JP4466329B2 - Method for controlling dust removal / cutting mechanism in printer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a dust removal and cutting mechanism and its control method in a printer apparatus, and more specifically, a dust removal mechanism that removes dust from the printing surface of a sheet-like print medium wound up in a roll, and further correctly cuts the print medium after printing. The present invention relates to a control method for controlling a cutting mechanism.

  In general, in a printer device that prints on a sheet-like print medium wound up in a roll shape and cuts it to a predetermined length, such as a label printer, as shown in FIG. A printing mechanism 32 that feeds 30 in the longitudinal direction; a printing unit 32 that prints on the printing medium; and a cutting unit 33 that cuts the printing medium; and printing on the printing medium 30 sent by the feeding mechanism 31 After printing, the printed portion is cut by the cutting unit 33.

  Incidentally, dust and dust in the air are likely to adhere to the printing surface due to static electricity. For this reason, a dust removal pad 34 is disposed on the upstream side of the printing unit, and when the print medium 30 is sent, the dust removal pad is brought into contact with the print surface of the print medium 30 to remove the dust adhering to the print surface. It was.

  However, the front end of the print medium 30 is set on the downstream side of the print unit 32, and the dust removal pad 34 is separated from the surface of the print medium 30 when first set. Since they are brought into contact with each other at the time of printing, the portion upstream of the dust removal pad 34 is sequentially removed by feeding at the time of printing, but the tip 35 of the cutting portion 33 and the dust removal pad 34 Since the intermediate portion is on the downstream side of the dust removal pad 34, the dust cannot be removed. If printing is performed with dust attached, printing omission occurs only in the attached part.

  The cutting unit 33 includes a fixed blade 33a and a movable blade 33b, and is configured such that the print medium 30 passes between the two blades. The movable blade 33b is operated toward the fixed blade 33a at a predetermined position. The print medium 30 is configured to be cut.

By the way, if the gap α between the fixed blade 33a and the movable blade 33b is reduced, the smooth passage of the print medium is hindered, so the gap α is set to be large to some extent. For this reason, the print medium 30 is unstable and easy to move at the time of cutting. Therefore, as shown in FIG. The front end 35 of the print medium is detected by a sensor and its position is determined. However, if the tip portion 35 is curved or slanted, the exact tip position cannot be detected. Therefore, there is a possibility that the margin of the print medium may vary or a printing defect may occur. is there.
JP 2002-1692 A

The present invention is to solve the above problems, a control method capable of effectively to effectively control dust removal and cutting Organization that can be correctly cut the print medium to remove the dust from the printing surface of the printing medium The issue is to provide

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a feeding mechanism that feeds a sheet-like print medium wound up in a roll shape in a longitudinal direction, a printing unit that prints on the print medium, and a cutting that cuts the print medium. Apparatus, and a first dust removal pad and a second dust removal pad that are disposed upstream and downstream of the printing unit and are provided so as to come into contact with and separate from the printing surface of the printing medium, respectively. The dust removal / cutting mechanism is controlled as follows.
(1) The print medium is fed from the initial position to a position exceeding the second dust removal pad.
(2) The second dust removal pad is brought into contact with the print medium, and the print medium is returned to the initial position.
(3) The second dust removal pad is separated from the print medium.
(4) The printing unit is operated and the first dust removal pad is brought into contact with the print medium.
(5) After printing, the print medium is sent to the cutting section.
(6) After the second dust removal pad is brought into contact with the print medium to stabilize the print medium, the cutting unit is driven.
(7) The second dust removal pad is moved away from the print medium, and the print medium is sent back to the initial position.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, before the printing, the front end of the print medium is once moved to a position beyond the second dust removal pad, and then sent back to the initial position, thereby exceeding the second dust removal pad. Since the dust on the left part is removed, good printing can be ensured. Moreover, since the second dust removal pad can be used as a presser for dust removal and stable cutting, dust removal and stable cutting can be realized with a small number of parts. Since the cutting position of the printing medium is stabilized, the leading edge position of the printing medium is also stabilized, so that variations in the margin of the printing medium are reduced and the leading edge detection accuracy of the printing medium is improved. Furthermore, the dust removal / cutting mechanism for the print medium can be controlled efficiently.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a debris removal mechanism device for a print medium in a label printer. Reference numeral 1 denotes a print medium, and this print medium 1 has corresponding holes 2 along both sides as shown in FIG. The printed sheet 1b is laminated on the base sheet 1a on which is formed, and is formed into a long sheet shape and wound into a roll.

  Reference numeral 3 denotes a printer body. The printer body 3 is provided with a printing unit 6, a half-cut unit 7, a cutting unit 8, and a feeding unit 9 between the holding unit 4 and the discharge unit 5 for the printing medium 1, and further detects the presence or absence of the printing medium 1. A sensor 10 and a detection sensor 11 at the tip of the print medium 1 are arranged.

  The printing unit 6 includes an ink ribbon 12, a printer head 13, and a platen 14.

  The half-cut portion 7 is configured such that the cutter 16 moves along a cutter holder 15 arranged in a direction orthogonal to the feeding direction of the print medium 1, and the vertical feeding of the printing medium 1 and the horizontal movement of the cutter 16 are performed. Thus, as shown in FIG. 2, only the print sheet 1b of the print medium 1 can be freely half-cut.

  The cutting unit 8 cuts the print medium 1 at a predetermined position, and is constituted by an upper fixed blade 17 and a lower movable blade 18, and the movable blade 18 is provided so as to be able to swing up and down about an axis at one end. The movable blade 18 is swung upward with respect to the printing medium 1 disposed between the fixed blade 17 and the movable blade 18 and cut.

  The feed section 9 is composed of a sprocket 19 and its driving means (not shown). The sprocket 19 engages with the holes 2 on both sides of the print medium 1 and rotates the sprocket 19 in the forward and reverse directions, whereby the print medium 1 can be moved forward and backward by a predetermined amount.

  The presence / absence detection sensor 10 of the print medium 1 is arranged upstream of the printing unit 6 and detects the rear end of the print medium 1. The detection sensor 11 at the front end of the print medium 1 is disposed on the downstream side of the printing unit 6 and detects the front end 1p of the print medium 1.

  Although not shown, the printer body 3 includes an input unit (keyboard) for applying a print pattern on the print medium 1 and the printing unit 6, half-cut unit 7, and feed according to an input signal from the input unit. A control unit (microcomputer) for driving the unit 9 and the like is provided.

  Next, a first dust removal pad 20 and a second dust removal pad 21 are arranged upstream and downstream of the printing unit 6, respectively. Both the first dust removal pad 20 and the second dust removal pad 21 are provided so as to be in contact with and separated from the surface of the print medium 1 by rotating around the support shaft 22. The second dust removal pad 21 is disposed in the vicinity in front of the cutting portion 8 (may be in the vicinity beyond the cutting portion 8). The first dust removal pad 20 and the second dust removal pad 21 are also configured to be controlled by the control unit.

  In the above configuration, when printing on the print medium 1 set at the initial position, the print unit 6 prints the print medium 1 while feeding the print medium 1 in the forward direction at a constant speed. Thereafter, after the portion printed by the cut portion is appropriately cut into a shape, the portion is further fed in the same direction, and the print medium 1 is cut by the cutting portion 8 at a predetermined position. What is necessary is just to peel and use the cut part of the discharged printing medium 1 from the base sheet 1a.

  By the way, before the start of printing, the front end of the print medium 1 held by the holding unit 4 of the printer device is passed under the first dust removal pad 20, and the second dust removal pad 21 is passed through the printing unit 6. The lower side is allowed to pass through, and is further passed between the fixed blade 17 and the movable blade 18 of the cutting portion 8. At this time, the first dust removal pad 20 and the second dust removal pad 21 are separated from the base portion to facilitate passage of the print medium 1. Moreover, the space | interval between the fixed blade 17 of the cutting part 8 and the movable blade 18 is also made sufficiently large for the same reason. However, after the leading edge of the printing medium 1 is detected by the leading edge detection sensor 11, the leading edge 1p of the printing medium 1 is moved to the initial position (position downstream of the printing unit 6). When printing starts, the first dust removal pad 20 comes into contact with the print medium 1, so that the upstream side is sequentially removed by the first dust removal pad 20. For this reason, since the downstream portion of the print medium 1 from the first dust removal pad 20 remains unremoved, it is necessary to remove the dust from the surface of the print medium 1. Further, the cutting unit 8 needs to cut the print medium 1 at a right angle to the longitudinal direction for the next printing.

  Therefore, a dust removal mechanism composed of the first dust removal pad 20 and the second dust removal pad 21 and a dust removal / cutting mechanism in which garbage removal and cutting are related to each other are performed by the control unit. 3 and FIG. 4 are set so that the operation is controlled. In both figures, the dust removal pad refers to the second dust removal pad 21. Further, the half cut process is omitted.

First, an initial operation is performed before printing is started, and a print signal is awaited (STEP 1).
(1) When a signal is received, the first dust removal pad 20 and the second dust removal pad 21 are separated from the print medium 1, and the print medium is moved from the initial position to a position beyond the second dust removal pad 21. 1 (STEP2, corresponding to FIGS. 4A and 4B). At this time, the length between the front end portion of the printing medium 1 and the second dust removal pad 21 is approximately the length from the first dust removal pad 20 to the initial position.
(2) The second dust removal pad 21 is lowered and brought into contact with the print medium 1 (STEP 3), and the print medium 1 is moved in the direction A in FIG. 1 and sent back to the initial position (STEP 4 and FIG. corresponding to c)). Thereby, the front end side of the print medium 1 is removed by the second dust removal pad 21. Further, when the leading edge of the print medium 1 is detected by the detection sensor at the time of return, it is controlled to move to the initial position and stops.
(3) The second dust removal pad 21 is raised and separated from the print medium 1 (STEP 5). This is because the printing medium 1 can be smoothly fed.
(4) The printing unit 6 is activated (corresponding to STEP 6 and FIGS. 4D and 4E), and the first dust removal pad 20 is brought into contact with the printing medium 1 and sent by a predetermined amount. As a result, the print medium 1 passes through the first dust removal pad 20 and is sent to the printing unit 6 in a state where the dust is removed.
(5) After printing, it is determined whether automatic cutting is performed. When automatic cutting is performed (STEP 7), the upstream side of the printing unit 6 of the printing medium 1 is sent to the cutting unit 8 (STEP 8, FIG. 4 (f)). Correspondence). Note that the first dust removal pad 20 is separated from the print medium 1 during half-cutting.
(6) The second dust removal pad 21 is lowered and brought into contact with the print medium 1 (STEP 9). After the print medium 1 is stabilized, the cutting section 8 is driven (STEP 10, FIG. 4 (g)). Corresponding). At this time, since the second dust removal pad 21 operates from the state of FIG. 5A to the state of FIG. 5B, the print medium 1 is pressed by the second dust removal pad 21 and cut. Stable without moving inside. For this reason, it can cut | disconnect correctly in the direction orthogonal to the feed direction of the printing medium 1. FIG.
(7) The first dust removal pad 20 and the second dust removal pad 21 are separated from the print medium 1 and the print medium 1 is returned to the initial position (STEP 11). In the middle of returning the print medium 1, when the leading edge of the print medium 1 is detected by the leading edge detection sensor 11 (STEP 12, corresponding to FIG. 4H), the print medium 1 is moved to the initial position with reference to the position. Next-stage printing is prepared.

  At the time of printing in the next stage, it is preferable to move the front end of the print medium 1 to the downstream side again, remove the dust on the print medium 1 with the second dust removal pad 21, and then return to the initial position to execute printing. .

According to the control method of dust removal and cutting Organization of the printing medium 1 described above, since the dust of the distal portion of the printing medium 1 by the second dust removal pad 21 is also removed, to ensure good print Can do.

  Since the second dust removal pad 21 can be used as a presser for dust removal and stable cutting, dust removal and stable cutting can be realized with a small number of parts.

  Further, since the cutting position of the printing medium 1 is stabilized, the leading end position of the printing medium 1 is also stabilized, so that the variation in the margin of the printing medium 1 is reduced.

  Furthermore, the leading edge detection accuracy of the print medium 1 is improved by stabilizing the cutting position and the cut surface.

The method for controlling the dust removal / cutting mechanism of the print medium is not limited to the label printer. The present invention can also be applied to other various printer apparatuses.

1 is a schematic sectional view of a label printer according to the present invention. It is a top view of a half cut part, the 2nd dust removal pad, and a cutting part. It is an expanded sectional view of the cutting part of the label printer. It is a flowchart figure which shows the control method of a dust removal / cutting | disconnection mechanism. It is a chart figure of the timing corresponding to the above-mentioned flowchart figure. (A) and (b) are the expanded sectional views which show before and after the cutting | disconnection of the cutting part of the said label printer. (A) and (b) are the top views which show the schematic diagram of the conventional label printer, and the cutting | disconnection aspect of a printing medium.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Print medium 6 Printing part 8 Cutting part 20 1st dust removal pad 21 2nd dust removal pad

Claims (1)

A feed mechanism that feeds a sheet-like print medium wound up in a roll shape in the longitudinal direction, a printing unit that prints on the printing medium, a cutting unit that cuts the printing medium, and upstream and downstream sides of the printing unit A dust removal / cutting mechanism in a printer apparatus provided with a first dust removal pad and a second dust removal pad that are arranged on the printing medium and are provided so as to come into contact with and separate from the printing surface of the print medium, respectively, as follows: A method for controlling a dust removal / cutting mechanism in a printer device, characterized by:
(1) The print medium is fed from the initial position to a position exceeding the second dust removal pad.
(2) The second dust removal pad is brought into contact with the print medium, and the print medium is returned to the initial position.
(3) The second dust removal pad is separated from the print medium.
(4) The printing unit is operated and the first dust removal pad is brought into contact with the print medium.
(5) After printing, the print medium is sent to the cutting section.
(6) After the second dust removal pad is brought into contact with the print medium to stabilize the print medium, the cutting unit is driven.
(7) The second dust removal pad is moved away from the print medium, and the print medium is sent back to the initial position.

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