JP2013116561A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus that includes a multi-roll mounting function and reeling function with a reduced size and weight.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 50 includes: a supply unit 70 on which a rolled recording medium 60 is mounted; a recording unit 90 for recording on the recording medium supplied from the supply unit 70, and also includes: a supplying spool 61 for holding and supplying the rolled recording medium 60; a reeling spool 61' for reeling the recording medium 60 recorded by the recording unit 90. A plurality of mounting parts 1, 2 which can be mounted either on the supplying spool 60 or the reeling spool 61' are provided in the supply unit 70. The image forming apparatus furthermore includes: a usage determination part for determining the usage of the spools 60, 61 mounted on the mounting parts 1, 2; a driving mechanism for driving the spools 60, 61 mounted on the mounting parts 1, 2; and a control part for controlling the driving mechanism according to a determination result by the usage determination part.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of mounting a plurality of roll-shaped recording media.

  Conventionally, a multi-roll attachment function that allows a plurality of roll-shaped belt-like recording media to be attached to an image forming apparatus main body, allows a user to select a recording medium that the user wants to use, and perform recording on the selected recording medium. An image forming apparatus including the image forming apparatus is known. Since such an image forming apparatus can simultaneously attach recording media of different materials and widths to the apparatus main body, it is possible to attach a new recording medium to the apparatus main body while recording is being performed on the recording medium. It is possible to shorten time and improve efficiency in the user workflow. An example of an image forming apparatus having a multi-roll attachment function is disclosed in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 is an image forming apparatus having a two-roll mounting function for holding two roll-shaped recording media. A driving mechanism is provided for each recording medium, and driving of the driving mechanism is performed at the center. By controlling with the processing device, the movement of each recording medium is controlled.

  An example of an image forming apparatus having a winding function capable of automatically continuing a recording operation while winding a recording medium after recording is disclosed in Patent Document 2. When the user needs a large amount of recording, the winding function automatically winds the recording medium after recording, so that the recorded recording medium can be stored in a space-saving manner.

JP 2006-137607 A JP 2006-82475 A

  However, both of the above-described two functions may be required in a large-volume recording workflow, but it is difficult to mount both functions in the image forming apparatus. This is because an image forming apparatus equipped with both functions requires a supply spool for holding a roll-shaped recording medium and a winding spool for winding the recorded recording medium. For this reason, in order to prevent the two types of spools from being mistakenly arranged in the image forming apparatus with their arrangements reversed, the spools have different lengths. Accordingly, a plurality of supply spool mounting portions are required for the multi-roll mounting function, and a winding spool mounting portion is required for the winding function. As a result, when the multi-roll attachment function and the winding function are mounted on one image forming apparatus at the same time, the apparatus itself becomes large, making it difficult to arrange in a limited space, and further increasing the weight.

  When the image forming apparatus is equipped with a multi-roll mounting function capable of stacking a large number of recording media and a winding function, the winding function is used less frequently, so the mounting portion of the winding spool is the lower part of the image forming apparatus. In particular, it is often laid out at a position lower than the user's knee. In this case, it is necessary to perform the setting for fixing the tip of the roll-shaped recording medium with the tape on the winding spool attached to the attachment portion that is lower than the knee in a state where the user is crouching. There was concern about badness.

  For this reason, an image forming apparatus equipped with a multi-roll mounting function does not have a winding function, and lays out a large-capacity basket for stocking recording media after recording. However, the storage capacity of the basket is not enough to continue recording automatically for a long time, and there is a concern that the recording medium may be broken or scratched when a large number of recorded recording media are stacked in the basket. The Further, in the image forming apparatus in which the roll-shaped recording medium can be attached to only one by mounting the winding function, it is not easy to use a plurality of recording media at the same time, so that the usability is deteriorated. Therefore, an image forming apparatus equipped with both functions has been demanded.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus equipped with a multi-roll attachment function and a winding function, which is reduced in size and weight.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a supply unit on which a roll-shaped recording medium is mounted, and a recording unit that performs recording on the recording medium supplied from the supply unit. A supply spool that holds and supplies the roll-shaped recording medium; and a winding spool that winds the recording medium recorded by the recording unit; and the supply spool and the winding spool. The supply unit is provided with a plurality of attachment portions that can be attached to both. The image forming apparatus controls a drive mechanism according to a determination result obtained by an application determining unit that determines a use of a spool attached to the attachment unit, a drive mechanism that drives the spool attached to the attachment unit, and a use determination unit. And a control unit.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a multi-roll attachment function and a winding function to an image forming apparatus while suppressing the increase in size and weight of the image forming apparatus.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of a spool. It is an enlarged view of the A section of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the use determination part of a spool. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an image forming apparatus in which a supply spool is attached to a first attachment portion and a winding spool is attached to a second attachment portion. FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an image forming apparatus in which a winding spool is attached to a first attachment portion and a supply spool is attached to a second attachment portion. FIG. 6 is a control block diagram relating to driving of the spool in the state of FIG. 5. It is a control data table of the driving force transmitted to a spool. It is a schematic block diagram of the spool of the image forming apparatus of a prior art.

  Details of embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the same number is attached | subjected to the structure which has the same function in an accompanying drawing, and the description may be abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. In the image forming apparatus 50 shown in FIG. 1, a strip-shaped recording medium 60 wound in a roll shape is mounted on each of the first mounting portion 1 and the second mounting portion 2, and the recording medium 60 of the first mounting portion 1 is Recording is possible.

  The image forming apparatus 50 includes a supply unit 70, a transfer unit 80, and a recording unit 90. The recording medium 60 is conveyed from the supply unit 70 to the recording unit 90 via the transfer unit 80.

  The supply unit 70 includes a first attachment portion 1 and a second attachment portion 2. The first attachment portion 1 and the second attachment portion 2 are arranged side by side (arranged vertically in the figure). In addition, the number of attachment parts is not limited to two. A supply spool 61 that holds the recording medium 60 is attached to each spool holder 14 at each attachment portion 1, 2. The first attachment portion 1 is provided with a first spool drive gear 15, and the second attachment portion 2 is provided with a second spool drive gear 16, and the supply is made via the spool drive gears 15, 16. The spool 61 is rotated.

  In the following description, the recording medium 60 is referred to as “roll paper”.

  The transfer unit 80 transfers the roll paper 60 supplied from the supply unit 70 to the recording unit 90. Therefore, the transport unit 80 is provided with a transport guide 3 that guides the roll paper 60 and a transport roller 4 that transports the roll paper 60 in accordance with the mounting portions 1 and 2. In addition, an LF roller pair 62 including an LF driving roller 5 and an LF nip roller 6 is provided downstream of all the conveyance rollers 4 in the conveyance direction of the roll paper 60. A paper detection sensor 8 that detects the presence or absence of the roll paper 60 is provided downstream of the LF roller pair 62.

  The roll paper 60 sent from the supply unit 70 is sent along the transport guide 3 to the downstream side in the transport direction. At that time, the roll paper 60 is smoothly conveyed by the plurality of conveyance rollers 4 arranged on the conveyance path. When the conveyed roll paper 60 reaches the LF roller pair 62 from the carry-in guide 7, the paper detection sensor 8 detects the roll paper 60 and the LF drive roller 5 rotates. The LF nip roller 6 is spaced from the LF driving roller 5 until the leading edge of the roll paper 60 is detected. When it is confirmed by a sensor (not shown) that the roll paper 60 has passed between the LF driving roller 5 and the LF nip roller 6, the LF nip roller 6 moves toward the LF roller 5 and rolls with the LF roller pair 62. The paper 60 is nipped and conveyed to the recording unit 90.

  The recording unit 90 includes a platen 9 that sucks and supports the roll paper 60, and a recording head 11 that includes a plurality of heads at positions that are opposed to the platen 9 and that are spaced apart from each other. For example, black, cyan, magenta, and yellow ink are ejected from each head. The platen 9 guarantees accurate positioning of the roll paper 60 by adsorbing the back surface opposite to the recording surface 10 of the roll paper 60. On the downstream side of the platen 9 in the conveying direction of the roll paper 60, a discharge roller 12 for discharging the roll paper 60 after recording is provided. After the recording, the roll paper 60 is discharged by the discharge roller 12, and is stored in a basket (not shown) provided downstream of the discharge roller 12, for example, below the main body of the image forming apparatus 50. Alternatively, when using a winding function described later of the image forming apparatus 50, the image forming apparatus 50 is wound and accommodated in a roll shape in the supply unit 70.

  Next, the configuration of the spool 61 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the spool, in which (a) is a front view and (b) is an exploded view.

  The spool described below is provided with a magnetic piece 38. The magnetic piece 38 only needs to be provided on the supply spool 61 or the take-up spool 61 ′, and other configurations are the same between the feed spool 61 and the take-up spool 61 ′. . Therefore, in the following description, a case where the magnetic piece 38 is provided on the supply spool 61 will be described. The reason why the magnetic piece 38 should be provided on the supply spool 61 or the winding spool 61 'will be described later.

  The supply spool 61 is provided with a magnetic piece 38 at one end, a spool shaft 17 to which a reference side flange 19 is attached adjacent to the magnetic piece 38, and a non-reference side flange detachable from the spool shaft 17. 18 and. Further, the reference side friction member 20 is provided on the inner surface of the reference side flange 19 where the flanges 18 and 19 face each other, and similarly, the non-reference side friction member 22 is provided on the inner surface of the non-reference side flange. ing. The other end of the spool shaft 17 can be engaged with the spool gear 21.

  The length of the spool shaft 17 is the same between the supply spool 61 and the take-up spool 61.

  FIG. 9 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional spool. FIG. 9A shows a supply spool, and FIG. 9B shows a winding spool. The shape of the inner surface side of the flange 118 of the supply spool 130 of the prior art that is in contact with the roll paper 160 is a flat surface having no irregularities. Therefore, every time the roll paper 160 is attached to the spool 130, both ends in the width direction of the roll paper 160 are arranged at the same position. On the other hand, the flange 119 of the spool 131 for winding is tapered (expanded shape) on the inner surface in contact with the end portion in the width direction of the rolled paper 160 so that the skew of the rolled paper 160 can be allowed to some extent.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the flanges 18 and 19 of the supply spool 61 and the take-up spool 61 ′ of the image forming apparatus 50 according to the present invention have a flat central portion and outer peripheral portions of the flanges 18 and 19. It has a taper shape away from the. Therefore, the positions of both ends in the width direction of the roll paper 60 can be determined, and the skew of the roll paper 60 to be wound can be dealt with. Of course, as in the prior art, the shape of the flange may be different between the supply spool and the take-up spool, but the length of the spool shaft in this case is adapted to take-up.

  Next, a procedure for accommodating the roll paper 60 in the image forming apparatus 50 will be described. The non-reference side flange 18 fitted into the spool gear 21 and the spool shaft 17 is removed from the spool shaft 17 of the spool 61 for paper feed, and the hole of the core (paper tube) 13 which is the core of the roll paper 60 is inserted into the spool shaft 17. . At this time, since there is a sufficient gap between the inner diameter of the paper tube 13 and the outer diameter of the spool shaft 17, the user can fit the roll paper 60 into the spool shaft 17 with a slight force. The roll paper 60 is fitted into the reference side friction member 20 provided on the inner surface side of the spool flange 19 so that the end in the width direction of the roll paper 60 contacts the inner surface of the reference flange 19. Thereafter, the non-reference side flange 18 that has been removed is passed through the spool shaft 17 and the non-reference side friction member 21 of the non-reference side flange 18 is fitted into the paper tube 13 of the roll paper 60 to be locked. Then, the spool gear 21 is engaged with the spool shaft 17. Thereafter, the roll paper 60 integrated with the supply spool 61 is fitted into the spool holder 14 of the first attachment portion 1 or the second attachment portion 2 of the image forming apparatus 50 main body, whereby the roll paper 60 is transferred to the image forming apparatus 50. Installation is completed.

  Next, a state when the paper feeding spool 61 is attached to the spool holder 14 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion A in FIG. Since the spool holder 14 has a U-shaped cross section and has a diameter that can be fitted to the spool shaft 17, the spool shaft 17 can be fitted from the opening side. Note that both spools 61 and 61 ′ for supply and take-up can be attached to the spool holder 14. Further, the main body of the image forming apparatus 50 is provided with a first spool drive gear 15 so as to be engageable with a spool gear 21 attached to the spool shaft 17. The drive of the first motor 28 (see FIG. 7) provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus 50 is transmitted to the spool shaft 17 via the first spool drive gear 15 and the spool gear 21, and the spool shaft 17 rotates to roll paper. 60 can be supplied.

  Next, a method for determining whether the spools 61 and 61 'are used for supply or winding will be described. As described above, the magnetic piece 38 is provided at one end of the spool shaft 17 of the supply or take-up spools 61, 61 '. A magnetic sensor (not shown) is provided in the image forming apparatus 50 body so that the spools 61 and 61 'correspond to the magnetic piece 38 when the spools 61 and 61' are attached to the image forming apparatus 50 body. The piece 38 is detected to determine the usage of the spools 61 and 61 ′. That is, the use discriminating unit 65 (see FIG. 7) is configured by the magnetic piece 38 and the magnetic sensor.

  In addition to the magnetic means described above, the application determining unit 65 can also determine the application of the spools 61 and 61 ′ using electrical means or optical means. Further, it is possible for the user to instruct the usage of the spools 61 and 61 ′ through an operation panel (not shown) provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus 50. Another application determination unit 65 will be described with reference to FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, a groove 41 is provided in the spool shaft 17 instead of the magnetic piece 38. Then, an ON-OFF switch 43 having an arm 44 is provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus 50. The arm 44 can come into contact with the portion of the spool shaft 17 excluding the groove 41. Therefore, when the spools 61 and 61 ′ are mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus 50, the ON-OFF switch 43 is switched depending on whether or not the arm 44 comes into contact with the spool shaft 17, thereby the spools 61 and 61 ′. Determine usage. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4B, the distance from the distance sensor 45 to the spool shaft 17 is measured by a distance sensor 45 provided in the image forming apparatus 50 main body by providing the groove 41 as in the above example. From the difference, the uses of the spools 61 and 61 ′ are determined.

  In the above example, the magnetic piece 38 (or groove 41) is provided at the end of the spool shaft 17. However, it can also be provided in the flanges 18 and 19, for example.

  In the image forming apparatus 50 shown in FIG. 1, the supply spool 61 is attached to any of the attachment portions 1 and 2, and the roll paper 60 is supplied from the first attachment portion 1. In the image forming apparatus 50 of the present invention, the configuration of the supply spool 61 and the winding spool 61 ′ is the same except for the presence or absence of the magnetic piece 38 (or the groove 41 in other configurations). When the usage of the spool 61 is input to the operation panel, the configuration of the spool 61 may be the same for both supply and winding. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the supply spool 61 can be attached to the first attachment portion 1, and the take-up spool 61 ′ can be attached to the second attachment portion 2. As shown in FIG. 6, the spool 61 ′ for winding can be attached to the first attachment portion 1 and the supply spool 61 can be attached to the second attachment portion 2. Needless to say, if the number of mounting portions is three or more, not only the above-described uses, but the number of applications can be further expanded.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 1, a flow from when the supply spool 61 holding the roll paper 60 is attached to the first attachment portion 1 until it is ready for recording will be described. The user manually pushes the leading end portion of the roll paper 60 installed on the first attachment portion 1 of the supply unit 70 toward the transport unit 80 in the transport direction (upper right direction in FIG. 1). The extruded roll paper 60 advances toward the recording unit 90 along the conveyance path while being guided by the conveyance guide 3. At this time, since the conveyance guide 3 and the conveyance roller 4 smoothly slide the roll paper 60, the user can send out the roll paper 60 with a slight force. When the leading edge of the roll paper 60 passes through the LF roller pair 62, the roll paper 60 is detected by the paper detection sensor 8, and the LF driving roller 5 rotates in the direction in which the roll paper 60 is conveyed (counterclockwise in the drawing). Then, the LF nip roller 6 moves toward the LF driving roller 5, and the roll paper 60 is nipped by the LF roller pair 62. Thereafter, when recording is performed, the roll paper 60 is automatically conveyed by the LF roller pair 62.

  When the roll paper 60 can be automatically conveyed, the roll paper 60 is conveyed from the first motor 28 to the spool 61 of the first mounting portion 1 via the first spool driving gear 15 and the spool driving gear 21. Back tension is generated in the direction of rotation that prevents it. As a result, a predetermined tension is generated in the roll paper 60 and the roll paper 60 is not loosened. The back tension is adjusted by providing a torque limiter (not shown) or the like at the end of the spool shaft 17 or in the middle of the gear train (not shown).

  The same applies when the roll paper 60 is supplied from the spool 61 of the second attachment portion 2. Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the spool 61 ′ for winding is used, the leading end of the roll paper 60 that has passed the LF roller pair 62 as described above is connected to the platen 9 and the recording head 11. And is attached to a spool 61 'for winding.

  FIG. 7 is a control block diagram relating to driving of the spools 61 and 61 'in the state of FIG. As described above, when the supply spool 61 is attached to the first attachment portion 1 and the take-up spool 61 ′ is attached to the second attachment portion 2, the use discriminator 65 uses the spools 61 and 61 ′. Is determined. Then, the determination result is recorded in the storage unit 40 through the control CPU 26 serving as a control unit. In response to this recording, the control CPU 26 sends a signal to the drive mechanism to control it. Specifically, the control CPU 26 applies the spool 61 of the second attachment portion 2 via the second motor driver 35 to the first motor 28 that drives the spool 61 of the first attachment portion 1 via the first motor driver 34. A rotation control signal is output to the second motor 29 to be driven. This signal includes information on the rotation direction and rotation speed of the motors 28 and 29. A signal is sent from the control CPU 26 to the first transmission torque switching means 30 and the second transmission torque switching means 36. In the first transmission torque switching means 30, the driving force is adjusted so that a predetermined tension is applied to the roll paper 60 supplied from the first attachment portion 1. The second transmission torque switching means 36 adjusts the driving force so that all the driving force is transmitted or the tension of the roll paper 60 to be wound is adjusted. The driving force from the first motor 28 and the second motor 29 is transmitted to the first spool driving gear 15 and the second spool driving gear 16 through the first transmission torque switching means 30 and the second transmission torque switching means 36, respectively. , Are transmitted to the spools 61, 61.

  When the plurality of attachment portions are provided in the supply unit 70 and the plurality of supply spools 61 and the winding spool 61 ′ are attached to the attachment portions, first, the application discriminating portion 65 uses the spools 61, 61. Determine the use of '. Then, one supply spool 61 and one take-up spool 61 'are selected by the user. Then, the drive control described above is performed on the selected spools 61 and 61 '.

  FIG. 8 shows a control data table for the driving force transmitted to the spool 61. During the feeding or recording operation, the roll paper 60 must be tensioned. Therefore, in this case, the spool 61 is given a driving force that rotates in the direction that prevents the supply of the roll paper 60 via the torque limiter (the clockwise direction in FIGS. 1, 5, and 6), and the brake is applied to the supply of the roll paper 60. Call. As a result, a torque value T1 that gives an optimum tension to the supplied roll paper 60 is generated.

  During the winding operation, the spool 61 ′ is rotated in an arbitrary direction (in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, either clockwise or counterclockwise), and the winding operation of the roll paper 60 is performed. Note that the spool 61 ′ can be rotated in an arbitrary direction by switching information on the rotation direction from the control CPU 26 to the motor drivers 34 and 35. Further, in the winding operation, it is preferable to generate a torque value T2 for giving the roll paper 60 the optimum tension for winding the roll paper 60.

  As described above, in the image forming apparatus 50 of the present invention, except for the presence / absence of the magnetic piece 38 (or the groove 41) for determining whether to supply or to take up, the spool for supplying and taking up is used. The configurations of 61 and 61 'are the same. Therefore, it is possible to mount the spools 61 and 61 ′ for either application on the mounting portions 1 and 2 of the image forming apparatus 50. Moreover, the number of attachment parts may be three or more. As a result, it is not necessary to provide the image forming apparatus 50 of the present invention with a mounting portion dedicated to the spool 61 for winding and a mounting portion dedicated to the spool 61 'for supply. Even if both are mounted, the size of the image forming apparatus 50 is suppressed. In addition, the arrangement of the supply and take-up spools 61 and 61 'can be changed as required, and only the supply spool 61 or both the supply and take-up spools 61 and 61' are mounted. Variations are possible. Therefore, it is possible to realize an image forming apparatus having a multi-roll mounting function and a winding function, which is suppressed in size and weight. Further, since the user can attach the winding spool 61 'to the attachment portion at an arbitrary position, usability can be improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st attachment part 2 2nd attachment part 26 Control CPU (control part)
60 Recording medium 61 Supply spool 61 ′ Take-up spool 65 Application discriminating unit 70 Supply unit 90 Recording unit

Claims (6)

In an image forming apparatus comprising: a supply unit on which a roll-shaped recording medium is mounted; and a recording unit for recording on the recording medium supplied from the supply unit.
A supply spool for holding and supplying the roll-shaped recording medium; and a winding spool for winding the recording medium recorded by the recording unit;
A plurality of attachment portions to which both the supply spool and the take-up spool can be attached are provided in the supply unit,
A use discriminating section for judging the use of the spool mounted on the mounting section;
A drive mechanism for driving a spool attached to the attachment portion;
An image forming apparatus further comprising: a control unit that controls the drive mechanism in accordance with a determination result by the application determining unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a magnetic unit, an electrical unit, or an optical unit is used as the application determining unit. The magnetic means includes a magnetic piece disposed on the supply spool or the winding spool, and a magnetic sensor for detecting the magnetic piece,
The electrical means includes a groove formed in the supply spool or the take-up spool and an arm that abuts a portion of the supply spool or the take-up spool excluding the groove. A switch,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the optical unit includes a groove formed in the supply spool or the winding spool, and a distance sensor that detects a distance to the spool.   The control unit controls the drive mechanism so that a predetermined tension is applied to both a recording medium supplied from the supply unit to the recording unit and a recording medium recorded and wound by the recording unit. The image forming apparatus according to any one of 1 to 3.   Each of the supply spool and the take-up spool has a spool shaft, and the length of the spool shaft of the supply spool is the same as the length of the spool shaft of the take-up spool. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is one. A control method for an image forming apparatus, comprising: a supply unit on which a roll-shaped recording medium is mounted; and a recording unit that performs recording on the recording medium supplied from the supply unit,
The use discriminating unit discriminates the usage of the spool attached to the plurality of mounting units provided in the supply unit,
The application discriminating unit holds the recording medium and determines the spool for supply to supply the recording medium from the supply unit to the recording unit. The tension is applied to the recording medium from the supply unit to the recording unit. To drive the recording medium,
An image forming apparatus that drives the spool, which is determined to be wound for winding the recording medium recorded by the recording unit, to wind the recording medium recorded in the recording unit. Control method.

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