JP2007118337A - Printer and printer control method - Google Patents

Abstract

A printer capable of generating an appropriate control signal for determining the presence or absence of printing paper to be taken into a printer by a suitable method in accordance with a printing paper taking-in method is provided.
In the printer, during continuous printing in which printing is continuously performed on a plurality of printing papers, the output signal S1 after the timing signal F20 is output changes when the level changes to reach a threshold t1. The control signal S11 for determining presence / absence is determined, and the control signal S11 is generated by a mask reading method in which the mask time T is not changed. In addition, when printing one sheet of paper, the control signal S21 is determined when the output signal S2 after the output of the timing signal F30 changes for the first time reaching the threshold value t1. Then, the control signal S21 is generated by a look-ahead method that does not change until the next timing signal F40.
[Selection] Figure 12

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer and a printer control method.

  2. Related Art Inkjet printers that perform printing by ejecting ink are known as printers that perform printing on printing paper or the like. This type of ink jet printer includes a paper detection device for detecting printing paper taken into the printer (for example, see Patent Document 1). The paper detection apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is an optical detection apparatus that includes a photosensor having a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and a sensor lever that blocks light traveling from the light emitting element to the light receiving element.

JP 2003-72964 A

  Generally, a control unit of a printer determines whether or not there is a print sheet taken in the printer from an output signal from the above-described sheet detection device and a predetermined threshold set for the output signal. Generate a control signal. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, the control unit of the printer sets two values of an output signal S100 from the sheet detection device and a threshold value t100 (upper threshold value t101 and lower threshold value t102) set for the output signal S100. The control signal S101 is generated from the threshold value t100).

  Here, the constituent members inside the printer are easily charged by the passage of printing paper or the like. For this reason, static electricity is likely to be generated in the terminal portions of the photosensors constituting the paper detection device. When this static electricity is generated, an electrical noise caused by the static electricity is generated in the output signal from the paper detection device. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, an electrical noise N100 is generated in the output signal S100 from the paper detection device. Further, a level change C101 occurs in the control signal S101 due to the influence of the electrical noise N100. When this level change C101 occurs, for example, it is erroneously determined that the taking of a certain printing paper is finished and the taking of the next printing paper is started. That is, the electrical noise N100 is a cause of erroneously detecting the presence or absence of printing paper taken into the printer.

  In order to prevent this erroneous detection, the printer is required to have a configuration for eliminating the influence of electrical noise generated in the output signal. On the other hand, in a printer, when printing paper is continuously taken into the printer in order to continuously print on a plurality of printing papers, or only one printing paper is used to print on only one printing paper. There are various methods for taking the printing paper into the printer, such as when it is taken inside. For this reason, even if the same configuration is used as the configuration that is affected by electrical noise, it may not be possible to sufficiently prevent erroneous detection of the presence or absence of printing paper taken into the printer. Therefore, it is not desirable to prevent erroneous detection with the same configuration.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a printer and a printer control method capable of generating an appropriate control signal for determining the presence or absence of printing paper to be taken into the printer by a suitable method according to the printing paper taking-in method. It is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a printer according to the present invention includes a paper detection device that outputs an output signal corresponding to the presence or absence of printing paper that is taken in as an object to be printed, and an output signal and an output signal from the paper detection device. A control signal generator for generating a control signal for determining the presence or absence of printing paper from the threshold value set for the output, and a timing signal for notifying the control signal generator of the timing for determining the leading edge and the trailing edge of the printing paper A timing signal output unit, and the control signal generation unit outputs a timing signal from the timing signal output unit and then outputs from the sheet detection device during continuous printing in which printing is continuously performed on a plurality of print sheets. When the level of the output signal changes to reach the threshold, the control signal is determined, and at least the predetermined mask time thereafter does not change the control signal. At the time of single-sheet printing in which a control signal is generated by the mask reading method and printing is performed on one print sheet, the output signal output from the sheet detection device after the timing signal is output from the timing signal output unit is the threshold value. The control signal is determined when the first level change to reach is established, and the control signal is generated by a look-ahead method that does not change the control signal until at least the next timing signal is output.

  Here, “printing paper” in this specification includes plain paper used for normal document printing, photographic paper used for photo printing, thick paper thicker than plain paper and photographic paper, stickers, A transparent film such as an OHP sheet is also included.

  The printer according to the present invention generates a control signal by a mask reading method during continuous printing in which printing is continuously performed on a plurality of printing papers, and is controlled by a pre-reading method at the time of printing one paper to be printed on one printing paper. Generate a signal. That is, the printer of the present invention generates a control signal by the mask reading method when the printing paper is continuously taken in, and generates the control signal by the pre-reading method when only one printing paper is taken. For this reason, the mask reading method and the pre-reading method for preventing the erroneous detection of the presence or absence of the printing paper taken into the printer are suitable for the printing paper taking method. It is possible to generate an appropriate control signal for determining the presence or absence.

  That is, due to the configuration of the printing paper take-in part in the printer, at the time of printing one sheet, after the timing signal is output, the output signal output from the paper detection device changes the first level to reach the threshold value, and the control signal is Electrical noise is unlikely to occur before confirmation. Therefore, when a single sheet is printed, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not there is a print sheet to be taken into the printer by generating a control signal by a pre-read method. On the other hand, when the printing paper is continuously taken into the printer in order to continuously print on a plurality of printing papers, the state of the paper detection device frequently changes and the timing signal is also frequently output. When the control signal is generated by the look-ahead method, it is difficult to make an appropriate determination based on the relationship between the timing signal output timing and the electrical noise generation timing. On the other hand, when a control signal is generated by the mask reading method, an appropriate mask time can be set in consideration of the time from the detection of the trailing edge of one printing paper to the detection of the leading edge of the next printing paper. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately determine the presence or absence of printing paper.

  Further, when printing one sheet, the control signal is generated by the pre-reading method, so that it is not necessary to count the mask time. Therefore, the control signal generation process is simplified when printing one sheet.

  In the present invention, the control signal generation unit generates a control signal by a pre-reading method when determining the leading edge of the printing paper to be printed first among the plurality of printing papers continuously printed during continuous printing. It is preferable. With this configuration, the control signal generation process is simplified. Also, when determining the leading edge of the second and subsequent sheets during continuous printing, the time from when the trailing edge of the printing paper is detected to when the timing signal that informs the timing for determining the leading edge of the printing paper is output. Since it is short, there may occur a case where an erroneous determination is made based on the relationship between the output timing of the timing signal described above and the generation timing of electrical noise. On the other hand, when determining the leading edge of the printing paper to be printed first, there is no such problem. Therefore, the leading edge of the first printing paper to be printed is generated by generating the control signal by the pre-read method. Judgment can be made appropriately.

  In the present invention, the control signal generation unit generates a control signal by a pre-reading method when determining the trailing edge of the printing paper to be printed last among a plurality of printing papers continuously printed during continuous printing. It is preferable to do. With this configuration, the control signal generation process is simplified. When determining the trailing edge of the second sheet from the first sheet after the first sheet during continuous printing, a timing signal is output to notify the timing for determining the leading edge of the printing paper after detecting the trailing edge of the printing paper. Since the time until it is made is short, a case where an erroneous determination is made as described above may occur. On the other hand, there is no such problem when determining the trailing edge of the last printed paper, so by generating a control signal using the pre-read method, The edge can be determined appropriately.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides a method for controlling a printer including a paper detection device that outputs an output signal corresponding to the presence or absence of a print paper to be taken in as an object to be printed. When performing continuous printing on paper, the output signal output from the paper detection device after the timing signal that informs the timing of judging the leading and trailing edges of the printing paper is set for the output signal. The control signal is determined when the level reaches a threshold value to be controlled, and at least a predetermined mask time thereafter is controlled based on the control signal generated by the mask reading method that does not change the control signal. When printing one sheet of printing paper, the output signal output from the paper detection device after the timing signal is output first reaches the threshold value. When the level changes, to confirm the control signal, and performing at least until the next timing signal is output, the control on the basis of the generated control signal in pre-reading method does not change the control signal.

  In the printer control method of the present invention, control is performed based on the control signal generated by the mask reading method during continuous printing, and control is performed based on the control signal generated by the pre-reading method when printing one sheet. For this reason, the mask reading method and the pre-reading method for preventing the erroneous detection of the presence or absence of the printing paper taken into the printer are suitable for the printing paper taking method. An appropriate control signal for determining the presence or absence is generated, and the printer can be controlled based on the control signal. Also, the control signal generation process is simplified when printing one sheet.

  Hereinafter, a printer and a printer control method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Schematic configuration of the printer)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a printer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing a schematic configuration of a portion related to paper feeding of the printer 1 of FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a detection mechanism of the carriage 3 of FIG. 1 and the PF drive roller 6 of FIG. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing the configuration of the paper detection device 14 shown in FIG. 2, wherein FIG. 4A is a side view and FIG. 4B is a plan view. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing a schematic configuration of the disk tray 85 of FIG. 2 and its peripheral portion. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing a schematic configuration of the disc tray 85 and its peripheral portion from the XX direction of FIG. 7 is a schematic front view showing a schematic configuration of the guide detection device 90 and its peripheral part from the Y direction of FIG. 6, (A) shows a state in which the guide detection device 90 is on, and (B) shows guide detection. The device 90 is shown in an off state. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a part of the gap adjusting mechanism 70 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a side view showing a part of the gap adjusting mechanism 70 of FIG. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the gap adjusting mechanism 70 of FIG.

  The printer 1 of this embodiment is an ink jet printer that performs printing by ejecting liquid ink onto an optical disk D such as a printing paper P, a CD, or a DVD that is a printing object. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the printer 1 of this embodiment includes a carriage 3 on which a print head 2 that ejects ink droplets is mounted, and a carriage motor (CR motor) 4 that drives the carriage 3 in the main scanning direction MS. And a paper feed motor (PF motor) 5 that transports the printing paper P in the sub-scanning direction SS, a PF driving roller 6 connected to the PF motor 5, and a nozzle surface of the print head 2 (the lower surface in FIG. 2). A platen 7 as an opposing member arranged so as to be arranged, and a main body chassis 8 on which these configurations are mounted. In this embodiment, both the CR motor 4 and the PF motor 5 are direct current (DC) motors.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the printer 1 includes a hopper 11 on which the printing paper P before printing is placed, and a paper feed roller for taking the printing paper P placed on the hopper 11 into the printer 1. 12, a separation pad 13, a paper guide plate 30 for guiding the leading edge of the printing paper P taken into the printer 1 from the hopper 11 to the PF driving roller 6, and a printing paper taken into the printer 1 from the hopper 11 A paper detection device 14 for detecting the passage of P and a paper discharge driving roller 15 for discharging the print paper P from the inside of the printer 1 are provided.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, the printer 1 includes a disk tray 85 on which the optical disk D is placed, and two tray guides 86 that guide the disk tray 85 to the inside of the printer 1. 86. Further, the printer 1 of this embodiment includes a gap adjusting mechanism 70 that adjusts the gap between the nozzle surface of the print head 2 and the platen 7 as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10. In the printer 1 according to the present embodiment, the gap between the nozzle surface of the print head 2 and the platen 7 is adjusted according to the thickness of the printing paper P or the like.

  The carriage 3 is configured to be transportable in the main scanning direction MS by a guide shaft 17 supported by a support frame 16 fixed to the main body chassis 8 and a timing belt 18. That is, a part of the timing belt 18 is fixed to the carriage 3 (see FIG. 2), and the pulley 19 attached to the output shaft of the CR motor 4 and the pulley 20 attached rotatably to the support frame 16 It is arrange | positioned so that it may have fixed tension in the state hung over. The guide shaft 17 slidably holds the carriage 3 so as to guide the carriage 3 in the main scanning direction MS. In addition to the print head 2, an ink cartridge 21 that stores various inks supplied to the print head 2 is mounted on the carriage 3.

  The print head 2 is provided with a plurality of nozzles (not shown). The print head 2 is provided with a piezoelectric element (not shown) that is one of electrostrictive elements and has excellent responsiveness so as to correspond to each nozzle, for example. More specifically, the piezoelectric element is disposed at a position in contact with a wall surface that forms an ink passage (not shown). When the wall surface is pushed by the operation of the piezo element, the print head 2 ejects ink droplets from the nozzles disposed at the end of the ink passage. As described above, in this embodiment, the print head 2 is an ink ejection unit that ejects liquid ink onto the printing paper P. The ink cartridge 21 contains, for example, dye-based ink with good color development and excellent image quality, pigment-based ink with excellent water resistance and light resistance, and the like. Is done.

  The paper feed roller 12 is connected to the PF motor 5 through a gear (not shown) and is driven by the PF motor 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the hopper 11 is a plate-like member on which the printing paper P can be placed, and can swing around a rotation shaft 22 provided on the upper portion by a cam mechanism (not shown). ing. The lower end portion of the hopper 11 is elastically pressed against the paper feed roller 12 by the cam mechanism and is separated from the paper feed roller 12. The separation pad 13 is formed of a member having a high friction coefficient, and is disposed at a position facing the paper feed roller 12. When the paper feed roller 12 rotates, the surface of the paper feed roller 12 and the separation pad 13 are pressed against each other. Therefore, when the paper feeding roller 12 rotates, the uppermost printing paper P among the printing paper P placed on the hopper 11 passes through the pressure contact portion between the surface of the paper feeding roller 12 and the separation pad 13. Although it is sent to the paper discharge side, the printing paper P placed on the second and subsequent pages from the top is prevented from being conveyed to the paper discharge side by the separation pad 13.

  The PF drive roller 6 is connected to the PF motor 5 directly or via a gear not shown. As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 1 is provided with a PF driven roller 23 that conveys the printing paper P together with the PF drive roller 6. The PF driven roller 23 is rotatably held on the paper discharge side of the driven roller holder 24 configured to be swingable about the rotation shaft 25. The driven roller holder 24 is urged counterclockwise by an unillustrated spring so that the PF driven roller 23 always receives the urging force toward the PF drive roller 6. When the PF driving roller 6 is driven, the PF driven roller 23 is rotated together with the PF driving roller 6.

  The paper detection device 14 outputs an output signal corresponding to the presence or absence of the print paper P. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the sheet detection device 14 includes a detection lever 26 and a photo sensor 27, and is provided in the vicinity of the driven roller holder 24. As shown in FIG. 4B, the photosensor 27 includes a light emitting unit 45 having a light emitting element (not shown) and a light receiving unit 46 having a light receiving element (not shown). The detection lever 26 is configured to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 28. When the printing paper P is taken into the printer 1, the detection lever 26 is in a state indicated by a solid line in FIG. When the printing paper P is not taken into the printer 1, the detection lever 26 is in a state indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. That is, in the state indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4A, when the leading edge of the printing paper P taken into the printer 1 comes into contact with the lower end side of the detection lever 26, the solid line in FIG. As described above, the detection lever 26 rotates in the clockwise direction, and the light from the light emitting unit 45 that has been blocked by the detection lever 26 is detected by the light receiving unit 46. While the printing paper P passes under the detection lever 26, the light from the light emitting unit 45 is detected by the light receiving unit 46. When the trailing edge of the printing paper P is disengaged from the lower end side of the detection lever 26 and the printing paper P has passed through the lower side of the detection lever 26, the detection lever 26 rotates counterclockwise, and the light emitting unit 45 To the light receiving unit 46 is blocked. In this way, the paper detection device 14 outputs an output signal corresponding to the presence or absence of the print paper P taken into the printer 1 in order to detect the passage of the print paper P.

  The paper discharge drive roller 15 is disposed on the paper discharge side of the printer 1 and is connected to the PF motor 5 via a gear (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 1 is provided with a paper discharge driven roller 29 that discharges the printing paper P together with the paper discharge driving roller 15. Similarly to the PF driven roller 23, the paper discharge driven roller 29 is always urged toward the paper discharge drive roller 15 by a spring (not shown). When the paper discharge driving roller 15 is driven, the paper discharge driven roller 29 is rotated together with the paper discharge driving roller 15.

  At the time of printing on the optical disk D, as shown in FIG. 2, the disk tray 85 enters and exits the printer 1 from the front side of the printer 1 (the front side in FIG. 1). The PF drive roller 6, the platen 7, the paper guide plate 30, the paper discharge drive roller 15, and the like are not shown in the figure by an elevating mechanism (not shown) so that the disk tray 85 does not hinder the entrance and exit of the printer 1. 2 is lowered from the state shown in FIG. That is, when the PF drive roller 6, the platen 7, the paper guide plate 30, the paper discharge drive roller 15, etc. are lowered from the print state on the print paper P shown in FIG. 2, the printer 1 receives the disc tray 85. And printing on the optical disk D becomes possible.

  2 and 3, the printer 1 is a linear encoder having a linear scale 31 and a photosensor 32 as a position detection device that detects the position of the carriage 3 and the speed of the carriage 3 in the main scanning direction MS. 33 is provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the printer 1 determines the position of the printing paper P in the sub-scanning direction SS, the conveyance speed of the printing paper P, and the like (specifically, the rotational position and rotational speed of the PF drive roller 6). As a position detection device for detection, a rotary encoder 36 having a rotary scale 34 and a photosensor 35 is provided. Signals output from the linear encoder 33 and the rotary encoder 36 are input to the control unit 37 as shown in FIG. 3, and various controls of the printer 1 are performed. In FIG. 1, the linear scale 31 and the like are not shown for convenience.

  The photosensor 32 constituting the linear encoder 33 includes a light emitting unit 41 and a light receiving unit 42, as shown in FIGS. The photosensor 32 is fixed to the back surface of the carriage 3 (the surface on the back side of the paper in FIG. 1). The linear scale 31 is formed in a long shape (elongated linear shape) from a thin plate such as a transparent resin or a thin steel plate made of stainless steel. The linear scale 31 is attached to the support frame 16 in parallel with the main scanning direction MS. The linear scale 31 includes a light-transmitting part (not shown) that transmits light from the light-emitting part 41 of the photosensor 32 and a light-shielding part (not shown) that blocks light from the light-emitting part 41 of the photosensor 32. Are alternately formed along the longitudinal direction.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the photosensor 35 constituting the rotary encoder 36 includes a light emitting unit 81 and a light receiving unit 82, and is fixed to the main chassis 8 or the like via a bracket (not shown). The rotary scale 34 is a thin steel plate made of stainless steel or a thin plate made of a transparent resin, and is formed in a disk shape. The rotary scale 34 of this embodiment is attached to the PF drive roller 6 so as to rotate integrally with the PF drive roller 6. That is, when the PF drive roller 6 makes one revolution, the rotary scale 34 also makes one revolution. The rotary scale 34 has a light transmitting part (not shown) that transmits light from the light emitting element of the photosensor 35 and a light shielding part (not shown) that blocks light from the light emitting element of the photosensor 35. They are formed alternately along the circumferential direction.

  The disc tray 85 is a box-like member in which a placement portion for the optical disc D is formed, as shown in FIG. The disc tray 85 is moved in and out of the printer 1 by being moved in the vertical direction in FIG. 5 (left and right direction in FIG. 6) by a tray motor (not shown). As shown in FIG. 5, one tray guide 86 is provided on each side of the disc tray 85 in the main scanning direction MS. Each of the two tray guides 86 and 86 is rotatable about a fixed shaft 88 as a rotation center. The two tray guides 86 and 86 are manually rotated (user). The state indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6 is the state of the tray guides 86 and 86 when printing on the printing paper P is performed. Further, the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 6 is the state of the tray guides 86 and 86 when printing on the optical disc D is performed. That is, when the user rotates the two tray guides 86 and 86 around the fixed shaft 88 from the state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6, the state shown by the solid line in FIG. The tray guides 86, 86 are configured to guide the disc tray 85. The tray guides 86 and 86 are positioned and fixed by a coil spring (not shown) in the state indicated by the solid line in FIG. 6 and the state indicated by the two-dot chain line. In FIG. 5, the disc tray 85 is inserted into the printer 1 by moving the disc tray 85 upward, and in FIG. 6, the disc tray 85 is moved leftward. The tray motor (not shown) is, for example, a DC motor.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, on the front side of the printer 1, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, a tray detection device 89 for detecting that the disk tray 85 has been taken into the printer 1, two tray guides 86, Two guide detection devices 90 and 90 for detecting the state of 86 are provided.

  The tray detection device 89 is a mechanical contact switch composed of a switch lever 89a and a contact portion 89b. In this tray detection device 89, the disk tray 85 moves to the left side in FIG. 6 and comes into contact with the switch lever 89a. When the switch lever 89a rotates clockwise by a predetermined angle (that is, inside the printer 1) 85), the contact (not shown) of the contact portion 89b is turned on, and the disk tray 85 is positioned on the right side of FIG. 6 and is not in contact with the switch lever 89a (that is, the inside of the printer 1). If the disc tray 85 is not taken in), the contact of the contact portion 89b is turned off. As described above, the tray detection device 89 outputs an output signal corresponding to whether or not the disc tray 85 has been taken into the printer 1 (that is, depending on whether or not the disc tray 85 is present in the printer 1). .

  As with the tray detection device 89, the guide detection device 90 is also a mechanical contact switch that includes a switch lever 90a and a contact portion 90b. In the guide detection device 90, when the tray guide 86 is in the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 6, the tray guide 86 abuts on the switch lever 90a as shown in FIG. The angle contact and the contact (not shown) of the contact portion 90b are turned on. In the state indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6, the tray guide 86 is separated from the switch lever 90a. That is, the guide detection device 90 is in the state shown in FIG. 7B, and the contact of the contact portion 90b is in the off state. As described above, the guide detection device 90 outputs an output signal according to the state of the tray guide 86 (that is, according to whether or not the disk tray 85 can be guided).

  As shown in FIG. 8, the gap adjusting mechanism 70 is configured to raise and lower the guide shaft 17 relative to the support frame 16 by a cam mechanism. The gap adjusting mechanism 70 is provided on both sides of one side (right side in FIG. 1) 16a and the other side (left side in FIG. 1) 16b of the support frame 16. Hereinafter, the configuration of the gap adjustment mechanism 70 will be described by taking the gap adjustment mechanism 70 provided on the one side surface 16a side of the support frame 16 as an example. As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the gap adjusting mechanism 70 includes an eccentric cam 71 fixed to one end portion (right end portion in FIG. 1) side of the guide shaft 17 and a first end fixed to the one end portion of the guide shaft 17. 1 driven gear 72, a gear wheel train 74 for transmitting the power of a drive motor 73 (hereinafter referred to as "PG motor 73") to the first driven gear 72, and one side 16a. Gap detection for detecting the rotational position of the eccentric cam 71 (that is, the gap between the nozzle surface of the print head 2 and the platen 7) having a fixed pin 75 with which the cam surface 71a abuts, a detection plate 76 and a photo sensor 77. A device 79 and a second driven gear 78 connected to the gear train 74 and rotating the detection plate 76 are provided. The PG motor 73 in this embodiment is a DC motor.

  As shown in FIG. 8, an elongated through hole 16 c that is long in the vertical direction is formed on one side surface 16 a of the support frame 16. The guide shaft 17 is inserted through the through hole 16c. An eccentric cam 71 and a first driven gear 72 are fixed in this order from the inside to the end of the guide shaft 17 protruding from the one side surface 16a. The fixed pin 75 is fixed to the lower side of the through hole 16c, and the cam surface 71a of the eccentric cam 71 is in contact with the fixed pin 75 with a predetermined contact force due to the weight of the carriage 3 or the like. The cam surface 71a of the eccentric cam 71 is formed so that the radius with respect to the rotation center changes stepwise. For example, the radius of the cam surface 71a with respect to the rotation center of the eccentric cam 71 is a circle so that the position in the height direction of the print head 2 (that is, the gap between the nozzle surface of the print head 2 and the platen 7) can be set in five stages. It changes in five stages in the circumferential direction.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the detection plate 76 is formed in a disk shape and includes a plurality of detection units 76 a to 76 f extending outward in the circumferential direction. For example, the detection plate 76 includes six detection units 76a to 76f. The detection plate 76 is fixed to the second driven gear 78 via a predetermined shaft or the like, and rotates integrally with the second driven gear 78. The photo sensor 77 includes a light emitting unit 83 and a light receiving unit 84, and the detection units 76 a to 76 f are arranged so as to pass between the light emitting unit 83 and the light receiving unit 84.

  In the gap adjusting mechanism 70, when the PG motor 73 rotates, the driving force of the PG motor 73 is transmitted to the first driven gear 72 via the gear wheel train 74, and together with the first driven gear 72, the guide shaft 17 and the eccentric cam 71. Rotates. When the eccentric cam 71 rotates, the distance between the guide shaft 17 serving as the center of rotation of the eccentric cam 71 and the fixing pin 75 with which the cam surface 71a of the eccentric cam 71 abuts varies, and the guide shaft 17 with respect to the support frame 16 changes. Goes up and down. That is, the carriage 3 moves up and down. The driving force of the PG motor 73 is also transmitted to the second driven roller 78 via the gear train 74, and the detection plate 76 rotates integrally with the second driven gear 78.

  In this embodiment, when any of the detection units 76a to 76f blocks light from the light emitting unit 83 to the light receiving unit 84, the height of the print head 2 is a predetermined set height. That is, when any of the detection units 76a to 76f blocks light traveling from the light emitting unit 83 to the light receiving unit 84, the gap between the nozzle surface of the print head 2 and the platen 7 is set to the thickness of the printing paper P or the like. This is a predetermined setting gap. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when the detection unit 76e blocks light from the light emitting unit 83 toward the light receiving unit 84, the height of the print head 2 is the first height. Here, when the height of the print head 2 when the detection unit 76f blocks the light traveling from the light emitting unit 83 to the light receiving unit 84 is the second height, the height of the print head 2 is changed from the first height. When changing to the second height, the eccentric cam 71 is rotated by the PG motor 73. With the rotation of the eccentric cam 71, the detection plate 76 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. Then, when the detection unit 76f blocks light traveling from the light emitting unit 83 to the light receiving unit 84, the PG motor 73 stops, and the height of the print head 2 becomes the second height. As described above, the gap detection device 79 is configured to output an output signal corresponding to the set height of the print head 2 serving as a detection object.

(Schematic configuration of printer control unit)
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the control unit 37 and its peripheral devices shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the control unit 37 includes a bus 48, a CPU 49, a ROM 50, a RAM 51, a character generator (CG) 52, a nonvolatile memory 53, an ASIC 54, a DC unit 55, a PF motor driving circuit (PF motor driver) 56, A CR motor drive circuit (CR motor driver) 57, a PG motor drive circuit (PG motor driver) 58, a tray motor drive circuit (tray motor driver) 59, a head drive circuit (head driver) 61, and the like are provided. The output signals from the linear encoder 33, the rotary encoder 36, and the like described above are input to the CPU 49, the ASIC 54, and the like.

  The CPU 49 performs arithmetic processing for executing the control program for the printer 1 stored in the ROM 50, the nonvolatile memory 53, and the like and other necessary arithmetic processing. The ROM 50 stores a control program for controlling the printer 1 and data necessary for processing.

  The RAM 51 temporarily stores programs being executed by the CPU 49 and data being calculated. In the CG 52, a dot pattern corresponding to the print signal input to the ASIC 54 is developed and stored. The nonvolatile memory 53 stores various data that needs to be saved even after the printer 1 is turned off.

  The ASIC 54 controls various motors such as the CR motor 4 and the PF motor 5 and the print head 2 through the DC unit 55 and the head drive circuit 61. The ASIC 54 includes a parallel interface circuit, and is configured to receive a print signal supplied from the computer 63 or the like via the interface 62. The ASIC 54 includes a 1 kHz (kilohertz) timer and a 1 MHz (megahertz) timer (not shown).

  The ASIC 54 receives an output signal from the paper detection device 14, and the ASIC 54 determines whether or not the print paper P is taken into the printer 1 based on the input output signal and a threshold set for the output signal. A control signal for determination is generated. Similarly, each output signal from the gap detection device 79, the tray detection device 89, and the guide detection device 90 is input to the ASIC 54, and the ASIC 54 is set for each input output signal and each output signal. A control signal for determining the position of the print head 2, a control signal for determining the presence or absence of the disc tray 85, and a control signal for determining the state of the tray guide 86 are generated from the threshold. That is, in this embodiment, a part of the ASIC 54 is set for the output signals output from the paper detection device 14, the gap detection device 79, the tray detection device 89, and the guide detection device 90, and the respective output signals. This is a control signal generation unit that generates control signals for determining the states of the printing paper P, the print head 2, the disk tray 85, and the disk guide 86 from the threshold values. Further, in this embodiment, a part of the ASIC 54 is a timing signal that informs the control signal generation unit of the determination timing of the state of the print paper P, the print head 2, and the disk tray 85 that are detection objects when generating the control signal. Is a timing signal output unit for outputting. Details of the method of generating each control signal and the timing signal will be described later.

  The DC unit 55 is a control circuit for performing speed control of the CR motor 4, the PF motor 5, and the PG motor 73 that are DC motors. The DC unit 55 performs various calculations for controlling the speed of the CR motor 4, the PF motor 5, the PG motor 73, etc. based on the operation command signal of the motor sent from the ASIC 54, and based on the calculation results. The motor control signal is output to the PF motor drive circuit 56, the CR motor drive circuit 57, the PG motor drive circuit 58, and the tray motor drive circuit 59. In this embodiment, as a control method for the CR motor 4 and the PF motor 5, the current rotational speed of the CR motor 4 or the PF motor 5 is converged to the target rotational speed by combining proportional control, integral control, and differential control. PID control to control is adopted. That is, in this embodiment, the DC unit 55 outputs a PID control signal based on the output signal from the linear encoder 33 to the CR motor drive circuit 57, and outputs the PID control signal based on the output signal from the rotary encoder 36 to the PF motor. Output to the drive circuit 56.

  The PF motor drive circuit 56 drives and controls the PF motor 5 by a motor control signal from the DC unit 55. In this embodiment, for example, PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control is employed as a method for controlling the PF motor 5, and the PF motor drive circuit 56 outputs a PWM drive signal. Similarly, the CR motor drive circuit 57, the PG motor drive circuit 58, and the tray motor drive circuit 59 also drive and control the CR motor 4, the PG motor 73, and the like by a motor control signal from the DC unit 55. In the present embodiment, the CR motor 4 and the PG motor 73 are controlled by PWM control similarly to the PF motor 5.

  The head drive circuit 61 drives the nozzles (not shown) of the print head 2 based on operation commands and the like sent from the CPU 49 and the ASIC 54.

  The bus 48 is a signal line that connects the components of the control unit 37 described above. The CPU 49, the ROM 50, the RAM 51, the CG 52, the nonvolatile memory 53, the ASIC 54, and the like are connected to each other by the bus 48, and are configured to exchange data between them.

(Outline of printer operation)
In the printer 1 configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 2, the printing paper P is printed with the PF drive roller 6, the platen 7, the paper guide plate 30, the paper discharge drive roller 15 and the like raised. . During printing of the printing paper P, the printing paper P taken into the printer 1 from the hopper 11 by the paper feed roller 12 and the separation pad 13 is sub-scanned in the sub-scanning direction SS by the PF driving roller 6 rotated by the PF motor 5. The carriage 3 driven by the CR motor 4 reciprocates in the main scanning direction MS. When the carriage 3 reciprocates, ink droplets are ejected from the print head 2 and printing on the printing paper P is performed. When printing on the printing paper P is completed, the printing paper P is discharged to the outside of the printer 1 by the paper discharge drive roller 15 and the like. When printing the printing paper P, the paper detection device 14 outputs an output signal corresponding to the presence or absence of the printing paper P taken into the printer 1. Based on the control signal generated from the output signal, the printer 1 performs predetermined control of the print head 2, the PF drive roller 6, and the like.

  In the printer 1, when the optical disk D is printed, the PF drive roller 6, the platen 7, the paper guide plate 30, the paper discharge drive roller 15, etc. are lowered from the state shown in FIG. Further, the user rotates the tray guides 86 and 86 so that the tray guides 86 and 86 change from the state indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6 to the state indicated by the solid line in FIG. Thereafter, the carriage 3 driven by the CR motor 4 reciprocates in the main scanning direction MS while the optical disk D placed on the disk tray 85 is taken into the printer 1 from the front side by a tray motor (not shown). . When the carriage 3 reciprocates, ink droplets are ejected from the print head 2 and printing on the optical disc D is performed. When printing on the optical disk D is completed, the optical disk D is ejected to the front side of the printer 1 by the tray motor. At the time of printing the optical disc D, the tray detection device 89 outputs an output signal corresponding to the presence or absence of the disc tray 85, and the guide detection device 90 outputs an output signal corresponding to the state of the tray guide 86. Based on the control signals generated from these output signals, the printer 1 performs predetermined control of the print head 2, the tray motor, and the like.

  When printing the print paper P or the like, the gap between the nozzle surface of the print head 2 and the platen 7 is adjusted by the gap adjustment mechanism 70 as necessary. For example, when the thickness of the printing paper P is changed, the gap between the nozzle surface of the print head 2 and the platen 7 is adjusted. At the time of this adjustment, the gap detection device 79 outputs an output signal corresponding to the position of the print head 2. Based on the control signal generated from the output signal, the printer 1 performs predetermined control of the print head 2, the PF drive roller 6, and the like.

(Control signal generation method)
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the relationship between the waveform of the output signal from the paper detection device 14 of FIG. 4 and the waveform of the control signal for determining the presence or absence of the printing paper P. FIG. Shows the waveform of the output signal S1 from the paper detection device 14 at the time of continuous printing, (B) shows the waveform of the control signal S11 at the time of continuous printing, and (C) shows the time of printing one sheet on one printing paper P. The waveform of the output signal S2 from the paper detection device 14 in FIG. 4 is shown, and (D) shows the waveform of the control signal S21 when printing one sheet. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the relationship between the waveform of the output signal from the gap detection device 79 in FIG. 10 and the waveform of the control signal for determining the position of the print head 2, and FIG. (B) shows the waveform of the control signal S31. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the relationship between the waveform of the output signal from the tray detection device 89 of FIG. 5 and the waveform of the control signal for determining the presence or absence of the disk tray 85. FIG. (B) shows the waveform of the control signal S41. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the relationship between the waveform of the output signal from the guide detection device 90 of FIG. 5 and the waveform of the control signal for determining the state of the tray guide 86. FIG. (B) shows the waveform of the control signal S51.

  Hereinafter, a control signal for determining the presence or absence of the printing paper P taken into the printer 1, a control signal for determining the position of the print head 2, a control signal for determining the presence or absence of the disk tray 85, and a tray guide A method for generating a control signal for determining the state 86 will be sequentially described.

  First, a method for generating a control signal for determining the presence or absence of the printing paper P taken into the printer 1 will be described. In the present embodiment, a control signal generation method at the time of continuous printing in which printing is continuously performed on a plurality of printing papers P, and a control signal generation method at the time of single-sheet printing in which printing is performed on one printing paper P Is different. Also, during continuous printing, a control signal generation method for determining the leading edge of the first printing paper P and the trailing edge of the last printing paper P, and the first and second printing paper from the last to the last printing paper P The control signal generation method for determining the trailing edge of P and the leading edge of the second and subsequent printing sheets P is different.

  First, a method for generating a control signal during continuous printing will be described. In the following, a method for generating a control signal during continuous printing will be described by taking as an example a case where continuous printing is performed on three printing papers P. In this embodiment, as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4A, when the detection lever 26 blocks light traveling from the light emitting unit 45 to the light receiving unit 46, the paper detection device 14 outputs a low level output signal. 4B, when the light from the light emitting unit 45 is received by the light receiving unit 46, the paper detection device 14 outputs a high level output signal. Therefore, at the time of continuous printing, for example, the paper detection device 14 outputs an output signal S1 having a waveform shown in FIG. At the time of printing one sheet, for example, the paper detection device 14 outputs an output signal S2 having a waveform shown in FIG.

  Here, in the output signal S1 shown in FIG. 12A, an electric noise of almost the same magnitude is generated every time the output signal S1 changes from a low level to a high level or from a high level to a low level. N1 to N6 are generated once each. The noises N1 to N6 are for convenience of explanation, and noises are not always generated every time the level of the output signal S1 changes. Further, the magnitude of noise is not uniform, and the number of occurrences of noise after a level change is not always one. The same applies to the noises N7 to N14 in FIG. 12C and FIGS. Actually, during continuous printing, when the trailing edge of a certain printing paper P comes off the lower end side of the detection lever 26 and the leading edge of the next printing paper P comes into contact with the lower end side of the detection lever 26, the paper detection device 14. Noise is likely to occur in the output signal S1 from. That is, when the detection lever 26 swings, noise is likely to occur in the output signal S1.

  A predetermined threshold t1 is set for the output signal S1 from the paper detection device 14 as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, a threshold value t1 having an upper threshold value t11 and a lower threshold value 12 is set. Then, a digital control signal S11 for determining the presence or absence of the printing paper P taken into the printer 1 from the output signal S1 and the threshold value t1 is generated. These processes are performed by the control signal generator of the ASIC 54. In this embodiment, when the control signal S11 is at a high level, it is determined that the printing paper P has been taken into the printer 1 (that is, there is the printing paper P). It is determined that the printing paper P is not taken in (that is, there is no printing paper P).

  The timing signal output unit of the ASIC 54 outputs timing signals F10 to F12 and F20 to F22 that notify the control signal generation unit of the determination timing for determining the leading edge and the trailing edge of the printing paper P. As shown in FIG. 12A, the timing signals F10 to F12 are signals that inform the control signal generation unit of the determination timing of the leading edge of the printing paper P. The timing signals F <b> 10 to F <b> 12 are, for example, operation command signals to the paper feed roller 12 for taking the printing paper P into the printer 1. Timing signals F20 to F22 are signals that inform the control signal generation unit of the determination timing of the trailing edge of the printing paper P.

  When determining the leading edge of the first printing paper P during continuous printing, an output signal output from the paper detection device 14 after a timing signal (operation command signal to the paper feed roller 12) F10 is output. When S1 has made a predetermined number of level changes that reach the threshold value t1 (in this case, once, that is, when the first level change has reached the threshold value t1), the control signal S11 is determined and the next timing signal Until the timing signal F20 is output, the control signal S11 is generated by a look-ahead method that does not change the control signal S11. That is, as shown in FIG. 12A, at the time point R1 when the level of the output signal S1 after the timing signal F10 is output first becomes higher than the lower threshold t12, the control signal S11 is at the low level. The level does not change until the timing signal F20 is output after the level is changed from high to low. Therefore, even if noise N1 that reaches the upper threshold value t11 (lower than the upper threshold value t11) occurs after the level change of the control signal S11, the control signal S11 remains at the high level and does not change the level. If the control signal S11 is not determined at the time point R1 when the level of the output signal S1 becomes higher than the lower threshold t12, the level change C1 occurs in the control signal S11 due to noise N1. Then, it is erroneously determined that the first printing paper P has been taken in and that the second printing paper P has been taken in.

  Similarly, when determining the trailing edge of the last printing paper P (third sheet in the example shown in FIG. 12A) during continuous printing, the control signal S11 is generated by the prefetching method. That is, as shown in FIG. 12A, at the time point R4 when the level of the output signal S1 after the timing signal F22 is output first reaches the upper threshold t11 (becomes lower than the upper threshold t11). The control signal S11 changes from the high level to the low level to become the next timing signal (timing signal that informs the judgment timing for judging the leading edge of the first printing paper P during the next continuous printing). The level does not change until F10 is output. Therefore, even if the noise N6 reaching the lower threshold value t12 occurs after the level change of the control signal S11, the control signal S11 remains low level and does not change level.

  On the other hand, during continuous printing, the trailing edge of the first sheet and the last two sheets (two sheets in the example shown in FIG. 12A) and the leading edge of the second and subsequent printing sheets P When the output signal S1 output from the paper detection device 14 after the output of the timing signals F11, F12, F20, and F21 changes in level to reach the threshold value t1, the control signal S11 is determined. Then, for a predetermined mask time T thereafter, the control signal S11 is generated by a mask reading method that does not change the control signal S11. That is, as shown in FIG. 12A, for example, at the time point R2 when the level of the output signal S1 after the timing signal F20 is output reaches the upper threshold t11 (becomes lower than the upper threshold t11), The control signal S11 changes from a high level to a low level and does not change during the mask time T thereafter. Further, since the control signal S11 does not change during the mask time T, when the output signal S1 after the timing signal F11 is output becomes higher than the lower threshold value t12 after the mask time T has elapsed. At R3, the control signal S11 changes from a low level to a high level and then does not change during the mask time T. For this reason, even if the noise N2 reaching the lower threshold t12 or the noise N3 reaching the upper threshold t11 occurs after the level change of the control signal S11, the level of the control signal S11 does not change.

  Here, after the timing signals F <b> 10 to F <b> 12 and F <b> 20 to F <b> 22 are output, the determination cycle for determining the level change of the output signal S <b> 1 is, for example, the calculation cycle of PID control of the CR motor 4 or PF motor 5. PID cycle. When the PID cycle of the CR motor 4 is used as the determination cycle, the determination cycle is, for example, 58.5 μsec. When the PID cycle of the PF motor 5 is used as the determination cycle, the determination cycle is, for example, 64 μsec. The determination cycle is not limited to the PID cycle, and may be another control cycle.

  The mask time T is preferably determined in consideration of the maximum take-in speed of the printing paper P in the printer 1 and the reaction speed of the photo sensor 27. That is, the minimum time until the leading edge of the next printing paper P comes into contact with the lower end side of the detection lever 26 and the reaction speed of the photosensor 27 after the trailing edge of a certain printing paper P is disengaged from the lower end side of the detection lever 26. Considering this, it is preferable to determine the mask time T. With this configuration, the leading edge of the printing paper P can be reliably detected even when the mask time T is set. For example, in this embodiment, the maximum take-in speed of the printing paper P is 11.6 ips (inch / sec), and the mask time T is 20 msec.

  The mask time T is counted by a 1 kHz timer inside the ASIC 54. In the present embodiment, as described above, after the timing signals F11, F12, F20, and F21 are output, the determination period for determining the level change of the output signal S1 is the PID period, whereas the mask time T Is not counted in the PID cycle, but is counted by a 1 kHz timer. Therefore, the mask time T counting process is simplified.

  Next, a method for generating a control signal when printing one sheet will be described. As in the case of continuous printing, a predetermined threshold t1 having an upper threshold t11 and a lower threshold 12 is set for the output signal S2 from the paper detection device 14, as shown in FIG. Then, a digital control signal S21 for determining the presence or absence of the printing paper P taken into the printer 1 from the output signal S2 and the threshold value t1 is generated. When the control signal S21 is at a high level, it is determined that the printing paper P has been taken into the printer 1, and when the control signal S21 is at a low level, it is determined that the printing paper P has not been taken into the printer 1. Further, as in the case of continuous printing, the timing signal output unit of the ASIC 54 outputs timing signals F30 and F40 that inform the control signal generation unit of the determination timing for determining the leading edge and the trailing edge of the printing paper P. The timing signal F30 is a signal that informs the control signal generation unit of the determination timing of the leading edge of the printing paper P, and is, for example, an operation command signal to the paper feed roller 12 for taking the printing paper P into the printer 1. The timing signal F40 is a signal that informs the control signal generation unit of the determination timing of the trailing edge of the printing paper P.

  In this embodiment, when the leading edge and the trailing edge of the printing paper P are determined at the time of printing one sheet, the control signal S21 is generated by the prefetching method. That is, as shown in FIG. 12C, at the time point R5 when the level of the output signal S2 after the timing signal F30 is output first becomes higher than the lower threshold value t12, the control signal S21 is at the low level. The level does not change until the timing signal F40 is output after the level is changed from high to low. Therefore, even if the noise N7 reaching the upper threshold value t11 occurs after the level change of the control signal S21, the control signal S21 remains at the high level and does not change. Further, at the time point R6 when the output signal S2 after the output of the timing signal F40 first reaches the upper threshold value t11, the control signal S21 changes from the high level to the low level, and the next timing signal is output. The level does not change until it is done. Therefore, even if the noise N8 reaching the lower threshold value t12 occurs after the level change of the control signal S21, the control signal S11 remains at the low level and does not change.

  Next, a method for generating a control signal for determining the position of the print head 2 will be described. In the following, as shown in FIG. 10, the detection unit 76e is in a state of blocking light from the light emitting unit 83 toward the light receiving unit 84 (that is, in a state where the print head 2 is at the first height). Control is performed by taking as an example a case where the position of the print head 2 changes to a state in which the light 76b blocks the light traveling from the light emitting unit 83 to the light receiving unit 84 (the height of the print head 2 at this time is the fourth height). A signal generation method will be described.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, when the detection unit 76 e or the like blocks light traveling from the light emitting unit 83 to the light receiving unit 84, the gap detection device 79 outputs a high-level output signal. Is received by the light receiving unit 84, the gap detection device 79 outputs a low level output signal. Therefore, for example, the gap detection device 79 outputs the output signal S3 having the waveform shown in FIG. For this output signal S3, as shown in FIG. 13A, a predetermined threshold value t3 having an upper threshold value t31 and a lower threshold value t32 is set. Then, a control signal S31 for determining the position of the print head 2 is generated from the output signal S3 and the threshold value t3. In this embodiment, when the control signal S31 is at a high level, it is determined that the height of the print head 2 is a predetermined set height, and when the control signal S31 is at a low level, the height of the print head 2 is set to a predetermined setting. Judge that the height is not reached.

  The timing signal output unit of the ASIC 54 outputs a timing signal F50 that informs the control signal generation unit of the determination timing for determining the position of the print head 2. This timing signal F50 is an operation command signal to the PG motor 73 for changing the height of the print head 2, for example.

  In this embodiment, a control signal S31 for determining the position of the print head 2 is generated by a pre-read method. That is, as shown in FIG. 13, the control signal S31 is determined when the output signal S3 output from the gap detection device 79 after the timing signal F50 is output reaches the threshold value t3 a predetermined number of times. The control signal S31 is not changed until the timing signal F50 as the next timing signal is output.

  Specifically, the detection plate 76 rotates, for example, counterclockwise by the operation command signal (timing signal F50) to the PG motor 73, and the detection unit 76e detects the detection area (the light emitting unit 83 and the light receiving unit). The detectors 76f and 76a sequentially pass through the detection area of the photosensor 77, and then the detector 76b blocks light from the light emitting part 83 toward the light receiving part 84. Meanwhile, the output signal S3 output from the gap detection device 79 changes six times across the threshold value t3 from the high level to the low level and from the low level to the high level. Then, as shown in FIG. 13A, the control signal S31 is changed from the low level to the high level at the time point R7 when the output signal S3 after the output of the timing signal F50 changes the level for the sixth time reaching the threshold value t3. The level does not change until the next timing signal F50 is output. Therefore, even if the noise N9 reaching the upper threshold value t31 occurs after the level change of the control signal S31, the control signal S31 remains at the high level and does not change the level.

  Next, a method for generating a control signal for determining the presence or absence of the disc tray 85 will be described. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the contact of the contact portion 89b is in the ON state, the tray detection device 89 outputs a high level output signal, as shown in FIG. 7B. In addition, when the contact of the contact portion 89b is in an OFF state, a low level output signal is output. Therefore, for example, the tray detection device 89 outputs the output signal S4 having the waveform shown in FIG. For this output signal S4, as shown in FIG. 14A, a predetermined threshold t4 having an upper threshold t41 and a lower threshold t42 is set. Then, a control signal S41 for determining the presence or absence of the disc tray 85 is generated from the output signal S4 and the threshold value t4. In this embodiment, when the control signal S41 is at a high level, it is determined that the disc tray 85 is taken into the printer 1, and when the control signal S41 is at a low level, the disc tray 85 is inside the printer 1. It is determined that it has not been taken in.

  Further, the timing signal output unit of the ASIC 54 outputs timing signals F60 and F70 that notify the control signal generation unit of the determination timing of the presence or absence of the disk tray 85. The timing signals F60 and F70 are, for example, operation command signals to a tray motor for taking the disk tray 85 into the printer 1. The timing signal F60 is a signal that informs the control signal generation unit of the determination timing for determining whether the disk tray 85 is to be taken into the printer 1, and the timing signal F70 is a signal from the inside of the printer 1 on the disk tray 85. It is a signal that informs the control signal generation unit of the determination timing for determining extraction.

  In this embodiment, the control signal S41 for determining the presence / absence of the disc tray 85 is generated by the pre-read method. That is, as shown in FIG. 14, after the timing signal (operation command signal to the tray motor) F60 is output, the output signal S4 output from the tray detection device 89 changes the first level reaching the threshold value t4. When the control signal S41 is determined, the control signal S41 is not changed until the timing signal F70 which is the next timing signal is output. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14A, at the time point R8 when the level of the output signal S4 after the timing signal F60 is output becomes higher than the lower threshold value t42, the control signal S41 is at the low level. The level is changed from the high level to the high level, and the level is not changed until the next timing signal F70 is output. Therefore, even if the noise N10 that reaches the upper threshold value t41 occurs after the level change of the control signal S41, the control signal S41 remains at the high level and the level does not change.

  Similarly, as shown in FIG. 14, after the timing signal F70 is output, the control signal S41 is determined when the output signal S4 output from the tray detection device 89 first changes in level to reach the threshold value t4. The control signal S41 is not changed until the timing signal F60 as the next timing signal is output. That is, as shown in FIG. 14A, the control signal S41 changes from the high level to the low level at the time point R9 when the level of the output signal S4 after the timing signal F70 is output becomes lower than the upper threshold value t41. The level does not change until the next timing signal F60 is output. Therefore, even if the noise N11 reaching the lower threshold value t42 occurs after the level change of the control signal S41, the control signal S41 remains at the low level and the level is not changed.

  Finally, a method for generating a control signal for determining the state of the tray guide 86 will be described. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the contact of the contact portion 90b is in an ON state, the guide detection device 90 outputs a high level output signal, as shown in FIG. 7B. When the contact of the contact portion 90b is in an OFF state, a low level output signal is output. Therefore, for example, the guide detection device 90 outputs the output signal S5 having the waveform shown in FIG. For this output signal S5, as shown in FIG. 15A, a predetermined threshold value t5 having an upper threshold value t51 and a lower threshold value t52 is set. Then, a control signal S51 for determining the state of the tray guide 86 from the output signal S5 and the threshold value t5 is generated. In this embodiment, when the control signal S51 is at a high level, the tray guide 86 determines that the disk tray 85 can be guided as shown by the solid line in FIG. 6, and when the control signal S51 is at a low level. The tray guide 86 determines that the disc tray 85 cannot be guided as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

  In this embodiment, the control signal S51 for determining the state of the tray guide 86 is generated by a normal reading method for generating a control signal corresponding to the level change of the output signal S5. That is, as shown in FIG. 15, every time the output signal S5 output from the guide detection device 90 changes the level reaching the threshold value t5, the control signal S51 is changed from low level to high level or from high level to low level. Change to level. Therefore, when electrical noises N12 and N13 are generated, level changes C2 and C3 occur in the control signal S51. However, noise that reaches the threshold value t5 is rarely generated in the output signal S5.

(Main effects of this form)
As described above, in this embodiment, the control signal S11 for determining the presence or absence of the printing paper P taken into the printer 1 during continuous printing is the leading edge and the last printing paper of the first printing paper P. Generated by the pre-reading method when judging the trailing edge of P, and generated by the mask reading method when judging the trailing edge of the second and subsequent printing paper P and the leading edge of the second and subsequent printing papers P. Has been. Further, the control signal S21 for determining the presence or absence of the printing paper P taken into the printer 1 at the time of printing one sheet is generated by a pre-reading method. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, even if electrical noises N1 to N8 are generated in the output signals S1 and S2 from the paper detection device 14, the presence or absence of the printing paper P due to the noises N1 to N8 is erroneously detected. Can be prevented.

  Further, the leading edge of the printing paper P abuts on the lower end side of the detection lever 26 and the upper end side of the detection lever 26 is removed from between the light emitting unit 45 and the light receiving unit 46, or the rear end of the printing paper P is the detection lever 26. It is unlikely that electrical noise is generated in the output signals S1 and S2 from the paper detection device 14 before the detection lever 26 blocks the light traveling from the light emitting unit 45 to the light receiving unit 46. Therefore, a pre-reading method is used when determining the leading edge and trailing edge of the last printing paper P during continuous printing, or when determining the leading edge and trailing edge of the printing paper P during single-sheet printing. By generating the control signals S11 and S21, the leading edge and the trailing edge of the printing paper P can be appropriately determined.

  On the other hand, when the control signal S11 for determining the trailing edge of the second and subsequent printing sheets P and the leading edge of the second and subsequent printing sheets P is generated by the pre-reading method, the detection lever 26 frequently oscillates and the timing signal is also frequently output, and until the timing signals F11 and F12 are output after the trailing edge of the printing paper P passes below the detection lever 26. Therefore, it is difficult to appropriately determine whether or not the printing paper P is present based on the relationship between the output timing of the timing signal and the generation timing of electrical noise. For example, as shown in FIG. 12A, during continuous printing, the output timing of the timing signal F11 may occur earlier than the generation timing of the noise N2. For this reason, if the control signal S11 is generated by the prefetching method, the presence or absence of the printing paper P may be erroneously detected. On the other hand, when the control signal S11 is generated by the mask reading method as in the present embodiment, this erroneous detection is prevented even during continuous printing, and the presence or absence of the printing paper P taken into the printer 1 is appropriately determined. Can be judged. That is, when the control signal S11 is generated by the mask reading method, the time until the leading edge of the next printing paper P passes after the trailing edge of the printing paper P passes through the lower side of the paper detection device 14 is determined. It is possible to set an appropriate mask time T in consideration, and it is possible to appropriately determine the presence or absence of the printing paper P.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the pre-read method and the mask read method, which are generation methods of the control signal for preventing the erroneous detection of the presence or absence of the print paper P taken into the printer 1, are changed to the print paper P take-in method. The control signals S1 and S2 are generated by a combined and suitable method. Therefore, it is possible to generate appropriate control signals S1 and S2 for determining the presence or absence of the printing paper P to be taken into the printer 1 by a suitable method in accordance with the printing paper P taking-in method. Further, when determining the leading edge of the first printing paper P and the trailing edge of the last printing paper P during continuous printing, and determining whether or not there is the printing paper P taken into the printer 1 during printing of one sheet. When doing so, since the control signals S11 and S21 are generated by the pre-reading method, it is not necessary to count the mask time T. Therefore, the generation process of the control signals S11 and S21 is simplified.

(Other embodiments)
The above-described embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  In the above-described form, the control signal S11 for determining the presence or absence of the printing paper P taken into the printer 1 during continuous printing indicates the leading edge of the first printing paper P and the trailing edge of the last printing paper P. When judging, it is generated by the look-ahead method. In addition, for example, when determining the leading edge of the first printing paper P and the trailing edge of the last printing paper P, the control signal S11 may be generated by a mask reading method.

  In the above-described form, a part of the ASIC 54 is a control signal generation unit. In addition to this, for example, the sheet detection device 14, the gap detection device 79, the tray detection device 89, and the guide detection device 90 may each be provided with a control signal generation unit.

  Furthermore, with the form mentioned above, threshold value t1-t5 is a predetermined threshold value which has upper threshold value t11-t51 and lower threshold value t12-t52. In addition to this, for example, the threshold values t1 to t5 may have one value, or may be set within a predetermined range. In the above-described form, the control signals S1 to S5 change in level when the output signals S1 to S5 cross the upper threshold values t11 to t51 and the lower threshold values t12 to t52. In addition to this, for example, when the output signals S1 to S5 continue for a predetermined time from the time when the output signals S1 to S5 cross the upper threshold values t11 to t51 and the lower threshold values t12 to t52, the level of the control signals S1 to S5 changes. This case may also correspond to “when the output signal changes level to reach the threshold” of the present invention.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the paper detection device 14 is an optical detection device including the detection lever 26 and the photo sensor 27. In addition, for example, the paper detection device 14 may be a mechanical detection device including a contact switch having a switch lever.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration of the present invention has been described by taking an example of an inkjet printer that performs printing by ejecting liquid ink onto the printing paper P or the like as the printer 1. It can also be applied to printers and other printers.

  As a method for generating the control signal, as shown in FIG. 16, a predetermined threshold value t6 (lower threshold value t61 and lower threshold value) in the output signal S6 from the detection device within a predetermined time T10 after the timing signal F100 is output. The control signal S61 is determined based on the last level change that has reached the threshold value t6 having the side threshold value t62) (ie, if the last level change of the output signal S6 rises, the control signal S61 is determined to be high level) If the last level change of the output signal S6 falls, the control signal S61 is determined to be low level), and a post-reading method is used in which the control signal S61 is not changed until the next timing signal F100 is output. Then, the control signal S61 for determining the state of the predetermined object to be detected may be generated. That is, in the output signal S6 from the detection device within the predetermined time T10 after the timing signal F100 is output, the control signal S61 changes from the low level to the high level at the time point R10 when the threshold value t6 is finally reached. Then, the control signal S61 may be generated so that the level does not change until the next timing signal F100 is output. When the control signal S61 is generated in this way, the level of the control signal S61 does not change even if the noise N14 is generated in the output signal S6 before the final level change reaching the threshold value t6. For this reason, when electrical noise is unlikely to occur after the state of the detected object changes due to the configuration of the detected object, the state of the detected object is appropriately determined by generating the control signal S61 by the post-reading method. be able to. Further, when the control signal S61 is generated by the post-reading method, the final state of the detected object can be confirmed.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view illustrating a schematic configuration of a portion related to paper feeding of the printer of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a detection mechanism of the carriage of FIG. 1 and the PF drive roller of FIG. 2. The figure which shows the structure of the paper detection apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing a schematic configuration of a disk tray and its peripheral portion in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing a schematic configuration of a disc tray and its peripheral portion from the XX direction of FIG. 5. The schematic front view which shows schematic structure of a guide detection apparatus and its peripheral part from the Y direction of FIG. The perspective view which shows a part of clearance gap adjustment mechanism concerning embodiment. The side view which shows a part of clearance gap adjustment mechanism of FIG. FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the gap adjustment mechanism of FIG. 8. The block diagram which shows schematic structure of the control part of FIG. 3, and its peripheral device. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a waveform of an output signal from the paper detection device of FIG. 4 and a waveform of a control signal for determining the presence or absence of printing paper. The figure which shows the relationship between the waveform of the output signal from the clearance gap detection apparatus of FIG. 10, and the waveform of the control signal for judging the position of a print head. The figure which shows the relationship between the waveform of the output signal from the tray detection apparatus of FIG. 5, and the waveform of the control signal for judging the presence or absence of a disk tray. The figure which shows the relationship between the waveform of the output signal from the guide detection apparatus of FIG. 5, and the waveform of the control signal for judging the state of a tray guide. The figure which shows the relationship between the waveform of the output signal from the detection apparatus concerning another form, and the waveform of the control signal for judging the state of a to-be-detected object. The figure which shows the relationship between the waveform of the output signal from the paper detection apparatus concerning a prior art, and the waveform of the control signal for judging the presence or absence of printing paper.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer, 14 Paper detection apparatus, 54 ASIC (control signal generation part, timing signal output part), F10-F40 timing signal, P printing paper (printing object), S1, S2 output signal, S11, S21 Control signal, T Mask time, t1 threshold.

Claims (4)

From the paper detection device that outputs an output signal according to the presence or absence of printing paper taken in as an object to be printed, the output signal from the paper detection device, and the threshold value set for the output signal, the printing paper A control signal generation unit that generates a control signal for determining the presence or absence of the printing paper, and a timing signal output unit that outputs a timing signal that informs the control signal generation unit of the timing for determining the leading edge and the trailing edge of the printing paper. ,
The control signal generator is
At the time of continuous printing in which printing is continuously performed on a plurality of the printing papers, a level change in which the output signal output from the paper detection device after the timing signal is output from the timing signal output unit reaches the threshold value When the control signal is determined, the control signal is generated by a mask reading method that does not change the control signal at least for a predetermined mask time thereafter,
When printing on one sheet of the printing paper, the first output signal output from the paper detection device after the timing signal is output from the timing signal output unit reaches the threshold value. A printer characterized in that when the level changes, the control signal is determined and the control signal is generated by a pre-reading method that does not change the control signal until at least the next timing signal is output.   In the continuous printing, the control signal generation unit determines the leading edge of the printing paper to be printed first among the plurality of printing papers to be printed continuously, and the control signal is generated by the prefetching method. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer is generated.   In the continuous printing, the control signal generation unit determines the trailing edge of the printing paper that is printed last among the plurality of printing papers that are continuously printed. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer is generated. A method for controlling a printer comprising a paper detection device that outputs an output signal corresponding to the presence or absence of printing paper taken inside as a printing object,
At the time of continuous printing in which printing is continuously performed on a plurality of the printing papers, the output signal output from the paper detection device is output after a timing signal indicating the timing for determining the leading edge and the trailing edge of the printing paper is output. The control signal is generated by a mask reading method in which the control signal is determined when a level change that reaches a threshold value set for the output signal is made and at least a predetermined mask time thereafter does not change the control signal. Control based on the signal,
When performing printing on one sheet of the printing paper, when the output signal output from the paper detection device after the timing signal is output changes the first level that reaches the threshold value. A control method for a printer, wherein the control signal is determined, and control is performed based on the control signal generated by a look-ahead method that does not change the control signal until at least the next timing signal is output.

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