JP3894711B2 - Method for homing processing of conveyance roller - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a conveying roller homing method characterized by a method for setting a recording start position in a recording apparatus that performs recording using a long recording medium.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, conveyance (including reverse conveyance) of a recording medium in a recording apparatus is performed by a conveyance roller that is rotationally driven in both forward and reverse directions by a drive motor including a stepping motor.
[0003]
In such a conventional conveyance roller, a reference position marker for detecting a reference position of the conveyance roller at the time of recording is provided so as to be able to rotate integrally with the conveyance roller, and the marker is detected by the detection unit. It is detected every time the roller rotates once. The detection means is electrically connected to a control means, which will be described later, for controlling the operation of each part of the recording apparatus, and sends a detection signal from the marker to the control means. Further, the drive motor is electrically connected to the control means, and is driven to rotate based on a control command sent from the control means. In the conventional example, the transport roller is rotationally driven based on 8960 steps per round.
[0004]
However, the conveyance roller does not always make one round in 8960 steps due to variations in its physical diameter. Therefore, in order to correct the rotational driving of the transport roller, control is performed to detect the reference position marker of the transport roller.
[0005]
Here, the setting of the conventional recording start position will be briefly described. Using a two-phase drive motor, the detection means detects the marker every time it is rotationally driven step by step in the plus direction. After detecting ON continuously for a step, slowdown is stopped when OFF is detected for 10 steps continuously. In the conventional example, the subsequent control is processed with the stopped driving motor phase position as the recording start position (homing position) of the conveying roller (homing process). In addition, if the ON / OFF state of the detection means does not change even after 4480 step rotation driving corresponding to a half circumference, the drive motor step-out alarm is specified.
[0006]
By the way, conventionally used recording media can be broadly classified into two types: a recording medium cut in advance to a predetermined size and a long recording medium wound in a roll shape. The above-described conventional homing process is uniformly required regardless of the type of the recording medium to be used. In particular, when continuously recording on a long recording medium, the reference position marker of the transport roller is detected. If the process is not performed properly during the recording operation, the conveyance roller correction control will not be performed correctly, and an error may occur between the management conveyance roller position and the actual conveyance roller position. Become.
[0007]
In general, a recording apparatus uses a different recording medium conveyance mechanism or recording medium conveyance control method depending on which of these recording media is used. For example, the recording apparatus is previously cut into a predetermined size. When performing recording using the recording medium, when the desired recording is finished, the recording medium used for recording is discharged out of the recording apparatus, and then the conveyance roller is not in contact with the recording medium. It can be controlled to perform the homing process under a state. Therefore, the recording medium is not conveyed during the homing process.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
On the other hand, when performing recording using a long recording medium wound in a roll shape, control is performed so as to perform a preset bottom margin feed operation when desired recording is completed. The homing process is performed after the bottom margin feed operation is completed. However, in recording using a long recording medium, the recording medium is not ejected outside the recording apparatus, and an unrecorded recording medium is recorded. Since the conveying roller stays in the apparatus and is always in contact with the recording medium, if the conveying roller is rotated unconditionally and the marker is detected by the detecting means, the long roller is long. The recording medium was also fed indefinitely, and the recording medium was wasted.
[0009]
Furthermore, during mechanical initialization such as after power shutdown, job cancellation, or temporary recording stop for ink replacement, the recording medium in the middle of recording is transported, and the recorded part that has already been restarted is recorded. However, there was a problem that it was impossible to continue the operation.
[0010]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described points. When a recording medium is present in the recording apparatus, a homing process is performed on the conveyance roller without wasteful feeding of the recording medium, and the recording medium is wasted. An object of the present invention is to provide a conveying roller homing processing method capable of suppressing unnecessary consumption and recording from a recording start position desired by a user.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Homing method of the conveying roller according to the present invention to achieve the object, a homing processing method of the conveying rollers in the printing apparatus which performs printing by using a long recording medium, by the detection means, in the positive direction 1 Each time the conveyance roller is rotationally driven step by step, the detection of the reference position marker disposed on the conveyance roller is attempted, and the control unit starts the rotation operation of the conveyance roller for the detection unit to detect the reference position marker. After the detection means detects the reference position marker for a plurality of steps in succession, the number of driving steps is counted until the reference position marker is not detected for a plurality of steps continuously. obtains the total number of steps plus the number of driving steps back any swing, the resulting total number of steps by the transport roller It is reversely rotated, in which subsequently is rotated by the forward direction again the swing-back drive step number, and controlling to return to the detection start before the initial position of the reference position marker conveyance roller.
[0012]
According to the present invention, when the power supply is shut down or the job is canceled during the recording, even if the initialization after the resumption of the recording is performed, the transport roller starts the detection of the reference position marker after the detection process of the reference position marker. Since it is controlled to return to the previous initial position, the recording medium in the middle of the recording held between the conveyance roller and the pressure roller that is pressed against the conveyance roller is also returned to the initial position before the start of the detection of the reference position marker. Can do.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.
[0014]
First, a transport roller of a recording apparatus used in an embodiment of the present invention and a control structure for driving the roller will be briefly described. Note that the recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is a recording apparatus 1 that uses long roll paper as the recording medium P.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 1, the transport roller 2 is provided with a reference position marker 3 that indicates a reference position for detecting the reference position of the transport roller 2 at the time of recording so as to be integrally rotatable with the transport roller 2. The reference position marker 3 is formed by a reflective seal, a reflective plate, and the like, and is provided at a position that does not interfere with the travel path of the recording medium P. The reference position marker 3 is detected each time the transport roller 2 rotates by a detection means 4 such as a photosensor provided at a position that does not interfere with the travel path of the recording medium P in the vicinity of the transport roller 2. It has become so.
[0016]
This detection means 4 is electrically connected to a control means (not shown) for controlling the operation of each part of the recording apparatus 1 and sends a detection signal of the reference position marker 3 to the control means.
[0017]
Below the conveying roller 2, a pressure contact roller that is in pressure contact with the conveying roller 2 is rotatably disposed.
[0018]
A roller drive gear attached coaxially to the conveying roller 2 is disposed so as to protrude, and this roller drive gear is attached to the output shaft of the drive motor comprising a step motor via a plurality of transmission gears. Motor gear is connected. Then, the drive motor is driven to rotate the transport roller 2 through the motor gear, the transmission gears, and the roller drive gear in this order, so that the drive roller 2 is inserted between the transport roller 2 and the pressure roller. The recording medium P is sandwiched and conveyed.
[0019]
The drive motor is electrically connected to the control means and is driven to rotate based on a control command sent from the control means. In the present embodiment, the rotational position of the transport roller 2 is calculated from the number of drive steps of the drive motor, and a precise transport amount can be obtained by controlling the number of drive steps of the drive motor based on the calculated value. It is configured as follows.
[0020]
Further, the control means has at least an I / O interface used for electrical connection with each part of the recording apparatus 1 and a CPU, and the CPU is formed by a ROM, RAM or the like having an appropriate capacity. Memory.
[0021]
The I / O interface is electrically connected with at least a recording head, detection means 4, a drive motor, a power switch (not shown), various operation switches and display means provided on an operation panel, and the like.
[0022]
The memory calculates at least a driving counter for counting the number of driving steps of the conveying roller 2 and the rotational position of the conveying roller 2 from the number of driving steps of the driving motor, and the number of driving steps of the driving motor based on the calculated value. A forward / reverse transport control program storage unit is constructed in which a forward / reverse transport control program for controlling is stored. In addition, the memory stores desired recording information input by an appropriate input device such as a host computer, an image reader, or a keyboard as recording data. The heating element of the recording head H is selectively driven to generate heat.
[0023]
Next, the homing process of the recording apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration will be described. First, it is detected whether or not the recording medium P is properly set in the recording apparatus 1. When the recording medium P is not yet set, the recording medium P is transported and homing as before, and when the recording medium P is set, the homing process is performed as follows. I do.
[0024]
First, whether or not the recording medium P is properly set in the recording apparatus 1 is detected by a paper detection sensor (not shown). When the recording medium P has not yet been set, the recording medium P is transported and homed in the same manner as in the above-described conventional example. When the recording medium P is set, the transport roller 2 moves the recording medium. While gripping P, homing is performed as follows.
[0025]
That is, in the control means, first, the drive counter in the memory is cleared to 0, and the detection means 4 detects the reference position marker 3 of the transport roller 2 from the homing start position of the transport roller 2 (FIG. 1). Then, the conveying roller 2 is rotated forward in the conveying direction of the recording medium P and stopped until the detecting unit 4 is turned off without detecting the reference position marker 3 of the conveying roller 2 (FIG. 2). (Figure 3).
[0026]
At this time, in the present embodiment, the light emitted from the photosensor as the detection means 4 is reflected by the reflective seal as the reference position marker 3 disposed on the transport roller 2, and the reflected light is again emitted from the photosensor. By being received by the sensor, ON / OFF of the reference position marker 3 is detected.
[0027]
At this time, the drive counter counts the number of drive steps until the detection means 4 completes the detection of the reference position marker 3 in the manner described above, and the counted drive step number is stored in 1-2 phase conversion. And the detection of the reference position marker 3 is completed.
[0028]
In the present embodiment, the completion of the detection of the reference position marker 3 means that the detection unit 4 detects the marker 3 each time the conveyance roller 2 is rotationally driven step by step in the plus direction, as described above. After the reference position marker 3 has been detected for 10 steps and the reference position marker 3 has been turned ON, the conveyance roller 2 is driven to rotate when the reference position marker 3 cannot be detected for 10 steps and has been turned OFF. It means a stopped state.
[0029]
Subsequently, the control means refers to the driving step history work, obtains the total number of steps by adding an arbitrary number of swing back driving steps to the number of driving steps when the reference position marker 3 is detected, Control is performed so that the transport roller 2 is reversely rotated by the total number of steps ( FIG. 4 ). For example, in the present embodiment, the number of swing back drive steps is 300 steps (1-2 phase alternating excitation motor).
[0030]
Subsequently, it is rotated again in the forward direction by the number of swing-back drive steps, that is, 300 steps (1-2 phase alternating excitation motor) (FIG. 5), and the conveyance roller 2 is positioned before the start of detection of the reference position marker 3. That is, control is performed so as to return to the initial position and the recording start position (FIG. 6).
[0031]
Further, when desired recording is completed using the long recording medium P wound in a roll shape, the homing process is started from the position where the preset bottom margin feed operation is completed. At that time, in the manner described above, the drive counter counts the number of drive steps until the detection means 4 completes the detection of the reference position marker 3, and the counted drive step number is stored in the memory in terms of 1-2 phase conversion. In the driving step history work, the detection of the reference position marker 3 is completed, and then the control means refers to the driving step history work and further shakes back the number of driving steps during the homing operation. The total number of steps including the number of drive steps is obtained, and the transport roller 2 is reversely rotated by the obtained number of steps. Subsequently, the transport roller 2 is rotated again in the forward direction by the number of swing back drive steps. Return to the initial position.
[0032]
As described above, the homing processing method of the transport roller 2 according to the present embodiment detects the reference position marker 3 of the transport roller 2 for correcting the rotational driving of the transport roller 2 while transporting the recording medium P. After this detection processing, the recording roller P is transported in the forward / reverse direction of the transport direction together with the rotational driving of the transport roller 2 by returning the transport roller 2 to the initial position when the homing processing is started. Can be set.
[0033]
Therefore, the detection processing of the reference position marker 3 for correcting the rotation drive of the transport roller 2 can be performed, and the hardware initialization or the like is performed during recording without wasting the recording medium P. Even if it is interrupted, it is possible to continue the recording after the restart after the already recorded part.
[0034]
By controlling in this way, the recording medium P in the middle of recording is detected by the reference position marker 3 even if initialization is performed after the resumption of recording when there is a power shutdown or job cancellation during recording. Since the reference position marker 3 is later returned to the initial position before the start of detection, the recording after the resumption can be performed after the already recorded portion.
[0035]
In addition, this invention is not limited to the thing of the said embodiment, A various change is possible as needed.
[0036]
For example, the detection means 4 is not limited to a photo sensor, but may be a contact type. Further, the type of the stepping motor is not limited to the specification used in the above embodiment.
[0037]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the conveying roller homing processing method according to the present invention, even if the power supply is shut down or the job is canceled during the recording, the conveying roller remains the reference even if the initialization is performed after the recording is resumed. Since it is controlled to return to the initial position before the detection of the reference position marker after the position marker detection process, the recording medium in the middle of recording that is sandwiched between the conveyance roller and the pressure roller that is pressed against the conveyance roller, It is possible to return to the initial position before the start of the detection of the reference position marker, and it is possible to suppress useless consumption of the recording medium and to perform recording from the recording start position desired by the user.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of one process of a homing processing method for a transport roller according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of one process of a homing processing method for a transport roller according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of one process of the homing processing method for the conveying roller according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of one process of the homing processing method for the conveying roller according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of one step of a homing processing method for a conveying roller according to the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording device 2 Conveyance roller 3 Reference position marker 4 Detection means P (Long) recording medium

Claims (1)

A method of homing processing of a conveyance roller in a recording apparatus that performs recording using a long recording medium, the reference being disposed on the conveyance roller each time the conveyance roller is rotationally driven by one step in the plus direction by a detection unit. Attempts to detect the position marker, and the control means detects the reference position marker in a plurality of steps after the detection means starts rotating the transport roller for detecting the reference position marker. after, in succession multi-step counts the number of driving steps until a state of not detecting the reference position marker, the total number of steps calculated by adding the number of drive steps back any swing in the number of drive steps and the count, the resulting The transport roller is reversely rotated by the total number of steps, and then continuously rotated in the forward direction again by the number of swing back drive steps. So, the homing processing method of the conveyance roller and controlling to return to the detection start before the initial position of the reference position marker conveyance roller.

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