JP2010116225A - Recording device and method for controlling recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention reduces the influence of a user unnecessarily pressing a recording medium such as a passbook and performs recording reliably.
In a dot impact printer in which a shutter plate 62 is provided in a conveyance path of a recording medium 100, the recording medium 100 is manually supplied, and recording is performed on the supplied recording medium 100, the recording medium 100 is supplied. Is detected until the rear end portion 100b of the recording medium 100 reaches a predetermined storage position in the housing, and then the stored recording medium 100 is transported to a predetermined alignment position to release the shutter plate 62. Thus, the recording medium 100 is aligned.
[Selection] Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a method for controlling the recording apparatus, and more particularly, to control a recording apparatus and a recording apparatus that perform recording on the recording medium after a recording medium such as a passbook manually inserted by a user is aligned by an alignment mechanism. Regarding the method.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a recording apparatus that aligns a recording medium that is supplied obliquely with respect to a conveying roller inside a recording apparatus main body against an alignment shutter (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-9-39322

By the way, in a recording apparatus in which a user manually inserts a recording medium (passbook) and prints on the recording medium, such as a passbook printer, when the recording medium loading operation is performed, the user puts the hand on the recording medium. There may be up to.
Then, in order to bring the recording medium to a predetermined alignment position, the passbook may be pushed or pressed in accordance with the recording medium conveyance operation at the moment when the recording medium is pulled into the casing of the recording apparatus.
As a result, the carrying load becomes large and the passbook cannot be carried correctly, so that there is a problem that the printing position is shifted or the printing is performed obliquely.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus and a recording apparatus control method capable of reliably recording by reducing the influence of a user unnecessarily pressing a recording medium such as a passbook. There is to do.

In order to solve the above-described problem, according to a first aspect of the present invention, a transport path for a recording medium is provided in a housing, and an alignment mechanism that aligns the leading end of the recording medium in the transport path, and transports the recording medium. A recording apparatus for manually supplying the recording medium and recording on the supplied recording medium, and detecting the presence or absence of the recording medium disposed on the insertion port side of the conveyance path. After the recording medium detection unit and the recording medium detection unit detect that the recording medium has been supplied, the recording medium is once transported until the rear end of the recording medium reaches a predetermined storage position in the housing. A control unit that controls the transport mechanism and the alignment mechanism so that the stored recording medium is transported to a predetermined alignment position and the recording medium is aligned by the alignment mechanism. To.
According to the above configuration, the presence or absence of the recording medium is detected by the recording medium detection unit arranged on the insertion port side of the conveyance path, and the control unit detects that the recording medium is supplied by the recording medium detection unit In addition, after the rear end of the recording medium is transported to a predetermined storage position in the housing, the stored recording medium is transported to a predetermined alignment position and transported so that the recording medium is aligned by the alignment mechanism. Control mechanism and alignment mechanism.
Therefore, prior to the alignment by the alignment mechanism, the recording medium is once transported until the rear end of the recording medium reaches a predetermined storage position in the housing, and the recording medium is completely free from the user's hand. Then, since the alignment is performed thereafter, the recording medium can be surely aligned, and as a result, the recording on the recording medium can be surely performed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the control unit uses the position where the tip of the recording medium exceeds the alignment position of the alignment mechanism as the storage position, and places the recording medium in the transport path. It is made to convey.
According to the above configuration, since the leading end portion of the recording medium is stored at a position beyond the alignment position of the alignment mechanism, the recording medium can be securely inserted by the user even when the distance from the insertion port to the alignment position is short. It can be kept away from the hand.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect or the second aspect, the control unit is configured so that a rear end portion of the recording medium is positioned between the insertion position and an alignment position of the alignment mechanism. It is set as the position to perform.
According to the above configuration, since the recording medium is securely stored in the casing of the recording apparatus, the recording medium can be reliably separated from the user's hand.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the recording medium detection unit includes a medium detection sensor disposed in the housing and on the insertion port side of the storage position, and the control unit It is characterized in that it is determined whether or not the recording medium has reached the storage position based on a detection state of a medium detection sensor.
According to the above configuration, the control unit can easily determine that the recording medium has reached the storage position based on the detection state of the medium detection sensor.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect or the second aspect, the control unit is configured such that the storage position is a position where a rear end portion of the recording medium is located on the back side of the alignment position of the alignment mechanism. It is characterized by doing.
According to the above configuration, since the recording medium is securely stored in the recording apparatus, the recording medium can be reliably separated from the user's hand.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect, an alignment detection sensor for detecting alignment of the recording medium is disposed at the alignment position, and the control unit is based on a detection state of the alignment detection sensor. And determining whether or not the recording medium has reached the storage position.
According to the above configuration, the control unit can easily determine that the recording medium has reached the storage position based on the detection state of the alignment detection sensor.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a recording medium transport path is provided in the housing, and an alignment mechanism that aligns the leading end of the recording medium in the transport path and a transport mechanism that transports the recording medium are provided. In the control method of a recording apparatus in which the recording medium is manually supplied and recording is performed on the supplied recording medium, a recording medium detection process for detecting the presence or absence of the recording medium disposed on the insertion port side of the conveyance path When the recording medium is detected in the recording medium detection process, the storage mechanism transports the recording medium by the transport mechanism until the rear end of the recording medium reaches a predetermined storage position in the housing. And an alignment process in which the stored recording medium is transported by the transport mechanism to a predetermined alignment position, and the recording medium is aligned by the alignment mechanism.
According to the above configuration, prior to performing alignment in the alignment mechanism, the recording medium is once transported until the rear end of the recording medium reaches a predetermined storage position in the housing, and the recording medium is separated from the user's hand. Since the recording medium is completely free and then aligned, the recording medium can be surely aligned, and as a result, recording on the recording medium can be performed reliably.

  According to the present invention, prior to aligning the recording medium, the recording medium is once transported until the rear end of the recording medium reaches a predetermined storage position in the housing. , The alignment operation can be performed, the recording medium can be surely aligned, and as a result, the printing can be surely performed.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a dot impact printer as a recording apparatus according to an embodiment.
The dot impact printer 10 of the present embodiment includes a recording head 18 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) provided with a plurality of recording wires (not shown), and the recording wires are passed from the recording head 18 via an ink ribbon. By ejecting toward the recording medium 100, dots are formed on the recording surface of the recording medium 100 such as a passbook, and an image including characters is recorded.
An image recorded by the dot impact printer 10 is composed of one line or a plurality of lines, and recording is performed for each line. Therefore, for example, when instructing the dot impact printer 10 to record (print) an image from an external device (such as a host computer), the instruction is performed in units of lines or in units of pages composed of a plurality of lines. Become.

Here, examples of the recording medium 100 usable in the dot impact printer 10 include a cut sheet cut to a predetermined length, a continuous sheet in which a plurality of sheets are connected, and the like. These cut sheets and continuous sheets may be composed of paper such as plain paper, copy paper, and cardboard, or sheets made of synthetic resin, and these sheets may be processed by coating or the like.
In addition, as a form of the cut sheet, for example, in addition to a standard size cut paper (PPC paper, a postcard, etc.), a booklet form in which a plurality of sheets are bound (passbook etc.) or a bag-shaped form (envelope) Etc.). Examples of the form of the continuous sheet include continuous paper in which sprocket holes are formed at both ends in the width direction and folded at a predetermined length, and roll paper wound in a roll shape.
In the following description, a case where an image is recorded on the recording medium 100 by the dot impact printer 10 will be described. The recording medium 100 is the above-described cut sheet, copy paper, passbook, etc., and will be described without any particular limitation.
In the following description, as shown in FIG. 1, among the four sides of the recording medium 100, the side formed on the side inserted toward the dot impact printer 10 is referred to as a leading end portion 100 a and the other end is a trailing end portion. 100b.

  The dot impact printer 10 shown in FIG. 1 has a configuration in which a main body is accommodated in an exterior made up of a cover 12, an upper case 13, and a lower case 14. The exterior is configured by connecting an upper case 13 and a lower case 14 vertically below a cover 12 disposed on the upper side so as to be opened and closed. On the front surface of the exterior, an opening is provided at a boundary portion between the upper case 13 and the lower case 14, and the opening serves as an insertion port 15 for manually feeding the recording medium 100.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the printer main body 11 housed in the exterior of the dot impact printer 10. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the dot impact printer 10. A symbol A shown in FIG. 3 indicates a conveyance path of the recording medium 100.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the printer main body 11 has a main body frame including a left side frame 16 and a right side frame 17. The main body frame includes a recording mechanism unit 20 including a recording head 18 and a carriage 19, a platen 21 facing the recording head 18, a first conveying roller 22, and a second conveying roller 23. A second transport mechanism section 27 having a section 24 (transport section) and a third transport roller 25 and a fourth transport roller 26;

  The left side frame 16 and the right side frame 17 are erected so as to face each other at the left and right ends of the printer body 11. A carriage shaft 31 is bridged between the side frames 16 and 17, and a flat lower guide surface 32 (one guide surface) is fixed across the side frames 16 and 17. It is done. An upper guide surface 33 (the other guide surface) is disposed above the lower guide surface 32 so as to face the lower guide surface 32. The lower guide surface 32 and the upper guide surface 33 form a transport path A through which the recording medium 100 is transported, and the recording medium 100 inserted from the insertion port 15 (FIG. 1) has the lower guide surface 32 and the upper guide surface. It is conveyed in the direction of the platen 21 through the space 33. A rear sheet guide 34 that constitutes the rear side of the transport path A is disposed on the rear side of the platen 21.

The first transport mechanism unit 24 is located on the front side of the platen 21, and the second transport mechanism unit 27 is located on the rear side of the platen 21.
Among these, the first transport roller 22 and the third transport roller 25 are disposed below the transport path A, and the second transport roller 23 and the fourth transport roller 26 are disposed above the transport path A. The recording medium 100 is sandwiched between the first transport roller 22 and the second transport roller 23 and between the third transport roller 25 and the fourth transport roller 26 and is transported along the transport path A.
Here, the first transport roller 22 and the third transport roller 25 are drive rollers that are rotationally driven by a transport motor (not shown) and the drive wheel train section 28. On the other hand, the second transport roller 23 and the fourth transport roller 26 are spring-biased with a predetermined pressing force toward the first transport roller 22 and the third transport roller 25, respectively. This is a driven roller that rotates as the transport roller 25 rotates. For this reason, the first transport roller 22 and the second transport roller 23 rotate in opposite directions, and the third transport roller 25 and the fourth transport roller 26 rotate in opposite directions, and the recording medium 100 is transported in the transport path. A is conveyed in a predetermined conveyance direction on A (direction indicated by an arrow Y1 in FIGS. 1 to 3).

As described above, the carriage 19 is slidably inserted into the carriage shaft 31 spanned between the left side frame 16 and the right side frame 17. The carriage 19 is connected to a carriage drive motor (not shown) via a timing belt 29 and travels (scans) along the carriage shaft 31 by forward rotation or reverse rotation of the carriage drive motor. The scanning direction of the carriage 19 is defined as the main scanning direction.
A recording head 18 is mounted on the carriage 19. The recording head 18 moves integrally with the carriage 19 on the recording surface of the recording medium 100 along the main scanning direction.
A ribbon cartridge (not shown) that accommodates the ink ribbon in a folded state is attached to the carriage 19 or the main body frame. A part of the ink ribbon housed in the ribbon cartridge is pulled out and overlaps the tip of the recording head 18. Then, the recording head 18 protrudes the recording wire while running in the main scanning direction and strikes the recording surface of the recording medium 100 via the ink ribbon, and the ink of the ink ribbon is applied to the platen 21 and the recording head 18. The image including characters is recorded (printed) on the recording medium 100.

  The protruding output of the recording wire protruding from the recording head 18 is received by a platen 21 that is biased toward the recording head 18 by a biasing spring (not shown). The platen 21 has a flat surface extending in the traveling direction of the carriage 19. The recording head 18 is provided with a guide roller 41 on the side of the portion where the recording wire protrudes. The guide roller 41 is supported so as to be rotatable along the scanning direction of the recording head 18, and its lower end is positioned below the front end of the recording head 18 in a state where the recording wire is not ejected.

The dot impact printer 10 includes various sensors that detect the recording medium 100 in the vicinity of the scanning position of the recording head 18.
As shown in FIG. 3, a medium width sensor 55 is disposed on the rear side of the recording head 18 so as to be positioned above the platen 21. The medium width sensor 55 is mounted on the carriage 19 and scanned on the platen 21 together with the carriage 19, and is used to obtain the position of the side edge of the recording medium 100 and the width of the recording medium 100.

The dot impact printer 10 is also provided with a sensor in the vicinity of the first conveyance roller 22 and the second conveyance roller 23 located on the front side of the recording head 18.
As shown in FIG. 3, two medium presence / absence sensors 53 are disposed on the front side of the second transport roller 23, that is, on the insertion port 15 side. The medium presence / absence sensor 53 is, for example, a transmissive optical sensor including a light emitting unit (LED or the like) and a light receiving unit (phototransistor or the like) that are opposed to each other with the conveyance path A of the recording medium 100 interposed therebetween. The presence / absence of the recording medium 100 on the front side is detected. The medium presence sensor 53 detects the recording medium 100 manually inserted from the insertion port 15. Further, it may be detected that the inserted recording medium 100 is conveyed further, that is, that the recording medium 100 is completely stored in the main body of the dot impact printer 10.
Further, eight alignment sensors 52 are arranged at substantially equal intervals along the main scanning direction of the carriage 19 on the back side of the first transport mechanism 24. These eight alignment sensors 52 include, for example, a light emitting unit (LED or the like) and a light receiving unit (phototransistor or the like) that face each other across the conveyance path A of the recording medium 100, as in the medium presence sensor 53. The presence or absence of the medium 100 is detected. These alignment sensors 52 detect the presence / absence of the recording medium 100 abutted against the shutter plate 62 in a state in which a shutter plate 62 described later projects into the conveyance path A. Thereby, based on the output of the alignment sensor 52, it is possible to determine whether or not the inclination of the recording medium 100 after the alignment by the shutter plate 62 with respect to the transport direction is within an allowable inclination range. For example, when two adjacent sensors in the main scanning direction simultaneously detect the recording medium 100, it is determined that the alignment is complete.
Further, the alignment sensor 52 detects the recording medium once while the recording medium 100 is being conveyed in the forward direction, and then when all or a predetermined number of sensors no longer detect the recording medium 100, the recording medium 100 becomes deeper. It is also possible to operate so that it is detected that the recording medium 100 has been completely conveyed, that is, that the recording medium 100 has been completely stored in the main body of the dot impact printer 10.
The dot impact printer 10 also controls the entire dot impact printer 10 such as drive control of the first transport mechanism unit 24 and second transport mechanism unit 27, travel control of the carriage 19, and control of recording operation by the recording wire of the recording head 18. As a control unit (controller) to control, for example, a control board unit 50 is provided below the back side of the printer main body 11.

  Meanwhile, the printer main body 11 includes an alignment mechanism unit 30 that aligns the recording medium 100 before recording on the recording medium 100 by the recording head 18. The alignment mechanism unit 30 includes a first conveyance roller 22, a second conveyance roller 23, a lower guide surface 32, an upper guide surface 33, a shutter plate 62 as an alignment member, and an alignment motor (not shown) that drives the shutter plate 62. It is configured with. The alignment mechanism unit 30 can change the direction of the recording medium 100 by aligning the recording medium 100 by abutting the front end portion 100a of the recording medium 100 against the shutter plate 62 protruding in the conveyance path A of the recording medium 100. it can.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the shutter plate 62 constitutes a shutter 60 together with a base 61 located below the lower guide surface 32. All the shutter plates 62 arranged in the width direction of the recording medium 100 are erected integrally from the base 61 toward the transport path A. The shutter 60 is located between the first transport roller 22 and the platen 21. The shutter 60 is configured as a plate-like member extending in the width direction of the recording medium 100 and perpendicular to the lower guide surface 32 and the upper guide surface 33. The shutter 60 is embedded under the lower guide surface 32 and is configured to be able to advance and retreat in the transport path A by the operation of the alignment motor. That is, the shutter 60 is moved up and down by being driven by an alignment motor and protrudes from the bottom of the lower guide surface 32 into the transport path A or advances from the state of projecting into the transport path A below the lower guide surface 32. Alternatively, it retracts to the same position as the lower guide surface 32. Specifically, when aligning the recording medium 100, the shutter 60 protrudes into the conveyance path A and closes the conveyance path A. On the other hand, when the recording medium 100 is conveyed toward the recording head 18, the shutter 60 moves along the conveyance path A. Evacuated downward.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the alignment mechanism section 30, particularly a view seen from the front. FIG. 4 particularly shows a state in which the shutter 60 protrudes most in the transport path A.
As shown in FIG. 4, the shutter 60 extends over substantially the entire range in which the recording medium 100 is inserted in the conveyance path A, and the shutter plate 62 is spaced along the width direction of the recording medium 100. They are arranged side by side and constitute a comb-shaped tip.
When the shutter plate 62 of the shutter 60 protrudes most in the conveyance path A, that is, when the recording medium 100 is aligned, the shutter plate 62 passes through the lower guide surface 32 and the upper guide surface 33, and the shutter plate 62. The tip of the projection protrudes above the upper guide surface 33.

The shutter plate 62 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. The upper guide surface 33 through which the shutter plate 62 passes is formed with a substantially rectangular through hole 33a (entrance) that is slightly larger than the shutter plate 62. The through hole 33a is formed of the shutter plate 62 through the through hole 33a. A plurality of shutter plates 62 are formed at positions where the shutter plates 62 are disposed.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the lower guide surface 32 is also formed with through holes 32 a at intervals corresponding to the positions where the shutter plates 62 are disposed, similarly to the through holes 33 a. Passes through the through-hole 32a and protrudes into the transport path A.
Moreover, since the through-hole 33a is formed in the upper guide surface 33 with a space | interval, between the adjacent through-holes 33a, the crosspiece 33b remained without forming the through-hole 33a. Is formed. Further, similarly, through holes 32a are formed in the lower guide surface 32 at intervals, and a crosspiece 32b (FIG. 4) is formed in the lower guide surface 32.

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described.
FIG. 5 is a process flowchart from the recording medium loading process to the printing process according to the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram from recording medium loading to printing processing.
First, when the control substrate 50 detects the recording medium 100 inserted from the insertion port 15 by the medium presence / absence sensor 53, the control board unit 50 drives the shutter drive motor to move the shutter plate 62 to the storage position (lower side) that does not hinder the conveyance of the recording medium 100. (Step S11 in FIG. 5).
Next, the control board unit 50 drives the paper transport motor by n pulses in the forward transport direction (left direction in the figure), and stores the recording medium 100 in the housing (step S12).
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6A, the leading end portion 100a of the recording medium 100 is transported from the shutter plate 62 to a position corresponding to n pulses (corresponding to a storage position).

In this case, the number of pulses n is determined in advance according to the paper size used as the recording medium 100, and until the rear end portion 100b of the recording medium 100 is completely accommodated in the main body of the dot impact printer 10. The number of pulses of the paper transport motor necessary for transporting the recording medium 100. The control board unit 50 stores the number of pulses n for each paper size, reads out the number of pulses n corresponding to the size of the recording medium 100 to be printed, and performs the above operation.
In the above description, whether or not the rear end portion 100b of the recording medium 100 is completely accommodated in the main body of the dot impact printer 10 is determined based on the conveyance amount (number of driving pulses of the paper conveyance motor). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various sensors directly detect that the rear end portion 100b of the recording medium 100 is completely accommodated in the main body of the dot impact printer 10. It is good also as composition to do.

Specifically, for example, while the recording medium 100 is being conveyed, the recording medium 100 is detected by the medium presence sensor 53 until the trailing edge 100b of the recording medium 100 is no longer detected. May be conveyed. In this case, the entire recording medium 100 is conveyed farther than the medium presence / absence sensor 53. Alternatively, the recording medium 100 may be conveyed in the forward direction until the recording medium 100 is no longer detected by the alignment sensor 52 after the recording medium 100 is inserted into the insertion port 15 and before the alignment. In this case, the entire recording medium 100 is conveyed farther than the alignment sensor 52 located in the vicinity of the shutter plate 62. As described above, a plurality of alignment sensors 52 are arranged side by side along the main scanning direction of the carriage 19. For this reason, if conveyance is performed until all the alignment sensors 52 do not detect the recording medium 100, the recording medium 100 can be more reliably accommodated in the dot impact printer 10 up to the rear end portion 100b.
Further, after the recording medium 100 is conveyed until the number of driving pulses of the paper conveying motor reaches n pulses or reaches the pulse obtained by adding a margin α to the n pulses (n + α), the medium presence / absence sensor 53 and the alignment sensor 52 are used. When the recording medium 100 is detected, the user may be notified as a paper conveyance error. For this notification, a message is displayed on a display screen of a host computer (not shown) externally connected to the dot impact printer 10 or a display unit (not shown) provided in the dot impact printer 10 itself, and an LED is lit or blinked. Or the like.

The paper size can be configured such that the most frequently used paper size is preset in the control board unit 50. In addition, when control data or image data input from a host computer externally connected to the dot impact printer 10 includes data specifying a paper size, the control board is controlled according to the paper size specified by the data. The unit 50 can perform control. In addition, by operating a switch (not shown) included in the dot impact printer 10, the size of the recording medium 100 can be input, and the control board unit 50 can acquire the input size and perform control. .
Further, the size of the recording medium 100 to be printed can be measured based on the number of drive pulses of the paper transport motor and various sensors. In this case, the control board unit 50 can set the measured size as an initial value of the size of the recording medium 100 to be printed next. The control board unit 50 can also set the statistically most frequently used size of the recording medium 100 as an initial value of the paper size. The control board 50 can use the initial value when the size of the recording medium 100 is not designated by the switch operation of the dot impact printer 10 or the control data from the host computer.
Then, the control board unit 50 reads the number of pulses n corresponding to the size of the recording medium 100 determined by the above method, and drives the paper transport motor by n pulses as described above.
Note that a sensor for detecting the size of the recording medium 100 may be separately provided.

Subsequently, the control board unit 50 drives the paper transport motor in the reverse transport direction (rightward in the drawing) by n + m pulses (corresponding to the transport amount from the storage position to the alignment position), so that the leading end 100a of the recording medium 100 is moved. Then, the shutter 60 is positioned so as to be closer to the first transport roller 22 and the second transport roller 23 than the shutter plate 62 of the shutter 60 (step S13).
Specifically, the recording medium 100 is transported to the position shown in FIG. 6B, that is, the front end portion 100a of the recording medium 100 is positioned at a position corresponding to m pulses from the shutter plate 62 to the front side. The number m of pulses is determined by the size and specifications of the dot impact printer 10 and is stored in advance by the control board unit 50.
Next, the control board part 50 drives the alignment motor which is not shown in figure, and makes the shutter board | plate 62 protrude in the conveyance path | route A (step S14).

Next, the control board unit 50 of the dot impact printer 10 drives the first conveyance roller 22 and the second conveyance roller 23 by a-pulse driving in the normal conveyance direction (left direction in the figure). As a result, the recording medium 100 is conveyed by the first conveying roller 22 and the second conveying roller 23, and the leading end portion 100a is abutted against the shutter plate 62 as shown in FIG. (Step S15).
In parallel with this, the control board unit 50 detects the state of the leading end portion 100a of the recording medium 100 by the alignment sensors 52 arranged in front of the shutter plate 62, and whether or not the alignment is correctly performed and the alignment is completed. Is determined (step S16).
If it is determined in step S16 that the recording media 100 are not correctly aligned (step S16; No), the process proceeds to step S15 again, and the alignment process is repeated. If the alignment is not completed even after performing the alignment process a predetermined number of times, an error is notified to the user, the recording medium 100 is ejected from the insertion slot 15, and the process is interrupted.

If it is determined in step S16 that the recording media 100 have been correctly aligned and alignment has been completed (step S16; Yes), the control board 50 drives the shutter drive motor and the shutter plate 62. Is stored in a storage position (downward) that does not hinder the conveyance of the recording medium 100 (step S17).
Subsequently, the control board unit 50 drives the first conveyance roller 22 and the second conveyance roller 23 to drive the first conveyance roller 22 and the second conveyance roller 23 in the forward conveyance direction (left direction in the drawing), and to record the recording medium 100. Is conveyed to a position facing the recording head 18 (step S18). The pulse number L is a pulse number corresponding to the position from the alignment position to the printing start position, and is determined by printing image data or control data input from a host computer (not shown).
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6D, the printing position of the recording medium 100 is conveyed to a position facing the recording head 18.
When the conveyance is completed, a printing process (recording process) is performed on the recording medium 100 (step S19).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, prior to the alignment of the recording medium 100, the recording medium is placed in the main body of the dot impact printer 10, that is, in the casing constituted by the upper case 13 and the lower case 14. Once stored, the user releases his or her hand from a recording medium such as a bankbook, and the transport load is the minimum necessary for transporting the original recording medium. Therefore, the recording medium 100 properly hits the shutter 60. Therefore, the recording medium 100 can be surely aligned, and as a result, printing can be performed at the correct position and in the correct orientation.

In addition, the said embodiment shows the one aspect | mode which applied this invention, Comprising: This invention is not limited to the said embodiment. For example, the specific modes of various sensors for detecting the recording medium 100 are arbitrary, and using a reflective sensor, a transmissive optical sensor, a switch type sensor that performs detection by physical contact with the recording medium 100, or the like. Alternatively, the number of these sensors may be appropriately changed according to the size of the dot impact printer 10 or the like. Further, the detailed configuration such as the shape of the shutter plate 62 can be arbitrarily changed.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the dot impact printer 10 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various types such as an ink jet printer, a thermal printer using a thermal sheet, a thermal transfer printer, and the like. The present invention can also be applied to a recording apparatus (printer) and a printer that is used by being incorporated in a casing of an apparatus such as an ATM.

1 is a perspective view showing a printer according to an embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows a printer main body. It is a sectional side view of a printer main body. It is principal part sectional drawing of the alignment mechanism part. 5 is a process flowchart from a recording medium loading process to a printing process according to the embodiment. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing from recording medium loading to printing processing.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Dot impact printer (printing apparatus), 11 ... Printer main body, 13 ... Upper case (casing), 14 ... Lower case (housing), 15 ... Insertion port, 18 ... Recording head, 20 ... Recording mechanism part, 21 ... Platen, 22 ... First transport roller, 23 ... Second transport roller, 24 ... First transport mechanism, 25 ... Third transport roller, 26 ... Fourth transport roller, 27 ... Second transport mechanism, 30 ... Alignment Mechanism part (alignment mechanism), 50 ... Control board part (control part), 52 ... Alignment sensor, 53 ... Medium presence sensor (supply detection part), 60 ... Shutter (alignment mechanism), 61 ... Base part (alignment mechanism), 62 ... Shutter plate (alignment mechanism), 100 ... recording medium, 100a ... front end, 100b ... rear end, A ... conveying path.

Claims (7)

A transport path for the recording medium is provided in the housing, and an alignment mechanism for aligning the leading end of the recording medium in the transport path and a transport mechanism for transporting the recording medium are provided, and the recording medium is manually inserted. In the recording apparatus for recording on the supplied recording medium,
A recording medium detection unit that is arranged on the insertion port side of the conveyance path and detects the presence or absence of the recording medium;
When the recording medium detection unit detects that the recording medium is supplied, the recording medium is once transported until the rear end of the recording medium reaches a predetermined storage position in the housing, and then stored in the recording medium. A controller that controls the transport mechanism and the alignment mechanism to transport the medium to a predetermined alignment position and align the recording medium by the alignment mechanism;
A recording apparatus comprising: The recording apparatus according to claim 1,
The recording apparatus, wherein the control unit causes the recording medium to be conveyed in the conveyance path, with the position where the leading end of the recording medium exceeds the alignment position of the alignment mechanism as the storage position. The recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The recording apparatus, wherein the control unit sets the storage position to a position where a rear end portion of the recording medium is positioned between the insertion port and the alignment position of the alignment mechanism. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
The recording medium detection unit includes a medium detection sensor disposed in the housing and on the insertion port side of the storage position,
The control unit determines whether the recording medium has reached the storage position based on a detection state of the medium detection sensor;
A recording apparatus. The recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The recording apparatus, wherein the control unit sets the storage position to a position where a rear end portion of the recording medium is located on the back side of the alignment position of the alignment mechanism. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
An alignment detection sensor for detecting the alignment of the recording medium is disposed at the alignment position,
The recording apparatus, wherein the control unit determines whether or not the recording medium has reached the storage position based on a detection state of the alignment detection sensor. A transport path for the recording medium is provided in the housing, and an alignment mechanism for aligning the leading end of the recording medium in the transport path and a transport mechanism for transporting the recording medium are provided, and the recording medium is manually inserted. In the control method of the recording apparatus for recording on the supplied recording medium,
A recording medium detection process for detecting the presence or absence of the recording medium disposed on the insertion port side of the transport path;
A storage process in which, when it is detected that the recording medium is supplied in the recording medium detection process, the rear end portion of the recording medium is once transported by the transport mechanism until reaching a predetermined storage position in the housing; ,
An alignment process in which the stored recording medium is transported to the predetermined alignment position by the transport mechanism, and the recording medium is aligned by the alignment mechanism;
A control method for a recording apparatus, comprising:

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