JPH09109495A - Recording device and roll sheet - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a recording action to be always correctly performed on a roll sheet by controlling the action of each of parts based on the detection results by a sheet type-detection mechanism for detecting the type of a roll sheet by the position of a flange contact member, and a sheet presence-detection mechanism and a sheet tip detection mechanism. SOLUTION: When a web 6 consisting of the desired various types of roll sheet 6a is loaded on a web retaining mechanism, a sliding table on a sheet type detection mechanism 11 is moved and the contact face of a flange contact member 17 is pressed into contact with the outer peripheral edge of a flange 6c. Further, three photosensors are turned ON/OFF in accordance with a stop position for the sliding table under a state in which the contact face of the flange contact member 17 is pressed into contact with the outer peripheral edge of the flange 6c. In addition, the type of the sheet is detected depending upon the combination of the three photosensors. CPU entering an output signal from a sheet presence detection mechanism 36 and a sheet tip detection mechanism 41, in addition to an output from the sheet type detection mechanism 11, controls the action of a printer and an image process based on the results of interpreting the type of the sheet, its presence and detecting the tip of the sheet.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus such as an ink jet recording apparatus for recording ink by ejecting ink from a nozzle toward roll paper, and more particularly to the type of roll paper installed and the roll paper. The present invention relates to a recording device capable of automatically detecting the presence or absence of a roll paper and the leading edge of the roll paper, and a roll paper suitable for use in such a recording device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the recent development of computers and recording devices, it has become possible for anyone to easily record images. As a typical example of such a recording apparatus, a recording apparatus called an electrophotographic copying machine that attaches toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoconductor to visualize the electrostatic latent image and transfers the toner image onto a sheet. There is known a recording device called an inkjet printer of the above-mentioned inkjet system or a recording device called a thermal transfer printer of a thermal transfer system that melts ink of an ink ribbon or develops color on a thermal paper by heat generation of a thermal head. .

Although color quality and weather resistance are required for general color recording, the recording medium (paper) is not limited to paper, but is spread to various materials such as cloth and film, and the recording quality is good. In order to maintain the above, a method of changing the recording condition depending on the type and characteristics of the recording medium has become common.

The type of paper can be known from the surface roughness, light transmittance, rigidity, etc. of the paper, but it is not realistic to mount the detection mechanism in the recording device. The reason is that even if only the surface roughness or rigidity of the paper is measured, the structure as one measuring device is required, and the cost of the entire recording apparatus increases. Further, according to the method of detecting the type of paper by utilizing light transmissivity, only three types of transparent, semitransparent, and opaque can be detected, and thus there is a limit to support various types of paper. Thus, it has been difficult to realize the type detection directly on the paper in terms of technology and cost.

For this reason, conventionally, the main method for determining the type of paper is that the user inputs it to the recording apparatus by some method. One of these is a method in which the user sets the paper type on the operation panel of the recording apparatus. Further, recently, when the recording data is transferred from the personal computer to the recording apparatus, the paper type information is often transferred at the same time. In this case, the user selects plain paper, coated paper,
A recording operation is performed by selecting a paper type such as an OHP film, a back print film, and a glossy paper.

Further, in the recording apparatus, it is important that the paper is properly set in the recording apparatus. If the paper is not set correctly at the time of recording, it will not be possible to maintain the recording quality properly, but also the recording surface of the recording head will be rubbed with the paper, or the recording operation will be performed without the paper for recording. In general, the presence or absence of paper is detected because recording is performed on the platen that holds the paper and the paper becomes dirty, or in some cases the print head or platen is damaged, causing the printer to malfunction. A paper detection mechanism is provided so that the recording operation is not performed when the paper is not set correctly or there is no paper.

Further, a long roll paper is used as the paper,
In addition, in the case of a recording apparatus having a paper cutting mechanism for cutting the roll paper, the recording unit for recording and the cutting unit for cutting the roll paper are located at a distance from each other, and therefore, after the paper is cut, it is left as it is. When the next recording is started, a large margin is created at the leading edge of the paper, which not only wastes the paper, but also requires the user to cut the paper again after cutting the roll paper. I was sick.

Therefore, when roll paper is conventionally used, after cutting the paper, the roll paper unwound from the paper roll is fed back in the direction opposite to the normal carrying direction, and the paper is fed as much as possible. I try to reduce the margin at the tip.

[0009]

By the way, although the paper can be easily identified by its appearance and touch, there are many papers whose appearance and touch are very similar. For example, plain paper and coated paper may have different colors when viewed closely, but they may appear to be the same color at first glance, so they may be mistakenly used.

Further, as described above, in the case where the recording apparatus is configured to perform recording by selectively using the recording conditions depending on the type of the paper, if the user mistakenly sets the type of the paper, the recording is performed under the condition suitable for the paper. It will not be done. Then, the recording quality desired by the user will not be obtained, and
In addition, when the recording apparatus is an inkjet system, for example, depending on the type of paper, the amount of recording ink used for recording may be changed, and if the type of paper is set incorrectly, it is extremely There is a problem that excess recording ink may adhere to other parts of the recording device and stain the recording device and the paper because more recording ink than necessary is used for the paper.

As a sheet detecting mechanism used in the conventional recording apparatus, a lever type or an optical type is known.

On the other hand, the lever type paper detection mechanism detects the change of the position of the lever depending on the presence / absence of paper, and detects the change of the position of the lever as an ON / OFF signal of a switch.

The other optical paper detecting mechanism is a reflection type one in which light is emitted from the light emitting portion to the paper and the light reflected from the paper is detected by the light receiving portion, or is arranged so as to face the light emitting portion. There is a transmission type that detects the light transmitted by the light receiving section.

In the reflection type optical sheet detecting mechanism, the change in the light intensity of the reflected light of the light emitted from the light emitting portion is replaced with the change in the electric output value depending on the presence or absence of the sheet, and the change is detected. The optical sheet detection mechanism detects a change in light intensity depending on whether or not the light emitted from the light emitting unit is blocked depending on the presence / absence of a sheet by replacing it with a change in an electric output value.

By the way, in the conventional paper detection mechanism, if a lever-type paper detection mechanism is used, the presence or absence of the paper can be detected whether the paper is a transparent sheet having a light transmitting property or an opaque sheet having no light transmitting property. In order to detect the presence / absence of a sheet in the recording unit, it is necessary to contact the platen via the sheet, and when there is no sheet, the lever may directly contact the platen and damage the platen. There was a problem. Therefore, a reflection type optical paper detection mechanism is generally used as the paper detection mechanism.

Further, in the reflection type optical paper detection mechanism, when the paper is a transparent sheet such as OHP paper which is transparent to light, the light passes through the paper as it is, and therefore the presence or absence of the paper is detected. I can't. Therefore, an opaque part that reflects light is provided at the end of the transparent sheet (the end in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction), and the paper is detected by reflecting the light at this opaque part. However, in such a method, an opaque part is created at the edge of the paper, and the entire surface of the paper cannot be used effectively. An image in which the opaque part is conspicuously recorded when projected by an overhead projector There was a problem that it became hard to see.

Furthermore, when the user tries to conserve paper, the roll paper is rewound too much, or when the user makes an operation error, the leading edge of the roll paper, which should have been originally at the recording unit, is moved to the recording unit in the paper conveying direction. If it is shifted to the upstream side, the paper may be fed backward too much, which may cause not only recording on the platen but also paper jam.

In view of such a point, the present invention has an object to provide a recording apparatus capable of automatically detecting the type of roll paper.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus and an optical sheet detection mechanism which can effectively detect the presence or absence of a roll sheet formed of a light-transmissive transparent sheet by using an optical sheet detection mechanism. An object is to provide a roll paper that can be satisfactorily detected.

Further, according to the present invention, when the roll paper is rewound in order to prevent the margin from being formed more than necessary at the tip of the roll paper, whether the tip of the roll paper used for recording is in a proper position or not. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording device that can automatically detect whether or not it is.

[0021]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the recording apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that it can be pressed against the outer peripheral edge of the flange of the holder of the paper roll held by the paper roll holding mechanism. A sheet type detection mechanism that includes a movable flange contact member and that detects the type of roll paper by the position of the flange contact member that is positioned according to the outer diameter of the flange that corresponds to the type of roll paper; A paper presence / absence detection mechanism that is disposed in the recording unit so as to face each other and detects the presence or absence of roll paper in a non-contact manner, and a paper that is disposed between the recording unit and the cutting unit and detects the leading end of the roll paper used for recording. It has a tip detection mechanism and control means for controlling the operation of each part based on the detection result of each detection mechanism.

By adopting such a configuration, the paper type detecting mechanism can mount the flange having the outer diameter corresponding to the type of the roll paper on the paper roll, and the flange contacting member that abuts on the flange. The paper type detection mechanism can automatically detect the paper type depending on the position of the contact member, and the paper presence / absence detection mechanism can automatically detect the presence / absence of roll paper without contact. Is capable of automatically detecting whether or not the leading edge of the roll paper to be used for recording is in an appropriate position, and the control means controls the proper recording operation for the roll paper to be used based on the detection result of each detection mechanism. Each part can be controlled so as to perform.

The recording apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the paper presence / absence detection mechanism is formed by an optical sensor, and the control means detects the roll paper type by the light transmissivity. It is configured so that the information from the optical sensor is reversed and determined depending on whether or not.

By adopting such a structure, the presence or absence of the roll paper can be automatically detected by the optical sensor regardless of whether the roll paper is light transmissive or not.

The roll paper according to a third aspect is characterized in that it is formed of a light-transmissive transparent sheet, and
The point is that a light reflecting portion is provided at the end.

By adopting such a constitution, when the roll paper formed of the light-transmissive transparent sheet is used, the entire surface of the roll paper can be effectively used and the roll paper The light reflecting section can automatically detect the end of the roll paper by the paper presence detection mechanism.

[0027]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention, in which a housing 2 of the recording apparatus 1 has a cylindrical shape with its axis extending horizontally. The eggplant platen 3 is rotatably arranged. The platen 3 has a rough surface finish that diffusely reflects light or a black surface that absorbs light so that the surface does not reflect light, and is capable of absorbing light. And
A driven pulley (not shown) is supported at one end of the platen 3, and the driven pulley has a first reversible rotation.
A belt 5 driven by a motor 4 is wound around.
Therefore, by driving the first motor 4, the platen 3
Will be selectively driven in the regular paper transport direction or in the opposite direction.

A paper roll 6 having an axis parallel to the platen 3 is mounted in the housing 2, which is the back of the platen 3. A roll paper 6a, which is a paper, is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the paper roll 6 as will be described later. The roll paper 6a is unwound by rotating the paper roll 6 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. Then, it is wound on the upper side of the platen 3.

The paper roll 6 is, as shown in FIG.
It is held on a pair of holding portions 9A and 9B of a paper roll holding mechanism 8 which is formed on the base portion 7 of the recording apparatus 1 at right and left intervals. Of these, the holding portion 9B is detachably attached to any one of a plurality of positions on the holding portion support plate 10 so that the position can be changed according to the width of the roll paper 6a. A paper type detection mechanism 11 for detecting the type of the roll paper 6a as a paper is arranged near the holding section 9A.

As shown in detail in FIG. 4, the paper roll 6 has a roll paper 6a wound around a paper tube (not shown), and holders 6b and 6b are provided at both ends of the paper tube. It is mounted, and both holders 6b, 6b are held by the holding portions 9A, 9B. A circular flange 6c having a diameter larger than the maximum diameter of the roll paper 6a is formed on each holder 6b. Then, in the present embodiment, the holder 6
The outer diameter of the flange 6c of b differs from each other depending on the type of the roll paper 6a on which the holder 6b having the flange 6c is mounted, that is, plain paper, coated paper, OHP film, back print film, glossy paper, etc. It is a dimension. Therefore, the type of the roll paper 6a is specified by the outer diameter dimension of the flange 6c.

Further, in the present embodiment, FIG.
As shown in (a), when the roll paper 6a is formed of a light transmissive transparent sheet 12 such as OHP paper, the light reflecting portion 1 is provided only at the end of the light transmissive transparent sheet 12.
2a is provided. The light reflecting portion 12a is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the structure may be provided at both ends orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and if the structure is provided only at the terminal end,
In particular, it is not limited to the configuration of this embodiment.

The paper type detection mechanism 11 for detecting the type (paper type) of the roll paper 6a will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 6, the paper type detection mechanism 11 includes one of the holding sections 9A. It has a substrate 13 arranged in the vicinity. A pair of guide rods 14, 14 extending in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the axis of the paper roll 6 are supported in parallel on the substrate 13 above the substrate 13. A slide base 15 that is movable in the extending direction of the guide rods 14 is supported by the guide rods 14, 14. A bracket 16 protruding upward is provided at one end of the slide base 15, and a block-shaped flange contact member 1 having one side surface 17a as a flange contact surface is provided on an upper portion of the bracket 16.
7 are supported. Further, between the substrate 13 and the slide base 15, the slide base 1 is provided to press the flange contact member 17 against the flange 6c of the paper roll 6.
A coil spring 18 for urging the coil 5 so as to pull it 5 obliquely rightward (in the direction of arrow A) in FIG. 6A is stretched.

One end of a wire 19 as an interlocking member is fixed to the bracket 16. On the other hand, a hollow tube 20 extending from the fixed portion of the wire 19 in a direction opposite to the urging direction of the coil spring 18 is projectingly provided at one end of the substrate 13.
Is configured to penetrate through the tube 20 and reach the outside of the substrate 13, and the other end of the wire 19 is
It is fixed to a cover 2A (FIG. 2) described later. Therefore, by opening the cover 2A, the wire 1
The slide base 15 moves in the direction of the arrow B against the biasing force of the coil spring 18 via 9 and the flange abutment member 17 retracts to the retracted position where it does not interfere with the replacement of the paper roll 6 when the paper roll 6 is replaced. It is supposed to do. When the cover 2A is closed, the wire 19 is loosened, so that the slide base 15 is pulled in the arrow A direction by the biasing force of the coil spring 18.

On the substrate 13, three photosensors 21A, 21B, 21C and an output connector 23 for outputting output signals from each photosensor 21 to a control means 22 (FIG. 7) described later are installed. Each photo sensor 2
1 is substantially U-shaped, while the recesses 2 of the photosensors 21 are formed on the back surface of the slide base 15.
3 state setting sheets 2 in a flat plate shape that are loosely inserted in the 4
5 is supported so as to correspond to each photo sensor 21. In addition, each state setting sheet 25 includes each photo sensor 21.
Is a member that shields the light emitted from the light emitting portion of the photosensor 21 so that the light does not reach the light receiving portion, and each state setting sheet 25 is configured so that the light emitted from the light emitting portion of each photosensor 21 reaches the light receiving portion. A plurality of slits (not shown) for forming are formed.

Each photosensor 21 outputs an ON signal when the light emitted from the light emitting portion reaches the light receiving portion, and the light emitted from the light emitting portion does not reach the light receiving portion.
It outputs an OFF signal. Therefore, the flange 6 in the holder 6b of the paper roll 6 is
The slide base 15 for the base plate 13 depends on the size of the outer diameter of c
The position of each photo sensor 21
The A, 21B, and 21C individually change the output signal, which is an ON signal or an OFF signal, which is output to the CPU board 26 (FIG. 7) of the control means 22 described later, depending on the position of the slit of the corresponding state setting sheet 25. ing.
On the other hand, the CPU of the CPU board 26 of the control means 22 stores in advance the type of paper (roll paper 6a) as shown in Table 1 below by combining individual ON signals or OFF signals from the three photosensors 21. The type of the detected paper is determined (detected) based on the program.
It is output to the CPU board 26 and displayed on a display panel (not shown) of the recording device 1.

[0036] The sensors A, B, and C in Table 1 are the photosensors 21A, 21B, and 21C, respectively.

Then, the CPU board 26 performs image processing and driving of an ink jet head (not shown) as shown in Table 2 below according to the type of the detected paper.

[0038] In Table 2, the sheet types 1 to 3 can be sufficiently supported by the standard setting of the recording apparatus, but the sheet types 4 to 6 are not supported.

Returning to FIGS. 1 and 2, the platen 3 is
A paper retainer (not shown) for holding the roll paper 6a, which is unwound from the paper roll 6 and provided for recording, on the outer peripheral surface of the platen 3 in the housing 2 at a position facing the
Are arranged. In addition, an inkjet unit 27 that can reciprocate along the platen 3 is disposed in the housing 2 at a position facing the platen 3 in parallel with the axis of the platen 3, and the carriage of the inkjet unit 27. 27A is provided with a plurality of inkjet heads (not shown) for ejecting ink so as to face the platen 3, respectively. The position at which ink is ejected from the inkjet head onto the roll paper 6a held on the outer peripheral surface of the platen 3 is the recording portion PP (FIG. 2) that records on the roll paper 6a.

A drive belt 28 is connected to the ink jet unit 27, and the drive belt 28 is connected to the drive belt 28.
Is wound around the outer periphery of a drive pulley 30 driven by a reversibly rotatable second motor 29. Therefore, by driving the second motor 29, the inkjet unit 27 is guided by the guide shaft 31 arranged parallel to the axis of the platen 3 and reciprocates along the platen 3. A pump unit 32 for covering the nozzle portion of each inkjet head of the inkjet unit 27 and performing a recovery operation is disposed beside one end of the platen 3, and is adjacent to the pump unit 32. A waste liquid tank 33 is provided to store the waste ink discharged from the nozzle.

A transmissive photo interrupter 34 is provided on the lower surface of the carriage 27A of the ink jet unit 27.
Are arranged at intervals in the front-rear direction of the carriage 27A, and a linear encoder 35 formed by forming a large number of small holes corresponding to the recording resolution in a thin plate therebetween is provided in the entire moving range of the inkjet unit 27. It is arranged along.

The roll paper 6a on the platen 3 is arranged so as to face the platen 3 on the upstream side of the ink jet unit 27 in the normal transport direction of the roll paper 6a.
A paper presence / absence detection mechanism 36 for detecting the presence / absence of a sheet is provided. The paper presence / absence detection mechanism 36 has an optical sensor 37. The optical sensor 37 emits light from the light emitting portion toward the outer peripheral surface of the platen 3, and the emitted light emits light to the platen 3.
The intensity of the reflected light reflected by the roll paper 6a, which is the upper paper, can be converted into an electric signal by the light receiving section and sent to the control means 22 described later.

Below the platen 3 and the ink jet unit 27, there is formed a cutting portion CP for cutting the roll paper 6a after recording. The cutting portion CP has a long fixed blade 38 and a movable blade, respectively. A sheet cutting mechanism 40 composed of 39 is provided.

Between the recording portion PP and the cutting portion CP,
A paper leading edge detection mechanism 41 for detecting the roll paper 6a passing between these is provided. This paper edge detection mechanism 41
When the roll paper 6a used for recording after cutting is fed back in the direction opposite to the regular transport direction, the roll paper 6a
This is for determining whether or not the reverse feed amount of a is proper, and when a lever switch (not shown) detects the leading end (cutting portion) of the roll paper 6a, a detection signal is sent to the control means 22 described later, and the control means 22. Is the first feeding back the roll paper 6a
The driving of the motor 4 is stopped.

The detection mechanisms 11, 36 and 41, the motors 4 and 29, and the ink jet unit 2
Each drive unit such as 7 is connected to the control unit 22, and the roll paper 6 from each detection mechanism 11, 36, 41 is connected.
When a signal relating to a is input to the control means 22, each of the motors 4, 2 corresponds to the input signal by the control means 22.
9 and the inkjet unit 27 and the like.

In FIG. 2, an upper opening (not shown) of the housing 2 is closed by an openable / closable cover 2A.

FIG. 7 shows a control block diagram including the control means 22.

In FIG. 7, the control means 22 has a mother board 42 having a control panel (not shown), and the mother board 42 has the CPU board 2 therein.
6, a mechanical control board 43, a head control board 44, etc. are connected. Further, on the motherboard 42, a paper type detection mechanism 11 for detecting the type of roll paper 6a used, a paper presence / absence detection mechanism 36 for detecting the presence / absence of paper, a paper leading edge detection mechanism 41 for detecting the leading edge of the paper, A pump unit 32, the waste liquid tank 33, a CR unit 45 that drives the second motor 29 that moves the inkjet unit 27, an LF unit 46 that drives the first motor 4 that conveys the roll paper 6a, etc. are connected. There is.

The CPU board 26 includes a CPU and an RO.
It is equipped with M, RAM and so on.
Based on the detection signals sent from the respective detection mechanisms 11, 36 and 41, the type of paper, the presence / absence of paper, the leading edge of the paper are discriminated, and based on these discrimination results, various operations such as printer operation and image processing are performed. The program is stored.

On the mechanical control board 43, each of these detection mechanisms 11, 36, 41 and the pump unit 3 are provided.
2, a driver (not shown) for driving the CR unit 45 and the LF unit 30 is provided. Further, the mechanical control board 43 transmits various signals to the CPU of the CPU board 26.

The head control board 44 is provided with an ink detection board 47 and a head drive board 48. The ink remaining amount detection signal detected by the ink detection board 47 provided in the ink jet unit 27 is sent to the CPU board. 26 and a logical signal for driving the ink jet head based on the information from this CPU.
8 is formed. The head drive board 48 is provided with each ink jet head 49 provided in the ink jet unit 27 based on the logic signal.
And a drive signal for driving each ink cartridge 50.

Further, the CR unit 45 outputs the signal corresponding to the rotation speed of the second motor 29 to the CPU of the CPU board 26 in order to make the moving speed of the ink jet unit 27 constant. The encoder 35 is connected in parallel with the second motor 29.

Further, the mother board 42 is provided with various interface units 51 and 52 for connecting the recording apparatus 1 to a personal computer or the like.

Furthermore, the program stored in the CPU board 26 is an optical sensor 37 of the paper presence / absence detection mechanism 36 when the type of the paper (roll paper 6a) detected by the paper type detection mechanism 11 is opaque. Detects a strong reflected light and outputs a HIGH electric signal, it is determined that there is a sheet, and when the type of the sheet detected by the sheet type detection mechanism 11 is opaque, the optical sensor 36 of the sheet presence / absence detection mechanism 36 is detected. Most of the light emitted from the sheet passes through the sheet and is absorbed by the surface of the platen, and the optical sensor 37 of the sheet presence / absence detecting mechanism 36 does not detect the reflected light and outputs a LOW electric signal. It is supposed to do.

That is, the control means 22 controls the optical sensor 3 of the paper presence / absence detection mechanism 36 based on whether or not the detection result of the type of the roll paper 6a by the paper type detection mechanism 11 is light transmissive.
It is configured to reverse the information from 7 and make the determination.

Next, the operation flow of the recording apparatus 1 described above will be described.

First, in order to mount the paper roll 6 made of a desired kind of roll paper 6a on the paper roll holding mechanism 8,
First, the cover 2A is opened. Then, the wire 19 whose one end is fixed to the cover 2A is pulled in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 6 against the biasing force of the coil spring 18, so that the slide base 15 connected to this wire 19 is also the same. The flange contact member 17 is moved in the direction, and is retracted so as not to interfere with the paper roll 6 to be mounted. In this state, a holder 6b having a flange 6c having an outer diameter dimension corresponding to the type of paper (roll paper 6a) used
The paper roll 6 mounted with is mounted on both holding portions 9A and 9B of the paper roll holding mechanism 8. After that, when the cover 2A is closed, the wire 19 is loosened, so that the slide base 15 urged by the coil spring 18 moves, and the contact surface 17a of the flange contact member 17 is pressed against the outer peripheral edge of the flange 6c. Then, according to the stop position of the slide base 15 in the state where the contact surface 17a of the flange contact member 17 is in pressure contact with the outer peripheral edge of the flange 6c, the three photosensors 2 are detected.
1A, 21B and 21 are turned on or off respectively, and three photosensors 21A, 21B,
Since the type of paper is detected by the combination of the states of 21, that is, the combination of Table 1 described above, this information is output from the output connector 23 to the CPU board 26, and
In the CPU board 26, three photo sensors 21A, 21 output from the paper type detection mechanism 11 are output.
Depending on the ON signal or OFF signal of B and 21C, the above Table 1
The sheet type is detected based on the above, and a command is issued to perform predetermined image processing and head drive corresponding to the detected sheet type.

Therefore, when the recording apparatus 1 is powered on,
CPUs of the CPU board 26 are boats 26, 43, 4
4, 47, 48 and each unit 27, 32, 45, 4
6 and each of the detection mechanisms 11, 36 and 41 are initialized, and next, whether or not the paper (roll paper 6a) used by the signal from the paper type detection mechanism 11 is transparent (whether it is a transparent sheet or not) ) Is included, and the recording unit PP is detected by a signal from the paper presence / absence detection mechanism 36.
It is recognized whether or not there is a sheet of paper, and whether or not the leading edge of the roll paper 6a to be used for recording is at an appropriate position based on a signal from the sheet leading edge detection mechanism 41. At this time, the control means 2
2 The presence / absence of the paper is recognized by the optical sensor 37 of the paper presence / absence detection mechanism 36, and the roll paper 6a is detected by the paper type detection mechanism 11.
The information from the optical sensor 37 of the paper presence / absence detection mechanism 36 is reversed and determined based on whether or not the detection result of the type is light transmissive.

That is, when the detection result of the type of the roll paper 6a by the paper type detection mechanism 11 is a non-transparent opaque sheet such as plain paper, the optical sensor 37 of the paper presence / absence detection mechanism 36 causes the platen 3 to move. When the roll paper 6a is positioned on the roll paper 6a, strong reflected light is detected by the surface of the roll paper 6a, a HIGH electric signal is output, and the control means 22 determines that the paper is "present", and recording is performed on the roll paper 6a. When the roll paper 6a disappears from the platen 3 in time, the light emitted from the optical sensor 37 is directly applied to the surface of the platen 3 and absorbed by the surface of the platen 3, and the optical sensor 37 does not detect the reflected light and outputs a LOW electric signal. Then, the control means 22 determines that the paper is "absent".

On the other hand, when the detection result of the type of the roll paper 6a by the paper type detection mechanism 11 is formed by the transparent transparent sheet 12 such as OHP paper, when the roll paper 6a is positioned on the platen 3, Paper presence detection mechanism 3
Most of the light emitted from the optical sensor 36 of 6 passes through the paper and is directly emitted to the surface of the platen 3 and is absorbed by the surface of the platen 3, and the optical sensor 37 does not detect the reflected light and LO
When an electric signal of W is output and the control means 22 determines that the paper is “present”, recording is performed on the roll paper 6a, and the end of the roll paper 6a is positioned on the platen 3, the transparent sheet is used as described above. The light reflecting portion 12a located at the end of the roll paper 6a formed by 12 detects strong reflected light and outputs a HIGH electric signal, and the control means 22 controls the paper "
It is determined to be “none”.

In other words, the control means 22 reversely determines (determines) the output (information) from the optical sensor 37 depending on whether or not the detection result of the type of the roll paper 6a by the paper type detection mechanism 11 is light transmissive. Is configured to.

By the way, after recording on the roll paper 6a, the trailing end of the roll paper 6a is cut by the paper cutting mechanism 40 into one sheet independent of the roll paper 6a, and this sheet is discharged. Recording on one sheet is completed, but when recording on one sheet is completed, the distance between the recording section PP and the cutting section CP is larger than the margin formed at the leading edge of the sheet during normal recording, For recording, the roll paper 6a needs to be rewound (reverse feed) by a predetermined distance by the first motor 4. This roll paper 6a
The reverse feeding amount of the roll paper 6a is sufficient if the front end of the roll paper 6a is always located at the cutting portion CP, but as described above, the position of the front end of the roll paper 6a is Since the amount of reverse feeding of the roll paper 6a differs depending on the case, the detection of the leading end of the roll paper 6a by the paper leading end detection mechanism 41 is performed. That is, the control means 22 drives the second motor 29 until the paper leading edge detection mechanism 41 detects the leading edge of the roll paper 6a after the trailing edge of the roll paper 6a is cut by the paper cutting mechanism 40. By controlling the reverse feed amount, the leading end position of the roll paper 6a at the time of recording can be positioned at a position suitable for recording.

Further, the CPU receives a signal for recognizing the ink type from the information about the ink type stored as setting information in a non-volatile memory provided in the head control board 44. Then, the CPU refers to the data table written in the ROM of the CPU board 26 by using the detected ink, the type of paper (roll paper 6a), and the like, and determines the procedure for creating the print data. Servo constants for determining the recording speed are determined.

In this way, recording can be performed according to the type of ink or paper.

According to the present embodiment, the paper type can be automatically detected by mounting the paper roll 6 on the holding portions 9A and 9B. Therefore, the operator can input the paper type when inputting. It is possible to avoid re-recording and deterioration of image quality due to an error. Further, since the paper is automatically detected by the outer diameter dimension of the flange 6c, it is possible to deal with various kinds of paper by increasing the number of sensors. Further, when the paper roll 6 is replaced, the flange contact member 49 retracts, so that there is no fear that the flange contact member 49 hinders the replacement of the paper roll 6.

Further, in the paper type detecting mechanism 11, the flange 6c having the outer diameter corresponding to the type of the roll paper 6a is simply attached to the paper roll 6, and the flange abutting member 17 abutting on the flange 6c is provided. The type of paper can be automatically detected depending on the position, and the paper presence / absence detection mechanism 36
The presence or absence of the roll paper 6a can be automatically detected in a non-contact manner, and the paper leading edge detection mechanism 41 can automatically detect whether or not the leading edge of the roll paper 6a used for recording is at an appropriate position. Yes, the control means 22 controls each detection mechanism 11, 3
Based on the detection results of Nos. 6 and 41, each unit can be controlled to perform an appropriate recording operation on the roll paper 6a to be used. Then, regardless of whether or not the roll paper 6a is light transmissive, the presence or absence of the roll paper 6a located in the recording portion PP can be automatically detected by the optical sensor 37.

Table 3 below shows the relationship between the detection results of the detection mechanisms 11, 36 and 41 and the recording operation of the control means 22 based on the detection results.

[0068] When the paper roll 6 is not mounted on the paper roll holding mechanism 8, the paper type detection mechanism 11 outputs a signal indicating that there is no paper, and the control means 22 disables the recording operation.

Further, the roll paper 6a is formed by the light-transmissive transparent sheet 12, and the light-reflecting portion 12a is provided at the end of the transparent sheet 12, so that the roll formed by the light-transmissive transparent sheet 12 is formed. Even when the paper 6a is used, the entire surface of the roll paper 6a can be effectively used, and the light reflecting portion 12a of the roll paper 6a is provided with the end of the roll paper 6a by the optical sensor 37 of the paper presence / absence detection mechanism 36. You can allow it to be detected automatically.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, but can be modified as necessary.

[0071]

As described above, according to the recording apparatus of the present invention, the paper type detecting mechanism is provided with the flange having the outer diameter corresponding to the kind of the roll paper only by mounting the flange on the paper roll. The type of paper detection mechanism can automatically detect the type of paper depending on the position of the flange abutting member that abuts against, and the paper presence detection mechanism can automatically detect the presence or absence of roll paper without contact. The paper leading edge detection mechanism can automatically detect whether or not the leading edge of the roll paper used for recording is in an appropriate position, and the control means uses the roll paper to be used based on the detection result of each detection mechanism. It is possible to control each unit so as to perform an appropriate recording operation.

Further, according to the roll paper of the present invention, when the roll paper formed of the light transmissive transparent sheet is used, the entire surface of the roll paper can be effectively used and the light of the roll paper can be used. The reflection unit can automatically detect the end of the roll paper by the paper presence detection mechanism.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an internal perspective view showing an embodiment of a recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the inside of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the inside of FIG.

4 is a front view of a paper roll used in the recording apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of roll paper of the present invention.

6A is an enlarged perspective view of the paper type detection mechanism of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6B is a perspective view of only a main part of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a control block diagram including control means of the recording apparatus of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Recording Device 3 Platen 4 First Motor 6 Paper Roll 6a Roll Paper 6b Holder 6c Flange 8 Paper Roll Holding Mechanism 9A, 9B Holding Section 11 Paper Type Detection Mechanism 12 Transparent Sheet 12a Light Reflecting Section 15 Slide Stand 17 Flange Contact Member 21A , 21B, 21C Photo sensor 22 Control means 25 State setting sheet 27 Ink jet unit 29 Second motor 36 Paper presence / absence detection mechanism 40 Paper cutting mechanism 41 Paper leading edge detection mechanism PP recording unit CP cutting unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A holder in which a flange is formed at each end of a paper roll is attached, and the roll paper is unwound from the paper roll held by the paper roll holding mechanism through these holders, and the unwound portion is unwound. Is a recording device for performing recording on the roll paper of using a platen and a recording head, and cutting the roll paper after recording by a paper cutting mechanism, the flange of the holder of the paper roll being held by the paper roll holding mechanism. The type of the roll paper is detected by the position of the flange abutment member that is provided with a movable flange abutment member that can be pressed against the outer peripheral edge and is positioned according to the outer diameter dimension of the flange corresponding to the type of the roll paper. A paper type detection mechanism that detects the presence or absence of the roll paper, which is arranged in the recording unit so as to face the platen, and detects the presence or absence of the roll paper without contact. Structure, a sheet leading edge detecting mechanism arranged between the recording section and the cutting section for detecting the leading edge of the roll paper used for recording, and control means for controlling the operation of each section based on the detection result of each detecting mechanism. And a recording device. 2. The paper presence / absence detection mechanism is formed by an optical sensor, and the control means determines whether the roll paper type detected by the paper type detection mechanism is light transmissive or not. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording apparatus is configured to reversely determine the information. 3. A roll paper, which is formed of a light-transmissive transparent sheet and is provided with a light-reflecting portion at the end.