in the printer of Patent Document 1, although the force required for the user to pull out the recording paper from the roll body can be reduced by the assist drive of the roll body rotation motor, the user can remove the recording paper from the roll body. The force required to rewind can't be reduced.

  In other words, when the user sets recording paper or clears a paper jam, it is necessary to rotate the roll body in the reverse direction to temporarily rewind the recording paper to the roll body. However, there is a problem that the burden on the user when rotating the roll body cannot be reduced.

In addition, the recording apparatus using the roll body is not limited to the ink jet printer, and has the same problem.
The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems existing in the prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide a medium loading device and a recording device that can reduce the burden on the user when rotating the roll medium in both forward and reverse directions.

To achieve the above object, a medium loading apparatus according to the present invention includes a medium support shaft that supports a roll medium in which a long medium is wound in a roll shape so as to be integrally rotatable, and the medium support shaft. The rotational force applying unit capable of applying rotational force in both forward and reverse directions, the rotational direction detecting unit capable of detecting the rotational direction of the medium support shaft when the medium support shaft is rotated, and the rotational direction detecting unit A control unit that controls the rotational force applying unit so that the rotational force is applied to the medium support shaft in the detected rotational direction when the rotational direction is detected, and the rotational force is The medium support shaft is smaller than the rotational load of the medium support shaft in a state where the roll medium is supported .

  According to the present invention, the rotational force is applied in the direction in which the user rotates the roll medium with respect to the medium support shaft that supports the roll medium, so that the user moves the roll medium supported by the medium support shaft in both forward and reverse directions. It is possible to reduce the burden when rotating.

Furthermore , since the medium support shaft that supports the roll medium is not rotated only by the rotational force applied by the rotational force applying unit, when the user stops rotating the roll medium supported by the medium support shaft, It becomes possible to stop the rotation of the roll medium.

  The medium loading device of the present invention further includes a medium remaining amount detection unit that detects a remaining amount of the roll medium supported by the medium support shaft, and the control unit is based on a detection result by the medium remaining amount detection unit. The rotational force application unit is controlled so that the rotational force becomes larger when the remaining amount of the roll medium is larger than when the remaining amount is small.

  According to the present invention, since the rotational load is larger when the remaining amount of the roll medium supported by the medium support shaft is larger than when the remaining amount is small, a rotational force corresponding to the rotational load is applied to the medium support shaft. The Therefore, it is possible to prevent the rotational force from being applied unnecessarily to the medium support shaft that supports the roll medium.

The recording apparatus of the present invention includes the medium loading device having the above-described configuration and a recording unit that performs a recording process on the roll medium fed out from the medium loading device.
According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the medium loading device.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view illustrating an internal configuration of the printer. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the printer.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a recording apparatus of the present invention is embodied in an ink jet printer will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet printer 11 as a recording apparatus is supported by a leg base 12. The ink jet printer 11 is provided with a substantially rectangular parallelepiped main body 14 and a roll in which a sheet P as a long medium is wound in a roll shape while being obliquely protruded upward from the back surface of the main body 14. And a sheet feeding unit 15 as a medium loading device loaded with roll paper RP as a medium.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the paper feeding unit 15 includes a flip-up opening / closing cover 16 and a roll paper support shaft 17 as a medium support shaft that supports the roll paper RP within the opening / closing cover 16. Yes. The roll paper support shaft 17 supports the roll paper RP so as to be integrally rotatable. The roll paper support shaft 17 is connected to a rotary motor 19 as a rotational force applying unit via a gear train 18 constituted by a plurality of gears. A rotary encoder 19 a that detects the amount and direction of rotation of the rotary motor 19 is attached to the rotary motor 19.

  The rotary motor 19 is rotationally driven in both forward and reverse directions, thereby applying rotational force in both forward and reverse directions to the roll paper support shaft 17 via the gear train 18. That is, when a rotation force in the normal rotation direction is applied from the rotation motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17, a rotation force in the direction in which the paper P is fed out is applied to the roll paper RP. When a rotational force in the reverse direction is applied to the roll paper support shaft 17, a rotational force in the direction in which the paper P is taken up is applied to the roll paper RP.

  Further, the paper supply unit 15 is provided with a paper remaining amount sensor 20 (for example, an optical sensor) as a medium remaining amount detection unit for detecting the remaining amount of the roll paper RP. Furthermore, an operation unit 21 is provided at the upper right end of the main body 14 for the user to perform various setting operations and various information input operations.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the main body 14, the paper P that is unwound from the roll paper RP loaded in the paper feeding unit 15 on the upstream side is unwound along the conveyance path of the paper P. A plurality of (three in this embodiment) roller pairs 31 to 33 each having a pair of rollers for transporting toward the paper discharge port 30 on the downstream side that is opened in the front portion is provided.

  Each of the roller pairs 31 to 33 is a feed roller pair 31, a delivery roller pair 32, and a paper discharge roller pair 33 in order from the upstream side to the downstream side of the transport path of the paper P, and follows the transport path of the paper P. Are arranged at appropriate intervals. Each of the roller pairs 31 to 33 is rotatable about an axis extending along a width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the paper P (a direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 2).

  In each of the roller pairs 31 to 33, a roller positioned on one side is rotationally driven, and a roller positioned on the other side is driven to rotate along with the rotational driving of the roller positioned on the one side. The paper P fed out from the paper supply unit 15 is conveyed toward the paper discharge port 30 along the conveyance path while being sandwiched between the roller pairs 31 to 33 by the rotational driving of the roller pairs 31 to 33. .

  Between the feed roller pair 31 and the feed roller pair 32, a rectangular parallelepiped support base 34 that supports the paper P transported along the transport path is disposed. A suction fan (not shown) is built in the support base 34, and a plurality of suction holes (not shown) are formed in the upper wall of the support base 34 by the rotation of the suction fan. (Omitted) and sucked onto the support base 34.

  A carriage 35 is provided at a position facing the support table 34 across the transport path of the paper P so as to be able to reciprocate in the width direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the paper P. The carriage 35 is supported on the support table 34 while reciprocating in the scanning direction (direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 2) orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the paper P together with the carriage 35 at a position facing the support table 34. A recording head 36 is supported as a recording unit that performs printing by ejecting ink from a plurality of nozzles (not shown) onto the paper P.

Next, the electrical configuration of the ink jet printer 11 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the ink jet printer 11 includes a control unit 40 that comprehensively controls the operating state of the ink jet printer 11. The operation unit 21, the rotary encoder 19a, and the remaining paper amount sensor 20 are electrically connected to the input side interface (not shown) of the control unit 40, respectively.

  On the other hand, the recording head 36 is electrically connected to an output-side interface (not shown) of the control unit 40, and the rotary motor 19 and the roller pairs 31 to 33 are rotationally driven via a motor driver 41. A carriage motor 43 serving as a driving source for reciprocating the motor 42 and the carriage 35 is electrically connected to each other.

  The control unit 40 controls the ejection of ink from the recording head 36 based on signals transmitted from the rotary encoder 19a, the remaining paper amount sensor 20, and the operation unit 21, and each motor via the motor driver 41. The drive of 19,42,43 is controlled, respectively.

  Further, when the roll paper support shaft 17 is manually rotated by the user, the control unit 40 grasps the rotation direction of the roll paper support shaft 17 based on the pulse signal transmitted from the rotary encoder 19a. In this respect, the control unit 40 and the rotary encoder 19a function as a rotation direction detection unit capable of detecting the rotation direction of the roll paper support shaft 17.

  In addition, when the roll paper support shaft 17 is manually rotated by the user, the control unit 40 applies a rotational force to the roll paper support shaft 17 in the same direction as the rotation direction of the roll paper support shaft 17 by the user. Thus, the drive of the rotary motor 19 is controlled. In this case, the control unit 40 rotates the roll paper support shaft 17 in a state where the rotational force applied from the rotation motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17 supports the roll paper RP (in order to rotate the roll paper support shaft 17). The driving of the rotary motor 19 is controlled so as to be smaller than the rotational force required for

  That is, the control unit 40 controls the driving of the rotation motor 19 so as to assist the rotation operation of the roll paper support shaft 17 that supports the roll paper RP by the user. Accordingly, when the user releases his / her hand from the roll paper support shaft 17, the rotation of the roll paper support shaft 17 naturally stops due to the rotational load of the roll paper support shaft 17 in a state where the roll paper RP is supported.

  Further, the control unit 40 determines that the roll paper from the rotation motor 19 is based on the detection result by the paper remaining amount sensor 20 than when the remaining amount of the roll paper RP supported by the roll paper support shaft 17 is small. The drive of the rotary motor 19 is controlled so that the rotational force applied to the support shaft 17 is increased.

  That is, the controller 40 rotates the rotation motor 19 so that the rotational force applied from the rotation motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17 increases as the rotational load of the roll paper support shaft 17 in the state of supporting the roll paper RP increases. Control the drive.

Next, the operation of the ink jet printer 11 will be described.
When printing the roll paper RP, first, the user sets the roll paper RP in the paper feeding unit 15 in a state where the roll paper RP is supported by the roll paper support shaft 17. Subsequently, the user pulls out the paper P fed out from the roll paper RP along the conveyance path while manually rotating the roll paper support shaft 17 in the direction in which the paper P is fed out from the roll paper RP. At this time, a rotational force in the same direction as the rotation direction of the roll paper support shaft 17 by the user is applied from the rotation motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17.

  Thereby, the burden at the time of rotating the roll paper support shaft 17 in a state where the user supports the roll paper RP in the direction in which the paper P is fed out from the roll paper RP is reduced. At this time, the rotational force applied from the rotation motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17 is smaller than the rotational load of the roll paper support shaft 17 in a state in which the roll paper RP is supported. In this state, the roll paper support shaft 17 is not rotated.

  Therefore, when the user stops rotating the roll paper support shaft 17 that supports the roll paper RP (when the user releases the roll paper support shaft 17), the roll paper RP is supported. The rotation of the roll paper support shaft 17 stops. As a result, the roll paper RP is prevented from rotating together with the roll paper support shaft 17 against the user's will.

  Further, when the user manually rotates the roll paper support shaft 17 in the direction in which the paper P is fed from the roll paper RP, the rotational force applied to the roll paper support shaft 17 from the rotation motor 19 is the remaining amount of the roll paper RP. The more it is, the bigger it becomes.

  That is, the rotational force applied from the rotation motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17 is adjusted according to the remaining amount of the roll paper RP (the rotational load of the roll paper support shaft 17 in a state where the roll paper RP is supported). Therefore, useless rotation force from the rotation motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17 in a state of supporting the roll paper RP is suppressed.

  Subsequently, when the rotation motor 19 and the transport motor 42 are driven after the leading end portion of the paper P drawn from the roll paper RP by the user along the transport path is sandwiched by the feed roller pair 31, the paper is removed from the roll paper RP. P is sequentially conveyed toward the downstream side along the conveyance path. At this time, the rotation motor 19 applies sufficient rotational force to the roll paper support shaft 17 that supports the roll paper RP so that the paper P is fed out from the roll paper RP. When the leading end of the sheet P in the transport direction reaches the support base 34, the carriage motor 43 and the recording head 36 are driven.

  Then, ink is ejected from each nozzle (not shown) of the recording head 36 toward the paper P that is intermittently conveyed while being supported by the support base 34, and printing of the paper P is performed. In this way, the paper P fed out from the roll paper RP is sequentially printed while being transported from the upstream side to the downstream side along the transport path. Then, the paper P is conveyed from the printed portion by the sending roller pair 32 and the paper discharge roller pair 33 and is sequentially discharged from the paper discharge port 30.

  If the paper P is jammed in the transport path during printing of the paper P, it is necessary to stop printing and manually rewind the paper P on the transport path to the roll paper RP. In this case, the user manually rotates the roll paper support shaft 17 in the direction in which the paper P is wound around the roll paper RP. At this time, a rotational force in the same direction as the rotation direction of the roll paper support shaft 17 by the user is applied from the rotation motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17.

  Thereby, the burden when the user rotates the roll paper support shaft 17 in a state where the roll paper RP is supported in the direction in which the paper P is wound around the roll paper RP is reduced. At this time, the rotational force applied from the rotation motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17 is smaller than the rotational load of the roll paper support shaft 17 in a state in which the roll paper RP is supported. In this state, the roll paper support shaft 17 is not rotated.

  Therefore, when the user stops rotating the roll paper support shaft 17 that supports the roll paper RP (when the user releases the roll paper support shaft 17), the roll paper RP is supported. The rotation of the roll paper support shaft 17 stops. As a result, the roll paper RP is prevented from rotating together with the roll paper support shaft 17 against the user's will.

  Further, when the user manually rotates the roll paper support shaft 17 in the direction in which the paper P is wound around the roll paper RP, the rotational force applied from the rotation motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17 is the remaining amount of the roll paper RP. The larger the amount, the larger.

  That is, the rotational force applied from the rotation motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17 is adjusted according to the remaining amount of the roll paper RP (the rotational load of the roll paper support shaft 17 in a state where the roll paper RP is supported). Therefore, useless rotation force from the rotation motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17 in a state of supporting the roll paper RP is suppressed. Then, after the user clears the jam in the conveyance path of the paper P, the printing of the paper P is resumed.

  As described above, even when the user rotates the roll paper support shaft 17 in a state in which the roll paper RP is supported in the direction in which the paper P is fed out from the roll paper RP, the paper P is wound around the roll paper RP. Even when rotating in the direction, a rotational force is applied from the rotary motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17 so as to assist the user.

  Therefore, when the user rotates the roll paper support shaft 17 supporting the roll paper RP in the direction in which the paper P is fed out from the roll paper RP and in the direction in which the paper P is wound around the roll paper RP. The burden in both cases is reduced.

As described above, according to the embodiment described in detail, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Since a rotational force is applied from the rotation motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17 in the direction in which the user rotates the roll paper support shaft 17 with the roll paper RP supported, the user can It is possible to reduce the burden when rotating the roll paper support shaft 17 in a state where it is supported in both forward and reverse directions.

  (2) When the user manually rotates the roll paper support shaft 17 supporting the roll paper RP, the rotational force applied from the rotation motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17 The rotational load of the supported roll paper support shaft 17 is smaller. Therefore, since the roll paper support shaft 17 supporting the roll paper RP is not rotated only by the rotational force applied from the rotation motor 19, the user rotates the roll paper support shaft 17 supporting the roll paper RP. When the rotation is stopped, the rotation of the roll paper RP can be stopped naturally.

(3) When the user manually rotates the roll paper support shaft 17 in a state where the roll paper RP is supported, the rotational force applied from the rotation motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17 has a large amount of remaining roll paper RP. It gets bigger. That is, a rotational force according to the rotational load of the roll paper support shaft 17 in a state where the roll paper RP is supported from the rotary motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17 is applied. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unnecessary rotation force from being applied from the rotary motor 19 to the roll paper support shaft 17 in a state where the roll paper RP is supported.
(Example of change)
In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows.

  The paper remaining amount sensor 20 may be omitted, and the user may input the remaining amount of the roll paper RP supported by the roll paper support shaft 17 by operating the operation unit 21. In this case, the operation unit 21 functions as a medium remaining amount input unit.

  The paper remaining amount sensor 20 is omitted, and for example, a rotary encoder is attached to the driven roller of the pair of rollers constituting the feed roller pair 31, and the roller and the roll paper RP (roll paper support) The remaining amount of the roll paper RP may be calculated from the rotation ratio with the shaft 17).

  The rotational force applied to the roll paper support shaft 17 from the rotation motor 19 when the user manually rotates the roll paper support shaft 17 in a state where the paper remaining amount sensor 20 is supported and the user supports the roll paper RP is It may always be constant regardless of the remaining amount of paper RP.

  When the user manually rotates the roll paper support shaft 17 with the roll paper RP supported, the rotational force applied to the roll paper support shaft 17 from the rotation motor 19 is the roll paper with the roll paper RP supported. It may be more than the rotational load of the support shaft 17.

-Instead of the roll paper RP, a roll-shaped plastic film, cloth, foil or the like may be used as a roll medium.
In the above-described embodiment, the recording apparatus can be jetted by flowing as a fluid other than ink (liquid, a liquid material in which particles of functional material are dispersed or mixed in the liquid, a fluid such as a gel, or a fluid. It may be a fluid ejecting apparatus that performs recording by ejecting or ejecting (including solid). For example, recording is performed by ejecting a liquid material in which a material such as an electrode material or a color material (pixel material) used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, and a surface emitting display is dispersed or dissolved. A liquid ejecting apparatus may be used. Moreover, the fluid body injection apparatus which injects fluid bodies, such as a gel (for example, physical gel), may be sufficient. The present invention can be applied to any one of these fluid ejecting apparatuses. In the present specification, the term “fluid” is a concept that does not include a fluid consisting only of gas. Examples of the fluid include liquid (inorganic solvent, organic solvent, solution, liquid resin, liquid metal (metal melt), etc. ), Liquids, fluids, and the like.

Further, the technical idea that can be grasped from the above embodiment will be described below.
(A) a medium remaining amount input unit capable of inputting a remaining amount of the roll medium supported by the medium support shaft;
The control unit is configured to increase the rotational force based on the remaining amount of the roll medium input from the remaining medium amount input unit so that the rotational force is greater when the remaining amount of the roll medium is smaller than when the remaining amount is small. The medium loading device according to claim 1, wherein the rotational force applying unit is controlled.

  According to this configuration, the same effect as the above (3) can be obtained.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Inkjet printer as a recording apparatus, 15 ... Paper feed part as a medium loading apparatus, 17 ... Roll paper support shaft as a medium support shaft, 19 ... Rotation motor as a rotational force giving part, 19a ... Rotation direction detection part 20... Remaining paper sensor as medium remaining amount detecting unit, 36... Recording head as recording unit, 40... Control unit constituting rotation direction detecting unit, P. Roll paper as a roll medium.

Claims (3)

A medium support shaft for supporting a roll medium in which a long medium is wound in a roll shape so as to be integrally rotatable;
A rotational force applying unit capable of applying a rotational force in both forward and reverse directions with respect to the medium support shaft;
A rotation direction detection unit capable of detecting a rotation direction of the medium support shaft when the medium support shaft is rotated;
A control unit that controls the rotational force applying unit so that the rotational force is applied to the medium support shaft in the detected rotational direction when the rotational direction is detected by the rotational direction detection unit; equipped with a,
The medium loading device according to claim 1, wherein the rotational force is smaller than a rotational load of the medium support shaft in a state where the medium support shaft supports the roll medium . A medium remaining amount detection unit for detecting the remaining amount of the roll medium supported by the medium support shaft;
The control unit controls the rotational force applying unit based on a detection result from the medium remaining amount detecting unit so that the rotational force becomes larger when the remaining amount of the roll medium is smaller than when the remaining amount is small. The medium loading device according to claim 1, wherein: The medium loading device according to claim 1 or 2 ,
A recording apparatus comprising: a recording unit configured to perform recording processing on the roll medium fed out from the medium loading apparatus.