JPS6317762A - Conveying mechanism for roll-form recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten a span of loading time as well as to prevent any slackness and zigzag motion of a recording medium from occurring, by controlling the rotational operation of a loading roller of the recording medium such as a laser printer or the like according to each detecting signal out of a medium pass sensor and a loading sensor. CONSTITUTION:Loading rollers 23 and 24 draws out the recording medium 17 houses in a feed magazine 21 and delivers it to the recording part side. A loading motor 25 rotates and drives these rollers 23 and 24 via a one-way clutch. And, a main roller 30 being rotated and driven by a main motor 36 is designed so as to feed the recording medium 17 to the side of a winding magazine 31. At the time of loading, these loading rollers 23 and 24 rotate a high speed till a medium pass sensor 26 detects the recording medium 17. Afterward, they rotate at low speed, and when a loading sensor 32 detects the recording medium 17, they rotate the main roller 30 so as to become a higher conveying speed that of these loading rollers 23 and 24.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a transport mechanism for a roll recording medium in a laser printer or the like.

(Background of the Invention) One type of laser printer is one that is configured to perform photosensitive recording by irradiating a scanning light beam modulated with a print signal onto a roll-shaped photosensitive recording medium.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the main parts of such a laser printer. In FIG. 4, 1 is, for example, a He--Ne laser light source. The output beam of the light source 1 is passed through a neutral density filter 2
→Acousto-optic modulator
u-1ator; hereinafter abbreviated as AOM) Lens 3 → AO
M4 → Mirror 5 → Beam expander (beam ex
pand-er: hereinafter abbreviated as BE) 6 → pinhole 7 →
Cylindrical lens (cylindriCal 1e
ns (hereinafter abbreviated as CL) 8→mirror 1O-BE11→mirror 12, enters the rotating polygon mirror 13, and is reflected as a scanning light beam. The scanning light beam reflected by the rotating polygon mirror 13 is passed through a condensing lens 14, which is a Cθ lens. The light enters the photosensitive roll-shaped recording medium 17 via the CL 15 and the shutter 16. On the other hand, CL1
A mirror 18 is located near the scanning end between the shutter 16 and the shutter 16.
is disposed, and the scanning light beam reflected by the mirror 18 is reflected by the mirror 19 and enters the light receiving element 2o. The light receiving element 20 outputs a horizontal synchronization signal.

By the way, the conveyance of the recording medium 17 during loading in such a laser printer is configured such that, for example, an unexposed recording medium 17 stored in a supply magazine is fed to the photosensitive recording section side by a loading roller.

Conventionally, when conveying such a recording medium 17, a loading roller is rotated at a constant speed,
The loading roller was rotated at high speed and then stopped.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, when the loading roller is rotated at a constant speed as in the former case, the rotational speed of the loading roller must be slower than the rotational speed of the main roller, and the loading roller is rotated at a constant speed. The problem is that it takes a long time. On the other hand, if the loading roller is rotated at high speed and then stopped as in the latter case, the slack in the recording medium between the loading roller and the main roller increases and becomes irregular, making it difficult for the main roller to convey the medium smoothly. There may be no or meandering may occur.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to realize a transport mechanism for a roll-shaped recording medium that can shorten loading time and perform stable transport without meandering.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention, which solves the above-mentioned problems, includes a loading roller that pulls out an unrecorded roll-shaped recording medium stored in a supply magazine and sends it to the recording section side; A loading motor that is rotationally driven via a one-way clutch, a main roller that is disposed near the recording section and feeds the rolled recording medium to the take-up magazine, a main motor that rotationally drives the main roller, and a main roller that rotates the main roller. a media path sensor disposed upstream to detect the presence or absence of a roll-shaped recording medium; and a loading sensor disposed downstream of the main roller to detect the presence or absence of a roll-shaped recording medium; When the media path sensor detects a recording medium, the driving speed of the loading motor is reduced, and when the loading sensor detects a recording medium, the driving speed of the loading motor is stopped. The present invention is characterized in that, when this is detected, the main motor is started so that the conveyance speed is a little higher than the conveyance speed by the O-ding motor at the low speed.

(Function) According to the transport gate structure for a rolled recording medium of the present invention, during loading, the loading roller rotates at high speed until the media path sensor detects the recording medium, and then rotates at low speed, and the loading roller rotates at low speed until the media path sensor detects the recording medium. When this is detected, the main roller is rotated at a higher conveyance speed than the loading roller, thereby achieving high-speed and stable conveyance during loading.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the mechanical configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and the same parts as the fourth factor are given the same reference numerals, and their redescription will be omitted. In FIG. 1, 21 is a supply magazine in which an unexposed recording medium 17 is stored. A paper end sensor 22 detects the end of the recording medium 17, and is disposed near the outlet of the supply magazine 21. 23
．． A loading roller 24 pulls out the unexposed recording medium 17 stored in the supply magazine 21 and sends it to the photosensitive recording section. The loading roller 23.24
is connected to the loading motor 25 via a one-way clutch (not shown). 26 is an auto cutter that automatically cuts the recording medium 17 according to a command signal, and is disposed on the downstream side of the loading roller 23. still,
Cutter sensors for controlling the reciprocating movement of the blade of the autocutter 26 are disposed at both ends of the autocutter 26, but are not shown. 27 is a loading roller 24
This is a turn roller that bends the conveyance direction of the recording medium 17 sent out through the turn roller approximately at right angles. A jam sensor 28 is arranged near the turn roller 27. A media path sensor 29 is disposed upstream of the photosensitive recording section and detects the presence or absence of the recording medium 17. A main row 30 is disposed near the photosensitive section and feeds the photosensitive recording medium 17 to the take-up magazine 31 side. The main roller 30 is rotationally driven by a main motor 36.

32 is arranged on the downstream side of the main roller 30 and the recording medium 1
This is a loading sensor that detects the presence or absence of 7. A manual cutter 33 that cuts the recording medium 17 by manual operation is disposed between the loading sensor 32 and the take-up magazine 31.

As described above, the recording medium 17 that has undergone photosensitive recording is wound and stored in the winding magazine 31 . A take-up sensor 34 is disposed near the take-up shaft of the take-up magazine 31. Further, the winding magazine 31 is removably disposed at a predetermined position, and the detached state is detected by a magazine sensor 35.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing only the main parts of the electrical configuration of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and parts corresponding to those in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals. In the figure, numeral 37 is a control unit that performs various controls, and is composed of a microcomputer or the like. This control unit 37 includes a paper end sensor 22, a media path sensor 29 . In response to signals from the loading sensor 32, etc., the loading motor 25, main motor 36. Drive control of the shutter 16 and the like is performed.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart explaining the operation of the above embodiment. In FIG. 3, <a> represents on/off of the loading motor 25, (b) represents the rotation speed state of the loading motor 25, <C) represents on/off of the main motor 36, and (d) represents the detection signal of the end sensor 22, (e) represents the detection signal of the two media path sensors, and <f) represents the detection signal of the loading sensor 32.

First, after the supply magazine 21 is set, at time t1, when the switch for starting loading of the recording medium 17 is pressed, the loading motor 25 is started to rotate at high speed by the control section 37. As a result, the unexposed recording medium 17 is pulled out from the supply magazine 21 at high speed. When the recording medium 17 pulled out from the supply magazine 21 passes through the turn roller 27 and reaches the two media path sensors (time t2), the two media path sensors detect the recording medium 17, so the detection signals of the two media path sensors are becomes L (low) level. When the detection signals of the two media path sensors become L level,
The control unit 37 switches the rotational speed of the loading motor 25 to a low speed, and at the same time, the rotational speed of the loading motor 25 is switched to a speed slightly higher than the transporting speed of the loading motor 25 in the low speed rotation state.
The main motor 36 is started at a rotational speed that corresponds to the feeding speed, and the main roller 30 rotates. Note that such switching of the speed of the loading motor 25 can be performed, for example, by controlling the drive pulse width of the DC motor.

When the recording medium 17 is fed to the main roller 3o in this state, the recording medium 17 is fed toward the take-up magazine 31 according to the conveyance speed of the main roller 3o. Here, since the loading rollers 23 and 24 are connected to the loading motor 25 via a one-way clutch, the loading rollers 23 and 24 do not adversely affect the conveyance operation of the recording medium 17, and the recording medium 17 When the main roller 3o is reached, the main roller 30 is already rotating at a speed that allows the recording medium 17 to be conveyed at a higher speed than the loading rollers 23, 24, so that the recording medium 17 does not become sagging. When the recording medium 17 sent out from the main roller 30 reaches the loading sensor 32 at time t3, the loading sensor 3
2 detects the recording medium 17, the detection signal of the loading sensor 32 becomes L level.

When the detection signal of the loading sensor 32 becomes L level, the control section 37 stops the rotation of the loading motor 25. Then, a time t when a predetermined period of time has further elapsed
At step 4, the rotation of the main motor is also stopped, and the loading operation is completed.

After this loading operation is completed, when video data is sent from an external device such as a host computer while in online mode, the control unit 37 opens the shutter 16.
The main motor 36 is driven intermittently to perform recording on the recording medium 17 with a scanning light beam.

With this configuration, the loading roller 2
3. Since the rotational movement of 24 can be controlled according to the detection signals of the media path sensor 29 and the loading sensor 32, the loading time can be shortened, and the recording medium 17 does not sag, resulting in a smooth and stable conveyance state without meandering. can be realized.

Note that the loading sensor 3 is activated within a certain period of time after the recording medium 17 detection signal is output from the media path sensor 29.
A loading error can also be determined based on whether or not a detection signal of the recording medium 17 is outputted from 2.

Further, the roll-shaped recording medium is not limited to one having photosensitivity, but may be one that is compatible with the recording form of the recording section, such as a roll-shaped recording paper.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to shorten the loading time and realize a structure for transporting a roll-shaped recording medium that can be stably transported without meandering.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the mechanical configuration of an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the main parts of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a laser printer. 16...Shutter 17...Recording medium 21.
... Supply magazine 23.24 ... Loading roller 25 ... Loading motor 29 ... Media path sensor 30 ... Main roller 31 ... Winding magazine 3
2...Loading sensor 36...Main motor 37...Control unit Patent applicant Roku Konishi Photo Industry Co., Ltd. Representative Patent attorney Fuji Ijima Jigai 1 person

Claims (1)

[Claims] a loading roller that pulls out an unrecorded roll-shaped recording medium stored in the supply magazine and sends it to the recording unit side;
A loading motor that rotationally drives the loading roller via a one-way clutch, a main roller that is disposed near the recording section and feeds the rolled recording medium to the take-up magazine, and a main motor that rotationally drives the main roller.
a media path sensor disposed upstream of the main roller to detect the presence or absence of a roll-shaped recording medium; and a loading sensor disposed downstream of the main roller to detect the presence or absence of a roll-shaped recording medium; When loading,
When the media path sensor detects a recording medium, the driving speed of the loading motor is reduced, and when the loading sensor detects a recording medium, the driving speed of the loading motor is stopped. A transport mechanism for a roll-shaped recording medium, characterized in that, when a medium is detected, the main motor is activated so that the main motor is transported at a slightly higher speed than the transport by the loading motor at the low speed.