JP6198052B2 - Cutting device, cutting control device, cutting control method, cutting control program, and printing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cutting device, a cutting control device, a cutting control method, a cutting control program, and a printing device.

  Printers that print characters, symbols, images, etc. include a printer that unwinds a sheet wound in a roll shape, such as paper (roll paper), cuts the printed paper into a predetermined length, and discharges it. . Some printers cut unrolled paper to a predetermined length before printing, and print on the cut paper. In addition, printing is performed before cutting the unrolled paper, transporting the printed paper is stopped and cut to a predetermined length, and after cutting, the leading edge of the paper is rewound to the print start position and then the next There is a printer that starts printing.

For example, in the roll paper cutting method of the roll paper feeding device described in Patent Document 1, the tip side of the roll paper is gripped by the gripper after the leading end of the roll paper is gripped by the gripper and the loop portion of the roll paper is cut by the cutting machine. The roll paper is fed, and the remaining roll paper between the upper and lower baffles and between the upper and lower baffles and the cutting machine is straightened at the waist of the paper, and the leading edge of the remaining roll paper is cut again by the cutting machine. The cutting end face is fed to the gripper when feeding the paper.
In other words, this method assumes that the cutting surface of the cutter and the abutting surface of the paper are parallel to each other, and the paper is rewound so that it is cut obliquely by the slack of the paper (both skew and oblique cutting). Say). If the sheet is cut obliquely, the sheet is cut again perpendicularly to the transport direction.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-12714

  However, in the roll paper feeding device described in Patent Document 1, since the paper is rewound and cut again before printing, the processing is delayed and the efficiency is lowered. Therefore, it is not suitable for printing at high speed.

  The present invention provides a cutting device, a cutting control device, a cutting control method, a cutting control program, and a printing device made in view of the above points.

(1) The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and one aspect of the present invention is a first sending unit that sends a sheet fed from a printing unit in one direction along the length of the sheet. And a cutting part that is provided at a position shifted in the one direction from the first delivery part and that cuts the sheet in a direction intersecting the surface of the sheet, and the cutting surface of the cutting part is in the one direction And a tilt control unit that controls an amount of tilt to be tilted by the tilt adjusting unit.

(2) According to another aspect of the present invention, in the cutting apparatus, the inclination adjusting unit moves the cutting unit to a support position on one side or the other side of the traveling path of the seat. It is characterized by changing.

(3) According to another aspect of the present invention, in the cutting apparatus, the sheet is pressed at a pressure that is greater than the pressure at which the first sending unit contacts the sheet in the direction opposite to the one direction from the first sending unit. And a second delivery part that feeds the one direction.

(4) According to another aspect of the present invention, in the cutting apparatus, the first sending unit is driven at a higher speed than the second sending unit.

(5) According to another aspect of the present invention, the cutting apparatus includes a conveyance control unit that stops the first sending unit when the cutting unit cuts the sheet.

(6) According to another aspect of the present invention, in the cutting apparatus, the first sending unit is in contact with the sheet at a central portion excluding a predetermined range from both side ends in the one direction of the sheet. It is characterized by that.

(7) According to another aspect of the present invention, in the cutting apparatus, the inclination control unit controls the inclination amount based on a printing range to be printed on the sheet.

(8) According to another aspect of the present invention, in the cutting apparatus, the inclination control unit refers to inclination data that associates the size of the printing range with the amount of inclination, and the inclination corresponding to the size of the printing range. It is characterized by determining the quantity.

(9) In another aspect of the present invention, the sheet is provided at a position shifted in the one direction from the first sending unit that sends the sheet in one direction along the length of the sheet, and intersects the surface of the sheet. And a tilt control unit that controls a tilt amount by which the tilt adjusting unit tilts the cutting surface of the cutting unit that cuts the sheet with respect to a direction orthogonal to the one direction.

(10) In another aspect of the present invention, the sheet is provided at a position shifted in the one direction from the first sending unit that feeds the sheet in one direction along the length of the sheet, and intersects the surface of the sheet. And a tilt control process for controlling a tilt amount by which the tilt adjusting section tilts the cutting surface of the cutting section for cutting the sheet with respect to a direction orthogonal to the one direction.

(11) According to another aspect of the present invention, the sheet is provided at a position shifted in the one direction from the first sending unit that sends the sheet to the computer of the cutting control device in one direction along the length of the sheet. Cutting for executing an inclination control procedure for controlling the amount of inclination by which the inclination adjusting portion inclines the cutting surface of the cutting portion that cuts the sheet in a direction intersecting the surface with respect to the direction orthogonal to the one direction. It is a control program.

(12) According to another aspect of the present invention, a first sending unit that sends a sheet fed from the printing unit in one direction along the length of the sheet is shifted in the one direction from the first sending unit. A cutting part that is provided at a position and cuts the sheet in a direction intersecting the surface of the sheet; an inclination adjusting part that inclines the cutting surface of the cutting part with respect to a direction orthogonal to the one direction; and the inclination And a tilt control unit that controls a tilt amount to be tilted by the adjusting unit.

  According to the present invention, the sheet can be efficiently cut perpendicularly to the feeding direction.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the example of the printing range. It is a figure (1) explaining the mechanism in which skewing arises. It is FIG. (2) explaining the mechanism which skew occurs. It is a figure explaining the amount of skew. It is a figure which shows an example of skew feeding data. It is a top view which shows the structure of the printing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the cutting | disconnection control apparatus which concerns on the minimum structure of this invention.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.
In FIG. 1, the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction are orthogonal to each other in a three-dimensional space. Both the X direction and the Y direction are parallel to the horizontal plane. The Z direction is a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane. In the following description, the X direction and its opposite direction are called right and left, respectively, the Y direction and its opposite direction are called forward and reverse directions, respectively, and the Z direction and its opposite direction are called up and down, respectively. There is. 1A, 1B, and 1C are a left side view, a plan view, and a right side view of the printing apparatus 1, respectively.

  In the following description, the case where the sheet to be printed is the roll paper 201 is taken as an example. The roll paper 201 is a belt-like paper whose one side is sufficiently longer than the length (width) of the other side, and is a paper that is wound in a cylindrical shape around an axis in the width direction. The printing apparatus 1 sequentially unwinds one end of the roll paper 201, performs printing on the unwound part, and discharges the printed part to the outside of the printing apparatus 1. The roll paper 201 is, for example, an electrophotographic recording paper (also referred to as PPC: Plain Paper Copy paper) having a certain stiffness (the magnitude of resistance when a bending force is applied, so-called paper waist), photographic paper , Etc. A typical thickness of the roll paper 201 is, for example, 100 μm to 400 μm, and for an electrophotographic recording paper, for example, 200 μm. In the following description, the unrolled portion of the roll paper 201 is also simply referred to as the roll paper 201.

  The printing apparatus 1 includes feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2, rotary shafts 102-1 and 102-2, feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2, rotary shafts 104-1 and 104-2, a cutting unit 105, and An inclination adjusting unit 110 is included.

  Each of the feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2 has a cylindrical shape, and the rotation shafts 102-1 and 102-2 are fixed to the central axes thereof. The radii and heights of the feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2 may be equal to each other. Further, the central axes of the feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2 are each directed in the X direction and are arranged so as to face up and down. Thereby, the longitudinal direction of the roll paper 201 is directed in the Y direction, and both the front surface and the back surface are sandwiched between the side surfaces of the feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2, respectively.

  The feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2 are rotated clockwise and counterclockwise with respect to the X direction, respectively, in order from the printed portion of the roll paper 201 unrolled, that is, the feed roller 103-. 1, send out towards 103-2. The pressure (restraint force) with which the feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2 pinch the roll paper 201 is sufficiently high so that at least the roll paper 201 is unwound and fed to the feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2. The ratio of the width of the feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2 (the length in the X direction) to the width of the travel path of the roll paper 201 (maximum value of the width of the roll paper 201) is a predetermined ratio (for example, 0.8, 1.0, etc.). Therefore, the roll paper 201 is strongly restrained between the feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2.

  The rotation shafts 102-1 and 102-2 are respectively fixed to the central axes of the feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2, and one of them (for example, the rotation shaft 102-2) is a feed roller driving unit 124 (described later). It is driven by the rotation. One feed roller (for example, feed roller 101-2) fixed to the rotation shaft rotates, and the other feed roller rotates in the direction opposite to the one direction. Thereby, the feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2, the rotating shafts 102-1 and 102-2, and the feed roller driving unit 124 form a feed unit (second feed unit) that feeds the roll paper 201 in the Y direction. .

  Each of the feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2 has a cylindrical shape, and the rotation shafts 104-1 and 104-2 are fixed to the center axes thereof. The radii and heights of the feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2 may be equal to each other. Further, the center axes of the feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2 are each directed in the X direction and arranged so as to face up and down. Thereby, the longitudinal direction of the roll paper 201 is directed to the Y direction, and both the front and back surfaces are sandwiched between the feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2, respectively.

  The feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2 rotate the roll paper 201 sent from the feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2 by rotating clockwise and counterclockwise with respect to the X direction, respectively, that is, It sends out toward the cutting part 105. The pressure with which the feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2 sandwich the roll paper 201 is sufficient to feed at least the roll paper 201 sent from the feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2 to the cutting unit 105. However, the pressure is made smaller than the pressure with which the feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2 sandwich the roll paper 201, and is restrained relatively loosely between the feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2.

  As will be described later, the feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2 may repeatedly stop and restart while the feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2 are rotating. This is because the rotational speed at is higher than the rotational speed of the feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2. As a result, even when the feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2 are temporarily stopped, the roll paper 201 is allowed to travel slightly, thereby relaxing the sag of the roll paper 201 and damaging the roll paper 201. The possibility can be reduced.

  Further, the ratio of the width of the feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2 (the length in the X direction) to the width of the travel path of the roll paper 201 (the maximum value of the width of the roll paper 201) is a predetermined ratio (for example, It may be smaller than about 0.2 to 0.5. As a result, the feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2 are brought into contact with the roll paper 201 only at the central portion excluding a predetermined range from both left and right ends of the roll paper 201 in the Y direction. Also in this case, since the roll paper 201 can be restrained weakly, both the relaxation of the slack of the roll paper 201 and the reduction of the possibility of breakage can be achieved.

  The rotation shafts 104-1 and 104-2 are respectively fixed to the central axes of the feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2, and one of them (for example, the rotation shaft 104-2) is a feed roller driving unit 125 (described later). It is driven by the rotation. One feed roller (for example, feed roller 103-2) fixed to the rotation shaft rotates, and the other feed roller rotates in the direction opposite to the one direction. Accordingly, the feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2, the rotating shafts 104-1 and 104-2, and the feed roller driving unit 125 form a feeding unit (first sending unit) that feeds the roll paper 201 in the Y direction. .

  In the following description, the feed rollers 101-1 and 101-2, the rotation shafts 102-1 and 102-2, the feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2, and the rotation shafts 104-1 and 104-2 are not distinguished from each other. In some cases, they may be referred to as a feed roller 101, a rotation shaft 102, a feed roller 103, and a rotation shaft 104.

  The cutting unit 105 includes a movable blade 106, a fixed blade 107, and a fulcrum shaft 108. The cutting unit 105 is a cutter unit (guillotine cutter) that sandwiches and cuts the roll paper 201 so as to intersect with a pair of blades, that is, the movable blade 106 and the fixed blade 107.

  The movable blade 106 and the fixed blade 107 have sharp cutting surfaces at their tips, and the longitudinal directions of the respective cutting surfaces are parallel to the longitudinal direction of the cutting portion 105 so that the respective cutting surfaces face each other. It is supported by. The cut surface of the movable blade 106 is directed downward, and one end (for example, the right end) thereof is inclined below the other end (for example, the left end). In a state where a cutting instruction signal for instructing cutting of the roll paper 201 is not input from the cutting control unit 122 (described later), one end of the cutting surface of the movable blade 106 is located higher than the surface of the roll paper 201. On the other hand, the cutting surface of the fixed blade 107 is parallel to the horizontal plane and directed upward, and is at a position lower than the back surface of the roll paper 201 by a predetermined distance.

  When a cutting instruction signal is input from a cutting control unit 122 (described later), the cutting unit 105 moves the movable blade 106 downward (shown by a solid line in FIGS. 1A and 1C) (FIG. 1A ) And (c), and the cutting surface of the movable blade 106 is sequentially brought into contact with the roll paper 201 from one end to the other end. As a result, the portion of the roll paper 201 that is in contact with the cutting surface of the movable blade 106 is cut. After the cutting is completed, the cutting unit 105 returns the movable blade 106 to the original height.

The fulcrum shaft 108 is oriented in the Z direction, and is supported by the casing of the printing apparatus 1 at a position (right side) closer to one end of the cut surface of the movable blade 106 among the longitudinal ends of the cutting portion 105. Is done. Since the direction of the cutting part 105 is variable in the XY plane around the fulcrum shaft 108, the cutting surface of the movable blade 106 can be inclined in a direction different from the X direction.
Of the both ends of the cutting part 105 in the longitudinal direction, the inclination adjusting part 110 is provided at a position (left side) closer to the other end of the cutting surface of the movable blade 106.

  The inclination adjusting unit 110 includes a cam 112, a cam roller 114, a cam motor 115, a coil spring 116, and a support member 117, and adjusts the direction (inclination) in the XY plane of the cut surface of the movable blade 106. The direction of the cut surface of the movable blade 106 is adjusted so that the other end (for example, the left end) of the cut surface proceeds in the Y direction rather than the one end (the right end). As will be described later, the cut surface from which the roll paper 201 is cut is skewed, that is, the cut surface of the movable blade 106 may be advanced in the Y direction from one end side to the other end side in order to prevent this. is there. The skew of the roll paper 201 will be described later.

The cam 112 has a rotation shaft (camshaft) oriented in the X-axis direction, and the rotation shaft is supported by the casing of the printing apparatus 1. The cam 112 is rotatable around its rotation axis. The outer periphery of the cam 112 is the side far from the fulcrum shaft 108 of both ends of the cutting portion 105 in the longitudinal direction,
Of the side surface of the cutting unit 105, it is in contact with the side opposite to the traveling direction of the roll paper 201, that is, the side surface of the feed rollers 103-1 and 103-2. The outer periphery of the cam roller 114 is in contact with the outer periphery of the cam 112 in a direction different from the cutting portion 105.

The outer periphery of the cam roller 114 is brought into contact with the outer periphery of the cam 112 and rotates about its own rotation axis. The rotation axis is directed in the X-axis direction and is supported by the casing of the printing apparatus 1. The outer periphery of the rotating shaft of the cam motor 115 is brought into contact with the outer periphery of the cam roller 114 on the side facing the cam 112.
The cam motor 115 rotates around its rotation shaft, with the outer periphery of its own rotation shaft being in contact with the outer periphery of the cam roller 114. The rotation axis is directed in the X-axis direction and is supported by the casing of the printing apparatus 1.

The coil spring 116 has its longitudinal direction oriented in the Y direction, one end supported on the side surface of the cutting portion 105 in the traveling direction of the roll paper 201, and the other end fixed to the support material 117.
The support member 117 is fixed to the casing of the printing apparatus 1 and supports the other end of the coil spring 116.

  Here, the motive power generated by the rotation of the cam motor 115 is transmitted to the outer periphery of the cam 112 by the cam roller 114, and the direction of the cam 112 is displaced around its rotation axis. Along with the displacement of the cam 112, the radius from the rotation axis increases, so the other end in the longitudinal direction of the cutting portion 105 is displaced around the fulcrum shaft 108 on the XY plane. When one end of the coil spring 116 is applied with a force in the Y direction from the cutting portion 105, the length of the coil spring 116 is compressed. Therefore, by controlling the power of the cam motor 115 by an inclination control unit 126 (described later), the displacement of the other end in the longitudinal direction of the cutting unit 105 in the Y direction, that is, the amount of inclination is controlled.

Next, the internal configuration of the printing apparatus 1 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.
The printing apparatus 1 further includes a cutting control unit 122, a conveyance control unit 123, a feed roller driving unit 124, a feed roller driving unit 125, a tilt control unit 126, a skew data storage unit 127, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 131, a ROM ( A Read Only Memory (132), a RAM (Random Access Memory) 133, a buffer unit 134, an external interface unit 135, and a printing unit 136 are provided.

  The cutting control unit 122 determines a portion of the roll paper 201 where the printing range ends based on the print data input from the printing unit 136. The print range that the printing unit 136 prints at one time is, for example, one page unit, a predetermined page number unit, a line unit, a predetermined line number unit, or the like. The cutting control unit 122 outputs a cutting instruction signal that instructs to cut the determined part to the cutting unit 105, the conveyance control unit 123, and the tilt control unit 126. Accordingly, the cutting unit 105 is instructed to cut the roll paper 201, the conveyance control unit 123 is instructed to drive the feed roller driving unit 125, and the inclination control unit 126 is caused to incline the cutting unit 105. Instructed.

  The conveyance control unit 123 controls whether or not the feed roller driving unit 124 and the feed roller driving unit 125 rotate depending on whether or not printing is performed, and further determines whether or not the cutting is performed on the feed roller driving unit 125. Controls the presence or absence of rotation. Here, when print data is input to the conveyance control unit 123, the feed roller driving unit 124 and the feed roller driving unit 125 are rotated. As a result, the rotating shaft 102 and hence the feed roller 101 are driven, and the rotating shaft 104 and thus the feed roller 103 are driven.

  The rotation speed at which the feed roller driving unit 124 rotates the feed roller 101 is equal to the speed at which the printing unit 136 moves the portion where the roll paper 201 is printed. When printing is performed continuously, the rotation speed of the feed roller 101 is substantially constant. The rotation speed at which the feed roller driving unit 125 drives the feed roller 103 is higher than the rotation speed at which the feed roller 101 is driven. As a result, the roll paper 201 is pulled in the Y direction by the feed roller 103, so that even if slack is generated between the roll paper 201 and the feed roller 101, the roll paper 201 is stretched almost flat.

  When a cutting instruction signal is input from the cutting control unit 122, the conveyance control unit 123 stops the feed roller driving unit 125 for at least a predetermined stop time and stops the rotation of the rotating shaft 104. The predetermined stop time is equal to or longer than the time required for the cutting unit 105 to cut the roll paper 201 (for example, 0.1 second). When the stop time elapses and print data is input, the conveyance control unit 123 resumes the rotation of the feed roller driving unit 125.

The feed roller driving unit 124 is a motor that drives the rotation of one of the rotation shafts 102 (for example, the rotation shaft 102-2), and hence the feed roller 101.
The feed roller drive unit 125 is a motor that drives the rotation of one of the rotation shafts 104 (for example, the rotation shaft 104-2), and thus the feed roller 103.

  The tilt control unit 126 determines the tilt amount to be tilted by the tilt adjusting unit 110 based on the print range indicated by the print data input from the printing unit 136 when the cutting instruction signal is input from the cutting control unit 122. The printing range is represented by the distance (printing length) from the cut surface (rear end) to be cut from the roll paper 201 to the cut surface (front end) cut last time. Further, the amount of inclination is proportional to the amount of skew of the roll paper 201. The skew amount is a distance that one end side (for example, the right side) of the cut surface of the roll paper 201 has advanced in the Y direction from the other end side. The degree of skew may be represented by a skew rate normalized by dividing the skew amount by the print length, as will be described later.

The inclination control unit 126 refers to the skew data stored in the skew data storage unit 127, reads the skew rate corresponding to the print length obtained based on the print data, and based on the read skew rate. Then, the skew amount is calculated, and the tilt amount corresponding to the calculated skew amount is calculated. The tilt control unit 126 drives the cam motor 115 so that the cutting unit 105 is tilted by the calculated tilt amount. Further, in the tilt control unit 126, a coefficient indicating a relationship between the tilt amount for tilting the cutting unit 105 and the power applied to the cam motor 115 is set in advance, and the calculated tilt amount and the set coefficient are set. Is used to obtain the electric power for driving the cam motor 115.
The skew data storage unit 127 stores in advance skew data formed by associating a print range (for example, print length) with a skew degree (for example, skew rate).

The CPU 131 controls the operation of each component of the printing apparatus 1. Here, the CPU 131 reads the program from the ROM 132 at the time of startup, and installs the read program. The CPU 131 executes the installed program. The ROM 132 stores in advance a program to be executed by the CPU 131 and data required for executing the program.
The RAM 133 temporarily stores data generated by the operation of the CPU 131 and data used during the operation. The RAM 133 includes a buffer unit 134.
The buffer unit 134 temporarily stores print data received by the external interface unit 135.

The external interface unit 135 includes a terminal that receives print data from the outside of the printing apparatus 1, and stores the received print data in the buffer unit 134. The external interface unit 135 is a printer port, for example.
The printing unit 136 reads the print data stored in the buffer unit 134 and prints the image indicated by the read print data on the roll paper 201. Further, the printing unit 136 outputs the read print data to the cutting control unit 122, the conveyance control unit 123, and the tilt control unit 126.
The printing unit 136 has, for example, a thermal sublimation type printing mechanism. The printing unit 136 transfers the sublimation dye ink applied to the ink ribbon to the roll paper 201 with a heated print head. The print head includes printing elements arranged at a constant interval (for example, 1/8 mm) in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the roll paper 201, and ink transfer is repeated each time the roll paper 201 travels at that interval. .

Next, an example of a print range printed on the roll paper 201 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a print range.
In FIG. 3, the upper side shows the leading edge of the roll paper 201, and pages 203-1, 203-2, 203-3 are arranged in the Y direction downward. In this example, the unit of the printing range is a page unit, and printing is performed in the order of pages 203-1, 203-2, and 203-3, and it is indicated that the printing apparatus 1 has ejected. The leading edge margin 202 is an area from the selection of the roll paper 201 to a portion where printing is started, and is restrained by the feed roller 101 and the feed roller 103 so that a portion where the roll paper 201 is unwound is conveyed. It is an area.

  Inter-page margins 204-1 and 204-2 are provided between the pages 203-1 and 203-2 and between the pages 203-2 and 203-3, respectively. The printed cut paper size s is preferably equal to the print area of each page. Conventionally, by providing the inter-page margins 204-1 and 204-2, it is possible to prevent a part of the image printed on the pages 203-1, 203-2, and 203-3 from being lost even if skewing occurs. It was. Note that when one print region is formed by a plurality of pages adjacent to each other, it is not necessary to provide an inter-page margin between the plurality of pages. The inter-page margin may be provided for each unit to be cut.

Next, a mechanism for causing skew will be described.
4 and 5 are diagrams for explaining a mechanism in which skew occurs.
FIG. 4 shows the feed roller 103, the rotating shaft 104, the movable blade 106 and the fixed blade 107 constituting the cutting unit 105 in addition to the roll paper 201. The downward arrow indicates that when the roll paper 201 is sandwiched between the movable blade 106 and the fixed blade 107, the movable blade 106 is cut when moving from the upper side to the lower side. Since the movable blade 106 is tilted downward at the right end from the left end, the portion where the cutting surface of the movable blade 106 contacts the roll paper 201 moves from the right end to the left end, so the cutting direction is from right to left. It will be a direction toward the direction.

FIG. 5 shows the roll paper 201, the feed roller 103, the rotation shaft 104, the movable blade 106 and the fixed blade 107. 5A and 5B are a plan view and a right side view, respectively.
When the movable blade 106 moves downward, the cut surface of the movable blade 106 contacts the roll paper 201. At this point, cutting is not started immediately. The roll paper 201 is pulled further downward from the horizontal plane as the movable blade 106 moves downward (opposite to the Z direction) due to its rigidity. That is, the part that has already preceded the cutting part 105 is pushed in the direction opposite to the traveling direction (Y direction) and temporarily reverses. As a result, the roll paper 201 rotates clockwise on the XY plane. Thereafter, the sheet is cut from the right end that first contacts the movable blade 106 on the roll paper 201 toward the left end. This phenomenon occurs as skew.
The degree to which the roll paper 201 is drawn downward increases toward the right when it first contacts the tip of the movable blade 106, and decreases toward the left. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the cut surface of the roll paper 201 discharged from the printing apparatus 1 advances in the traveling direction (Y direction) toward the right and delays toward the left. The broken lines shown diagonally in the leading edge margin 202 and the inter-page margins 204-1 and 204-2 indicate examples of cut surfaces.

  The inclination amount, that is, the skew amount l indicating the degree of skew tends to increase as the printing length L increases. The print length L is a distance from the rear end (directly above the fixed blade 107) to the front end of the roll paper 201. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the interpage margin 204-1 is larger than the skew amount on the leading margin 202. This is because the rigidity of the portion where the roll paper 201 contacts the movable blade 106 differs depending on the printing length L. The shorter the printing length L, the smaller the stiffness at the part to be cut. Therefore, the roll paper 201 is immediately cut by the shearing force applied by the movable blade 106 moving downward. On the other hand, as the printing length L is longer, the rigidity at the part to be cut increases. Even if the movable blade 106 moves downward or a shearing force is applied, the roll paper 201 is not immediately cut, but is drawn downward including the already ejected portion.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the roll paper 201 is cut, the generated skew is canceled by inclining the cutting unit 105 so that the left end advances in the traveling direction rather than the right end where cutting starts. To eliminate skew. The inclination amount may be determined according to the printing length L, that is, the skew amount l determined by the size of the printing range to be cut.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the skew amount.
As shown in FIG. 6A, the skew amount l indicating the degree of skew is the coordinate (Y coordinate) of the portion of the cut surface of the roll paper 201 that is most advanced in the traveling direction (for example, the right end). ) To the most delayed portion (for example, the left end) of the direction coordinate (Y coordinate). As shown in FIG. 6B, the skew amount l is 0 in a state where no skew occurs.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of skew data.
The skew data shown in FIG. 7 is data in which the print length L and the skew rate are associated with each other. The skew rate is a coefficient obtained by normalizing the skew amount l with the print length L and is a coefficient indicating the degree of skew.
As the printing length L increases to 10, 100, 200, 230, 460, 610 (mm), the skew rate becomes 2.50, 0.90, 0.59, 0.29, 0.22 ( %) And decrease. This is because the increase in the skew amount l is more gradual than the increase in the printing length L. When the print length L exceeds a certain length, the skew amount l tends to gradually approach a certain value. The skew amount l is acquired in advance for each of a plurality of different printing lengths L by operating the printing apparatus 1 in advance.

  As described above, in the present exemplary embodiment, the first sending unit (for example, the feed) that feeds the sheet (for example, the roll paper 201) sent from the printing unit (for example, the printing unit 136) in one direction along the length of the sheet. A roller 103) and a cutting unit (for example, a cutting unit 105) provided at a position shifted in the one direction from the first feeding unit and cutting the sheet in a direction intersecting the surface of the sheet. Further, in the present embodiment, an inclination adjustment unit (for example, the inclination adjustment unit 110) that inclines the cut surface of the cutting unit with respect to a direction orthogonal to the one direction, and an inclination amount that the inclination adjustment unit inclines. An inclination control unit (for example, an inclination control unit 126) to be controlled.

  Thus, when the cutting unit cuts the sheet, the inclination adjusting unit can incline the direction of the cutting surface in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the sheet is sent out, and the inclination control unit is an inclination amount that is a degree of the inclination. Can be controlled. This inclination can reduce skew that may occur when the direction of the cut surface is perpendicular to the direction in which the sheet is fed. In particular, the tilt control unit can cancel the skew by controlling the tilt amount to a value corresponding to the skew amount. The tilt control unit may control the tilt amount according to a print length indicating a print range related to the print data.

  For this reason, it is possible to reduce or eliminate areas that are not printed on the sheet, such as the leading edge margin and the inter-page margin, and the sheet can be used effectively. The skew amount may change depending on the assembly accuracy of the printing apparatus 1 and the cutting unit 105 alone, but the skew amount can be easily adjusted by adjusting the tilt amount of the tilt adjusting unit. Inspection man-hours to be performed can be reduced.

(Second Embodiment)
The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. About the same structure as embodiment mentioned above, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is used.
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the configuration of the printing apparatus 1a according to the present embodiment.
The printing apparatus 1a further includes cut surface sensors 128a-1 and 128a-2 in the printing apparatus 1 (FIG. 1).

The cut surface sensors 128 a-1 and 128 a-2 are positions shifted in the traveling direction (Y direction) of the roll paper 201 from the fixed blade 107, respectively, right and left ends immediately below the traveling path of the roll paper 201, that is, traveling. It is installed on both sides (left and right directions) of the direction perpendicular to the direction (X direction). The cut surface sensors 128a-1 and 128a-2 detect the cut surface of the roll paper 201, respectively, and output a cut surface signal indicating the detected cut surface to the skew detection unit 129a (described later).
The cut surface sensors 128a-1 and 128a-2 are, for example, infrared sensors. The cut surface sensors 128a-1 and 128a-2 respectively irradiate the back surface of the roll paper 201 with infrared rays, and detect a portion where the brightness of reflected light is larger than a predetermined threshold as a cut surface.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the printing apparatus 1a according to the present embodiment.
The printing apparatus 1a includes a skew detection unit 129a in addition to the cut surface sensors 128a-1 and 128a-2 in the printing apparatus 1 (FIG. 2).
The skew detection unit 129a detects the amount of skew of the skew generated in the roll paper 201 based on the cut surface signals input from the cut surface sensors 128a-1 and 128a-2. Here, the skew detection unit 129a detects the maximum value of the coordinates in the traveling direction (Y direction) of the roll paper 201 on the cut surface indicated by the input cut surface signal. For example, the skew detection unit 129a calculates the skew amount by subtracting the minimum coordinate value detected from the other cut surface sensor 128a-2 from the maximum coordinate value detected from the one cut surface sensor 128a-1. . When the tilt amount is already controlled by the tilt control unit 126, the calculated skew amount corresponds to a control error.

  The skew detection unit 129a receives print data from the print unit 136, and specifies a print length L related to the print range indicated by the input print data. Here, the skew detection unit 129a calculates the skew rate based on the print length L related to the print range having the cut surface that is the detection target of the skew amount as the rear end and the skew amount. The skew detection unit 129a refers to the skew data stored in the skew data storage unit 127, subtracts the calculated skew rate (error) from the skew rate corresponding to the specified print length L, and prints the print length. By associating L with the subtracted skew rate, the skew data is updated. The tilt control unit 126 adjusts the tilt amount of the tilt adjusting unit 110 (FIG. 1) with reference to the updated skew data.

  As described above, according to the present exemplary embodiment, the cut surface detection detects the cut surface of the sheet at a position shifted in the direction in which the sheet (for example, the roll paper 201) is sent out from the cutting unit (for example, the cutting unit 105). (For example, cut surface sensors 128a-1 and 128a-2). Further, the present embodiment includes a skew detection unit 129a that detects the degree of skew of the detected cut surface, and the skew detection unit (for example, the skew detection unit 129a) includes a print range related to the cut surface and the print range. The skew data is updated with the detected skew degree.

  Thereby, the inclination adjusting unit (for example, the inclination adjusting unit 110) adjusts the amount of inclination of the inclination adjusting unit with reference to the skew data updated according to the degree of the detected skew. For example, in addition to the printing length, the skew amount is adapted to the size of the tray for temporarily holding the discharged printed matter, the material of the sheet, the thickness of the sheet, the width, the individual difference between the printing apparatuses 1, etc. It can be further reduced (minimized).

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the sheet is the roll paper 201 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The sheet may be an object that forms a belt-like layer whose one side is sufficiently longer than the other side (width), such as a vinyl sheet or a film.
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the printing apparatuses 1 and 1a are thermal sublimation photo printers having a thermal sublimation printing mechanism in the printing unit 136 is taken as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The printing apparatuses 1 and 1a may include any type of printing mechanism as long as printing can be performed on the sheet. The printing apparatuses 1 and 1a may be, for example, a hot-melt printer, a thermal printer, or the like.

  The above-described printing apparatuses 1 and 1a include the feed roller 103, the rotating shaft 104, the cutting unit 105, the inclination adjusting unit 110, the cutting control unit 122, the conveyance control unit 123, the feed roller driving unit 125, the inclination control unit 126, and the skew data. It can also be considered that the storage unit 127 includes a cutting device provided with a storage unit 127 (when applicable, cutting surface sensors 128a-1 and 128a-2 and a skew detection unit 129a). The feed roller 103, the rotating shaft 104, the cutting unit 105, the inclination adjusting unit 110, the cutting control unit 122, the conveyance control unit 123, the feed roller driving unit 125, the inclination control unit 126, and the skew data storage unit 127 (when applicable) Further, the cutting plane sensors 128a-1, 128a-2 and the skew detection unit 129a) may be configured as a cutting device separate from the printing devices 1, 1a, or detachable from the printing devices 1, 1a. It may be configured as a simple cutting device.

The present invention can also be implemented as a cutting control device 2 having the following configuration. The cutting control device 2 is the minimum configuration of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the cutting control device 2 according to the minimum configuration of the present invention.
The cutting control device 2 includes an inclination control unit 126. The inclination control unit 126 is provided at a position shifted in the Y direction from the feed roller 103 that feeds a sheet (for example, the roll paper 201) in one direction along the length of the sheet, and in the direction intersecting the sheet surface. The tilt amount by which the tilt adjusting unit 110 tilts the cut surface of the cutting unit 105 that cuts the sheet with respect to the direction orthogonal to the one direction is controlled.
Thereby, when the cutting unit 105 cuts the sheet, the direction of the cut surface is inclined in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the sheet is sent out, and the amount of inclination that is the degree of the inclination can be controlled.

Note that a part of the printing apparatuses 1 and 1a or the cutting control apparatus 2 in the above-described embodiment, for example, the cutting control unit 122, the conveyance control unit 123, the inclination control unit 126, or the skew detection unit 129a is realized by a computer. You may do it. In that case, the program for realizing the control function may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium may be read by the computer system and executed. Here, the “computer system” is a computer system built in the printing apparatus 1, 1 a or the cutting control apparatus 2 and includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible medium, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system. Furthermore, the “computer-readable recording medium” is a medium that dynamically holds a program for a short time, such as a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line, In this case, a volatile memory inside a computer system that serves as a server or a client may be included that holds a program for a certain period of time. The program may be a program for realizing a part of the functions described above, and may be a program capable of realizing the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system.
Moreover, you may implement | achieve part or all of the printing apparatuses 1 and 1a in the embodiment mentioned above, or the cutting control apparatus 2 as integrated circuits, such as LSI (Large Scale Integration). Each functional block of the printing apparatuses 1 and 1a may be individually made into a processor, or a part or all of them may be integrated into a processor. Further, the method of circuit integration is not limited to LSI, and may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. In addition, when an integrated circuit technology that replaces LSI appears due to the advancement of semiconductor technology, an integrated circuit based on the technology may be used.

  As described above, the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to the above, and various design changes and the like can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is possible to

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a ... Printing apparatus, 101 (101-1, 101-2) ... Feed roller,
102 (102-1, 102-2) ... rotating shaft,
103 (103-1, 103-2) ... feed roller,
104 (104-1, 104-2) ... rotating shaft,
105 ... cutting part, 106 ... movable blade, 107 ... fixed blade, 108 ... fulcrum shaft,
110: Inclination adjustment unit, 112 ... Cam, 114 ... Cam roller, 115 ... Cam motor,
116: Coil spring, 117 ... Support material,
122 ... cutting control unit, 123 ... transport control unit, 124 ... feed roller drive unit,
125: Feed roller driving unit, 126: Inclination control unit, 127: Skew data storage unit,
128a (128a-1, 128a-2) ... cut surface sensor, 129a ... skew detection section,
131 ... CPU, 132 ... ROM, 133 ... RAM,
134: Buffer unit, 135 ... External interface unit,
2. Cutting control device

Claims (11)

A first sending unit that sends out a sheet fed from the printing unit in one direction along the length of the sheet;
A cutting unit that is provided at a position shifted in the one direction from the first sending unit and cuts the sheet in a direction intersecting the surface of the sheet;
An inclination adjusting part for inclining a cutting surface of the cutting part with respect to a direction orthogonal to the one direction;
An inclination control unit for controlling an inclination amount to be inclined by the inclination adjustment unit;
With
The said inclination control part controls the said inclination amount based on the printing range printed on the said sheet | seat, The cutting device characterized by the above-mentioned .   The cutting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inclination adjustment unit changes the amount of inclination by moving the cutting unit to a support position of one side or the other side of the travel path of the seat. .   A second sending unit that contacts the sheet in a direction opposite to the one direction from the first sending unit and sends the sheet in the one direction with a pressure larger than the pressure with which the first sending unit contacts the sheet is provided. The cutting device according to claim 1 or 2.   The cutting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first sending unit is driven at a higher speed than the second sending unit.   The cutting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a conveyance control unit that stops the first sending unit when the cutting unit cuts the sheet.   The said 1st sending part contacts the said sheet | seat in the center part except the predetermined range, respectively from the both ends of the said one direction of the said sheet | seat. Cutting device. The tilt control unit, any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that determining the inclination amount corresponding to the magnitude of the size and tilt with the print range with reference to the inclination data which associates the print range The cutting device described in 1. A cutting surface of a cutting unit that is provided at a position shifted in the one direction from the first sending unit that feeds the sheet in one direction along the length of the sheet and cuts the sheet in a direction intersecting the surface of the sheet A tilt control unit that controls the amount of tilt that the tilt adjusting unit tilts with respect to a direction orthogonal to the one direction,
With
The said inclination control part controls the said inclination amount based on the printing range printed on the said sheet | seat, The cutting control apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned . A cutting surface of a cutting unit that is provided at a position shifted in the one direction from the first sending unit that feeds the sheet in one direction along the length of the sheet and cuts the sheet in a direction intersecting the surface of the sheet An inclination control process for controlling the amount of inclination that the inclination adjusting unit inclines with respect to the direction orthogonal to the one direction,
Have
The cutting control method according to claim 1, wherein the tilt control process controls the tilt amount based on a printing range to be printed on the sheet . The cutting control device computer is provided at a position shifted in the one direction from the first sending unit that sends the sheet in one direction along the length of the sheet, and cuts the sheet in a direction intersecting the surface of the sheet An inclination control procedure for controlling the amount of inclination by which the inclination adjusting part inclines the cutting surface of the cutting part to be perpendicular to the direction perpendicular to the one direction;
And execute
The inclination control procedure controls the amount of inclination based on a printing range to be printed on the sheet . A first sending unit that sends out a sheet fed from the printing unit in one direction along the length of the sheet;
A cutting unit that is provided at a position shifted in the one direction from the first sending unit and cuts the sheet in a direction intersecting the surface of the sheet;
An inclination adjusting part for inclining a cutting surface of the cutting part with respect to a direction orthogonal to the one direction;
An inclination control unit for controlling an inclination amount to be inclined by the inclination adjustment unit;
With
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inclination control unit controls the inclination amount based on a printing range to be printed on the sheet .

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