JP7083738B2 - Inkjet printer and media take-up control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an inkjet printer and a method for controlling winding of media.

Conventionally, an inkjet printer that prints on roll paper has been known. In such an inkjet printer, the roll paper is conveyed to the printing area for printing, and then the printed roll paper is wound up and collected. Patent Document 1 discloses an invention of a paper winder for winding roll paper.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-246095

In the paper winder, it is necessary to control the tension so that the paper does not loosen. For example, the paper winder described in Patent Document 1 includes a torque limiter means for changing the tension according to the type of paper.
An object of the present invention is to improve the durability of a torque limiter.

The inkjet printer according to the present invention has a carriage that moves by mounting an inkjet head that ejects ink onto a strip-shaped medium, and a transport mechanism that conveys the strip-shaped media in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the carriage. , A serial print type inkjet printer, the transport mechanism has a tension adjusting unit for adjusting the tension of the media, and the tension adjusting unit has a take-up roller for winding up the medium on which a printed image is generated. When the tension of the driven motor, the control unit that controls the rotation speed of the motor, and the media is less than a predetermined value, one sliding member and the other sliding member come into contact with each other and rotate. While allowing rotation transmission from the motor to the take-up roller, when the tension of the media is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the one sliding member and the other sliding member slide from the motor to the above. It consists of a torque limiter that blocks the transmission of rotation to the take-up roller, and the control unit controls the rotation speed of the motor so that the tension of the media becomes a predetermined value or more when the media is being conveyed. Then, when the print image is generated on the media by scanning the inkjet head, the speed of the motor is lower than that when the media is conveyed, and the tension of the media is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. It is characterized by controlling the rotation speed.

With this configuration, it is possible to realize a paper feed device that stops the media during printing and conveys the media during paper feed while always maintaining an appropriate tension in the media, and slows down the rotation speed of the motor when paper feed is not performed. As a result, the wear of the torque limiter can be reduced and the durability of the device can be improved.

Further, in the inkjet printer according to the present invention, the rotation speed of the motor when the inkjet head is scanned to generate a print image on the media is assumed to be the case where the media is conveyed. The rotation speed may be such that the tension of the media is less than a predetermined value. By setting such a rotation speed, the life of the torque limiter can be extended.

Further, in the inkjet printer according to the present invention, the transport mechanism includes a transport roller different from the take-up roller, and the control unit controls the rotation speed of the motor in synchronization with the drive / stop of the transport roller. May be controlled. With this configuration, the control unit can control the rotation speed of the motor according to the operation of the transfer roller.

In the media winding control method according to the present invention, a carriage that moves by mounting an inkjet head that ejects ink to a strip-shaped medium and a carrier that conveys the strip-shaped media in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the carriage. A serial print type inkjet printer having a mechanism, wherein the transport mechanism has a tension adjusting unit for adjusting the tension of the medium, and the tension adjusting unit winds up the medium on which a printed image is generated. When the tension of the media is less than a predetermined value, the motor that drives the take-up roller, the control unit that controls the rotation speed of the motor, and the one sliding member and the other sliding member come into contact with each other and rotate. By doing so, the rotation transmission from the motor to the take-up roller is allowed, and when the tension of the media is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the one sliding member and the other sliding member slide. It is a method of controlling the winding of media executed by an inkjet printer including a torque limiter for blocking the transmission of rotation from the motor to the winding roller, and when the media is being conveyed, the tension of the media is increased. When the step of controlling the rotation speed of the motor so as to be equal to or higher than a predetermined value and when the inkjet head is scanned to generate a print image on the media, the speed is lower than when the media is conveyed. Further, it includes a step of controlling the rotation speed of the motor so that the tension of the media becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined value.

According to the present invention, the life of the torque limiter can be extended while maintaining an appropriate tension in the media.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the inkjet printer which concerns on this embodiment. It is a perspective view of the winding roller which concerns on this embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the take-up roller which concerns on this embodiment.

Hereinafter, the inkjet printer according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an inkjet printer according to the present embodiment. The inkjet printer includes a platen 20, an inkjet head 30, a feeding roller 40, and a winding roller 50, and has a function of changing the rotation of the media winding mechanism 50 depending on the printing stage.

The medium 10 used in the inkjet printer of the present embodiment is a strip-shaped long medium provided by being housed in a roll shape in a feeding roller 40, and is a printed matter such as cloth, paper, or vinyl chloride resin. The media 10 is drawn out from the feeding roller 40 in the inkjet printer of the present embodiment, characters and images are printed on the platen 20 by the inkjet head 30, and is housed in a winding shaft 60 provided in the winding roller 50. ..

The platen 20 is a printing table that develops the media 10 so that the inkjet head 30 can correctly eject ink. In the present embodiment, the platen 20 is provided with a transport roller 21 and a pinch roller 22. The feeding roller 40, the winding roller 50, and the transport roller 21 correspond to the "convey mechanism" in the present invention.

The inkjet head 30 ejects ink while reciprocating (scanning) on the platen 20 in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the medium 10, and draws characters and images on the medium 10. The take-up roller 50 stores the printed and fixed media 10 in the winding shaft 60 while applying tension so that the inkjet head 30 can normally eject ink to the media 10.

A stepping motor or the like (not shown) is connected to the transport roller 21 and rotates in synchronization with the printing status of the inkjet printer to send the media 10 under the inkjet header 30. The pinch roller 22 exists above the transfer roller 21, and power is transmitted from the transfer roller 21 by a gear mechanism or the like to rotate the pinch roller 22. The surfaces of the transport roller 21 and the pinch roller 22 are in contact with each other by an elastic member or the like, and the media 10 can be firmly held between them. The media 10 fed from the feeding roller 40 is guided under the inkjet head 30 by the operation of the transport roller 21 and the pinch roller 22 to receive ink ejection. Although the transfer roller 21 is shown here as an example, the transfer roller 21 may be provided at a plurality of places on the platen 20 and may operate in conjunction with each other by a timing belt or the like.

The form of the transport roller 21 is not limited to the above. For example, when the media 10 is a cloth medium, the transport roller 21 may be an endless belt in which the media 10 is hung on a pair of pulleys and is non-slip processed. Further, as another example, the transfer roller 21 may be a spike roller in which a metal piece is projected on the surface by cutting without providing the pinch roller 22, or a roller having a rough surface formed by metal spraying. In this case, the transport roller 21 can transport the media 10 by rotating the spikes and the rough surface by biting the back surface of the printed surface.

The take-up roller 50 has power, and the media 10 is taken up by rotating the winding shaft 60. A tension generated by winding is applied to the media 10, and the tension causes the media 10 to be conveyed without slackening. As a result, the media 10 is not wrinkled even on the platen 20, and printing by the inkjet head 30 can be appropriately performed. Further, the printed medium 10 is guided to the take-up roller 50 and taken up by the winding shaft 60.

With the above configuration, the media 10 is fed from the feeding roller 40 by the force of the transport roller 21, and the ink is ejected by the inkjet head 30 while maintaining the tension by the rotational force given by the winding roller 50, and is fixed and wound. It is stored in the winding shaft 60 of the take roller 50.

It is necessary to apply tension so that the media 10 does not loosen, but if too much tension is applied, the media 10 may break. A mechanism for applying appropriate tension to the media can be realized by adding a tension adjusting unit 90 to the take-up roller 50. A specific configuration example of the take-up roller 50 will be described below.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the take-up roller 50 according to the present embodiment. The take-up roller 50 according to the present embodiment includes a winding shaft 60, a shaft 74, an electric motor 70, and a tension adjusting unit 90.

The tension adjusting unit 90 includes a first gear 71, a torque limiter 100, a second gear 72, and a third gear 73. The first gear 71 is connected to the driving shaft of the electric motor 70, and the rotation of the first gear 71 is transmitted to the second gear 72 via the torque limiter 100. The rotation of the second gear 72 is transmitted to the third gear 73. Since the third gear 73 is connected to the winding shaft 60 through the shaft 74, the rotation of the third gear 73 is transmitted to the winding shaft 60.

A rotation speed sensor (not shown) is attached to the third gear 73. The rotation speed sensor can detect the presence or absence of rotation of the winding shaft 60 and the rotation speed. As the winding progresses, the amount of the media 10 that can be wound by one rotation of the winding shaft 60 increases, but the control unit 80 compares the applied rotational force with the actual winding shaft rotation speed to wind the media. The power applied to the electric motor 70 can be adjusted according to the amount of 10.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the take-up roller 50 according to the present embodiment. The description of the structure described with reference to FIG. 2 will be appropriately omitted with the same reference numerals, and the structure and operation of the torque limiter 100 included in the tension adjusting unit 90 will be described in detail with reference to this figure. The torque limiter 100 includes a flange 101, a fixing screw 102, a compression coil spring 103, a friction disk 104, a drive disk 105, and a hub 106. A shaft 107 is connected to the torque limiter 100. The shaft 107 plays a role of transmitting a rotational force to the second gear 72 via the torque limiter 100.

The flange 101 is fixed to the first gear 71 described above, and rotates in accordance with the rotation of the electric motor 70. A part of the flange 101 has a narrowed portion around the circumference, and is sandwiched by the friction disk 104 inside the torque limiter. The fixing screw 102 fixes the torque limiter 100 and adjusts the elastic pressure of the compression coil spring 103 to adjust how much the rotational force is limited. The compression coil spring 103 defines how much force the flange 101 comes into contact with the friction disk 104 due to its elastic pressure. The friction disk 104 contacts the flange 101 in response to the pressure of the compression coil spring 103, and transmits the rotational force to the drive disk 105 and the hub 106 while sliding. The hub 106 is fixed to the shaft 107, and the rotational force is transmitted to the second gear 72 via the shaft 107.

In the torque limiter 100 of the present embodiment, when the fixing screw 102 is loosened, the elastic pressure of the compression coil spring 103 decreases, so that the rotation of the first gear 71 is less likely to be transmitted to the second gear 72. On the contrary, when the fixing screw 102 is tightened, the elastic pressure of the compression coil spring 103 increases, and most of the rotation of the first gear 71 is transmitted to the second gear 72. A stepping motor or the like is separately provided on the fixing screw 102, for example, the elastic pressure of the compression coil spring 103 is controlled according to the rotation speed detected by the rotation detection sensor, and the transmitted rotational force is dynamically controlled. You can also.

As the configuration of the torque limiter, in addition to the configuration using the frictional force between the disks as described above, the configuration using the tightening force of the coil spring can also be adopted. For example, the rotation of the shaft inserted into the cavity of the coil spring can be tightened and decelerated by controlling the contraction of the coil spring.

In the present embodiment, the output of the electric motor 70 is changed in each situation during printing (during scanning) and during media feeding so that the rotational force is not transmitted more than necessary via the torque limiter 100. As a result, the load on the torque limiter 100 can be reduced and the life of the torque limiter 100 can be extended.

The transport of the media 10 is stopped until the inkjet header 30 moves in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the media and printing is completed for a specific row. When the rotation of the transport roller 21 is stopped, the control unit 80 connected to the electric motor 70 controls the electric motor 70 so as to rotate with a force slightly exceeding the torque limit value of the torque limiter 100. Since the media 10 is stopped, a constant tension can always be applied to the media 10 by this rotation speed.

When the media 10 is conveyed, the electric motor 70 rotates at a higher rotation speed than when the media 10 is stopped. As a result, the rotational force is transmitted to the winding shaft 60, and the media 10 is wound by the rotation of the winding shaft 60 while maintaining the tension.

In this way, by controlling the force of the electric motor 70 as needed, torque is not applied to the media 10 in a state where new media 10 is not supplied during printing (during scanning). It is no longer necessary to attenuate the rotational force transmitted more than necessary by the limiter 100. Therefore, the life of the torque limiter 100 can be extended.

Although the inkjet printer of the present invention has been specifically described with reference to embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

The rotational force of the electric motor 70 may be controlled by a control command sent to the transfer roller 21. In the method of detecting the rotation of the transport roller 21, the media 10 is moving on the platen 20 in the state where the rotation of the transport roller 21 is detected, and there is a time difference before the rotation force control of the take-up roller 50 is started. Occur. If the control signal is detected, the rotational force of the electric motor 70 can be controlled without a time lag.

Although the configuration including the transport roller 21 has been described above, the present invention may be an inkjet printer not provided with the transport roller 21. In that case, the feeding roller 40 and the winding roller 50 form a transport mechanism.

Hereinafter, the effects of the inkjet printer and the media winding control method of the present embodiment will be described.
(1) In the inkjet printer according to the present embodiment, a carriage that moves with an inkjet head 30 that ejects ink to the strip-shaped media 10 and a strip-shaped media 10 in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the carriage. A serial print type inkjet printer having a take-up roller 50 for carrying, the take-up roller 50 has a tension adjusting unit 90 for adjusting the tension of the medium 10, and the tension adjusting unit 90 has a printed image. When the tension of the electric motor 70 for driving the winding shaft 60 for winding the generated media, the control unit 80 for controlling the rotation speed of the electric motor 70, and the media 10 is less than a predetermined value, the friction disk 104 and the drive disk 105 The friction disk 104 and the drive disk 105 slide when the tension of the media 10 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, while allowing the rotation transmission from the electric motor 70 to the winding shaft 60 by abutting and rotating. It consists of a torque limiter 100 that reduces the transmission of rotation from the electric motor 70 to the winding shaft 60, and the control unit 80 is electrically operated so that the tension of the media 10 becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined value when the media 10 is being conveyed. When the rotation speed of the motor 70 is controlled and the inkjet head 30 is scanned to generate a print image on the media 10, the speed is slower than when the media 10 is being conveyed, and the tension of the media is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. The rotation speed of the electric motor 70 is controlled so as to be.

With this configuration, it is possible to realize a paper feed device that stops the media 10 at the time of printing and conveys the media 10 at the time of paper feed while always maintaining an appropriate tension on the media 10, and an electric motor when there is no need for paper feed. By reducing the rotation speed of 70, the wear of the torque limiter 100 can be reduced and the durability of the device can be improved.

(2) In the inkjet printer according to the present embodiment, the rotation speed of the electric motor 70 when the inkjet head 30 is scanned to generate a print image on the media 10 is assumed that the media 10 is conveyed. In some cases, the rotation speed is such that the tension of the media is less than a predetermined value. By setting such a rotation speed, the life of the torque limiter 100 can be extended.

(3) In the inkjet printer according to the present embodiment, a transport roller 21 is provided as a transport mechanism for transporting the media 10, and the control unit 80 drives / stops the transport roller 21 that transports the media 10 under the inkjet head 30. The rotation speed of the electric motor 70 is controlled in synchronization with the above. With this configuration, the control unit 80 can control the rotation speed of the electric motor 70 according to the operation of the transfer roller 21.

(4) The method for controlling the winding of the media 10 according to the present embodiment is the method for controlling the winding of the media executed by the inkjet printer described above, and when the media 10 is being conveyed, the tension of the media 10 is increased. When the step of controlling the rotation speed of the electric motor 70 so as to be equal to or higher than a predetermined value and when the inkjet head 30 is scanned to generate a printed image on the medium 10, the speed is lower than when the medium 10 is being conveyed. Moreover, the step of controlling the rotation speed of the electric motor 70 so that the tension of the media 10 becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined value is provided.

With this configuration, it is possible to realize a paper feed device that stops the media 10 at the time of printing and conveys the media 10 at the time of paper feed while always maintaining an appropriate tension on the media 10, and an electric motor when there is no need for paper feed. By reducing the rotation speed of 70, the wear of the torque limiter 100 can be reduced and the durability of the device can be improved.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY In the printing process, the present invention can reduce the wear of the torque limiter by controlling the rotational force itself of the electric motor transmitted by the torque limiter as needed.

10 Media 20 Platen 21 Conveying roller 22 Pinch roller 30 Inkjet header 40 Feeding roller 50 Winding roller 60 Winding shaft 70 Electric motor 71 1st gear 72 2nd gear 73 3rd gear 74 Shaft 80 Control unit 90 Tension adjustment unit 100 Torque limiter 101 Flange 102 Fixing screw 103 Compression coil spring 104 Friction disk 105 Drive disk 106 Hub 107 Shaft

Claims (4)

A moving carriage equipped with an inkjet head that ejects ink to strip-shaped media,
A serial print type inkjet printer having a transport mechanism for transporting strip-shaped media in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the carriage.
The transport mechanism has a tension adjusting unit that adjusts the tension of the media.
The tension adjusting unit includes a motor that drives a take-up roller that winds up the media on which the printed image is generated.
A control unit that controls the rotation speed of the motor,
When the tension of the media is less than a predetermined value, one sliding member and the other sliding member come into contact with each other and rotate to allow rotation transmission from the motor to the take-up roller, and the media. When the tension of is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, a torque limiter that prevents the transmission of rotation from the motor to the take-up roller by sliding the one sliding member and the other sliding member.
Equipped with
The control unit controls the rotation speed of the motor so that the tension of the media becomes a predetermined value or more when the media is being conveyed, scans the inkjet head, and generates a printed image on the media. The inkjet printer is characterized in that the rotation speed of the motor is controlled so that the tension of the media becomes a predetermined value or more at a lower speed than when the media is being conveyed. The rotation speed of the motor when the inkjet head is scanned to generate a printed image on the media is such that the tension of the media is less than a predetermined value when it is assumed that the media is conveyed. The inkjet printer according to claim 1, which has such a rotation speed. The transport mechanism includes a transport roller different from the take-up roller.
The inkjet printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit controls the rotation speed of the motor in synchronization with the drive / stop of the transfer roller. A serial print type inkjet printer having a carriage that moves by mounting an inkjet head that ejects ink on a strip-shaped medium and a transport mechanism that conveys the strip-shaped media in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the carriage. The transport mechanism has a tension adjusting unit for adjusting the tension of the media, and the tension adjusting unit includes a motor for driving a winding roller for winding the media on which a printed image is generated, and the motor. When the tension of the media and the control unit that controls the rotation speed is less than a predetermined value, one sliding member and the other sliding member come into contact with each other and rotate to rotate from the motor to the take-up roller. Rotational transmission is allowed, and when the tension of the media is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the one sliding member and the other sliding member slide to transmit the rotation from the motor to the take-up roller. A media take-up control method performed by an inkjet printer equipped with a torque limiter to prevent
When the media is being conveyed, a step of controlling the rotation speed of the motor so that the tension of the media becomes a predetermined value or more, and
When the inkjet head is scanned to generate a print image on the media, the rotation speed of the motor is slower than when the media is being conveyed and the tension of the media is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. And the steps to control
Media winding control method.

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