JP7618976B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printing device.

Conventionally, printers that have a mechanism for raising and lowering a table (platen) and can print on thick media are known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which all mechanisms are housed within the main body for the purpose of miniaturization, thereby preventing the movement mechanism that moves the table up and down from becoming large while generating sufficient suction force at the table.

In printers that can print on various media by raising and lowering the platen, the printer becomes unnecessarily large in order to keep the inclination of the platen within the standard value when media of different weights are loaded. This is also unrealistic as it requires huge costs. In particular, when loading a heavy object on the platen, the user must spend time adjusting the loading position, and even in this case, the desired image quality cannot be obtained, and the image may be affected during printing.

The present invention aims to provide a printing device that allows the user to adjust the media tilt without any effort, even if the tilt affects the image when printed.

The printing device of the present invention comprises a printing unit that prints predetermined information on a medium placed on a table, a detection unit that detects the height of the table on which the medium is placed relative to the printing unit, a lifting mechanism unit that supports the table and moves the table up and down, a control unit that adjusts the height of the table by having the lifting mechanism unit lower the table a predetermined amount when it is detected that the table is at a predetermined height relative to the printing unit, and by starting printing without having the lifting mechanism unit lower the table a predetermined amount when it is detected that the table is not at a position above the predetermined height relative to the printing unit, and a front-to-back movement mechanism unit that supports the table and moves the table back and forth, and is configured as a printing device characterized in that when it is detected that the table is at the predetermined height, the control unit operates the front-to-back movement mechanism unit to move the table back and forth, thereby determining whether the table is tilted by a certain amount or more .

According to the present invention, even if there is a tilt in the media that affects the image when printed, the user can easily adjust the tilt.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining an example of a method for detecting a thick medium. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a conventional printer configuration. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a conventional printer configuration. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a configuration and operation of a printer having an adjustment mechanism. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a configuration and operation of a printer having an adjustment mechanism. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a configuration and operation of a printer having an adjustment mechanism. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a configuration and operation of a printer having an adjustment mechanism. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a configuration and operation of a printer having an adjustment mechanism. 10 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the adjustment mechanism performed in the pudding in the present embodiment.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described. The present invention is a printer that can print on thick media by raising and lowering the platen, and has the following features. In short, it is characterized by being equipped with a function that detects when the media is tilted above a certain level and automatically corrects the tilt of the platen without the user having to take any effort, making the media placement surface of the platen approximately parallel to the print head surface. The above-mentioned features of the present invention will be explained in detail using the following drawings.

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a printer 100 in this embodiment. The printer 100 is a printer that can print on thick media by raising and lowering the platen. As shown in Figure 1, the printer 100 has a platen 101, which is a table on which various media of different thicknesses are set, a carriage 102 having a print head for printing on the media set on the platen 101, and a control unit 500. As described below, the platen 101 can be raised and lowered by a lifting mechanism having a drive unit such as a motor (not shown), and after a user sets a medium on the upper surface of the platen 101, the platen 101 can be moved or adjusted to a predetermined appropriate height relative to the carriage 102 under the carriage 102. In addition, the platen 101 can be moved horizontally in direction D1 by a movement mechanism having a drive unit such as a motor (not shown) or manually, and a medium is placed on the platen 101 that has been moved horizontally.

The platen 101 moves under the carriage 102, thereby printing predetermined information on the media. That is, the platen 101 can move horizontally in the above-mentioned direction D1 and the opposite direction (i.e., forward and backward as viewed from the front of the printer 100) according to instructions from the control unit 500. The forward direction as viewed from the front of the printer 100 is the direction in which a user who places a media on the platen 101 and operates the printer 100 is positioned, and is the direction in which the platen 101 is pulled out. The carriage 102 may employ various types of printer heads and their control mechanisms that are conventionally known. The control described below is performed by the control unit 500 of the printer 100. The control unit 500 can use a general arithmetic device having a CPU and memory as hardware.

Figure 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for detecting thick media. Figure 2 is a diagram of the front side of the printer 100 shown in Figure 1, viewed in the opposite direction to direction D1. As shown in Figure 2, under the control of the control unit 500, the platen 101 is moved to below the carriage 102 and raised and lowered to a height below the detection sensor 153 (light receiving sensor 153A, light emitting sensor 153B). The position and height of the detection sensor 153 are assumed to be predetermined in relation to the carriage 102.

When the control unit 500 determines that the detection sensor 153 has detected the platen 101, it stops the ascent of the platen 101 at that position and lowers it a certain amount. After that, the control unit 500 moves the platen 101, which has been lowered a certain amount, forward or backward around the detection sensor 153 in the direction of the position of the user who places the media on the platen 101 and operates the printer 100 or in the opposite direction (i.e., the direction in which the platen 101 is pulled out or the opposite direction), and if it is not detected by the detection sensor 153, it determines that it has been lowered normally a certain amount and starts printing on the media. In other words, when the control unit 500 determines that the platen 101 has been lowered a certain amount to the extent that the platen 101 and the carriage 102 do not come into contact with each other, it starts printing on the media. At this time, it adjusts the inclination of the platen 101 as described below.

Figures 3 and 4 are diagrams showing an example of a conventional printer configuration. As shown in Figure 3, in a conventional printer 900, a position determining shaft 92 is provided in front of and behind the movement direction of a base 93 that holds a platen 901, and the platen 901 is raised or lowered by a lifting motor 91. With this configuration, in the case of light media R1, the height of the platen 101 can be determined parallel to the head surface.

However, as shown in Figure 4, in the case of a heavy object such as media R2, the platen 101 tilts due to twisting, etc., and the entire media cannot be kept parallel to the head surface. Image quality can be improved by relocating the heavy object behind the platen 901, but this can only accommodate media of a certain weight. It is clear from the configuration that if the base 93 is extended forward and the position of the shaft 92 is moved forward, it can accommodate heavier media. However, if a compact configuration is adopted with the size of the printer body as a priority, it is usually not acceptable to users who mainly use it for printing on light media and do not print frequently on heavy media.

Below, we propose a printer equipped with an adjustment mechanism that can handle heavy media without increasing the size of the printer itself.

Figures 5-9 are diagrams for explaining the configuration and operation of a printer 100 having the above-mentioned adjustment mechanism. Also, Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the adjustment mechanism performed by the printer 100.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the printer 100 of this embodiment, a lift motor 1 is provided in front of the base 3, and a lift motor 4 is also provided at the rear. The lift motor 1 is fixed to the platen 101 by a holding mechanism 51. The lift motor 4 is rotatably connected to the platen 101 by a connecting holding mechanism 52. In this configuration, in the case of a certain level of light media R3, whose weight is not enough to satisfy the fixing force between the holding mechanism 51 and the printer 100, the height of the platen 101 can be set parallel to the head surface as in the conventional case.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, when media R4, which is somewhat heavier than the light media R3, is placed on the platen 101, the platen may tilt due to twisting or the like even in the above configuration. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the platen 101 is slightly tilted toward the front of the device when the heavy media R4 is placed on the platen 101.

As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 500 moves the tilted platen 101 on which the heavy media R4 is placed to a position below the carriage 102, then raises it, and uses a sensor to detect the height of the center C of the platen 101.

The sensor may be the detection sensor 153 shown in FIG. 2, or a sensor 701 provided on the underside of the carriage 102. When the detection sensor 153 is used, the control unit 500 determines whether the detection sensor 153 is blocked, and if it determines that the detection sensor 153 is blocked, it may determine that at least the center of the platen 101 is located at a predetermined height of the detection sensor 153. When the sensor 701 is used, if the reception time or intensity of the reflected light of the light emitted from the sensor 701 toward the platen 101 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, it may determine that at least the center of the platen 101 is located at a position equal to or greater than the predetermined height.

Then, the control unit 500 lowers the platen 101 by a certain amount and determines the inclination of the platen 101. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the platen 101 is moved from the position in the forward direction D3, and the detection sensor 153 or the sensor 701 determines whether or not the detection sensor 153 or the sensor 701 detects a position higher than the central portion C. That is, the control unit 500 determines whether or not the platen 101 is in a horizontal state to a certain degree. In the following, the control unit 500 moves the platen 101 from the position in the forward direction D3 and determines whether or not the position higher than the central portion C is detected. However, the control unit 500 may move the platen 101 from the position in the forward direction D3 and determine whether or not the higher position is detected, or may move the platen 101 in the forward or backward direction and determine whether or not the position higher than the central portion C is detected.

When the control unit 500 determines that the detection sensor 153 or the sensor 701 has not detected a position higher than the center C (i.e., the platen 101 is not tilted by a certain amount or more), it starts printing as is. On the other hand, when the control unit 500 determines that the detection sensor 153 or the sensor 701 has detected a position higher than the center C (i.e., the platen 101 is tilted by a certain amount or more), it controls the lift motors 1 and 4 to lower the height of the platen 101 by a certain amount. In other words, the control unit 500 controls the lift motors 1 and 4 to lower the platen 101 by the same amount.

At this time, the control unit 500 determines whether the inclination (amount of lowering) X, which is the difference between the position of the center C detected by the detection sensor 153 or the sensor 701 and a position higher than the center C, is smaller than a predetermined set value Y. If the control unit 500 determines that the amount of lowering X is smaller than the predetermined set value Y, it determines that the effect of the inclination is small and starts printing as is.

On the other hand, if the control unit 500 determines that the lowering amount X is not smaller than the predetermined set value Y, the printing operation is not performed, the printing operation is temporarily suspended, and as shown in FIG. 9, the lifting motor 1 is operated to raise the front part of the platen 101 in the upward direction D4 by an amount corresponding to the lowering amount X. The amount corresponding to the lowering amount X may be the same value as the lowering amount X, or may be set to a larger value as the lowering amount X is larger, or may be set to a smaller value as the lowering amount X is smaller.

Then, with the front part of the platen 101 raised, the control unit 500 again detects the height of the platen 101 by the detection sensor 153 or the sensor 701 as shown in FIG. 7, moves the platen 101 from that position in the forward direction D3 as shown in FIG. 8, and judges whether the detection sensor 153 or the sensor 701 detects a position higher than the center part C. After that, if the control unit 500 judges that the detection sensor 153 or the sensor 701 detects a position higher than the center part C, it controls the lift motors 1 and 4 to lower the platen 101 by the same amount, and then operates the lift motor 1 to raise the front part of the platen 101 in the upward direction D4 by the lowering amount X as shown in FIG. 9, and checks the position and height of the platen 101 again. Then, if the control unit 500 judges that the lowering amount X is smaller than the predetermined set value Y, it starts the printing operation. In this way, by the control unit 500 repeatedly adjusting the height of the platen 101 as shown in Figures 7-9, even if the platen on which the media is placed becomes tilted by more than a certain amount, the tilt of the media can be corrected before printing, resulting in the production of a media on which a good image is printed.

Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure for the printing process performed in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 10, the control unit 500 determines whether or not a printing instruction has been given from the user via an operation panel (not shown) (S1001), and if it is determined that such an instruction has been given (S1001; Yes), it moves the platen 101 to a position below the carriage 102 (S1002), raises the platen 101, and then uses a sensor to detect the height of the center C of the platen 101 (S1003, S1004).

Then, the control unit 500 moves the platen 101 from that position in the forward direction D3 (S1005) and determines whether the detection sensor 153 or the sensor 701 detects a position higher than the center C (S1006, S1007).

If the control unit 500 determines that the detection sensor 153 or the sensor 701 has not detected a position higher than the central portion C (S1007; No), it starts printing (S1008). On the other hand, if the control unit 500 determines that the detection sensor 153 or the sensor 701 has detected a position higher than the central portion C (S1007; Yes), it controls the lift motors 1 and 4 to lower the height of the platen 101 by a certain amount (S1009).

The control unit 500 determines whether the lowering amount X, which is the difference between the position of the center C detected by the detection sensor 153 or the sensor 701 and a position higher than the center C, is smaller than a predetermined set value Y, which is a threshold value (S1010). If it is determined that the lowering amount X is smaller than the predetermined set value Y (S1010; Yes), the control unit 500 proceeds to S1008 and starts printing.

On the other hand, if the control unit 500 determines that the above-mentioned lowering amount X is not smaller than the predetermined set value Y (S1010; No), the printing operation is not performed and the printing operation is temporarily interrupted. Then, the control unit 500 operates the lift motor 1 to lift the front portion of the platen 101 in the upward direction D4 by the lowering amount X (S1011, returns to S1002, and repeats the subsequent processes. In this embodiment, the front portion of the platen 101 is lifted by the same amount as the lowering amount, but the height of the platen 101 may be adjusted by determining the amount of lift according to the lowering amount. For example, the control unit 500 may increase the amount of lift of the front portion as the lowering amount increases, or decrease the amount of lift of the front portion as the lowering amount decreases. Alternatively, the control unit 500 may decrease the amount of lift of the front portion as the number of repetitions increases, and gradually adjust the amount of lift to raise the front portion. This makes it possible to further reduce the effect of the tilt of the platen on the printed image, even in the case of media that requires higher printing accuracy.

As described above, in this embodiment, the printer 100 includes a printing unit (e.g., carriage 102) that prints predetermined information on a medium placed on a table (e.g., platen 101), a detection unit (e.g., detection sensor 153, sensor 701) that detects the height of the table on which the medium is placed relative to the printing unit, a lifting mechanism (e.g., a lifting mechanism having drive units such as lifting motors 1 and 4) that supports the table and moves it up and down, and a control unit (e.g., control unit 500) that adjusts the height of the table by having the lifting mechanism lower the table a predetermined amount when it is detected that the table is at a predetermined height relative to the printing unit.

The printer 100 also has a forward/backward movement mechanism (e.g., a movement mechanism having a drive unit such as a motor (not shown)) for supporting the table and moving the table forward and backward. When the control unit detects that the table is at a predetermined height, it operates the forward/backward movement mechanism to move the table forward and backward, thereby determining whether the table is tilted by a certain amount or more.

In addition, when the control unit of the printer 100 determines that the table is tilted to a certain degree or more, it operates the lifting mechanism to lower the table a predetermined amount.

In addition, if the control unit determines that the table is tilted to a certain degree or more, for example, after the control unit 500 makes the determination in S1010 of FIG. 10 (S1010; No), it performs processing of S1011 and then performs processing from S1002 onward again, and repeats adjusting the height of the table until the tilt of the table becomes less than the certain degree.

The lifting mechanism includes a first lifting mechanism (e.g., the lifting mechanism having a holding mechanism 51 and a lifting motor 1) provided in front of the table, and a second lifting mechanism (e.g., the lifting mechanism having a connecting holding mechanism 52 and a lifting motor 4) provided in the rear of the table. The control unit determines whether the tilt of a certain level or more is in the front direction of the table, and when it determines that the tilt of a certain level or more is in the front direction of the table, it operates the first lifting mechanism to lift the front of the table.

In addition, when the inclination of the table is less than a certain level, the control unit causes the printing unit to print the specified information on the medium.

In this way, in this embodiment, if the inclination of the media placed on the platen is above a certain level, a function is provided that automatically corrects the inclination of the platen to make it parallel to the print head surface, so that even if there is a media inclination that affects the image when printed, it can be automatically adjusted without the user having to take the time. For example, when printing, if the platen is at a height where a certain amount of media is placed on it and comes into contact with the carriage, the height and inclination can be adjusted to print a good print image on the media.

100 Printer 101 Platen 102 Carriage
51 Holding mechanism 52 Connection holding mechanism 1, 4 Lifting motor 153 Detection sensor 153A Detection sensor (light emitting part)
153B Detection sensor (light receiving unit)
500 Control unit 701 Sensor

JP 2017-121711 A

Claims (5)

a printing unit that prints predetermined information on a medium placed on the table;
a detection unit that detects the height of the table on which the medium is placed relative to the printing unit;
a lifting mechanism for supporting the table and moving the table up and down;
a control unit that adjusts the height of the table by having the lifting mechanism unit lower the table a predetermined amount when it is detected that the table is at a predetermined height relative to the printing unit, and by starting printing without having the lifting mechanism unit lower the table a predetermined amount when it is detected that the table is not at a position above the predetermined height relative to the printing unit;
a forward/backward movement mechanism for supporting the table and moving the table forward/backward;
Equipped with
A printing device characterized in that, when it is detected that the table is at a predetermined height, the control unit operates the forward/backward movement mechanism to move the table forward and backward, thereby determining whether the table is tilted by a certain amount or more . When the control unit determines that the table is tilted to a certain degree or more, the control unit operates the lifting mechanism unit to lower the table by a predetermined amount.
2. The printing device according to claim 1 . When the control unit determines that the table is tilted to a certain level or more, the control unit repeats adjustment of the height of the table until the tilt of the table becomes less than the certain level.
3. The printing device according to claim 2 . the lifting mechanism includes a first lifting mechanism provided in front of the table and a second lifting mechanism provided in rear of the table,
the control unit determines whether or not a tilt of a certain level or more has occurred due to the table being tilted forward, and when it determines that the tilt of the certain level or more has occurred due to the table being tilted forward, operates the first lifting mechanism unit to lift the front of the table.
2. The printing device according to claim 1. the control unit causes the printing unit to print the predetermined information on the medium when the inclination of the table is less than a certain level.
4. The printing device according to claim 3 .

Images