JP2003112454A - Roll paper cutting control method and ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) An object of the present invention is to reduce the amount of roll paper that is wasted when recording execution control is interrupted during recording when recording is performed on roll paper in an ink jet recording apparatus. A recording operation is performed on the fed roll paper P (step S1), and it is determined whether or not there is a recording interruption control request in the middle of recording (step S2). If there is no recording interruption control request (No in step S2), it is determined whether or not the recording is finished (step S3). If the recording is not finished (No in step S3), the recording operation is executed. . If the recording has been completed (Y in step S3)
es), the roll paper P is cut at a predetermined cutting position. If there is a recording interruption control request (Yes in step S2)
s) The roll paper P is conveyed to the recording end position in the middle of recording (step S7), and the roll paper P is cut at the recording end position in the middle of recording.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a roll paper cutting control method for an ink jet recording apparatus having a structure capable of executing recording on roll paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet type recording apparatus capable of performing recording on roll paper includes roll paper feeding means capable of feeding roll paper into a paper feed path, and roll paper cutting means such as a roll paper cutter. There is known an inkjet recording apparatus having a structure capable of recording on roll paper and cutting the roll paper after recording at an appropriate cutting position. In such an ink jet recording apparatus, the recording execution control and the roll paper cutting control that are generally performed conventionally are performed by first recording the recording execution area on the roll paper based on the recording paper size information included in the recording data. The cutting position near the end of the recording execution area is determined. Subsequently, recording is executed in the recording execution area of the roll paper by the recording execution means. Then, it is cut at a predetermined cutting position and is discharged by the paper discharging means in the same manner as plain paper such as plain paper.

[0003]

The roll paper cutting control of the ink jet type recording apparatus is performed, for example, when the recording execution control is interrupted during recording by a reset button or the like provided in the ink jet type recording apparatus. Was also cut at a predetermined cutting position. Therefore, the roll paper is cut and discharged at a length that also includes a blank portion where the rest of the recording is not performed. Therefore, the roll paper of the portion where the recording is not performed is wastefully discarded.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and its problem is to perform recording on roll paper by an ink jet recording apparatus, and when recording execution control is interrupted during recording. The goal is to reduce the amount of roll paper that is wasted.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application comprises an operation of ejecting ink onto a recording sheet while reciprocating the recording head in the main scanning direction, and the recording sheet. Is a roll paper cutting control method when recording is performed on roll paper by an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording on the recording paper by alternately repeating the operation of intermittently conveying in the sub-scanning direction, When the recording execution control is performed, the roll paper is cut near the beginning and end of the recording area on the roll paper, and when the recording execution control is interrupted during recording, the roll paper is cut near the recording end during recording. The roll paper cutting control method is characterized in that

As described above, when the recording is interrupted, the roll paper is not near the preset end of the recording area but near the recording end in the middle of recording, that is, near the end of the recording area where the recording is finished. Since the recording is cut off, the margin portion in which the remaining recording is not executed is not wastefully discarded.

Thus, according to the roll paper cutting control method of the present invention, the print execution control is interrupted in the middle of printing when the printing is performed on the roll paper by the ink jet type recording apparatus. At times, it is possible to reduce the amount of roll paper that is wasted.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, in the roll paper cutting control method, after the roll paper is cut, the starting end of the roll paper upstream of the cutting position in the sub-scanning direction is In the roll paper cutting control method, the roll paper is fed backward so as to reach the start position of the recording execution control.

As described above, after the roll paper is cut, the roll paper is fed backward so that the starting end of the roll paper upstream of the cutting position in the sub-scanning direction becomes the start position of the next recording execution control.
Recording can be started immediately at the start of recording on the next roll paper.

Thus, according to the roll paper cutting control method of the invention described in claim 2 of the present application, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1 of the present application, the throughput at the time of executing recording on the roll paper is increased. The effect that it can be improved is obtained.

The invention according to claim 3 of the present application comprises an operation of ejecting ink onto the recording paper while reciprocating the recording head in the main scanning direction, and an operation of intermittently conveying the recording paper in the sub-scanning direction. Recording execution means for alternately and repeatedly executing recording on the recording paper, roll paper cutting means for cutting the roll paper after recording is executed when recording on the roll paper by the recording execution means, and the recording execution An inkjet recording apparatus including a recording control unit that controls a recording medium cutting unit and a roll paper cutting unit, wherein the recording control unit sets predetermined start and end points of a recording execution area on the roll paper during normal recording execution control. The ink jet type recording device characterized in that the roll paper is cut leaving a blank space, and when the recording execution control is interrupted during the recording, the roll paper is cut in the vicinity of the recording end in the middle of recording. It is a device.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus according to the invention described in claim 3 of the present application, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the invention described in claim 1 of the application in the ink jet recording apparatus.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the recording control unit, after cutting the roll paper, has a start end of the roll paper upstream of the cutting position in the sub-scanning direction as follows. The inkjet recording apparatus is characterized in that the roll paper is fed backward so as to reach the start position of the recording execution control.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus according to the invention of claim 4 of the present application, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the invention of claim 2 of the present invention in the ink jet recording apparatus.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the third or fourth aspect, the ink jet recording apparatus is provided with a recording interruption means capable of interrupting the recording execution control by a user's operation. It is a type recording device.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention of the third or fourth aspect of the present invention, the recording execution status of the ink jet type recording apparatus is confirmed. The operation effect that the recording execution control can be immediately interrupted by the user's operation at any time is obtained.

The invention according to claim 6 of the present application comprises an operation of ejecting ink onto the recording paper while reciprocating the recording head in the main scanning direction, and an operation of intermittently conveying the recording paper in the sub-scanning direction. An inkjet provided with a recording execution unit that alternately and repeatedly executes recording on the recording paper, and a roll paper cutting unit that cuts the roll paper after recording when the recording is executed on the roll paper. Is a roll paper cutting control program for controlling roll paper cutting means of a type recording apparatus, and cuts the roll paper leaving a predetermined margin at the beginning and end of the recording execution area on the roll paper during normal recording execution control. A roll paper cutting control program including a procedure and a procedure of cutting the roll paper near the recording end in the middle of recording when the recording execution control is interrupted during recording. It is a lamb.

According to the roll paper cutting control program of the invention described in claim 6, it is possible to obtain the same effects as the invention described in claim 1 of the invention, and the roll paper cutting control program can be obtained. It is possible to bring the same operation and effect as the invention described in claim 1 of the present application to any ink jet recording apparatus capable of executing the above.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the sixth aspect, the roll paper cutting control program is configured such that, after cutting the roll paper, a starting end of the roll paper upstream of the cutting position in the sub-scanning direction is: A roll paper cutting control program having a procedure of feeding the roll paper backward so as to reach the start position of the next recording execution control.

According to the roll paper cutting control program of the invention described in claim 7, it is possible to obtain the same operation and effect as the invention described in claim 2 of the invention, and the roll paper cutting control program can be obtained. It is possible to bring the same effect as the invention described in claim 2 of the present application to any ink jet recording apparatus capable of executing the above.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a side view thereof.

The ink jet type recording apparatus 50 is supported by a carriage guide shaft 51 as a recording means for executing recording on cut sheets such as plain paper and long recording sheets such as roll paper P, and main scanning is performed. A carriage 61 that moves in the direction X is provided. A recording head 62 that carries out recording by ejecting ink onto a recording paper is mounted on the carriage 61.
A platen 52 that faces the recording head 62 and defines a gap between the head surface of the recording head 62 and the recording paper is provided. Then, the carriage 61 is conveyed in the main scanning direction X, and while the recording sheet is conveyed between the carriage 61 and the platen 52 in the sub scanning direction Y, the recording head 62 ejects ink onto the recording sheet to record on the recording sheet. Is done.

The paper feed tray 31 is configured to be capable of feeding cut paper such as plain paper and photo paper, and has an ASF (auto sheet feeder) for automatically feeding cut paper. It is provided. The ASF is a paper feed mechanism having two paper feed rollers 22 provided on the paper feed tray 31 and a separation pad (not shown). The paper feed roller 22 is rotationally controlled by the rotational driving force of a stepping motor or the like, and D
Has a cross-sectional shape of a shape. These two paper feed rollers 22
One is placed on one side of the paper feed tray 31 and the other is
The two paper feed rollers 22 are attached to a recording paper guide 32, and the recording paper guide 32 is slidable in the direction of the arrow indicated by the symbol A according to the width of the recording paper.
It is provided in. Then, due to the rotational driving force of the paper feed roller 22 and the frictional resistance of the separation pad, when the plurality of cut sheets placed on the paper feed tray 31 are fed, the plurality of cut sheets are fed at once. Without it, it is automatically fed one by one accurately.

A roll paper holder 21 is provided behind the paper feed tray 31. Roll paper holder 21
Rotatably supports the roll paper P to which the roll paper support shaft 23 is attached. The roll paper P is fed via the paper feed tray 31 as shown in FIG.

Then, the fed cut paper or roll paper P is fed to the downstream side in the sub-scanning direction Y, which is the recording execution area side, by the conveying roller disposed downstream of the feed roller in the sub-scanning direction. The sheet is intermittently conveyed by a predetermined paper feed amount.

Further, as a recording paper conveying means for intermittently conveying the recording paper in the sub-scanning direction Y, a conveyance driving roller 53 and a conveyance driven roller 54 are provided. Transport drive roller 5
3 is rotationally controlled by the rotational driving force of a stepping motor or the like, and the recording sheet is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction Y by the rotation of the conveyance driving roller 53. A plurality of transport driven rollers 54 are provided, each of which is biased by the transport drive roller 53, and when the recording paper is transported by the rotation of the transport drive roller 53, contacts the recording paper and is driven by the transport of the recording paper. And then rotate.

Further, the paper feed roller 22 and the transport drive roller 5
A paper detector 24 according to a technique known in the prior art is arranged between the sheet detector 3 and the sheet detector 3. The paper detector 24 is provided with a habit of self-returning to a standing posture, and has a lever pivotally supported in a state of protruding in the recording paper conveyance path so as to be rotatable only in the recording paper conveyance direction. When the tip of the lever is pushed by the recording paper, the lever rotates, and the recording paper is detected by the lever.

On the other hand, as a means for ejecting the recorded recording paper, a paper ejection drive roller 55 and a paper ejection driven roller 56 are provided. The paper ejection drive roller 55 is rotationally controlled by the rotational driving force of a stepping motor or the like, and the recording paper is ejected in the sub-scanning direction Y by the rotation of the paper ejection drive roller 55. A plurality of paper ejection driven rollers 56 are provided, have a plurality of teeth around them, and are toothed rollers that are sharply pointed so that the tips of the teeth make point contact with the recording surface of the recording paper. The discharge driving roller 55 and the transport driven roller 54 are individually
When the recording paper is ejected by the rotation of the paper ejection drive roller 55, the recording paper is contacted with the recording paper and is rotated by the ejection of the recording paper when the recording paper is ejected by the rotation of the paper ejection drive roller 55.

A roll paper cutter 57 for cutting the roll paper P is provided on the downstream side of the paper discharge drive roller 55 and the paper discharge driven roller 56 in the sub-scanning direction. The roll paper P is cut after recording is completed. It is cut by the roll paper cutter 57 at the position where it should be. The roll paper cutter 57
In the embodiment, the roll paper is cut from above and below by a sharp blade in the direction of the arrow indicated by the symbol Z, but the present invention can be practiced by other cutting devices such as a rotary cutter. is there.

Further, the ink jet type recording apparatus 50 has a recording interruption button 58 for interrupting the recording being executed.
However, it is arranged at a position where the ink jet recording apparatus 50 can be easily operated. By operating the recording interruption button 58, the recording on the cut paper such as plain paper or the roll paper P which is being executed can be immediately interrupted at any time.

Further, the ink jet type recording apparatus 50 is
The recording control unit 1 is provided. The recording control unit 1 includes a CPU (central processing unit) (not shown), a ROM,
It has a CPU peripheral unit such as RAM, and has a function of executing the control program of the inkjet recording apparatus 50 such as recording execution control and roll paper cutting control to execute the control of the inkjet recording apparatus 50. There is.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flow chart showing the procedure of roll paper cutting control according to the present invention.

First, a recording operation is performed on the fed roll paper P (step S1), and the fed roll paper P is fed by the paper feed drive roller 53 in the recording execution area.
By the drive rotation of the recording medium, the paper is intermittently fed in the sub-scanning direction Y, ink is ejected from the recording head 62 mounted on the carriage 61 that reciprocates in the main scanning direction X, and recording is performed on the recording surface of the roll paper P. To be executed.

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not there is a recording interruption control request during recording (step S2). The recording interruption control request here is, for example, a recording interruption control request by operating a recording interruption button 58 provided in the ink jet recording apparatus 50, a personal computer connected to the ink jet recording apparatus 50, or the like. Means a recording interruption control request or the like from the information processing device (not shown). When there is no recording interruption control request (No in step S2), the presence / absence of recording data is confirmed, and it is determined whether recording is completed (step S3). If there is print data and the printing is not completed (No in step S3), the process returns to step S1 to continue the printing operation.

When the recording is completed without recording data (Yes in step S3), the roll paper P reaches a predetermined cutting position, that is, near the end of the recording area of the predetermined length in the sub-scanning direction on the roll paper. (Step S
4) Then, the roll paper P is cut at the predetermined cutting position (step S5). After the cutting, the roll paper P on the upstream side in the sub-scanning direction reaches the recording execution start position until the start end.
The roll paper P is fed back (step S6).

On the other hand, if there is a recording interruption control request in step S2 (Yes in step S2), the roll paper P is conveyed to the recording end position in the middle of recording (step S7). Then, the roll paper P is cut at the recording end position in the middle of recording (step S5), and after the cutting, the roll paper P is reversed until the start end of the roll paper P on the upstream side in the sub-scanning direction becomes the recording execution start position. (Step S6).

4 to 9 are schematic plan views of the ink jet type recording apparatus 50 showing the process of recording on the roll paper P. As shown in FIG. Hereinafter, a control procedure for executing recording on the roll paper P will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the roll paper P is fed. The roll paper P rotatably supported by the roll paper holder 21 is fed through the paper feed tray 31. Then, as illustrated, the roll paper P is transported by the transport drive roller 53 until the start end of the roll paper P reaches the recording execution start position.

FIG. 5 shows a state where recording is performed on the roll paper P. Ink is ejected from the recording head 62 mounted on the carriage 61 that reciprocates in the main scanning direction X, and the roll paper P is intermittently conveyed in the sub scanning direction Y by the rotation of the conveyance roller 53, and recording is performed. . The shaded area on the recording surface of the roll paper P indicates the recording area that has been recorded, and the same applies hereinafter.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which recording on the roll paper P is completed, and FIG. 7 shows a state in which the roll paper P on which recording is completed is conveyed to a predetermined cutting position. . Then, as shown in FIG. 8, it is cut by the roll paper cutter 57. Also, as shown in FIG.
After the cutting, the roll paper P is fed backward in the direction indicated by the arrow B so that the starting end of the roll paper P on the upstream side in the sub-scanning direction from the cutting position becomes the start position of the next recording execution control.

Next, the control procedure when the recording is interrupted by the operation of the recording interrupt button 58 described above during the recording on the roll paper P will be described. FIG. 10 shows FIG.
The recording is interrupted at the midpoint of the recording, and the roll paper P is conveyed to the position where the roll paper P is cut near the recording end in the middle of recording. Then, as shown in FIG. 11, it is cut by the roll paper cutter 57, and as shown in FIG. 9, after cutting, the starting end of the roll paper P on the upstream side in the sub-scanning direction from the cutting position is the next recording execution control. The roll paper P is fed backward in the direction indicated by the arrow B to reach the start position of.

12 and 13, for reference,
The figure shows roll paper cutting control for executing a normal roll paper cutting control procedure even when a conventional recording is interrupted. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the roll paper P is conveyed and cut to a cutting position including a recording area in which no recording is performed, so that the roll paper P is wastefully discarded. Become.

In this way, when a recording interruption control request is issued during recording, the roll paper P is conveyed to the recording end position in the middle of recording and the roll paper P is cut at the recording end position in the middle of recording. As a result, it is possible to reduce the roll paper P that is wastefully discarded.

The invention of the present application is not limited to the above embodiments, but various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and these are also included in the scope of the invention of the present application. Needless to say.

[0046]

According to the present invention, when the recording is performed on the roll paper by the ink jet type recording apparatus, it is possible to reduce the waste paper which is wastefully discarded when the recording execution control is interrupted during the recording. Will be possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart showing a procedure of roll paper cutting control according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of an ink jet recording apparatus showing a process in which recording is performed on roll paper, showing a state in which roll paper is fed.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of an ink jet recording apparatus showing a process in which recording is performed on roll paper, showing a state in which recording is performed on roll paper.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of an ink jet recording apparatus showing a process of recording on roll paper, showing a state where recording on roll paper is completed.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view of an ink jet recording apparatus showing a process in which recording is performed on roll paper, showing a state in which the roll paper on which recording has been completed is conveyed to a predetermined cutting position.

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view of an ink jet recording apparatus showing a process in which recording is performed on roll paper, showing a state in which the roll paper after recording is cut by a roll paper cutter.

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view of an ink jet recording apparatus showing a process in which recording is performed on roll paper, in which the roll paper is fed backward so that the starting end of the roll paper becomes the start position of the next recording execution control. It shows the state.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view of an ink jet recording apparatus showing a process in which recording is performed on roll paper, in which recording is interrupted at the midpoint of recording and the roll paper is cut near the end of recording during recording. It shows a state in which the roll paper is conveyed to the position.

FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view of the ink jet recording apparatus showing a process in which recording is performed on roll paper, in which the roll paper after recording is cut by a roll paper cutter near the recording end in the middle of recording. Is shown.

FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view of an ink jet recording apparatus showing a process in which recording is performed on roll paper, and after recording is interrupted at a midpoint of recording, the roll paper is set to a predetermined size as in normal recording. It shows the state of being transported to the cutting position.

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view of an ink jet recording apparatus showing a process in which recording is performed on roll paper, showing a state in which the roll paper in the middle of recording is cut at a predetermined cutting position as in normal recording. It is shown.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Recording controller 21 Roll paper holder 22 Paper feed roller 24 paper detector 31 paper tray 32 Recording paper guide 50 inkjet recording device 51 Carriage guide shaft 52 Platen 53 Transport drive roller 54 Transport driven roller 55 Paper ejection drive roller 56 Ejection driven roller 57 roll paper cutter 58 Recording stop button 61 carriage 62 recording head P roll paper X main scanning direction Y sub-scanning direction

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2C056 EA24 EC12 EC13 EC28 EC34                       EC67 FA10 HA29 HA34                 2C058 AC07 AE04 AE09 AF06 AF20                       AF23 AF51 LA03 LA24 LB07                       LB09 LB35 LC11 LC22                 2C060 BA04 BA06 BC03 BC04 BC12                       BC15 BC84                 3F105 AA02 AB04 BA16 BA27 DA51

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An operation of ejecting ink onto recording paper while reciprocating the recording head in the main scanning direction and an operation of intermittently conveying the recording paper in the sub scanning direction are alternately repeated to form the recording paper. It is a roll paper cutting control method when recording is performed on roll paper by an inkjet recording apparatus that executes recording, and during normal recording execution control, a recording area of a predetermined length in the sub-scanning direction on the roll paper is A roll paper cutting control method characterized in that the roll paper is cut near the start end and the end, and when the recording execution control is interrupted during recording, the roll paper is cut near the recording end in the middle of recording. 2. The roll paper cutting control method according to claim 1, wherein after the roll paper is cut, the starting end of the roll paper upstream of the cutting position in the sub-scanning direction is the start position of the next recording execution control. A roll paper cutting control method characterized in that the roll paper is fed backward as described above. 3. An operation of ejecting ink onto the recording paper while reciprocating the recording head in the main scanning direction and an operation of intermittently conveying the recording paper in the sub scanning direction are alternately repeated to form the recording paper. Recording execution means for executing recording, roll paper cutting means for cutting the roll paper after recording is executed when recording is performed on the roll paper by the recording execution means, and the recording execution means and roll paper cutting means And a recording control unit for controlling the recording control unit, wherein the recording control unit is configured to set a predetermined length at the start end and the end of a recording execution region of a predetermined length in the sub-scanning direction on the roll paper during normal recording execution control. Ink jet type, characterized in that the roll paper is cut leaving a blank space, and when the recording execution control is interrupted during recording, the roll paper is cut in the vicinity of the recording end in the middle of recording. Recording device. 4. The recording control unit according to claim 3,
After cutting the roll paper, the roll paper is fed backward so that the start end of the roll paper on the upstream side in the sub-scanning direction from the cutting position becomes the start position of the next recording execution control. Recording device. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus includes a recording interruption unit capable of interrupting recording execution control by a user's operation. 6. An operation of ejecting ink onto the recording paper while reciprocating the recording head in the main scanning direction and an operation of intermittently conveying the recording paper in the sub scanning direction are alternately repeated to form the recording paper. Roll paper cutting means of an ink jet recording apparatus including a recording execution means for executing recording, and a roll paper cutting means for cutting the roll paper after recording when recording is performed on the roll paper by the recording execution means Is a roll paper cutting control program for causing a computer to execute the control of, and during normal print execution control, rolls leaving a predetermined margin at the start end and the end of the print execution area of the predetermined length in the sub-scanning direction on the roll paper. And a procedure of cutting the roll paper near the recording end in the middle of recording when the recording execution control is interrupted during recording. Roll paper cutting control program. 7. The roll paper cutting control program according to claim 6, wherein after the roll paper is cut, the starting end of the roll paper upstream of the cutting position in the sub-scanning direction is the start position of the next recording execution control. A roll paper cutting control program having a procedure for feeding the roll paper backward so that