JPH03177244A - Sheet transporting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily judge if an effect can be obtained or not when the sheet assortment processing in the next process is carried out and suppress the repetition of the unreasonable assortment processing by installing a judging means for judging if the quantity of the sheets which are lifted up according to the shift of an attracting panel on which the sheets are attracted is less than a prescribed quantity or not. CONSTITUTION:When a prescribed number of sheets 20 or more are lifted up at one time through close adhesion by an attracting panel 21, firmness of a sheet bundle is strengthened, and the shift of the attracting panel 21 is disabled or the shifting time prolongs in comparison with the ordinary case. Accordingly, a judging means judges if the quantity of the sheets 20 which are lifted up through close adhesion is less than a prescribed quantity or not, besides through the binary detection if the attracting panel 12 shifts after the operation of an attracting panel shifting means 22 or the application of the time elements up to the shift. In this case, the prescribed number means the quantity with which the assortment effect can be substantially expected in the sheet assortment process in the next process.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device, and more particularly to a sheet feeding device that feeds a large number of sheets of photosensitive film, coated paper, etc. stacked in a magazine one by one.

Conventionally, various sheet feeding devices equipped with vacuum suction cups have been provided in order to feed a large number of 8I-layered sheets one by one without damaging the sheet surface as much as possible. . In this type of vacuum suction method, there are many cases where the second and subsequent sheets are brought into close contact with the topmost sheet lifted by the suction cup and lifted at the same time. This is especially noticeable in the case of resin films, and It is necessary to sort the sheets so that they can be fed one by one. As for the handling method,
As shown in Japanese Patent No. 80736, a method is known in which at least one of at least a pair of suction cups is swung in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction.

However, when a large number of sheets are lifted up at once by the suction cup, the sheet bundle becomes quite stiff, which poses a problem in that the suction cup cannot handle the sorting process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding device that can easily and reliably determine whether the number of sheets lifted by a suction cup is less than or equal to a predetermined number.

Means for Solving the Problems and Production In order to solve the above problems, the sheet feeding device according to the present invention includes: (8) a moving means for relatively moving the suction cups in a direction in which the distance between them is shortened; (b) a detection means for detecting that the suction cups have moved in a direction to shorten the distance between them; and (C) a detection means for determining whether the number of sheets lifted by the suction cups is less than a predetermined number based on the detection result of the detection means. The present invention is characterized by comprising a discriminating means for discriminating whether the present invention is true or not.

If more than a predetermined number of sheets are in close contact with each other and are lifted up at once by the suction cup, the sheet bundle becomes stiff and the suction cup becomes unable to move or takes longer than usual to move. Therefore, after the moving means is activated, the discriminating means performs binary detection as to whether the suction cup has moved or not, or when the suction cup is lifted up in close contact after adding the time factor until the movement is detected. It is determined whether the number of sheets is less than or equal to a predetermined number.

The predetermined number of sheets means, for example, the number of sheets for which a substantial separation effect can be expected in the sheet handling process performed as the next process. If it is determined that the number of sheets exceeds the predetermined number, either a separation process is performed to reduce the number of sheets to a predetermined number or less, or the suction lifting process using the suction cup is retried.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, one embodiment of a sheet feeding device according to the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a printer device including a sheet feeding device according to the present invention. This printer device 10 includes a main body 11 of a casing formed to seal the inside and block light.
Inside, there is mainly an electrical box 12, a film magazine 13,
Film i feeding [14, film transport section 15, optical unit 16, sub-scanning unit 18 and receive magazine 1
9 are arranged and housed as shown in the figure.

The magazine 13 is replaceably loaded directly above the electrical equipment box 12, and stores unexposed photosensitive film 20 stacked thereon.
(See FIG. 2) is configured to automatically form or cover an opening as necessary.

A vacuum-type film feeding device 14 is provided on the magazine 13 to feed the photosensitive films 20 stored therein one by one.

In this feeding device 14, a suction cup holding unit 22 having a vacuum suction cup 21 is attached to the tip of an arm 23, and the vacuum suction cup 21 is oscillated about a support shaft 24 as shown by the arrow while maintaining a horizontal position. The uppermost film 20 is moved to attract the uppermost film 20 and sent between a pair of transport rollers 25 that are installed at the entrance of the film transport section 15 so as to be able to approach and separate.

Film guide plates 26 are installed on both sides of the film 20 in the magazine 13 so as to be swingable about their support shafts 77 and 78, and are adapted to regulate the position of the film 20 in the width direction.

The transport roller pair 25 of the film transport section 15 is composed of a lower roller that is a driving roller and an upper roller that is a driven roller.
The tip of one film 20 picked up by the feeding device 14 is inserted in the open state, and then the film 20 is gripped in the pressed state.
is sent onto the conveyance guide plate 29. A pair of skew correction rollers 30 consisting of an upper roller and a lower roller is provided in the center of the conveying section 15. The driven upper roller swings around a support shaft 31, and the conveying roller versus 2
5, the posture of the film 20 fed is corrected. Then, the film 20 that has been fed comes into contact with a stopper 32 that swings around a support shaft 33, and its position is regulated and the film 20 is temporarily stopped.

The film 20, whose position has been regulated in this manner and is fed, is then moved to the rotatable upper nip roller 35, 35 covered with an elastic member by opening the stopper 32.
The image is exposed by a laser beam that is scanned in the axial direction of the sub-scanning drum 36 from the optical unit 16 at this time. The film 20 thus exposed is discharged into the receive magazine 19. Then, the exposed film 20 housed in the receive magazine 19 is transferred to the receive magazine 19.
The receiving magazine 19 is taken out of the printer device 10 in a light-shielded state, and is then subjected to development processing. Note that a developing device may be built in at the position of the receive magazine 19, and the exposed film 20 may be sequentially developed and discharged to the outside of the printer device 10.

Further, a film sensor Sl is installed on the transport guide plate 29 of the transport section 15, and a film sensor 52. S3 is provided. The film sensor S2 directly detects the vertical movement of the nip roller 35', and the film sensor S2 directly detects the vertical movement of the nip roller 35' and the sub-scanning drum 36.
The presence or absence of the film 20 and the double feeding of the film 20 are detected according to the fluctuation of the nip amount when the film 20 is held between the two.

On the other hand, a host device 1 is installed adjacent to the present printer device 10. Image information to be printed is communicated from the host device 1 to the printer device 10 one image at a time.

FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of the film cover sticking/peeling device, a magazine 1 containing laminated photosensitive films 2o.
3 is a casing made of light-shielding plastic, and a flange-like flange portion 13a is provided on the top surface. This collar part 13
An adhesive tape or adhesive 38 is pasted or applied to a. A light-shielding film cover 41 made of a flexible sheet is provided on the top surface of the magazine 13, and this film cover 41 covers the flange 1 of the magazine 13.
It is designed to be repeatedly peeled off or pasted onto 3a using adhesive tape or adhesive 38. Furthermore, at the bottom of this magazine 13, there is a film 2o stored therein.
A barcode sticker corresponding to the size is attached.

The magazine 13 is loaded into the apparatus main body 11 while being placed on a frame-shaped magazine mounting table 39 .

A rubber elastic pad is attached to a portion of the magazine mounting table 39 facing the lower surface of the flange 13a of the magazine 13.
The magazine 13 is placed on a magazine mounting table 39 via an elastic pad. This magazine mounting table 39 is integrally fixed on a base 40. and,
On the base 40 is a sensor 3 that detects the presence or absence of the magazine 13.
4 is installed. The base 40 can be pulled out diagonally downward to the right in FIG. 2 from inside the apparatus main body 11 by opening a door (not shown) of the magazine mounting section. Therefore, the magazine 13 is loaded into the apparatus main body 11 by pulling out the base 40.

A cover winding section for winding up, peeling off, and rewinding and pasting the film cover 41 of the magazine 13 includes:
As shown in Figure 3, a cross section taken along the line ■-■ in Figure 2,
The winding plate 42 is formed in a concave shape so as to surround the magazine 13 and the magazine mounting table 39, and the winding shaft 17 is rotatably installed on the upper part of both side plates. Further, a pressure roller 43 for pressing the film cover 41 against the flange 13a of the magazine 13 is provided on the top of the winding plate 42.

The winding plate 42 has binions 47 provided on both sides hung on the base 40 so that the winding shaft 17 and the pressure roller 43 move integrally in parallel along the flange 13a on the magazine 13. is passed and the rack 45 on the rack holding plate 45
It is provided so that it can be moved by engaging with a.

A winding shaft 17 is provided on the right side plate of the winding plate 42.
A gear transmission system (not shown), a winding remoter 46, etc. are mounted to rotate and drive the winding section and move the winding section as a whole. The removal plate 42 and each component mounted thereon are configured to move in the front-back direction.

Furthermore, the winding plate 4 on the surface facing the bottom of the magazine 13
A bar food reader 42R is provided at the bottom of the magazine 20, and the size of the film 20 is read from the bar code sticker affixed to the bottom of the magazine 13 during the movement described above.

Next, the detailed configuration around the pressure roller 43 is shown in FIG.
The explanation will be based on FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B) showing cross sections along the -IV gland. 4(A) shows the set state of the pressure roller 43, and FIG. 4(B) shows the released state.
A pressure roller 43 coated with an elastic body, for example rubber, is rotatably attached to a lever 49 rotatably attached to the front end of the winding plate 42 via a support shaft 48 . Gears 50 are connected to both ends of the pressure roller 43 by pins 55.
are integrally and rotatably fixed, and this gear 50 meshes with a non-rotatable fixed gear 51 fixed to the support shaft 48 with some play. A coil spring 5 for pressure contact is provided between a pin 52 planted on the upper end side of the central portion of the lever 49 and a pin 53 provided on the winding plate 42.
The 4th bet has been passed. These configurations are based on the pressure roller 43.
It is common to both ends. Therefore, lever 49 mm piece 4
In the set state shown in FIG. 4(A) in which the pressure roller 43 is pushed down, the coil spring 54 urges the film cover 41 onto the flange 13a of the magazine 13 loaded with the pressure roller 43. At this time, as described above, since the magazine 13 is placed on the magazine mounting table 39 via an elastic pad, the film cover 41 is evenly and closely pressed against the flange 13a. Become. Furthermore, in order to shift to the release state shown in FIG. 4(B) in which the lever 49 is pushed up, the operator must press the operating lever 49.
When a is lifted, the gear 5o rotates and meshes around the fixed gear 51, and even if only one side is operated, the rotation of the pressure roller 43 is transmitted to the other, and the levers 49 on both sides smoothly move in the same manner. The movable pressure roller 43 is retracted upward, and the magazine 13 can be easily replaced. Note that the released state shown in FIG. 4(B) is locked by a locking means (not shown), and the set state is returned by releasing this locking means.

Next, the structure around the winding shaft 17 will be explained based on FIG. 5, which shows a cross section taken along the line ■--■ in FIG. 2, similar to FIG. 3. A winding shaft 17 rotatably supported on the upper part of the side plate portions located on both sides of the winding plate 42 is rotatably engaged with a drive motor 46 shown in FIG. 2 via a gear train (not shown). ing. On the right side of the winding shaft 17, as shown in FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B), a clamp member 56 having a U-shaped cross section is provided so that the left end in FIG. 5 can be opened and closed as shown by the arrow. It is supported on the winding shaft 17 by a pin 57. A locking member 5 for locking the clamp member 56 to the winding shaft 17 is provided at the releasable left end of the clamp member 56.
8 is attached, and a groove provided at the tip thereof engages with a locking pin 59 implanted in the winding shaft 17, thereby fixing the clamp member 56 to the winding shaft 17. ing.

Therefore, the league portion of the film cover 41 of the magazine 13 is pressed against the roller at the cover winding start position and the cover rewinding end position in front of the cover winding section configured as described above, that is, at the initial position shown in FIG. 10A. 4
3, the clamp member 56 is placed on the open winding shaft 17, the clamp member 56 is closed, and the locking member 58 is locked to the pin 59.
The league part of the film cover 41 is set between the clamp member 56 and the clamp member 56 so as to be bent in a zigzag shape. The film cover 41 is attached to the winding shaft 1 by the rotation of the winding shaft 17.
7 will be wrapped securely.

A manual winding operation dial 44 is provided on the winding plate 42 of the cover winding section at the end of the winding shaft 17 so that the cover winding section can be manually moved.

Next, the configuration of the film feeding device 14 that feeds the film 2° from the magazine 13 to the conveying section 15 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. FIG. 6 is a side view of the main part, FIG. 7 is a front view of the main part, and FIG. 8 is a plan view. The film feeding device 14 feeds the films 2 stacked in the magazine 13.
Three vacuum suction cups 21a are placed in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of
, 21b, 21c are spaced at unequal intervals a so that they are substantially aligned with the suction cup holding unit 22.

b (a>b). This suction cup holding unit 22 is attached via shafts 60 and 61 to the tips of two left and right arms 23a and 23b, each of which has one end supported by shafts 24a and 24b, and transfers the driving force from a drive motor 62 to a gear. Support shaft 24 via columns 63 to 67
By rotating a, it is possible to swing between the lowered position shown by the solid line in FIG. 6 and the upper limit position shown by the broken line.

In front of the film feeding position indicated by the - point M4 line, a pair of conveying rollers 25 consisting of an upper roller 25a and a lower roller 25b is provided, and the upper roller 25a is connected to a solenoid 68.
As shown by the broken line, the shaft holding frame 69 can rotate upward about the support shaft 28 . A pair of conveying rollers 25 is attached to this shaft holding frame 69.
A film sensor 85 (only the actuator of the sensor is shown) is provided for detecting whether or not the film 20 is clamped. Further, in order to detect the upper limit position of the suction cup holding unit 22, a sensor 86 for sensing the arm 23a is provided on the machine frame (not shown).

Therefore, the suction cup holding unit 22 is lowered, and the film 2 adsorbed on the vacuum suction cups 21a, 21b, and 21c is
With the upper roller 25a of the transport roller pair 25 open upward, the tip of the roller 0 rides over the lower roller 25b at the feeding position shown by the dashed line, and is placed on the lower roller 25b, and then lowers the upper roller 25a. It is held in place by

A film 20 whose leading end is sandwiched between a pair of conveying rollers 25
The transport unit 1 is rotated by driving the lower roller 25b.
It is fed onto the conveyance guide plate 29 of No. 5.

The three vacuum suction cups 21a, 21b, 21c are
Each tube is connected to a suction pump 93 via a suction valve 94. The middle vacuum suction cup 21b is fixed to the suction cup holding unit 22, and the left and right suction cups 21a, 21c are attached to vertical shafts 70, 71 on the suction cup holding unit 22 so as to move closer to the middle suction cup 21b.
It is attached to the tip of a rocking plate 72, 73 whose one end is pivotally attached to. The rocking plates 72, 73 are respectively rocked inward on a horizontal plane as shown by arrows by actuation of the solenoids 74 and 75. Therefore, the vacuum suction cups 21a, 21b.

The film 20 sucked by the suction cup holding unit 22 is moved by the solenoid 74.75 (7
) When the film 20 is operated, it moves relatively close to the intermediate vacuum suction cup 21b, and bends the suctioned film 20 to the left and right. At this time, the left and right vacuum suction cups 21a.

Since the intervals a and b between the suction cup 21c and the intermediate suction cup 21b are unequal, the deflection on the left side is large and the deflection on the right side is small, and the curved state of the film 20 interferes with each other on the left and right sides, resulting in tight contact. The second and subsequent films sucked up by
0, and the second and subsequent films 20
It will be judged so that it falls. In addition, the left and right vacuum suction cups 21a and 21c are moved at different timings so that they alternately move close to the intermediate vacuum suction cup 21b, thereby alternately forming left and right deflections to further improve the handling effect. Improving.

Further, sensors 54,55 for detecting the rocking of the rocking plates 72,73 are provided near the inside of the rocking plates 72,73, respectively. The sensors 54, 55 are used to determine whether or not the swing plates 72, 73 can swing against the stiffness of a large number of films 20 in close contact with each other, as a prerequisite for film sorting processing.

Further, on both sides of the left and right vacuum suction cups 21a, 21c, there is information as to whether or not there is a film 20 in the magazine 13, whether or not the film 20 is suctioned to the vacuum suction cups 21a, 21b, and 21c, and furthermore, the lowering stop position of the arms 23a, 23b. Sensors 87 and 88 are respectively arranged to detect.

The sensor 87 has an actuator 87a extending vertically downward, and the magazine 13 has a recess 13 at a position corresponding to the actuator 87a.
b is formed, and if the actuator 87a enters the recess 13a when the vacuum suction cup 21a is lowered, the sensor 87
is not turned on, and it is detected that there is no film 20 left in the magazine 13.

Next, the film guide plate 26 that regulates the position of the film 20 in the width direction will be explained based on FIGS. 9 and 10 (A>, (B), and (C).
This is provided to prevent the film 20 from being fed obliquely when the film 20 is transported to the sub-scanning unit 18 which is the exposure position, that is, the image forming position.

Furthermore, since a plurality of films 20 of different sizes are used in this type of printer device, this guide plate 26 is
In this embodiment, a case will be explained in which guide plates 26a and 26b are used to convey two different sizes of films with reference to the center.

In the plan view shown in FIG. 9 and FIGS. 10 (A), (B), and (C), which are arrow views in the xx direction of FIG. The size film guide plate 26b has its base connected to a support shaft 77,
78, and is pivotally supported by a support frame (not shown) so as to be rotatable between the retracted position and the guide position. This is to avoid interfering with the operation of pulling out the base 40, that is, the operation of pulling out the large size magazine 13 or the small size magazine 13' in the direction of arrow Y in FIG. Lever 79.
80 are attached respectively, and these levers 7
Rollers 81 and 82 are provided at the tip of 9.80. The rollers 81 and 82 respectively ride over the lever push-up slopes 83 and 84 formed on the upper side wall of the winding plate 42 and ride on the operating surface 83', thereby swinging the film guide plates 26a and 26b. There is.

FIG. 10(A) shows a state where the cover winding section is at the initial position and both the large and small film guide plates 26a and 26b are retracted upward. A detection sensor 89 is provided and detects when the bottom of the winding plate 42 of the cover winding section comes into contact with it. This initial position corresponds to the winding start position and the unwinding end position of the film cover 41, and from this position, the cover winding section moves to the right while winding the film cover 41 around the winding shaft 17. Figure 10 (
As shown in B), just before the bottom of the winding plate 42 contacts the sensor 90, the roller 81 of the push-up lever 79 crosses the lever push-up slope 83 and rides on the operating surface 83'.

With this, the protrusion 261 at the lower end of the tip of the dog-sized film guide plate 26a is aligned with the recess 13c on the inner wall of the magazine 13.
We have entered into the process of regulating the width of large-sized films, and
When loading a small size magazine 13゛, the first
As shown in FIG. 0 (C), the roller 8 of the push-up lever 80
2 crosses the push-up slope 84 and rides on the operating surface 84°,
The protrusion 26b' of the guide plate 26b for small size enters the recess 13C' of the magazine 13' to regulate the width of the small size film.At the same time, in this case, the sensor 90.91
Both are turned on to detect the winding end position of the film cover 41.

Note that a biasing member made of an elastic and low-friction material such as mylar or polyester is attached to the inner surface of each of the film guide plates 26a and 26b in order to bias the film 20 toward the center. .

The position of the film 20 that has been sucked and lifted by 21b and 21c is regulated so that it is at the center position, or so that the second and subsequent films 20 fall back to their original positions during the handling process. In this embodiment, a pair of film guide plates 26a and 26b are provided according to each size in order to match the center positions of the films 20 of different sizes, but they are arranged so that the positions of one side in the width direction match. In this case, it is only necessary to provide one film guide plate corresponding to each size on the opposite side.

Next, in the printer apparatus 10 configured as described above, sensors for detecting transport failure of the film 20, etc. will be specifically explained. The film 20 fed from the magazine 13 between the pair of conveying rollers 25 by the film feeding device 14 is conveyed to the conveying section 15 by the pair of conveying rollers 25. A microswitch 85 (only the actuator is shown in Fig. 6) is integrally attached,
When the upper roller 25a descends, its actuator is positioned upstream of the nip portion of the pair of conveying rollers 25 (on the right side in FIG. 6), and the film 20 is held between the pair of conveying rollers 25. Detect whether or not. Further, on the back side of the conveyance guide plate 29 of the conveyance section 15, a film sensor S1 is provided, which is located upstream of the stopper 32 in the conveyance path from the pair of conveyance rollers 25 to the sub-scanning unit 18. The sensor S1 has an actuator extending into the conveyance path from an opening in the conveyance guide plate 29, and detects the presence or absence of the film 20 in the conveyance path. Furthermore, the receive magazine 1 is transferred from the sub-scanning unit 18.
9, a film sensor S3 is installed on the lower guide plate.
is provided, its actuator extends from the opening of the lower guide plate, and the film 20 is attached to the receive magazine 1.
It is detected whether or not it has been sent into 9.

Further, the sub-scanning unit 18 includes two nip rollers 3 installed facing the sub-scanning drum 36, as shown in partially enlarged side and perspective views in FIGS. 11 and 12.
5.35' are rotatably supported in respective holders 96.96'. The holders 96 and 96' are biased by springs 97 and 97' in the arrow directions in the figure around the support shafts 95 and 95', and as a result, the nip rollers 35 and 35' come into pressure contact with the sub-scanning drum 36. It looks like this. For installation, one end is fixed to the machine frame 99, and a sensor S2 consisting of a strain gauge is attached to the plate 98, and the other end is attached to the holder 96 so as to be in contact with the plate 100 that is passed through. There is. Therefore, when the film 20 conveyed from the conveyance section 15 enters between the nip roller 35'' and the sub-scanning drum 36, the holder 96' rotates in the opposite direction of the arrow due to the thickness of the film 20, and the holder 96' is attached according to the movement. As a result of the plate 98 being distorted inward and the distortion being measured by the distortion sensor S2, the entry of the film 20 is detected.

Next, FIG. 14 shows a processing circuit using such a strain sensor S2. Strain sensor S2 is constructed into a bridge circuit as shown in the figure together with resistors R1, R2, and R3 having the same resistance value, and a power supply E is connected to the connection points of S2 and R2 and R1 and R3, and S2, R1, and R3 are connected to each other. The connection point between R2 and R3 is connected to the positive and negative input terminals of the differential amplifier 101.

The output terminal of this differential amplifier 101 is connected to the input terminals of comparators 102, 103, and 104, and voltage +vcc is applied to the other input terminal of each comparator 102, 103, and 104, respectively, through resistors SP1. The voltages VR1, VR2, and VR3 divided by SP2.5P3 are applied to each comparator 102, 103, and 104.
The outputs are outputted to the CPU as a leading edge detection signal, a trailing edge detection signal, and a double feed detection signal.

The reason why a strain gauge is used as a sensor for detecting film double feeding in this embodiment is that since the photosensitive film 20 is used, detection by a photosensor is impossible. Furthermore, in a system that detects the amount of displacement of the nip roller 35' using a photosensor, it is currently impossible to make the output voltage of the sensor linear as shown in FIG.

Next, the operation of the printer device 10 configured as described above will be explained with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS. 15 to 27.

First, the printing process of the linking device 10 will be explained with reference to the flowchart in FIG. This process is started by a print process signal communicated from the host device 1, but it can also be executed by turning on a print switch on an operation panel (not shown) of the printer device 10.

First, as an initial operation, the optical unit 16 is started up. At the same time, the suction pump 93 is turned on, the upper transport roller 25a is raised, and the film stopper 32 of the transport section 15 is
lower. In addition, all conveyance failure flags, which will be explained later, are reset, the conveyance failure display on the operation panel is also turned off, and the drive motor for the sub-scanning drum 36 of the sub-scanning unit 18 is turned on to rotate the drum 36. Processing is also performed (step 101).

Next, the film is removed from the magazine 13 as shown in FIG. 16 (step 102). Then, it is determined whether or not a film transport failure has occurred in this process (step 103). If there is no transport defect, execute the film transport process shown in FIG. 19 (step 104).
In step 105), it is determined again whether a conveyance defect has occurred.
Continuously execute the image exposure process shown in (step 106)
), and then it is determined whether or not a conveyance failure has occurred (step 107); if not, the printing process on the film has been completed, and the printer 10 is stopped (step 108) and placed in a standby state.

In steps 103, 105, and 107, if a conveyance defect has occurred, the conveyance defect handling process shown in FIG. 21 is performed (step 109). It is determined whether or not the defective processing has been performed three times or more (step 110), and if it is the second or more, the process returns to the first step 101 and the interrupted print processing is restarted. This restart sends a signal to the host device 1 that the transport failure has been automatically recovered, and the host device 1 again communicates the same image information as at the time of interruption from the object to the printer device IO. On the other hand, if a conveyance failure occurs three or more times during print processing for one image, the conveyance failure will be displayed on the operation panel even if it is automatically recovered (step 111), and a series of print processing end. The display of conveyance failure here indicates that the film 2 in the conveyance path
Although 0 has been removed, there is some kind of abnormality in the film transport system, and transport failures occur frequently, so this is done to prompt the operator to inspect the inside.

Note that the process of sending a signal to the host device 1 only when the conveyance failure is unrecoverable and automatically recovering from the conveyance failure and restarting the printing process may be performed within the present printer apparatus 10. That is, the control unit of the printer device 10 has at least one
It is sufficient to provide a memory for storing image data for an image so that the data can be read from the leading edge of the image even after recovery from a conveyance failure during image exposure.

Next, the operation of taking out a film from the magazine 13 shown in FIG. 16 will be explained. Here, first, after completing the film catch process (step 201) shown in FIG. 17, the arm moving motor 62 is rotated upward (step 2).
02), the suction cup holding unit 22 holding the film 20 by suction is raised, and when the sensor 86 turns on and detects the upper limit position (step 203), the suction cup holding unit 22
is stopped at the upper limit position (step 204). next,
The arm moving motor 62 is rotated downward by a predetermined number of pulses (step 205), and the suction cup holding unit 22 is positioned at the film feeding position shown by the dashed line in FIG. continue,
The film 20 is vacuum suction cup 21a, 21b, 21c
In order to confirm that the sensor 8
7. Determine whether both 88 and 88 are on (step 206). This is because the film 20 may fall when it passes over the transport roller pair 25 while lifting the film 20. (NO in step 206), it is necessary to redo the process from the film catch process (step 201).Next, the renoid 68 is turned on and the upper transport roller 25a is lowered (step 207). The leading edge of the film 20 is held between upper and lower rollers 25a and 25b.

Next, the suction valve 94 is turned off and the suction pump 93 is turned off to stop the suction operation of the vacuum suction cups 21a, 21b, and 21c (steps 208 and 209), and the film 20 is surely caught between the rollers 25a and 25b. The film sensor 8 determines whether the film has been inserted or not by turning on or off the film sensor 85 (step 210).
5 is turned on and it is confirmed that the film 20 is caught, the arm moving motor 62 is rotated upward to raise the suction cup holding unit 22 (step 211).
If the ascent limit position is detected by turning on the sensor 86 (
If YES in step 212), the arm moving motor 62 is turned off (step 213), and the process of taking out the film from the magazine 13 is completed.

If the sensors 87.88 are not turned on in step 206, the steps 201 to 201 are continued until it is determined that both sensors 87.8B are not turned on up to four times in a row (No in step 214). The process of 205 is repeated. If the sensors 87 and 88 are not turned on even after repeating the processes of steps 201 to 205 three times at most, the suction valve 94 is turned off and the suction pump 9 is turned off.
3 is turned off (Step 215), and the flag FNm indicating that there is a film transport failure in the magazine section is set to rl (Step 216), a message indicating that there is a film transport failure in the magazine section is displayed on the display section of the printer device 10. do(
step 217). Regarding the processing after step 216, in step 210 the film 20 is transferred to the transport roller pair 2.
The same applies if it is determined that the information is not included in the period between 5 and 5.

Next, referring to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 17(A) and 17(B), the film 20 is placed on the vacuum suction cups 21a and 21b.

The operation of the film catching process that attracts the film to the film 21c will be explained. This film catch process is executed as a subroutine in the film removal process (step 102) from the magazine 13 (see step 201 in FIG. 16).

First, the arm moving motor 62 is rotated downward (step 301), and the suction cup holding unit 22 is moved downward via the gears 63 to 67. And vacuum suction cup 2
1a, 21b, and 21c have come into contact with the upper surface of the film 20 stored in the magazine 13, based on whether the sensor 88 is on or off (step 302). sensor 8
8 is turned on, the downward rotation of the drive motor 62 is turned off (step 303), and the suction cup holding unit 22 is turned on.
The vacuum suction cups 21a, 21b, and 21c are stopped at the lowered position shown by the solid line in the figure, that is, the position where the vacuum suction cups 21a, 21b, and 21c are in contact with the uppermost film 20.

However, in this case, it is possible that there is no film 20 in the magazine 13, so it is then determined whether the film is empty or not by turning on and off the sensor 87 (step 304). When sensor 87 is on,
In this case, since the film 20 is inside the magazine 13, the uppermost film 20 will be suctioned by the vacuum suction cups 21a, 21b, and 21c. At this time, the suction pump 93 is turned on in advance in the initial operation (step 101) in the flow shown in FIG. 15, and the suction valve 94 is also opened.

In step 304, if the sensor 87 is not turned on, there is no film 20 in the magazine 13, so that a film empty message is displayed on the display panel of the printer device 10 (step 321). Then, the arm moving motor 62 is rotated upward and the suction cup holding unit 22 is
(step 322).

Subsequently, when the arm 23a rises until it contacts the sensor 86, that is, when the sensor 86 is turned on and the suction cup holding unit 22 reaches the upper limit position (YES at step 323), the upward rotation of the arm moving motor 62 is stopped ( Step 324
), and the magazine cover rewinding operation shown in FIG. 25 is automatically performed (step 325). This state is the magazine exchangeable state.

In this state, the printer device 10 is turned off except for the display portion, and all operations are completed.

In step 304, if the sensor 87 is on, the arm moving motor 62 is turned on to start the operation of raising the suction cup holding unit 22 for a predetermined period of time (step 305). During this raising operation, the suction cup holding unit 22
Turn on the cleaning solenoids 74 and 75 and move the left and right vacuum suction cups 21a and 21c to the intermediate fixed vacuum suction cup 2.
Proximity movement is performed to swing each of them around the swing shafts 70 and 71 to the Lb side (step 306).

Thereafter, when a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the upward rotation of the arm moving motor 62 is turned off and the suction cup holding unit 22 is stopped at that position (step 307). Next, the timer is turned on (step 308), and the step 30 is executed at a predetermined time.
It is determined whether the sensor 54.55' is turned on in response to the turning on of the judgment solenoid 74.75 of No. 6 (step 309). This is an operation for determining whether or not a large number of stacked films 20 have been attracted. In other words, when a large number of films 20 are attracted, the stiffness of the films 20 makes it difficult to move the left and right vacuum suction cups 21a, 21c close to each other, and the film handling process (step 313), which will be explained later, becomes difficult. Since this cannot be done, this is determined by the on/off state of the sensor 54°S5 installed close to the swing plate 72,73.

When a large number of films 20 are attracted and the sensors 54 and 55 are not turned on, a first stage of sorting is performed in step 314. This is a process in which the arm moving motor 62 is driven to make the suction cup holding unit 22 reciprocate up and down once, giving the suctioned film 20 vertical vibration and causing it to fall. If the timer has not timed up (NO in step 315), then in step 309 sensor S4. Detects whether S5 is on or off. In this way the first
Despite the stage judgment, the sensor 54.5
5 is not on, the same process is repeated until the timer times up.

If the timer times up in step 315, the film 20 is
In this case, the timer must be cleared (Step 316), and in order to restart the film suction process from the beginning, the handling solenoids 74 and 75 are turned off and the oscillating plate is turned off. 72 and 73 are restored to their original states (step 317). If the sensor 87 or 88 is on in this state (YES in step 318), the film will be moved to the vacuum suction cup 21a,
Since the films 21b and 21c remain adsorbed, the suction valve 94 is temporarily turned off, and the adsorbed film 20 is allowed to fall back into the magazine 13 (step 319), and this state continues. If this occurs, return to the first step 301 up to three times in step 320
o) If such a situation occurs four times in a row,
For the time being, the film catch process is interrupted and the 16th
The process moves to step 215 and subsequent steps of the film unloading process shown in the figure, and the magazine section film transport defect flag FNm is set to rl.
, set to .

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 309 that the sensor 54.55 is on, the timer is cleared (step 310).
, and turn off the cleaning lenses 74 and 75 and move the rocking plate 72.
73 is returned to its original state (step 311).

Next, the film 20 is turned on and off by the sensors 87 and 88.
It is determined whether the vacuum suction discs 21a, 21b, and 21c are reliably suctioned (step 312). This is because the film 20 is attached to the suction cups 21a and 2 at the time of the first-stage sorting process (step 314) for the film 20.
1b.

This is because it may have come off from 21c, resulting in an incomplete adsorption state. This is because there is no point in performing normal processing after the fact in such a state. If the film 20 is not firmly adsorbed, step 31
9, the suction valve 94 is turned off, the film 20 that has been sucked is dropped, and the process returns to the first step 301 of the process up to three times (NO in step 320). Moreover, if the film 20 is reliably attracted,
Film handling process shown in FIG. 18 (step 313)
Then, the film catch processing operation is completed.

Next, the film handling process shown in FIG. 18 will be explained.

This film sorting process is executed as a subroutine in the flowchart of FIG. 17 (see step 313).

In the film handling concept shown in FIG. 17, as the first stage of film handling processing, the suction cup holding unit 22 is moved up and down to vibrate and shake off the suction cup holding unit 22. However, in the second stage of film processing performed here, the distance between the vacuum suction cups 21a, 21b, and 21c is brought close to each other to cause the suctioned film 20 to bend and to separate the second sheet. Separate and drop the following films. That is, in the first stage, a large number of films 20 are shaken off, and in the second stage, only the top one of the small number of films 20 is left, and the others are surely returned to the magazine 13.

In the second stage, the first method is to bring the left and right vacuum suction cups 21a, 21c close to the intermediate vacuum suction cup 21b at the same timing. As shown in FIG. 7, the distance a between the vacuum suction cups 21g and 21b, and the vacuum suction cup 2
The spacing between 1b and 21c is different and uneven (a>b
), and since the former interval a is set large,
When the attracted film 20 moves relative to each other, the magnitude of deflection will be different on the left and right sides of the intermediate vacuum suction cup 21b.

In other words, since the shape of the bending curve formed on the film 20 when the vacuum suction cups 21a and 21c are close to each other is different in adjacent parts, the mutual curvature states interfere with each other, and for example, the film 20 is tightly attached to the uppermost film 20. This method ensures that there will be a misalignment between the second and subsequent films 20 that are currently in use.

The second method is to provide a time difference in the timing of the swinging of the swinging plates 72 and 73 between the swinging plates 72 and 73. That is, in this case, the left and right vacuum suction cups 21a,
In this method, the film 20 that is in close contact with the film 20 is deflected to the left and right at different times by alternately moving the film 21c relative to each other at different timings, thereby surely separating and dropping the second and subsequent sheets.

In this embodiment, the first and second methods are performed simultaneously to improve the film handling effect, but the first and second methods may also be performed independently. A good handling effect can be expected. For example, as a form in which only the second method is implemented, three suction cups 21a, 2
1b+2k may be provided with suction cup holding units 22 arranged at equal intervals in a direction perpendicular to the film transport direction, and the sorting process may be performed by alternately swinging them close to each other at shifted timings.

Next, such film handling processing will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 18.

First, the number of handling operations is determined (step 401)
. In this film handling process, the number of handling operations is 5.
First, the left handling solenoid 74 is operated to create a large deflection on the left side of the film 20 that has been sucked (step 402), and then, after 0.1 seconds, the right handling solenoid 75 is activated to suck the film 20. film 2
Create a small deflection on the right side of 0 (step 403)
. Next, after 0.1 seconds, the processing solenoid 74 is turned off (Step 404), and after 0.1 seconds, the processing solenoid 75 is turned off (Step 405).
Wait for 1 second (step 406) and repeat step 4.
Returning to 01, the number of handling operations is determined. This operation is repeated five times to perform the sorting process. And this action is 5
This film judgment will end when it has been executed twice.

In addition, when carrying out only the first method, the solenoid 74.7 is
5 may be turned on and off at the same time.

Next, the film transport process will be explained with reference to FIG. 19. This is a process executed as a subroutine in the flowchart of FIG. 15 (see step 104), and the film 20 fed between the pair of conveying rollers 25 by the film feeding device 14 without causing any conveyance defects. This relates to the process of transporting the image by the transport section 15 to just before the sub-scanning unit 18.

First, the stopper 32 is swung to enter the conveyance path (
Step 501), then the conveyance motor is turned on and the lower conveyance roller 25b is rotated to convey the film 20 (Step 502). Then turn on the timer (
Step 503), it is determined whether the film sensor S1 provided in the conveyance section 15 is turned on within a predetermined time, that is, whether the film 20 is normally fed into the conveyance path (Step 504), within a predetermined time. If the film sensor S1 is turned on, it is determined that the film 20 is being fed normally, and the timer is cleared (step 505).
The upper roller of the skew correction roller pair 30 is lowered (step 506), the solenoid 68 is turned on, and the transport soil roller 2 is turned on.
5a is raised (step 507). Then, the upper roller 25a is kept separated from the lower roller 25b for 0.5 seconds, and during this time, the skew correction roller pair 30 abuts the film 20 against the stopper 32 to correct the skew (
Step 508). Then, the solenoid 68 is activated to lower the conveying upper roller 25a (step 509).
), then the upper roller of the skew correction roller pair 30 is raised (step 510). In this state, the film 20 is temporarily stopped by the stopper 32 in the transport section 15. Next, the stopper 32 is swung to retreat out of the conveyance path (step 511), and the film conveyance process ends when the film 20 can be conveyed from the conveyance section 15 to the next sub-scanning unit 18. .

On the other hand, if the film sensor S1 is not turned on within the predetermined time in step 504, the film 20 is not being conveyed normally, so in this case, a timeout determination is made (step 512), and the timer is cleared. 513), the conveyance motor is turned off (step 514), and the sub-scanning drum drive motor is turned off (step 515). This stops the film transport system. At the same time, since this is a film transport failure before exposure, the transport failure flag FNul should be set to 11 (step 516), and a message indicating that the film transport before exposure is faulty should be displayed on the display panel of the printer device 10 (step 516). 517), the film transport process ends.

Next, image exposure processing of the printer device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 20(A) and 20(B). This process allows the film 20 that has been transported from the transport section 15 to the sub-scanning unit 18 to be transferred to the sub-scanning unit 18 without causing any transport defects.
8, and is performed as one of the subroutines in the flowchart of FIG.
(see step 106).

First, a timer is turned on (step 601), and it is determined whether the film 20 reaches the sub-scanning unit 18 within a predetermined time. That is, whether or not the film 20 has entered between the nip roller 35' and the sub-scanning drum 36 within a predetermined time is determined by turning on or off the strain sensor S2 (step 602); if it is turned on within a predetermined time, the film 20
is being fed normally, so the timer is cleared (step 603), the solenoid 68 is activated to raise and retreat the upper transport roller 25a (step 604), and the transport motor is turned off. Then, the rotation of the lower transport roller 25b is stopped (step 605).

Next, the timer is turned on (Step 606), and in parallel, image exposure by the optical unit 16 is started at a predetermined timing, while the film sensor S is turned on within a predetermined time.
3 is turned on (step 607).

This is to detect whether the leading edge of the film 20 has passed through the exposure section. If the sensor S3 is turned on within the predetermined time, the film 20 is being fed normally, so the timer is cleared (step 608) and the nip roller 35'
By detecting the size of the gap between the drum and the sub-scanning drum 36 by the strain sensor S2, it is determined whether double feeding of the film 20 has occurred (step 6).
09). Then, turn on the timer again in step 610.
), it is determined whether the strain sensor S2 has changed from on to off within a predetermined time (step 611). That is, the film 20 is transferred between the nip roller 35' and the sub-scanning drum 3.
It is determined whether or not the 6th period has passed. Strain sensor S
2 is turned off within a predetermined time, the timer is cleared (step 612), and the timer is turned on again (step 613). Determine whether the section has been passed (step 61)
4) If the sensor S3 is turned off within a predetermined time, it is determined that the film 20 has been normally ejected to the receive magazine 19, and the timer is cleared.Step 615) The film shown in FIG. 27 is loaded for next printing. Empty detection processing is performed (step 616), and the image exposure process is completed.

On the other hand, if the strain sensor S2 is not turned on within the predetermined time in step 602, this means that a conveyance failure has occurred, and it is determined that the timer has timed out (step 6
17), clear the timer (step 618). In this case, there is a transport failure of the film before exposure, so the pre-exposure transport failure flag FNu2 should be set to rl (step 619), and a transport failure is displayed (step 620).
Then, the conveyance motor is turned off (step 635), the sub-scanning drum drive motor is turned off (step 636), and the processing here ends.

In step 607, if the film sensor S3 is not turned on within the predetermined time, it means that a conveyance failure has occurred in the exposure section, and in this case as well, it is determined that a timeout has occurred (step 621), and the timer is cleared (step 622). ), in this case, there is a film transport defect in the exposure section, so the film has already been exposed, and the exposure section transport defect flag FNel is set to 11'' (step 623), and a transport defect is displayed (step 62).
4). In this case as well, the sub-scanning drum drive motor is turned off (step 636), and the process ends.

In step 609, if the strain sensor S2 detects double feeding, it means that there is a conveyance defect in the exposure section, so the exposure section conveyance defect flag FNe2 is set to "1" (step 625), and a conveyance defect is displayed. do it (
step 626). In this case as well, the sub-scanning drum drive motor is turned off (step 636), and the process ends.

In step 611, if the strain sensor S2 does not change from on to off within a predetermined period of time, this means that the film is being conveyed incorrectly in the exposure section, and in this case as well, it is determined that a timeout has occurred (step 627). Clear the timer (step 628).

In this case, since the exposed film has a transport failure, the post-exposure transport failure flag FNol is set to rl (step 629), a film ejection failure is displayed (step 630), and the sub-scanning drum is driven. The motor is turned off (step 636), and the process ends.

In step 614, if the film sensor S3 does not change from on to off within a predetermined period of time, it is determined that a film conveyance failure has occurred at this position, and a timeout has occurred (step 631).

Then, the timer is cleared (step 632), the post-exposure film transport failure flag FNo.2 is set to "1" (step 633), and a film ejection failure is displayed (step 634).Then, the sub-scanning drum drive motor is activated. Step 636) ends the process.

Next, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 21, a description will be given of the conveyance failure handling process (see step 109 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 15) that is executed when the various types of film conveyance failures occur during printing processing. do.

First, flags FNel, FNe2. FNol,
It is determined whether any of FNo. 2 is set (step 701). If none of these flags are set, then the flags FNul and F
It is determined whether any of Nu2 is set (step 702). If none of the flags is set, this means that the flag FNm is set, so the film pressing process shown in FIG. 24 is performed (step 703), and the conveyance failure handling process is ended. It turns out. In step 701, the flag FN
e1. FNe2. FNo1. Either FNo.2 is
7, the film that caused the transport failure has been exposed, so in this case, the film feeding process shown in steps 22n (A>, (B)) is performed (Step 7 704).
. Also, in step 702, the flag FNul.

If either FNu2 is set, the film is not exposed, so the image shown in FIG. 23 (A).

The film return process shown in (B) is performed (step 70
5) End the transportation defect handling process.

In this way, in this printer device 10, the film 20
In response to troubles before or after exposure, the film is automatically sent to the receive magazine 19 or returned to the magazine 13 for reuse, in order to recover from the trouble. .

Next, the film feeding process will be explained with reference to the broach yard shown in FIGS. 22(A) and 22(B). This is a process for feeding the film 20 to the receive magazine 19 side, since once the film 20 has been subjected to image exposure in the exposure section when a film transport failure occurs, the film 20 cannot be used again. This is performed as a subroutine in the flowchart of the figure (step 704).

By executing this process, automatic recovery from poor film transport is attempted.

First, the stopper 32 of the conveyance section 15 is retracted out of the conveyance path (step 801), and the upper roller of the skew correction roller pair 30 is raised (step 802). Further, the upper conveyance roller 25a is also raised (step 803) to free the film. Then, the sub-scanning drum drive motor is rotated in the normal direction to rotate the sub-scanning drum 36 (step 8).
04), the timer is turned on (step 805), and it is determined whether the film sensor S1 turns off within a predetermined time (step 806).

If the film sensor S1 is off, the timer is cleared (step 807), but if it continues to be on even after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the timer is automatically called a timeout because the film has jammed and is difficult to recover from. It is determined (step 816), the timer is cleared (step 817), the occurrence of a jam is displayed on the display panel of the printer device 10 (step 818), and the normal rotation of the sub-scanning drum drive motor is turned off (step 825). Then, everything in the printer device 10 except the display section is turned off, and all operations are completed.

If the film sensor S1 is not turned on in step 806, the timer is cleared once (step 807).
), the timer is turned on again (step 808), and then it is determined whether the strain sensor S2 is turned off within a predetermined time (step 809). If the strain sensor S2 is turned off within the predetermined time, the film 20 has been conveyed normally so far, although the film 20 has once caused a conveyance failure, and the timer is cleared (step 810). Then, the timer is turned on again (step 811), and it is determined whether the film sensor S3 turns off within a predetermined time (step 812). If the sensor S3 turns off within the predetermined time, the film 20 is placed in the receive magazine 19. Since the film has been ejected, the timer is cleared (step 813), and the film empty detection process shown in FIG. 27 is performed for the next printing process (step 814). Next, normal rotation of the sub-scanning drum drive motor is turned off (step 815). At this point, the film feeding process ends.

In step 809, if the strain sensor S2 is not turned off within a predetermined time, it is automatically determined that the film has jammed and is difficult to recover from, and is now out (step 819), and a step is taken to clear the timer. 820), the occurrence of a jam is displayed on the display panel of the printer device 10 (step 821), and normal rotation of the sub-scanning drum drive motor is turned off (step 825). Then, everything in the printer device 10 except the display section is turned off, and all operations are completed.

In step 812, if the film sensor S3 is not turned off within a predetermined time, it means that the film has automatically jammed at this position and is difficult to recover from, and it is determined that a timeout has occurred (step 822), and the timer is cleared. (Step 823), and the occurrence of a jam is displayed on the display panel of the printer device 10 (Step 824). Then, normal rotation of the sub-scanning drum drive motor is turned off (step 825). In this state, everything in the printer device 10 except the display section is turned off, and all operations are completed.

Next, the film return process will be explained with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 23(A) and 23(B). This process is performed as a subroutine in the flowchart of FIG. 21 when the film 20 has a transport failure before being transported to the exposure section (step 705).
), and the film 20 is removed while eliminating transport defects.
This relates to the process of returning the data to the magazine 13 for reuse.

First, the stopper 32 in the transport unit 15 is retracted to the outside of the transport path (step 901), the upper roller of the skew correction roller pair 30 is raised (step 902), and the upper roller 25a of the transport roller pair 25 is raised. Let (step 903)
, in that state, time it for 0.5 seconds (step 904),
In this state, the film 20 that has caused a transport failure in the transport section 15 becomes free. Subsequently, the upper roller 25a of the skew correction roller pair 30 is lowered (step 905), and the upper roller 25a of the transport roller pair 25 is lowered (step 90).
6) The drive motor of the lower roller 25b is rotated in the reverse direction (step 907), and the film 20 is returned to the film feeding device 14 side. Then turn on the timer (step 908)
, it is determined whether the film sensor S1 is turned off within a predetermined time (step 909). If the sensor S1 is turned off within the predetermined time, the film 20 has been returned from the transport unit 15, and the timer is cleared (step 910). Then, the timer is turned on again (step 911), it is determined whether the film sensor 85 turns off within a predetermined time (step 912), and if the film sensor 85 is turned off within a predetermined time, the timer is cleared (step 913), the arm Turn on the moving motor 62, move the suction cup holding unit 22 from the upper limit position, and move the fed film 20 to the magazine 13.
and then lowered a predetermined amount sufficient to push it back in (step 914). Then, in this state, the film 20 is allowed to wait for 0.5 seconds (step 915), and in this state, the film 20 that has once caused a transport failure is pushed down by the suction cups 21a, 21b, and 21c and pushed back into the magazine 13. Note that at this point, the suction pump 93 has already been turned off, and the suction cups 21a, 21b, and 21c do not have a film suction function. Thereafter, the arm moving motor 62 is rotated upward to raise the suction cup holding unit 22 (step 916), and it is determined whether the sensor 86 is turned on (step 917).

When the sensor 86 is turned on and the suction cup holding unit 22 reaches the upper limit position, the upward rotation of the moving motor 62 is turned off (step 918), and the upper roller of the pair of skew correction rollers 30 of the conveying section 15 is turned off. raise (step 919)
, raise the upper transport roller 25a (step 920).
, further, step 92 turns off the reverse rotation of the transport motor.
1) Finish the film return process.

In step 909, if the film sensor S1 continues to be on, it is determined that the film 20 has automatically jammed at this position and is difficult to recover from, so it is determined that a timeout has occurred (step 922), and the timer is cleared in step 923. ), the occurrence of a jam is displayed on the display panel of the printer device 10 (step 924), and the reverse rotation of the transport motor is turned off (step 925). In this state, the printer device 10 is turned off except for the display section, and all of the series The operation ends.

In step 912, if the film sensor 85 continues to be on, it is determined that the film 20 has automatically jammed at this position and is difficult to recover from, so it is determined that a timeout has occurred (step 926), and the timer is cleared in step 927. ), the printer device 1 detects the occurrence of a film jam.
0 on the display panel (step 928),
The reverse rotation of the transport motor is turned off (step 929). Even in this state, everything in the printer device 10 except the display section is turned off, and the series of operations ends.

Next, the film pressing process will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This is a process for pushing the film into the magazine 13 and returning it to the state before feeding in order to recover from a film transport failure.
This is performed as a subroutine in the flowchart of the figure (step 703>).

First, the transport motor is rotated in reverse (step 241).
Then, the solenoid 68 is turned on and the transporting soil roller 25 is turned on.
a is lowered (step 242), and then the arm moving motor 62 is rotated downward by a predetermined amount (step 243).
. As a result, the suction cup holding unit 22 is lowered from the upper limit position to a position sufficient to push the film back into the magazine 13. Wait in that state for 0.5 seconds (Step 2)
44) In this state, the film once lifted before feeding is pushed down by the suction cups 21a, 21b, and 21c and pushed back into the magazine 13. Note that the suction pump 93 is already turned off when the film pressing process is executed, and the suction cups 21a, 21b, 21
c does not have a film adsorption function.

Next, step 2 rotates the arm moving motor 62 upward.
45), determine whether the sensor 86 is on (step 246); if it is on, the suction cup holding unit 22 is at the upper limit position, so the arm moving motor 62
stops the upward rotation (step 247), and raises the conveying upper roller 25a again (step 248).
The reverse rotation of the transport motor is turned off (step 249), and the film pressing process is completed.

Next, the cover rewinding process will be explained with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 25. This process is executed when the magazine eject switch on the operation panel (not shown) of the printer device 10 is operated or when film empty is detected (steps 282 and 325).

First, it is determined whether the film cover 41 has already been wound up by turning on or off the sensor 89 that detects that the winding plate 42 is at the initial position (step 251). If it is determined that 41 is wound up,
Immediately release the door lock of the magazine loading section (step 258), display a message indicating that the door lock has been released (step 259), and if the film cover 41 is not wound (No in step 251), the arm moving motor 62 is activated. The suction cup holding unit 22 is raised by rotating upward (step 252). Then, when it is confirmed that the arm 23a has risen to the upper limit position of the suction cup holding unit 22 by turning on the sensor 86 (YES in step 253).
S), stop the rotation of the moving motor 62 that rotates the arm 23a (step 254), and then reversely rotate the winding remoter 46 attached to the winding plate 42 to return the cover winding section to the initial position. (Step 255). At this time, the film cover 41 on the magazine 13 is uniformly adhered to the flange 138 of the magazine 13 via the adhesive tape 38 under the pressure contact action of the pressure roller 43, so that wrinkles are avoided during the adhesion. They will be pasted one after another without any occurrence. Next, when it is confirmed that the winding plate 42 supporting the winding shaft 17 has returned to the initial position by turning on the sensor 89 (YES at step 256), the winding remoter 4 is turned on.
Stop the reverse rotation of 6 (step 257), and release the door lock of the magazine mounting section (step 258),
Door unlocking is displayed (step 259), which makes it possible to pull out the base 40 and take out the magazine 13. At this time, the guide plates 26a and 26b, which regulate the width of the film, automatically rotate upward and retreat as the winding section moves forward. Then, by rotating the operating piece 49a of the lever 49 of the pressure roller 43 upward and locking it, the pressure roller 43 is retracted as shown in FIG. 4(B), and the clamp 56 of the winding shaft 17 is released. and remove the league part of the film cover 41.
The magazine 13 can be easily taken out from the magazine mounting table 39.

Next, the cover winding process will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. This subroutine is executed immediately after the magazine 13 is loaded into the printer device 10 and when the printer device 10 is powered on.

First, the magazine loading door (not shown) of the printer main body 11 is locked (step 261), and it is determined whether the sensor 90 or 91 is on (step 262). This is to confirm whether the cover winding section 43 is at a predetermined winding end position. If the sensor 90 or 91 is on, it is determined that the film cover 41 has already been wound, and a film empty process (step 271), which will be described later, is executed and the process ends. On the other hand, if none of the sensors 90 and 91 are turned on, the winding remoter 46 is rotated forward to rotate the winding shaft 17 in the winding direction and move the winding section (
Step 263). A barcode sheet corresponding to the size of the stored film 20 is attached to the bottom of the magazine 13, and is moved by a barcode reader 42R (see FIG. 3) provided at the bottom of the winding plate 42. At the same time, the type of film 20 in the magazine 13 is read (step 264), and the movement of the cover winding section is read until the sensor 90 is turned on.

That is, when the cover winding unit moves to the cover winding end position corresponding to the large size magazine 13 shown in FIG. Then, the cover winder is stopped at that position (step 266).

Then, the type of magazine 13 is confirmed based on the bar food information read during the movement, and it is determined whether the film 20 is small size (step 267).If the magazine 13 is for large size, the film guide plate 26a is Since the film is automatically inserted into the recess 13c of the magazine 13 at this position to regulate its position, it is possible to move on to the next film feeding operation in this state. Therefore, before that, the film empty sensor 87 performs film empty detection processing to determine whether or not the film 20 is in the magazine 13 (step 271, see FIG. 27 for details), completes a series of cover winding processing, and returns to the main lunch. I will be going back.

In step 267, if the magazine is the small size magazine 13'' by taking the barcode sheet, the take-up remover 46 is further rotated in the forward direction (step 268), and the cover take-up unit is rotated until the sensor 91 is turned on. move. When the cover winding section moves to the cover winding end position corresponding to the small size magazine 13'' shown in FIG. 10(C) (YES in step 269).
S), the forward rotation of the winding remoter 46 is turned off to stop the cover winding section (step 270), and in this case also, the film empty detection process is performed by the sensor 87 (
In step 271), a series of cover winding processes is completed.

Next, the film empty detection process will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. This is a process to detect whether or not there is film 20 in the magazine 13, and the cover winding process (step 2) shown in FIG.
71), Figure 22 (A).

(B) Film feeding process (step 814), second
Image exposure processing of Figures 0 (A) and (B) (step 616)
This process is executed as a subroutine such as

First, the arm moving motor 62 is turned on to lower the suction cup holding unit 22 (step 271), and it is determined whether the sensor 8B provided at the bottom right side of the suction cup holding unit 22 (see FIG. 7) is turned on. (step 272
). This sensor 88 includes vacuum suction cups 21a, 21b,
It is set to turn on when the film 21c descends and reaches the position where it contacts the top surface of the film 20, or when it reaches the position where it contacts the floor of the magazine 13 if there is no film 20. be. And sensor 8
When the sensor 88 is not turned on, the arm moving motor 62 continues to rotate downward until it is turned on, and when the sensor 88 is turned on (YES at step 272), the vacuum suction cups 21a, 21b, 21 are placed on the upper surface of the film 20 in the magazine 13.
Stop the downward rotation when c is located (step 2
73), Next, it is determined whether the sensor 87 attached to the bottom left side of the suction cup holding unit 22 is on (step 274). A recess 13b is formed at a position corresponding to the sensor 87 of 13, and if the actuator 87a has entered the recess 13b of the magazine 13 when the suction cup holding unit 22 is at the lowering stop position, the actuator 87a is turned off and the sensor 87 inside the magazine 13 is turned off. is for detecting that the film 20 is not inserted. sensor 8
7 is turned on (YES in step 274), it is determined that the film 20 is present, and the arm moving motor 62 is rotated upward to raise the suction cup holding unit 22 (step 275). Then, when it is confirmed that the arm 23a has reached the upper limit position by turning on the sensor 86 (
If YES in step 276), the arm moving motor 62 is turned off (step 277).

This completes the film empty detection process and returns to the original subroutine.

On the other hand, in step 274, if the sensor 87 for detecting film empty is not turned on, there is no film 20 in the magazine 13, so the plink device 1
Display film empty on the display panel of 0 (
Step 278), then the arm moving motor 62 is rotated upward (step 279), and the upward rotation is continued until the sensor 86 is turned on (step 280).
The suction cup holding unit 22 is stopped at the upper limit position where the arm 23a comes into contact with the (step 281).Next, the cover rewinding process shown in FIG. 25 is performed in preparation for replacing the magazine (step 282), and the printer device 10, everything except the display part is turned off, and the entire series of operations ends.

Note that the sheet feeding device according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be variously modified within the scope of the gist.

For example, the sheet to be fed may be not only a photosensitive film but also copy paper, especially coated paper.

Crowded Hot Ball As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, it is determined whether or not the number of sheets lifted is less than a predetermined number based on the movement mode of the suction cup that suctioned the sheets.
It is possible to easily and reliably determine whether the sheet sorting process in the next step is effective or not, and it is possible to prevent the risk of repeating meaningless sorting processes or the trouble of double feeding of sheets.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show a film feeding device which is an embodiment of the sheet feeding device according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a printer device equipped with a film feeding device, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a film cover adhesive/peeling device, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 1--2 in FIG. Figure 4 (A) and (B) are IV-I of Figure 2.
The V cross-sectional view shows the contact and separation operations of the pressure rollers. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a side view of the film feeding device, FIG. 7 is a cutaway front view of the magazine, and FIG. 8 is a plan view of the film feeding device. Figure 9 is a plan view of the film cover adhesion and peeling device,
Figures 0 (A), (B), and (C) are explanatory views of the operation of the film guide plate, respectively. FIG. 11 is a side view of the sub-scanning unit, and FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the sub-scanning unit. 1st
FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the film thickness and the output voltage of the strain sensor circuit, and FIG. 14 is a block diagram of the film thickness detection circuit using the strain sensor. Fig. 15 and subsequent figures show the control procedure in the printer device, Fig. 15 is a flowchart of print processing, Fig. 16 is a flowchart of film removal processing from a magazine, and Fig. 17 (A
), (B) is a flowchart diagram of the film catch process, FIG. 18 is a broached diagram of the film handling process,
Figure 19 is a broach diagram of the film transport process;
0(A) and 0(B) are flowcharts of image exposure processing, FIG. 21 is a broach-1 diagram of processing for dealing with poor conveyance, and FIG. 22(A). (B) is a flowchart diagram of the film feeding process, the second
3ffl (A) and (B) are flowcharts of the film rewinding process, Figure 24 is a flowchart of the film push-down process, Figure 25 is a flowchart of the cover rewinding process, and Figure 26 is a flowchart of the cover winding process. Flowchart FIG. 27 is a flowchart of film empty detection processing. 13...Magazine, 14...Film feeding device, 2
0...Film, 21a, 21b, 21c...
Vacuum suction cup, 22... Suction cup holding unit, 72.7
3... Rocking plate, 74.75... Solenoid, 54.
55...Sensor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sheet feeding device that presses at least two suction cups against the top surface of a large number of stacked sheets, lifts the sheets together with the suction cups to a predetermined position, and transfers the sheets to the next process, a moving means for relatively moving the suction cups in a direction in which the distance between them is shortened; a detection means for detecting that the suction cups have moved in a direction in which the distance between them is shortened; and a detection result of the detection means. A sheet feeding device comprising: a determining means for determining whether the number of sheets lifted by a suction cup is less than or equal to a predetermined number.