JP4735383B2 - Recording apparatus and method for controlling recording apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium, and a control method for the recording apparatus.

Conventionally, in a recording apparatus that records an image on a recording medium conveyed on a platen, a film-like sheet guide is interposed between the recording medium and the recording head so that the recording medium can be stably conveyed to the recording head. Is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-262473 A

  By the way, passbooks and forms used as recording media are extremely diversified, and positions and sizes of recording areas for recording images with a recording head are also various. In particular, in recent years, there has been an increasing need to record an image to a position very close to the upper end and the lower end of the recording medium by reducing the margin at the end of the recording medium as much as possible. An image may be recorded. For example, when an image is recorded at a position very close to the lower end of the recording medium by the recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the overlap between the recording medium and the sheet guide is reduced. When recording an image, the end of the recording medium vibrates with the platen due to the output of the recording wire protruding from the recording head and the biasing force applied to stabilize the platen at a fixed position. There is a concern that the recording medium comes off from under the sheet guide and rides on the sheet guide. If the recording medium is to be ejected in a state where the recording medium rides on the sheet guide, the recording medium rides on the sheet guide and is jammed inside the recording apparatus. Therefore, there has been a demand for a recording apparatus that can eject the recording medium more reliably even when an image is recorded to a position very close to the lower end of the recording medium.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a recording apparatus having a configuration in which a sheet guide is interposed between a recording head and a recording medium, even when an image is recorded near the lower end of the recording medium. It aims to be able to discharge more reliably.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a recording apparatus that records an image on a recording medium using a recording head, the recording medium being disposed closer to a discharge port than the recording head in a conveyance path of the recording medium, A sheet guide interposed between the recording head, a sheet guide moving unit that moves the sheet guide in a direction away from a conveyance path of the recording medium, a conveyance unit that conveys the recording medium, and the conveyance unit, Control means for executing a discharge operation for transporting the recording medium to a discharge port in a state in which the sheet guide is separated from the transport path of the recording medium, and the control means removes the recording medium prior to the discharge operation. There is provided a recording apparatus characterized in that the recording apparatus is transported to a position where it is separated from a sheet guide.
According to this configuration, after the recording medium is separated from the sheet guide prior to the discharging operation, the sheet guide moves away from the conveyance path, and the recording medium is discharged. For this reason, the recording medium is not caught in the movement of the sheet guide, and the recording medium can be discharged more reliably and stably.

  In the present invention, only when an image is recorded within a predetermined distance from the lower end of the recording medium by the recording head, the control means moves the recording medium to the sheet guide by the conveying means prior to a subsequent discharging operation. The recording medium may be transported to a position where the recording medium leaves. In this case, only when recording is performed within a predetermined distance from the lower end of the recording medium, the recording medium is detached from the sheet guide before the discharging operation. That is, the recording medium can be more reliably ejected while minimizing the decrease in throughput by performing the conveyance for separating the recording medium from the sheet guide only when necessary.

  In the present invention, the sheet guide is positioned on a platen biased toward the recording head at a position facing the recording head, and is movable in a direction away from the platen by the sheet guide moving means. It may be configured. In this case, even when the recording medium rides on the sheet guide due to the vibration of the platen biased toward the recording head, the recording medium is more reliably prevented from being jammed by removing the recording medium from the sheet guide. it can.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention has a configuration in which an image is recorded on a recording medium by a recording head, and is disposed closer to a discharge port than the recording head in a conveyance path of the recording medium. And a recording guide having a sheet guide interposed between the recording head, and after recording an image by the recording head, the sheet guide is separated from a conveyance path of the recording medium. Provided is a control method for a recording apparatus, wherein the recording medium is transported to a position where it is separated from the sheet guide prior to a discharging operation for transporting the recording medium to a discharge port.

  According to the present invention, by removing the recording medium from the sheet guide prior to the discharging operation, the recording medium is not caught in the movement of the sheet guide, and the recording medium can be discharged more reliably.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a dot impact printer as a recording apparatus according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied. The dot impact printer of the present embodiment includes a recording head 18 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) having a plurality of recording wires, and the recording wire is directed from the recording head 18 to a recording medium via an ink ribbon. By ejecting, dots are formed on the recording surface of the recording medium, and an image including characters is recorded.
An image recorded by the dot impact printer 10 is composed of one line or a plurality of lines, and recording is performed for each line. Here, when the dot impact printer 10 is instructed to record an image from an external device (such as a host computer 68 described later), the instruction can be performed in units of lines or pages.

Here, examples of the recording medium usable in the dot impact printer 10 include a cut sheet cut to a predetermined length, a continuous sheet in which a plurality of sheets are connected, and the like. These cut sheets and continuous sheets may be made of paper such as plain paper, copy paper, cardboard, or the like, or a sheet made of synthetic resin, and these sheets may be processed by coating or infiltration. In addition, as a form of the cut sheet, for example, in addition to a standard size cut paper (PPC paper, a postcard, etc.), a booklet form in which a plurality of sheets are bound (passbook etc.) or a bag-shaped form (envelope) Etc.). Examples of the form of the continuous sheet include continuous paper in which sprocket holes are formed at both ends in the width direction and folded at a predetermined length, and roll paper wound in a roll shape.
In the present embodiment, a case where an image is recorded on the recording medium 100 by the dot impact printer 10 will be described. The recording medium 100 is the above-described cut sheet, copy paper, passbook, etc., and will be described without any particular limitation.

The dot impact printer 10 shown in FIG. 1 has a configuration in which a main body is accommodated in an exterior made up of a cover 12, an upper case 13, and a lower case 14. The exterior is configured by connecting an upper case 13 and a lower case 14 vertically below a cover 12 disposed on the upper side so as to be opened and closed. On the front surface of the exterior, an opening is provided at a boundary portion between the upper case 13 and the lower case 14, and this opening serves as a manual feed opening 15 for manually feeding the recording medium 100. The manual feed port 15 also serves as a discharge port for discharging the recording medium 100.
In the description according to the present embodiment and the drawings according to the present embodiment, the direction in which the recording medium 100 is inserted into the manual feed slot 15 is the direction A, and the direction in which the recording medium 100 is ejected from the manual feed slot 15 is the direction. B and indicated by arrows A and B in the figure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a printer main body housed in the exterior of the dot impact printer. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the dot impact printer. A symbol C shown in FIG. 3 indicates a conveyance path of the recording medium 100.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the printer main body 11 has a main body frame including a left side frame 16 and a right side frame 17. The main body frame includes a recording mechanism unit 20 including a recording head 18 and a carriage 19, a platen 21 facing the recording head 18, a first conveying roller 22, and a second conveying roller 23. Unit 24, a second transport mechanism unit 27 including a third transport roller 25 and a fourth transport roller 26, and magnetic data including a magnetic head 34 that reads / writes magnetic information of the magnetic stripe 101 included in the recording medium 100. A reading unit 29 and a sheet pressing unit 30 that presses the floating of the recording medium 100 from above when reading / writing magnetic information are provided.

The left side frame 16 and the right side frame 17 are erected so as to face each other at the left and right ends of the printer body 11. A carriage shaft 31 is bridged between the side frames 16 and 17, and a front seat guide 32 and a rear seat guide 33 having a flat surface shape are fixedly provided across the side frames 16 and 17. .
The front sheet guide 32 and the rear sheet guide 33 constitute a floor surface of a conveyance path C in which the recording medium 100 inserted from the manual feed port 15 (FIG. 1) is conveyed. The front sheet guide 32 is located on the front side of the printer body 11, that is, the manual feed port 15 side, and the rear sheet guide 33 is located on the rear side of the printer body 11. The front sheet guide 32 and the rear sheet guide 33 are separated below the recording head 18, and the platen 21 having a flat upper surface is disposed in this space.
Further, a front frame 45 is fixed to the left side frame 16 and the right side frame 17 on the manual feed port 15 side of the printer body 11, that is, the front side, and a rear frame 46 is fixed to the rear side. The front frame 45 and the rear frame 46 constitute a ceiling surface of the conveyance path of the recording medium 100 indicated by reference numeral C, and support a second conveyance roller 23 and a fourth conveyance roller 26 described later.

The first transport mechanism 24 is located on the front side of the platen 21, and the second transport mechanism 27 is located on the rear side of the platen 21.
Among these, the first transport roller 22 and the third transport roller 25 are disposed below the transport path C, and the second transport roller 23 and the fourth transport roller 26 are disposed above the transport path C. The recording medium 100 is sandwiched between the first transport roller 22 and the second transport roller 23 and between the third transport roller 25 and the fourth transport roller 26 and is transported along the transport path C.
Here, the first transport roller 22 and the third transport roller 25 are drive rollers that are rotationally driven by a transport motor 36 (FIG. 9) and a drive wheel train (not shown). It is supported by a spanned shaft. In contrast, the second transport roller 23 and the fourth transport roller 26 are driven rollers that rotate as the first transport roller 22 and the third transport roller 25 rotate. The second transport roller 23 is supported by the front frame 45 via a rotatable shaft, and is biased toward the first transport roller 22 by a spring or the like. Similarly, the fourth transport roller 26 is supported by the rear frame 46 via a rotatable shaft, and is biased toward the third transport roller 25 by a spring or the like.
For this reason, the 2nd conveyance roller 23 and the 4th conveyance roller 26 rotate with rotation of the 1st conveyance roller 22 and the 3rd conveyance roller 25. At this time, the first conveying roller 22 and the second conveying roller 23 rotate in opposite directions, and the third conveying roller 25 and the fourth conveying roller 26 rotate in opposite directions to convey the recording medium 100. .
The 1st conveyance mechanism part 24 and the 2nd conveyance mechanism part 27 comprise a conveyance means with the conveyance motor 36 mentioned later.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, an alignment plate 54 is disposed between the platen 21 and the first transport roller 22. The alignment plate 54 is a plate-like member that extends parallel to the scanning direction of the recording head 18 and is perpendicular to the conveyance path C. The alignment plate 54 is embedded below the conveyance path C, and is configured to be able to advance and retreat in the conveyance path C by the operation of the alignment motor 37 (FIG. 9). That is, the aligning plate 54 is driven by the aligning motor 37 to move up and down, protrudes from the lower side of the front sheet guide 32 to the conveying path C, or advances from the state protruding from the conveying path C to the front sheet guide 32. Retreat to the bottom or flush position. This aligning plate 54 and the aligning motor 37 that drives the aligning plate 54 are combined to constitute an aligning means.
The magnetic head 34 is reciprocally driven by a magnetic motor 38 (FIG. 9) along two magnetic head guides that are bridged in parallel between the side frames 16 and 17.
When the recording medium 100 is a passbook, a magnetic stripe 101 indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1 is provided on the bottom surface when the recording surface is opened. The magnetic stripe 101 can record various information magnetically. When the passbook provided with the magnetic stripe 101 is inserted from the manual feed slot 15, the magnetic head 34 scans the magnetic stripe 101 of the passbook to read and write information on the magnetic stripe 101.

As described above, the carriage 19 is slidably inserted into the carriage shaft 31 spanned between the left side frame 16 and the right side frame 17. The carriage 19 is connected to a carriage drive motor 35 (FIG. 9) via a train wheel drive unit (not shown) and a timing belt (not shown), and is moved to the carriage shaft 31 by forward rotation or reverse rotation of the carriage drive motor 35. It travels (scans) along. The scanning direction of the carriage 19 is defined as the main scanning direction.
A recording head 18 is mounted on the carriage 19. The recording head 18 moves integrally with the carriage 19 on the recording surface of the recording medium 100 along the main scanning direction.
Further, a ribbon cartridge 39 accommodated in a state where the ink ribbon is folded is attached to the carriage 19 or the main body frame. A part of the ink ribbon housed in the ribbon cartridge 39 is pulled out and overlaps the tip of the recording head 18. Then, the recording head 18 protrudes the recording wire while running in the main scanning direction and strikes the recording surface of the recording medium 100 via the ink ribbon, and the ink of the ink ribbon is applied to the platen 21 and the recording head 18. The image including characters is recorded on the recording medium 100 attached to the recording medium 100 conveyed between the two.

The projection output of the recording wire protruding from the recording head 18 is received by the platen 21. The platen 21 has a flat surface extending in the traveling direction of the carriage 19 and is elastically supported while being biased toward the recording head 18 by biasing springs 40 (FIG. 3) at both ends in the longitudinal direction. The biasing spring 40 is, for example, a compression coil spring. Due to the urging force of the urging spring 40, the protruding output of the recording wire during the recording operation of the recording head 18 is supported. Further, the recording head 18 is provided with a gap roller 41 on the side of the portion where the recording wire protrudes. The gap roller 41 is a roller that is rotatably supported along the scanning direction of the recording head 18. The lower end of the gap roller 41 is positioned below the tip of the recording head 18 in a state where the recording wire is not driven out, abuts against the platen 21 or the recording medium 100 on the platen 21, and the biasing spring 40 that pushes up the platen 21. Resist the force.
Therefore, in a state where the recording medium 100 is set and an image is recorded by the recording head 18, the gap roller 41, the recording medium 100, and the platen 21 are kept in contact with each other by the biasing force of the biasing spring 40. A gap (gap) is secured between the recording surface of the medium 100 and the recording head 18 by the gap roller 41. Even if the thickness of the recording medium 100 changes during recording, the platen 21 is displaced up and down by that amount, so that the difference in thickness is absorbed and the gap is kept at an appropriate size.

The dot impact printer 10 includes various sensors that detect the position of the recording medium 100 and the like.
As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of alignment sensors 52 are arranged side by side on the front side of the alignment plate 54 protruding between the second transport roller 23 and the carriage 19. The alignment sensor 52 includes, for example, a light emitting unit (such as an LED) and a light receiving unit (such as a phototransistor) that face each other across the conveyance path of the recording medium 100, and detects the presence or absence of the recording medium 100. The alignment sensor 52 detects the presence or absence of the recording medium 100 that has collided with the alignment plate 54 with the alignment plate 54 protruding. Based on the detection state of the alignment sensor 52, the alignment of the recording medium 100 is detected. It can be determined whether the recording medium 100 has been successfully oriented. Further, when the alignment of the recording medium 100 is completed by the alignment sensor 52, the tip of the recording medium 100 is at the position of the alignment plate 54. Therefore, the position of the leading end and the bottom end of the recording medium 100 can be obtained based on the number of operation steps of the transport motor 36 after the alignment sensor 52 detects the completion of alignment.

  A medium width detection sensor 55 is disposed on the rear side of the recording head 18 so as to be positioned above the platen 21. The medium width detection sensor 55 includes, for example, a light emitting unit (LED or the like) and a light receiving unit (phototransistor or the like), and detects the presence or absence of the recording medium 100 on the platen 21. The medium width detection sensor 55 is mounted on the carriage 19 and is scanned on the platen 21 together with the carriage 19. Accordingly, when the carriage 19 is scanned, the presence / absence of the recording medium 100 is detected by the medium width detection sensor 55, and the detected value and the scanning position of the carriage 19 are made to correspond to each other. Can be obtained. Further, the dot impact printer 10 includes an insertion sensor 53 (FIG. 9) disposed on the front side of the second transport roller 23. The insertion sensor 53 includes, for example, a light emitting unit (such as an LED) and a light receiving unit (such as a phototransistor) that face each other across the conveyance path of the recording medium 100, and the presence or absence of the recording medium 100 on the front side of the second conveyance roller 23. That is, the recording medium 100 manually inserted from the manual feed port 15 is detected.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the upper portion of the printer main body 11 is removed. 5 and 6 are enlarged cross-sectional views of the main part of the printer body 11 showing the vicinity of the recording head 18. FIG. 5 shows the upper position and FIG. 6 shows the lower position. FIG. 7 is a principal enlarged perspective view showing the configuration of the end portion of the platen 21, and FIG. 8 is a principal enlarged sectional view in the vicinity of the recording head 18.
As shown in FIG. 4, the dot impact printer 10 includes a sheet guide 60 that guides the recording medium 100 in the conveyance direction. The sheet guide 60 is extended along the reciprocating direction of the recording head 18. The leading end of the sheet guide 60 reaches the upper surface of the platen 21, and the base end of the sheet guide 60 is supported by the guide support unit 70.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the guide support portion 70 includes a guide support shaft 71 that spans the left side frame 16 and the right side frame 17, and a guide support that rotatably supports the guide support shaft 71. A bearing 72 and a guide support shaft 71 are fixed to the end of the right side frame 17 side of the guide support shaft 71 and protrude to the recording head 18 side. 73A, a contact portion 73A that protrudes to the opposite side of 73, a biasing spring 75 that biases the spring receiving plate 73 from below, and a spring accommodating portion 74 that houses the lower part of the biasing spring 75 and supports it from below. It is configured with.
The base end portion of the sheet guide 60 described above is bonded and fixed to the guide support shaft 71 with, for example, a double-sided tape or an adhesive.
A presser lever 76 is disposed adjacent to the guide support portion 70. The presser lever 76 includes a rotary shaft 78 that is rotatably supported by the right side frame 17, a presser protrusion 79 that protrudes from the rotary shaft 78 toward the guide support portion 70, and a side opposite to the presser protrusion 79. A cam contact portion 77 protruding substantially upward is provided. The presser lever 76 is urged counterclockwise in FIGS. 5 and 6 by a presser spring (not shown).
The guide support portion 70 and the presser lever 76 work together to constitute a sheet guide moving means.
The presser protrusion 79 of the presser lever 76 is engaged in a state of being on the spring receiving plate 73 of the guide support part 70.

As described above, the carriage 19 on which the recording head 18 is mounted is driven in the main scanning direction by the carriage drive motor 35 (FIG. 9). During the scanning of the carriage 19, the carriage 19 is in the standby position on the right side frame 17 side. The guide support portion 70 and the presser lever 76 are different from each other.
The guide support portion 70 is urged counterclockwise in FIGS. 5 and 6 about the guide support shaft 71 by the urging force of the urging spring 75 accommodated in the spring accommodating portion 74. Here, the presser spring (not shown) that biases the presser lever 76 is configured to have a stronger biasing force than the biasing spring 75 that biases the guide support portion 70. Therefore, during the scanning of the carriage 19, as shown in FIG. 5, the presser lever 76 is urged by the urging force of the presser spring (not shown), and the presser projection 79 presses the spring receiving plate 73 downward. . Due to this pressing force, the guide support portion 70 rotates clockwise in the figure against the urging force of the urging spring 75, and the spring receiving plate 73 is kept pressed down. Here, the sheet guide 60 is pressed against the platen 21 and is sandwiched between the gap roller 41 of the carriage 19 and the platen 21. The position where the sheet guide 60 is pressed toward the platen 21 in this way is referred to as a lower position.

On the other hand, when the carriage 19 reaches the standby position closest to the right side frame 17, the cam inclined surface 19 </ b> A formed on the side surface of the carriage 19 on the right side frame 17 side contacts the cam contact portion 77. The cam contact portion 77 is pushed downward against the urging force of the presser spring (not shown) as the cam slope 19A approaches, and the presser lever 76 rotates clockwise in the figure. Along with this, the pressing force applied to the spring receiving plate 73 by the pressing protrusion 79 of the pressing lever 76 is released, and the spring receiving plate 73 is pushed up by the urging force of the urging spring 75 instead. Then, the guide support portion 70 rotates counterclockwise in the figure, and the contact portion 73A hits the front seat guide 32 and stops.
For this reason, while the carriage 19 is in the standby position, the guide support portion 70 maintains the state where the spring receiving plate 73 is on the upper side and the contact portion 73A is on the lower side, as shown in FIG. In this state, the sheet guide 60 moves upward and is separated from the platen 21. A state in which the sheet guide 60 is located above and away from the platen 21 is referred to as an upper position.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a slope 21A extending downward is formed at the end of the platen 21 on the right side frame 17 side, and is connected to a terminal portion 21B formed on a plane that is one step lower than the other portions. . When the carriage 19 moves to the standby position, the gap roller 41 moves while contacting the upper surface of the platen 21 and stops at the end portion 21B.
When moving from the lower position to the upper position, the sheet guide 60 moves upward while being sandwiched between the gap roller 41 and the platen 21. In the upper position, the end portion of the seat guide 60 on the right side frame 17 side is sandwiched between the end portion 21B and the gap roller 41, and the other portions are lifted away from the platen 21.

The sheet guide 60 has an effect of guiding the recording medium 100 manually inserted from the manual feed port 15 (FIG. 1) so as to be smoothly conveyed to the lower side of the recording head 18. Further, when the sheet guide 60 uses a stepped material such as a booklet or a passbook having a stitch as the recording medium 100, the gap roller 41 moving in the main scanning direction can smoothly get over the step. It also has.
The sheet guide 60 is in a lower position during image recording on the recording medium 100 to stabilize the recording medium 100, and when recording of the image on the recording medium 100 is completed, line feed or recording medium 100 is discharged. When the recording medium 100 is transported, it moves upward.

When recording an image to the vicinity of the lower end of the recording medium 100, the recording medium 100 stops in a state where the lower end slightly overlaps the front end of the sheet guide 60. At this time, the sheet guide 60 is in the lower position and overlaps the recording medium 100.
In this state, the platen 21 receives a projecting output of a recording wire (not shown) projecting from the recording head 18, so that the platen 21 is vibrated by the projecting output and the biasing force of the biasing spring 40. This vibration causes the recording medium 100 to vibrate up and down, and the lower end of the recording medium 100 may come off from under the sheet guide 60 and ride on the sheet guide 60. Here, when the image recording is completed and the sheet guide 60 moves to the upper position, the lower end of the recording medium 100 is lifted together with the sheet guide 60. When the recording medium 100 is to be ejected in the direction of arrow B with the lower end of the recording medium 100 raised, the recording medium 100 moves toward the sheet guide 60 and collides with the guide support shaft 71. Cause jamming.

  In order to avoid this situation, the dot impact printer 10 once transports the recording medium 100 in the direction of symbol A and ejects the lower end of the recording medium 100 from the sheet guide 60 before discharging the recording medium 100. As shown in FIG. 8, in a state where the recording medium 100 is detached, the recording medium 100 is not lifted when the sheet guide 60 is lifted even if the sheet guide 60 moves from the lower position to the upper position. If the recording medium 100 is discharged after the sheet guide 60 moves to the upper position, the recording medium 100 is reliably conveyed to the manual feed port 15 through the lower part of the sheet guide 60.

  The dot impact printer 10 also controls the drive of the first and second sheet transport mechanisms 24 and 27, the travel control of the carriage 19, the control of the recording operation by the recording wire of the recording head 18, and the reading and writing of the magnetic data reading unit 29. As a control unit for controlling the entire printer 10 such as control, a control board unit 50 is provided, for example, below the rear side of the printer main body 11.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the dot impact printer 10, that is, a functional configuration of each unit included in the control board unit 50. As illustrated in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, the dot impact printer 10 includes a CPU 61, a RAM 63 for temporarily storing programs executed by the CPU 61 and data, a EEPROM 64 for storing control programs executed by the CPU 61, and the like. They are connected to each other via a bus 62. A gate array (G / A) 65 is connected to the bus 62, and the recording head 18, alignment sensor 52, insertion sensor 53, medium width detection sensor 55, and motor driver 66 are connected to the gate array 65. The The gate array 65 acquires the output voltage values of the alignment sensor 52, the insertion sensor 53, and the medium width detection sensor 55, and outputs them to the CPU 61. Further, the gate array 65 drives the recording head 18 under the control of the CPU 61 to cause a recording wire (not shown) provided in the recording head 18 to project. Further, the gate array 65 controls the motor driver 66 under the control of the CPU 61 to drive the carriage drive motor 35, the carry motor 36, the alignment motor 37, and the magnetic motor 38.

  The carriage drive motor 35 is a motor that moves the carriage 19 along the main scanning direction, and the carriage 19 reciprocates as the carriage drive motor 35 rotates forward and backward. The conveyance motor 36 is a motor that rotates the first conveyance roller 22 and the third conveyance roller 25 described above, and the alignment motor 37 is a motor that moves the alignment plate 54 into and out of the conveyance path of the recording medium 100. The magnetic motor 38 is a motor that scans the magnetic data reading unit 29 (FIG. 2). These motors are all stepping motors, and the number of operation steps follows the pulses input from the motor driver 66 to each motor. The number of operation steps of these motors can be monitored more accurately by using a rotary encoder (not shown) or a linear encoder (not shown). Further, the paper position and the paper edge position can be obtained by relating the carriage position obtained from the number of pulses and the output of the sensor.

  The CPU 61 controls the gate array 65 and the motor driver 66 based on a control program stored in the EEPROM 64 and acquires the detection state of each sensor via the gate array 65. For example, the CPU 61 samples these output voltage values of each sensor through a gate array 65 at a predetermined period (for example, 100 [ms (milliseconds)]) and performs A / D conversion to indicate these output voltages. Data is acquired, and the detection state of the recording medium 100 in each sensor is acquired based on this data.

Further, an interface (I / F) 67 connected to an external device of the dot impact printer 10 is connected to the bus 62. The interface 67 includes connectors conforming to various standards such as a serial interface, a parallel interface, a USB interface, and a network card interface, and is connected to an external device via this connector.
A host computer 68 outside the dot impact printer 10 is connected to the interface 67.
The host computer 68 transmits / receives various information to / from the CPU 61 in accordance with the operation of the operator. This information includes various commands such as a control command for instructing the start of recording by the recording head 18, data indicating the position of a recording area where an image is recorded on the recording medium 100, and the like. Here, the data indicating the position of the recording area includes the size of the recording medium 100, the distance from each of the upper end, the lower end, the left end, and the right end of the recording medium 100 to the recording area, the number of lines in the recording area, and per line The number of digits is included.
Note that an operation unit that receives an input operation and a display unit that displays an operation result or the like may be connected to the bus 62.

The operation of the dot impact printer 10 configured as described above will be described.
As described above, the dot impact printer 10 strikes a recording wire (not shown) provided in the recording head 18 through the ink ribbon drawn out from the ribbon cartridge 39, thereby writing characters on the recording surface of the recording medium 100. Record the containing image.
In addition, the dot impact printer 10 operates the transport motor 36 with the sheet guide 60 in the lower position before performing the discharge operation for discharging the recording medium 100 after performing the recording by the recording head 18, and thereby the recording medium 100. Is conveyed in the direction opposite to the manual feed port 15, and the recording medium 100 is separated from the bottom of the sheet guide 60. Then, after the recording medium 100 is detached, the carriage drive motor 35 is operated to move the carriage 19 to the standby position, the sheet guide 60 is moved to the upper position, and then the recording medium 100 is conveyed toward the manual feed port 15. To do.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the dot impact printer 10.
The operation shown in FIG. 10 is realized by the CPU 61 reading and executing the control program stored in the EEPROM 64. When executing the operation shown in FIG. 10, the CPU 61 functions as a control means.
The CPU 61 acquires information transmitted from the host computer 68 after the dot impact printer 10 is turned on (step S11), and extracts and acquires the position of the lower end of the recording area in the recording medium 100 from this information (step S12). ).
Here, the CPU 61 determines whether or not the position of the lower end of the recording area is within a predetermined distance from the lower end of the recording medium 100 (step S13). Is set to convey the recording medium 100 (step S14). Subsequently, the CPU 61 executes image recording on the recording medium 100 (step S15), and after the recording ends, the recording medium 100 is discharged from the manual feed port 15 (step S16). In step S <b> 16, the CPU 61 removes the recording medium 100 from the manual feed port 15 before the discharge operation of the recording medium 100 and with the carriage 19 in a place other than the standby position and the sheet guide 60 in the lower position. Transport away. Then, after the recording medium 100 is conveyed by a predetermined amount and separated from the bottom of the sheet guide 60, the carriage 19 is moved to the standby position to move the sheet guide 60 to the upper position, and then the recording medium 100 is moved to the manual feed slot. Transport toward 15.

  Further, when the position of the lower end of the recording area is separated from the lower end of the recording medium 100 by a predetermined distance (step S13; No), the CPU 61 causes the recording of the image to the recording medium 100 as it is (step S15). After the recording, the recording medium 100 is discharged from the manual feed port 15 (step S16). In this case, the CPU 61 conveys the recording medium 100 toward the manual feed slot 15 in step S16.

As described above, the dot impact printer 10 according to the embodiment to which the present invention is applied moves up and down by the guide support unit 70 on the conveyance path C of the recording medium 100 closer to the manual feed port 15 side than the recording head 18. A sheet guide 60 capable of transporting the recording medium 100 before the discharge operation, the recording medium 100 is transported in a direction away from the manual feed slot 15 with the sheet guide 60 in the lower position, and the recording medium 100 is removed from the sheet guide 60. After that, the sheet guide 60 is moved to the upper position, and the recording medium 100 is discharged.
Thereby, the recording medium 100 does not run on the sheet guide 60 in the discharging operation, and the recording medium 100 can be discharged more reliably and stably.
In addition, since the recording medium 100 is transported to the side opposite to the manual feed port 15 before the recording medium 100 is ejected, the operation is performed only when the lower end of the recording area is within a predetermined distance from the lower end of the recording medium 100. In addition, the recording medium 100 can be more reliably discharged while suppressing a decrease in throughput by reducing unnecessary conveyance operations.

The above-described embodiment is merely an aspect of the present invention, and can be arbitrarily modified and applied within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, it is determined whether or not the position of the lower end of the recording area of the recording medium 100 is within a predetermined distance from the lower end of the recording medium 100 based on information transmitted from the host computer 68. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the amount of conveyance of the recording medium 100 after the alignment plate 54 protrudes into the conveyance path C and the recording medium 100 is aligned, that is, the operation of the conveyance motor 36. It is also possible to determine based on the amount. In this case, while the last line is recorded by the recording head 18, the line position being recorded may be compared with the lower end position of the recording medium 100.
In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the dot impact printer 10 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this and is applied to a recording apparatus incorporated in another device (such as a copying machine). It is also possible to do. In addition, it is needless to say that other detailed configurations according to the above embodiment can be arbitrarily changed.

1 is an external perspective view of a dot impact printer according to an embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows a printer main body. It is a sectional side view of a printer main body. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a state where an upper portion of the printer main body is removed. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the printer main body. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the printer main body. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a printer body. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the printer main body. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of a dot impact printer. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a dot impact printer.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Dot impact printer (recording apparatus), 18 ... Recording head, 19 ... Carriage, 19A ... Cam slope, 21 ... Platen, 24 ... 1st conveyance mechanism part (conveyance means), 27 ... 2nd conveyance mechanism part (conveyance means) , 35 ... Carriage drive motor, 36 ... Conveyance motor (conveyance means), 41 ... Gap roller, 50 ... Control board part, 60 ... Sheet guide, 61 ... CPU (control means), 64 ... EEPROM, 70 ... Guide support part (Sheet guide moving means), 76 ... presser lever (sheet guide moving means), 100 ... recording medium.

Claims (4)

In a recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium by a recording head,
A discharge port for supplying and discharging the recording medium is provided,
Disposed in the outlet side of the recording head in the conveying path of the recording medium, and the sheet guide interposed between the recording head and the recording medium,
Sheet guide moving means for moving the sheet guide in a direction away from the conveyance path of the recording medium;
Conveying means for conveying the recording medium;
By the conveying means, and control means for executing the discharging operation of transporting the recording medium to the discharge port in a state where the sheet guide is separated from the transport path of the recording medium,
Wherein, prior to the discharge operation, when the recording medium is overlapped on the seat guide, away the recording medium by conveying the recording medium in the opposite direction to the said outlet from said sheet guide de And after the recording medium is detached, the sheet guide is moved by the sheet guide moving means in a direction away from the conveyance path of the recording medium, and then the recording medium is conveyed toward the discharge port and discharged. recording apparatus and performs.   The control means is a position where the recording means removes the recording medium from the sheet guide prior to the subsequent discharging operation only when an image is recorded within a predetermined distance from the lower end of the recording medium by the recording head. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium is transported to a position. The sheet guide is positioned on a platen biased toward the recording head at a position facing the recording head, and is configured to be movable in a direction away from the platen by the sheet guide moving means;
The recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. Has a structure to record an image on a recording medium by a recording head, wherein the discharge port for supplying and discharging the recording medium, is disposed in the outlet side of the recording head in the conveying path of the recording medium, said recording medium wherein a control method of a recording apparatus and a sheet guide interposed between the recording head and,
After recording the image by the recording head, prior to the discharge operation of the sheet guide for transporting the recording medium in a state away from the transport path of the recording medium to the outlet, wherein the recording medium is stacked on the sheet guide If it is, the recording medium the allowed from the sheet guide away de the recording medium is conveyed in the opposite direction to the said outlet, said sheet guide by the sheet guide moving means after the recording medium is detached Moving the recording medium in a direction away from the conveyance path, and then conveying the recording medium toward the discharge port to perform a discharge operation ;
A control method for a recording apparatus.

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