JP3584161B2 - Serial recording device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a serial recording device using a push tractor as a paper feeding unit.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A serial printer, particularly a serial recording apparatus using a wire impact type recording head, is capable of copying and printing. Therefore, a push tractor is used as a paper feeding unit, and is used for printing on a recording sheet such as a form or a slip.
For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 9, in addition to an auto sheet feeder for feeding cut sheets, first and second push tractors A and B for feeding recording paper are provided.
[0003]
When two push tractors A and B are arranged as described above, one of the push tractors A and B can be arranged at a position where it can be fed in parallel with the paper feeding direction in the printing area due to space limitations. The tractor B must be disposed at a position deviating from the parallel path, and is sent to the printing area via the paper guide C having a curved surface.
[0004]
The recording paper K sent into the printing area in this manner is tensioned between the recording paper K and the push tractor B by a paper discharge roller unit E provided downstream of the recording head D, and printed by the recording head D. .
[0005]
However, when printing is required from the leading end of the recording paper before reaching the paper feed roller unit E, that is, when printing is required from the leading end of the recording paper, tension cannot be applied by the discharge roller unit E, In particular, the recording paper fed from the second push tractor B passing through the curved surface is not fixed to the inner side or the outer side of the paper guide depending on the feeding state from the push tractor B. Since a slack or the like occurs in the middle of the paper path, there is a problem in that the feed amount of the push tractor B and the relative position of the recording paper with respect to the recording head D vary, and an error occurs in the printing start position.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to perform serial recording on a recording sheet fed by a push tractor with high positional accuracy from the leading edge of the sheet. It is to provide a device.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
That is, in order to achieve such a task, the present invention reciprocates in the axial direction of the platen, and a carriage whose gap with the platen can be adjusted by a platen gap adjustment mechanism, and a recording head mounted on the carriage. In a serial recording apparatus provided with a push tractor on the upstream side of the recording head and a paper discharge roller on the downstream side, when the recording paper is fed by the push tractor, the leading end of the recording paper is applied to the paper discharge roller. Until the recording paper is reached, the recording paper is fed by a predetermined amount from the printing position, a load is applied to the recording paper by the recording head by the platen gap adjusting mechanism, and the recording paper is regulated by the push tractor. A control means for executing a pull-back operation by an amount is provided.
[0008]
[Action]
Feed the recording paper extra by the specified amount, pull back the recording paper by the specified amount by using the push tractor with the load applied to the leading edge area of the recording paper, remove the slack, and return to the predetermined position on the recording paper. Position.
[0009]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Therefore, embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. A carriage 2 on which a recording head 1 is mounted is connected at one end to a carriage drive motor 5 via a timing belt 4 supported by an idle roller 3, and a platen. 6, and reciprocates perpendicularly to the platen 6 by a platen gap adjusting mechanism described later. The recording head 1 is configured as a wire impact recording head that forms dots on recording paper by striking the ink ribbon 7 with an impact wire. Reference numeral 8 in the figure denotes a ribbon mask for preventing the ink ribbon 7 from contacting the recording paper.
[0010]
FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the printing mechanism, in which the first and second push tractors 10 and 11 use a plane including the recording paper supporting surface of the platen 6 and a plane perpendicular to the plane as a transport path. The recording paper is sent to a paper feed roller 14 via first and second paper guides 12 and 13, respectively, and the recording paper is fed downstream of a platen 6 by a paper discharge roller 15 and an auxiliary roller 16. It is configured to hold. Reference numeral 17 in the drawing denotes a paper pressing plate which is urged by a spring 18 and presses against the paper feed roller 14.
[0011]
FIG. 3 shows a position embodiment of the above-described platen gap adjusting mechanism. An eccentric shaft 20 also serving as a guide member of the carriage 2 has a main motor 21 and an intermediate gear 22 fixed thereto, and a pulse motor 23 of the pulse motor 23. Connected to the rotating shaft. The main gear 21 is provided with an origin detector 24 for outputting a signal when the carriage 2 retreats to the reference position, and a code plate 25 is provided on the rotation axis of the pulse motor 23. , And an encoder that outputs a pulse signal in accordance with.
[0012]
FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the control means. When a print command is received from the host, the print control means 30 determines whether or not printing has been performed from the leading edge of the recording paper, and determines whether or not printing has been performed from the leading edge. In this case, while the platen gap width is adjusted by the platen gap adjusting means 31, the recording paper is loaded by the paper feed control means 32.
[0013]
The platen gap adjusting means 31 reverses the carriage 2 by rotating the pulse motor 23 until a signal is output from the carriage 2 at a predetermined position, for example, the origin detector 24. , And at the stage where the paper is fed by a prescribed amount α more than the paper feed amount for one line, until the pulse signal from the photo sensor 26 is counted and pulled back to apply a load sufficient to remove the slack of the recording paper. The carriage 2 is advanced to the platen 6 side, and further, at the stage where the cueing of the recording paper or the line feed is completed, the pulse motor 23 is reversely rotated to retreat the carriage 2 until a platen gap suitable for printing is obtained. It is configured.
[0014]
When the platen gap is expanded, the paper feed control unit 32 feeds the recording paper extra by a specified amount α than the cue amount or the line feed, and then the load is applied to the recording paper by reducing the platen gap. It is configured to pull back by the specified amount α in the state.
Reference numeral 29 in the figure indicates a motor that drives the push tractor 11.
[0015]
Next, the operation of the apparatus configured as described above will be described based on the flowcharts shown in FIGS.
When the recording paper K is fed from the second push tractor 11 and printing is performed from the leading end (step A in FIG. 5), the carriage 2 is retracted by the platen gap adjusting mechanism as shown in FIG. 7 (FIG. 5). Step b) The platen gap G is enlarged to such an extent that the paper feeding is not hindered. In this state, the recording paper K is fed by the push tractor 11 to a position where the leading end passes the recording head 1 (step c in FIG. 5). When the recording paper K is fed by a specified amount α more than the cue amount at the start of printing (step d in FIG. 5), the paper feeding is stopped (step e in FIG. 5).
[0016]
Next, the platen gap adjusting means 31 drives the pulse motor 23 to rotate forward to move the carriage 2 toward the platen 6 (step f in FIG. 8), and to bring the paper guide 8 into contact with the recording paper as shown in FIG. Or press against the platen 6 again.
[0017]
In this state, the paper feed control means 32 drives the push tractor 11 in the reverse direction to pull back the recording paper K with a load applied to the leading end by the paper guide 8 (FIG. 5). Thereby, the recording paper K is pulled back after the slack in the second paper guide 13 or the like is removed. The paper feed control means 32 stops the push tractor 11 when the retraction amount reaches the predetermined amount α (step) (step リ in FIG. 5). Thus, the recording paper K is set at a position where printing can be performed from the leading end.
[0018]
At the stage where the cueing is completed, the print control unit 30 retreats the carriage 2 by the platen gap adjusting unit 31 and adjusts the carriage 2 to a platen gap suitable for printing (FIG. 5, step n), and executes printing (FIG. 5). Steple, oh, wa).
[0019]
When printing of one line is completed and the leading edge of the recording sheet has not reached the discharge roller 15 and the auxiliary roller 16 (Step A in FIG. 6), the carriage 2 is moved backward by the platen gap adjusting mechanism (FIG. 6). Step b) Enlarge the platen gap G. In this state, the push tractor 11 feeds the recording paper K by one line plus a predetermined amount α (step c in FIG. 6). When the recording paper K is fed by a specified amount α more than the printing position (step d in FIG. 6), the paper feeding is stopped (step e in FIG. 6).
[0020]
Next, the platen gap adjusting means 31 drives the pulse motor 23 to rotate in the normal direction to advance the carriage 2 toward the platen 6 (step f in FIG. 6) to bring the paper guide 8 into contact with the recording paper, or Press.
[0021]
In this state, the paper feed control means 32 drives the push tractor 11 in the reverse direction to pull back the recording paper K with a load applied to the leading end by the paper guide 8 (step in FIG. 6). The paper feed control means 32 stops the push tractor 11 (step S in FIG. 6) when the retraction amount reaches the predetermined amount α (step S 6 in FIG. 6), and sets the recording paper at the specified position.
[0022]
At the end of the line feed operation, the print control unit 30 retreats the carriage 2 by the platen gap adjusting unit 31 to adjust the carriage 2 to a platen gap suitable for printing (FIG. 6, step n), and prints one line. (Fig. 6 Step, oh, wa).
[0023]
If the leading edge of the recording sheet has not reached the discharge roller 15 and the auxiliary roller 16 at the stage when printing of one line has been completed (step (a) in FIG. 6), the operations of steps (b) to (e) are performed. Is repeated, and at the stage where the recording paper is nipped between the discharge roller 15 and the auxiliary roller 16, the paper is fed while receiving appropriate tension by the discharge roller 15 and the auxiliary roller 16, and printing is performed in a normal state ( Figure 6 Step F).
[0024]
In the case where printing is performed after the leading edge of the recording sheet reaches the discharge roller 15 and the auxiliary roller 16 before printing, the normal paper feeding operation, that is, the pressing operation by the carriage 2 is not performed. The paper is fed until the recording paper is nipped between the discharge roller 15 and the auxiliary roller 16 (step f in FIG. 5), and thereafter, a line feed operation is performed line by line to execute printing (steps e and e in FIG. 5). , Wa).
[0025]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the paper is fed from the push tractor 11 that is not parallel to the recording paper supporting surface of the platen has been described. it is obvious.
[0026]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the surplus paper feed amount at the time of cueing and at the time of a line feed operation is set to the same amount α. The same effect can be obtained even when the amount is made different, for example, by removing the slack by increasing the amount.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a carriage that reciprocates in the axial direction of the platen and that can adjust the gap between the platen and the platen by a platen gap adjustment mechanism, a recording head mounted on the carriage, and a recording head In a serial recording apparatus having a push tractor on the upstream side and a discharge roller on the downstream side, when the recording paper is fed by the push tractor, printing of the recording paper is performed until the leading end of the recording paper reaches the discharge roller. A control means for feeding the recording paper by a predetermined amount from the position, applying a load capable of being pulled back to the recording paper by the recording head by the platen gap adjusting mechanism, and executing a pull-back operation of the recording paper by the specified amount by the push tractor is provided. The slack is removed at the time of feeding and line feed, and the recording paper can be accurately positioned at the predetermined position. Clamping by can be printed with any high positional accuracy from the head region of the recording paper can not.
.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a serial recording apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a paper feed path of the recording apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a view showing one embodiment of a platen gap mechanism of the recording apparatus.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing control means of the above device.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a recording sheet loading operation of the apparatus.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a line feed operation of the above device.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state when the recording paper is loaded in the apparatus.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which the recording paper is cueed in the same device.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a serial recording apparatus using a push tractor as a sheet feeding unit.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording head 2 Carriage 6 Platen 8 Paper guide 10, 11 Push tractor 15 Discharge roller

Claims (3)

A carriage that reciprocates in the axial direction of the platen and that can adjust the gap with the platen by a platen gap adjustment mechanism, a recording head mounted on the carriage, a push tractor on the upstream side of the recording head, and a downstream In the serial recording device provided with a paper discharge roller on the side,
When feeding the recording sheet by the push tractor, the recording sheet is fed by a predetermined amount from the printing position of the recording sheet until the leading end of the recording sheet reaches the discharge roller, and the platen gap adjustment mechanism causes the recording head to move the recording sheet. A serial recording apparatus including a control unit that applies a load to the recording paper that can be pulled back, and executes the pull-back operation of the recording paper by the specified amount by the push tractor. 2. The serial recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the platen gap adjusting mechanism enlarges a platen gap when the recording paper is fed. 2. The serial recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specified amount is different at the time of cueing and at the time of line feed operation.

Images