JPH0995020A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer capable of recording images by feeding a flexible first recorded material and also capable of recording images a second recorded material with inflexibility. SOLUTION: The printer includes first feeding mechanisms (cut sheer feeders) 1, 5 for feeding a first flexible recorded material 2 to a recording position, second feeding mechanisms 16, 19 for feeding a second inflexible recorded material to a recording position, recording means 3, means 13, 14 for discharging a recorded material, and means being in association with the switching displacement movement of the first feeding mechanism to the second feeding mechanism and forbidding the feeding movement by the other feeding means during the feeding movement by out feeding means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer,
In particular, the present invention relates to a printer that can convey recording materials having different forms to recording positions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the development of printing equipment has been remarkable, and in particular, an ink jet type printer is capable of recording a high density recording image at a high speed, and it is a non-impact type, and therefore occurs with recording. It has the advantages of low noise and low running cost, and its popularity is rapidly expanding. In addition, such an inkjet printer is originally applicable to various recording materials, and development of recording inks and recording materials has progressed. There is an increasing need for printing characters, patterns, etc. on such disk-shaped objects as plastic films and floppy disks, and also non-flexible objects such as aluminum plates and glass plates.

[0003]

By the way, conventionally, as a method for printing characters, designs, etc. on an inflexible material such as an aluminum plate, a glass plate, a plastic plate, a corrugated board, etc., for example, on a personal computer. A desired character or pattern is created by using the graphic creation software, and the created data is transferred to, for example, an inkjet printer connected to this personal computer for printing.

However, in the case of color printing with this printer, the color on the display of the personal computer may be slightly different from the color actually printed, and in the case of printing characters, etc. Check the overall balance and change the font size. Therefore, it is necessary to perform a so-called trial printing operation in which printing is performed once and the color condition, balance, etc. are checked. In that case, the recording material is the aluminum plate itself to be printed. . As a result, in order to make fine adjustments, many relatively expensive recording materials such as an aluminum plate must be consumed, which causes an increase in printing cost.

The inventors of the present invention have addressed the above problems.
As a recording material for the above-mentioned test printing, the present inventors focused on using a relatively inexpensive recording paper used for ordinary printing.

However, in the conventional printer using an aluminum plate or the like as a recording medium, the following problems may occur even if the recording paper is simply used.

First, in a printer that uses a non-flexible recording material such as an aluminum plate, the printer does not have a paper feeding mechanism for feeding the recording material to the recording portion, and for example, in the vicinity of the recording portion. Since this is often done by pushing an aluminum plate or the like until it comes into contact with the conveyance roller, the conveyance direction and the like of a flexible recording material such as recording paper may not be well defined. On the other hand, in the case where a dedicated paper feed mechanism or the like is provided to satisfactorily convey such recording paper, on the other hand, the conveyance path of the non-flexible recording material may be substantially linear. Since it is required, the size of the device is increased as a whole.

Second, for example, during trial printing on a recording sheet, a user mistakenly pushes an inflexible recording material such as an aluminum plate into a conveying path near the recording section and conveys the same. When setting, the printing on the recording paper or the non-flexible recording material may be inappropriate.

The first and second problems described above are not limited to the case where a flexible recording material such as a recording sheet is simply used for test printing, and such a recording sheet is also inflexible. It is clear that this is a problem that may occur in the printers used for normal printing in addition to the recording material.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide both a flexible recording material such as a recording sheet and an inflexible recording material. It is to provide a printer that can perform good printing.

[0011]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a first feeding mechanism having a feeding path for feeding a first recording material to a recording position, and a second feeding mechanism. Recording is performed on the first and second recording materials fed to the recording position, and a second feeding mechanism having a conveyance path for feeding the recording material to the recording position. Recording means capable of discharging the recording material, discharging means for discharging the recorded first and second recording materials, and the first feeding mechanism.
During the feeding of the recording material, the second feeding mechanism causes the second feeding mechanism to
The feeding of the recording material is impossible, and the feeding of the first recording material by the first feeding mechanism is impossible during the feeding of the second recording material by the second feeding mechanism. And means for doing so.

According to the present invention, the feeding mechanism is selected depending on whether the recording material to be used is the flexible first recording material or the inflexible second recording material such as recording paper. While being switched to either the first feeding mechanism corresponding to the first recording material or the second feeding mechanism corresponding to the second recording material,
For example, in the case of the feeding by the second feeding mechanism, it is impossible to feed the first recording material to the recording position.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention. In these figures, 1 is a substantially L-shaped cut sheet feeder that holds the cut sheets 2 in an accumulated state and feeds them one by one to the recording unit 3, 4 is its rotation axis, and 5 is a cross-section. A half-moon type feed roller for feeding, and 6 is a roller shaft. The feed roller 5 is rotated by a drive motor via a gear train (not shown) provided at one end of the roller shaft 6, and the feed rollers 5 are fed one by one from those positioned above the cut sheets 2 which are cumulatively held. The position of the cut sheet feeder 1 in the first recording mode is shown by a solid line in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Reference numerals 7 and 8 are guide shafts for guiding the carriage 3B in the recording section 3 in which the head cartridge 3A integrated with the ink tank is mounted in the main scanning direction. The carriage 3B is moved in the main scanning direction by a carriage driving motor (not shown), and ink is ejected at a predetermined timing during that time to perform recording on the cut sheet 2 or a second recording material described later. Reference numeral 9 denotes a platen that holds the recording sheet 2 or the second recording material 22 at a position facing the ink ejection port surface 3C of the head cartridge 3A. The transport roller shaft 12 is a pinch roller which is in pressure contact with the transport roller 11 and cooperates with the transport of the first recording material (recording sheet) 2 or the second recording material during the pressing. In the above structure, a gear for transmitting the driving force from the drive mechanism is attached to one end of the roller shaft 10, and the gear is the other on the other hand through the roller shaft 6 of the feed roller 5 and a gear train (not shown). Therefore, in the second recording mode, which will be described later, the gear train is uncoupled and the feed roller 5 cannot feed the gear.

Further, 13 is a discharge roller which is pivotally supported by the platen 9 and is interlocked with the conveying roller 11, 14 is a spur whose tooth tips are in contact with the discharge roller 13, and 14A is a roller which holds the spur 14 and discharges the spur 14. The spur holder is biased toward 13, and 15 is a transmission roller for transmitting the rotation of the transport roller 11 to the discharge roller 13. Furthermore, reference numeral 16 denotes a conveyance path (hereinafter referred to as a second conveyance guide plate) which is swingably supported around a support shaft 18 provided on the printer frame 17. Second transport guide plate 16
In the state of the second recording mode indicated by the broken line in FIG. 1, it is kept substantially horizontal as indicated by the broken line, and the locking recess 16A formed at the tip thereof is engaged with the platen 9 by the spring force of the torsion spring 19. It is biased toward the convex portion 9A and forms a second conveyance path to the recording unit 3.

Next, the structure of the mechanism involved in switching between the first recording mode and the second recording mode will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, both ends of the rotary shaft 4 of the cut sheet feeder 1 described above are pivotally supported by the shaft supporting portion 17A of the machine frame 17 on the sheet insertion side. As described above, the cut sheet feeder 1 is kept at the position of the first recording mode shown by the solid line. Reference numeral 30 denotes a feeder lock lever that is vertically displaceable along the sheet insertion side end of the machine frame 17 as indicated by an arrow AA ', 30A is a knob provided on the upper end thereof, and 30B is a lower end of the feeder lock lever 30. -Shaped feeder positioning members 30C and 30 protruding from the vicinity of the portion toward the cut sheet feeder 1 side
D is first and second locking recesses formed at both ends of the feeder positioning member having an arc shape, 30E is a spring retaining pin, 30F is a pin guide surface of the feeder positioning member 30B, and 30F is a pin guide surface. It is formed according to the movement locus of 1.

The feeder lock lever 30 is formed by the guide projections 17B and 17C projecting from the machine frame 17 to
-A 'is held so as to be movable in the vertical direction. Reference numeral 31 denotes the machine frame side shaft support portion 17A and the feeder positioning member 30B described above.
Is a spring hooked between the hooking pin 30E and the hooking pin 30E. The spring 31 biases the feeder lock lever 30 in the direction of arrow A to lock the locking pin 1A on the cut sheet feeder 1.
Is engaged with the first locking recess 30C of the feeder guide member.

Next, a mechanism for releasing and restoring the contact state between the spur 14 and the discharge roller 13 in conjunction with the switching operation between the first recording mode and the second recording mode according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. To do. When discharging the second recording material, this mechanism causes the tooth tips of the spurs 14 to bite into the surface of the second recording material, damaging the recording material itself and the characters, symbols, and patterns recorded on it. It has a great effect to prevent

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 40 denotes a slide lever which is movable in the BB 'direction along the platen 9 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and has a substantially L-shaped cross section in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. It is formed, and rising portions 40A and 40B are provided at both ends thereof. 41A and 41B are long grooves in the moving direction formed in the rising portions 40A and 40B, respectively, and 42A and 42B are formed in the machine frame (see FIG. 2) 17 and are fitted into the long grooves 41A and 41B to slide lever 40. Is a guide pin that movably supports the guide pin, and 43 is a retaining ring that is press-fitted into the guide pins 42A and 42B.

A rack type gear 44 is provided on the upper surface of the rising portion 40B.
Meshes with a gear 45 that is axially supported by the spur support member 14A. Reference numeral 46 denotes a spring that is stretched between the slide lever 40 and the machine frame 17 and urges the slide lever 40 in the direction of arrow B. This spring force locks the cut sheet feeder 1 in the first recording mode. The slide lever 40 is kept biased toward the pin 1A.

Further, referring to FIG. 4, the details of the mechanism for releasing the spur 14 from the pressure contact state with the discharge roller 13 according to the movement of the slide lever 40 will be described.

Reference numeral 47 is a support shaft of the gear 45 to the spur support member 14A, and 47A is a semi-circular cam portion formed in the non-support portion of the support shaft 47. Further, 48 is a spur support member 1
4A is a torsion spring provided around a shaft 49, and the spring force of the torsion spring 48 urges the spur support member 14A in the counterclockwise direction via the cam portion 47A, so that the spur 14 is discharged. It is kept pressed against. Therefore, the operation of only such a spur release mechanism is shown in FIG.
To explain, by moving the slide lever 40 in the direction B from the state shown in this figure, the gear 45 rotates in the clockwise direction via the rack gear 44. The rotation of the support shaft 47 accompanying the rotation of the gear 45 causes the cam portion 47 to move.
The semicircular portion of A pushes up the torsion spring 48 to the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line, and the pushing action causes the spur 47 to move to the spur shaft 5.
Pulled up through 0. Although not shown here, the spur 14 is biased toward the discharge roller 13 by a biasing force weaker than the spring force of the torsion spring 48.

The feeding operation in the first recording mode and the second recording mode by the printer having the above-mentioned configuration and the switching operation of the transport mechanism at the time of mode switching will be described below. In the first recording mode, that is, when recording is performed by feeding a conventional flexible recording sheet, the second conveyance guide plate 16 is twisted by the torsion spring 19 at the bottom portion 1B of the cut sheet feeder 1 as shown by solid lines in FIGS. It is pushed down to the position indicated by the solid line against the spring force of the platen 9 and the connection between the platen 9 and the second conveyance guide plate 16 is cut off. This makes it impossible to feed the second recording material in the first recording mode.

Further, the spring force of the spring 31 shown in FIG. 2 causes the feeder positioning member 30 of the feeder lock lever 30.
When B is biased upward, the locking pin 1A of the cut sheet feeder 1 is engaged with the first locking recess 30C of the feeder positioning member 30B, and the cut sheet feeder 1
Is maintained at the first recording mode position (position indicated by the solid line).

Further, in such a state of the first recording mode, the locking pin 1A of the cut sheet feeder 1 has one rising portion 40A of the slide lever 40 as shown in FIG.
, The slide lever 40 is held against the spring force of the spring 46 in the position shown by the solid line in FIG. Therefore, the other rising portion 40B is also maintained at the position shown by the solid line in FIGS. 3 and 4, and the tooth tips of the spurs 14 are brought into contact with the roller surface of the discharge roller 13. When a recording signal is output in this state, the cut sheet 2 for normal recording, which is substantially rectangular, is fed from the cut sheet feeder 1 by the clockwise rotation of the feed roller 5 as shown in FIG. Thus, in the recording unit 3, recording is performed on the cut sheet (first recording material) 2, and the recording roller 2 and the spur 14 eject the recorded recording sheet 2 out of the machine.

When recording in the second recording mode,
In FIG. 2, the knob 30 of the feeder lock lever 30
By depressing A in the direction of arrow A ′, the feeder positioning member 30B is pushed down to the lower position shown by the alternate long and short dash line against the spring force of the spring 31. However, by this lever operation, the locking pin 1A of the cut sheet feeder 1 is released from the first locking recess 30C of the feeder positioning member 30B, so that the cut sheet feeder 1 is rotated to the second recording mode position indicated by the alternate long and short dash line. be able to.

The cut sheet feeder 1 thus rotated to the second recording mode position is shown by a broken line in FIG. In this state, since the bottom portion 1B of the cut sheet feeder 1 does not push down the second conveyance guide plate 16, the second conveyance guide plate 16 is almost horizontal as shown by a broken line in FIG. 1 by the spring force of the torsion spring 19. The state is maintained and the platen 9 is connected. Therefore, the non-flexible second recording material 22 indicated by the broken line can be inserted along the second conveyance guide plate 16 from the direction of the arrow C, and can be linearly guided to the recording unit 3.

Further, since the locking pin 1A of the cut sheet feeder 1 releases the locked state of the slide lever 40 by the above-described rotation operation of the cut sheet feeder 1, the slide lever 40 is moved to the spring 46 as shown in FIG. It moves in the direction of arrow B by the spring force. And this slide lever 40
As described above, the spur 14 is pulled upward by the torsion spring 48 by the moving operation of the discharge roller 13
By releasing the pressure contact state with, the non-flexible second recording material 22 can be discharged to the outside of the machine without damaging it. Note that the recording operation in the recording unit 3 in the second recording mode is the same as that in the first recording mode, and therefore its description is omitted.

In the above-described embodiments, the case where the recording unit 3 is an ink jet type capable of ejecting ink to form a recorded image has been described. However, the present invention is applied to a printer having such an ink jet type recording unit. It goes without saying that it is not limited.

Further, although the sizes of the first recording material and the second recording material have not been described in detail, for example, recording sheets of a plurality of sizes can be fed to the cut sheet feeder 1 which is the first feeding means. By using a material, or by changing the recording start position or the like according to the size and thickness of the second recording material fed by the second feeding means, the first recording material of plural sizes and / or the first recording material (2) The recording material can be fed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a printing system constructed by using the printer of the above embodiment.

When printing label information on the surface of, for example, a compact disc in the printing apparatus 110, first, the first recording mode is set to perform test printing on normal recording paper, and data processing is performed according to the result. The image to be printed is determined by repeating the correction of the tint or the like in the image with the device 101, and then,
The second recording mode can be set to print on a compact disc.

The relationship between the recording material and the printing apparatus in each of the first and second recording modes can be established by using, for example, a known recording material detection sensor.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, the first feeding mechanism having the feeding path for feeding the first recording material to the recording position and the second recording material. It is possible to perform recording on a second feeding mechanism having a conveyance path for feeding a material to the recording position and the first and second recording materials fed to the recording position. Recording means, discharging means for discharging the recorded first and second recording materials, and the second feeding during the feeding of the first recording material by the first feeding mechanism. A second mechanism for feeding the second recording material, and while the second feeding mechanism feeds the second recording material, the first feeding mechanism feeds the first recording material. Since it is provided with a means for making feeding impossible, a relatively non-flexible aluminum is provided in addition to the flexible conventional recording sheet (first recording material). Um and glass, just simply switching the feed mechanism with respect to the rigid plate such as a plastic (second recording material), it enables recording by a single printer,
Moreover, the feeding of the second recording material is prohibited during the feeding of the first recording material to the recording position, and the feeding of the first recording material is prohibited during the feeding of the second recording material. The discharge mechanism is switched to a state corresponding to the discharge of the recording material of each type according to the switching displacement operation of feeding the recording material, and a single printer flexes the recording material and the inflexible recording material. It is possible to print on both the recording material and the recording material.

Further, in the conventional recording on the second recording material, a test printing for checking the color condition and balance can be performed on the relatively inexpensive first recording material, It can contribute to the reduction of running cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a mode switching mechanism mainly of a printer according to the present invention in a state of a first recording mode.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a discharge mechanism mainly of a printer according to the present invention in a state of a first recording mode.

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the discharging mechanism shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a print system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cut Sheet Feeder 1A Locking Pin 1B Bottom 2 Cut Sheet (First Recording Material) 3 Recording Part 3A Head Cartridge 5 Feed Roller 9 Platen 11 Conveying Roller 13 Ejecting Roller 16 Second Conveying Guide Plate 17 (Printer) Machine Frame 22 Second recording material 30 Feeder lock lever 30A Knob 30B Feeder positioning member 30C, 30D Locking recess 31 Spring 40 Slide lever 40A, 40B Rise portion 41A, 41B Long groove 42A, 42B Guide pin 44 Rack gear 45 Gear wheel 46 Spring 48 Torsion Spring

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A first feeding mechanism having a feeding path for feeding a first recording material to a recording position, and a feeding path for feeding a second recording material to the recording position. A second feeding mechanism having: a recording means capable of performing recording on the first and second recording materials fed to the recording position; Discharge means for discharging the second recording material, and feeding of the second recording material by the second feeding mechanism during feeding of the first recording material by the first feeding mechanism. And a means for disabling the feeding of the first recording material by the first feeding mechanism during the feeding of the second recording material by the second feeding mechanism. A printer characterized by. 2. The first feeding mechanism is swingable between a first position and a second position, and enables feeding of the first recording material at the first position. It is impossible to feed the second recording material, and it is possible to feed the second recording material by the second feeding mechanism at the second position and the first recording material. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the feeding of the printer is disabled. 3. The first feeding mechanism has locking means capable of locking at the first position and the second position, and is provided with locking releasing means for releasing the locking means. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer is a printer. 4. The second feeding mechanism is a conveyance guide plate that guides the second recording material to the recording position, and the conveyance guide plate is interlocked with the swing operation of the first feeding mechanism. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer is retracted from a connection position with the recording position. 5. The first guide mechanism and the second recording medium are provided with an insertion opening of the conveyance guide plate and the second recording medium below the first feeding mechanism. The printer according to claim 4, wherein the material is guided to the recording position by the same conveying means. 6. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the first recording material is paper and the second recording material is a high-rigidity material. 7. The discharging means has a discharging roller which is interlocked with the conveying means, and a spur whose tooth tips come into contact with the discharging roller, and the discharging means extends from the first position to the first position. 7. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising means for retracting a tooth tip of the spur from the discharge roller in association with a swinging operation to the position 2. 8. The feeding path of the first feeding mechanism is curved, and the feeding paths of the second feeding mechanism and the discharging means are substantially linear. The printer according to any one of items. 9. The ink jet recording system according to claim 1, wherein the recording means records ink by ejecting ink toward the first recording material or the second recording material.
9. The printer according to any one of items 8 to 8.