Conveyance control device

Abstract

To convey a sheet appropriately.SOLUTION: A conveyance control device includes: a belt 21 that circulates by a rotational drive of a motor; an encoder that counts a rotational drive amount of the motor; a sheet holding member 24 that is provided on the belt 21 and holds a sheet P; detection means that detects a position of the sheet holding member 24; calculation means 111 that calculates a deviation amount, based on a rotational drive amount from a time when the paper holding member 24 is detected by a holding member sensor 31 to a time when the paper holding member 24 reaches a standby position where the paper P is conveyed, and a specified rotational drive amount calculated from a distance from a position of the holding member sensor 31 to a standby position where the paper P is conveyed; and correction means 112 that corrects a start timing of circulation of the belt 21, based on the deviation amount calculated by the calculation means 111.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a transport control device that controls the transport of a sheet. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art As a conveying device for conveying a sheet, a conveying device that conveys a sheet such as paper in a printing device is known.

[0003] As an example of such a conveying device, Patent Document 1 discloses technology relating to a sheet discharge device that is connected to the rear of an image forming device and is configured to carry printed paper discharged from the image forming device, and which is composed of a paper transport path and a pair of paper transport rollers for transporting printed paper, a liftable tray for loading printed paper with a pair of paper discharge rollers, and a basket for storing printed paper. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-327776 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the sheet discharge device of Patent Document 1, a paddle, which is a paper knocking member arranged coaxially with a pair of paper discharge rollers, rotates at the same speed as the pair of paper discharge rollers and quickly knocks printed paper down onto the paper stack on the tray.

[0006] In this way, when the paper is discharged, the paddle operates while rubbing against the same part of the stack of paper, which may cause dirt or damage to the paper.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has an object to provide a transport control device that properly transports a sheet. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the transport control device of the present invention comprises: A circulating body that circulates by the rotational drive of a motor; A counting means for counting the rotational drive amount of the motor; A holding member that is provided on the circulating body and holds the sheet; A detection means for detecting the position of the holding member; a calculation means for calculating a deviation amount based on the rotational drive amount from a time when the holding member is detected by the detection means to a time when the holding member reaches a standby position to which the sheet is transported and a prescribed rotational drive amount calculated from a distance from the position of the detection means to the standby position to which the sheet is transported; and a correction means for correcting the circulation start timing of the circulating body based on the deviation amount calculated by the calculation means. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the transport control device of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately transport the sheet. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a transport device to which a transport control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the transport device shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] 1 is a functional configuration diagram of a transport device to which a transport control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied; [Figure 4] 11A to 11C are diagrams illustrating the occurrence of deviation in the stop position of a holding member in the transport device according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining control by a control unit included in the transport device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart showing the process of the transport device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 7]10 is a flowchart showing the process of aligning paper holding member 24 at the start of conveying paper P in the conveying device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing the process of aligning paper holding member 24 when conveyance of paper P is stopped in the conveyance device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 9] 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining control by a control unit 11 included in the transport device according to the present embodiment. FIG. [Figure 10A] 4 is a flowchart showing the process of the transport device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 10B] 4 is a flowchart showing the process of the transport device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 11] 11A and 11B are explanatory diagrams for explaining a model of correction of a movement amount in the transport device according to the embodiment; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same or equivalent parts and components are denoted by the same or equivalent reference numerals throughout the drawings.

[0012] The following embodiments are examples of devices for embodying the technical idea of ​​the present invention, and the technical idea of ​​the present invention does not limit the material, shape, structure, arrangement, etc. of each component to those described below. The technical idea of ​​the present invention can be modified in various ways within the scope of the claims.

[0013] Fig. 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a transport device to which a transport control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the schematic configuration of the transport device shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of the transport device to which a transport control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

[0014] In the following description, the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Fig. 1 is referred to as the front-rear direction, and the front direction of the paper is referred to as the forward direction. Additionally, the top, bottom, left, and right directions on the plane of the paper in Fig. 1 are referred to as the up, down, left, and right directions. The up and down direction is the vertical direction, and the left and right directions and the front and back directions are perpendicular to each other and are all perpendicular to the up and down direction. The direction from left to right is the paper transport direction. In the following description, upstream and downstream refer to upstream and downstream in the paper transport direction.

[0015] 1 to 3, the conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a first circulation unit 10A, a second circulation unit 20A, and a control unit 11. The second circulation unit 20A is provided so as to overlap with the first circulation unit 10A in the front-rear direction. When a sheet having a short paper width in the front-rear direction is conveyed, only the first circulation unit 10A operates, and when a sheet having a long paper width in the front-rear direction is conveyed, both the first circulation unit 10A and the second circulation unit 20A operate.

[0016] The first circulation unit 10A includes two pairs of conveying rollers 2, a discharge sensor 4, a skew detection unit 5, belt conveying units 6A and 6B, and a belt drive motor 7. Note that the alphabetical suffixes of the reference numerals of the belt conveying units 6A, 6B, etc. may be omitted to collectively indicate the units.

[0017] The conveying rollers 2 nip the paper (corresponding to a sheet) P and convey it toward the belt conveying sections 6A and 6B. The two pairs of conveying rollers 2 are arranged upstream of the belt conveying sections 6A and 6B, spaced apart from each other in the conveying direction (left-right direction) of the paper P. As shown in Fig. 2, the conveying rollers 2 are composed of two unit rollers 16a and 16b attached to one rotating shaft 2a.

[0018] The discharge sensor 4 detects the paper P being transported by the transport rollers 2. The discharge sensor 4 is disposed between two pairs of transport rollers 2 in the left-right direction. The discharge sensor 4 is used to control the timing at which the belt transport units 6A and 6B start transporting the paper P.

[0019] The skew detection unit 5 detects the degree of skew of the paper P conveyed toward the belt conveying units 6A and 6B. The skew detection unit 5 includes paper sensors 17A and 17B.

[0020] The paper sensors 17A and 17B are disposed at the same positions between the belt conveyors 6A and 6B and the downstream conveyor rollers 2 in the conveying direction (left-right direction) of the paper P, and spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction. The paper sensors 17A and 17B are disposed at equal distances from the center position of the paper P to the front and rear sides, respectively, in the front-rear direction.

[0021] The belt conveying units 6A and 6B hold and convey the paper P conveyed by the conveying roller 2. The belt conveying units 6A and 6B each hold and convey the same paper P. The belt conveying units 6A and 6B are disposed at the same position downstream of the downstream conveying roller 2 in the conveying direction (left-right direction) of the paper P, and spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction. The belt conveying units 6A and 6B are disposed at the same distance in front and rear from the center position of the paper P, respectively, in the front-rear direction.

[0022] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the belt conveying section 6 includes two belts (corresponding to circulating bodies) 21, a driving pulley 22, a driven pulley 23, and two paper holding members (corresponding to holding members) 24.

[0023] The two belts 21 hold and move the paper holding member 24. The belt 21 is a circular toothed belt that is stretched around a drive pulley 22 and a driven pulley 23. The two belts 21 are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction. The two belts 21 rotate (circulate) when driven by the drive pulley 22, thereby moving the paper holding member 24.

[0024] The drive pulley 22 rotates (circulates) the belt 21. The drive pulley 22 is driven by the belt drive motor 7. The drive pulley 22 is a toothed pulley that meshes with the belt 21.

[0025] The driven pulley 23 supports the two belts 21 together with the driving pulley 22. The driven pulley 23 rotates following the rotation of the rotating belts 21. The driven pulley 23 is a toothed pulley that meshes with the belts 21, similar to the driving pulley 22.

[0026] The paper holding members 24 are members that hold the paper P that has been transported by the transport rollers 2. The two paper holding members 24 are attached to the belt 21 and spaced apart from each other by half the circumference of the belt 21.

[0027] The belt drive motor 7 drives the belt conveying units 6A and 6B. Specifically, the belt drive motor 7 rotates the drive pulleys 22 of the belt conveying units 6A and 6B. As a result, the belts 21 rotate (circulate), and the paper holding members 24 move. The belt drive motor 7 has an encoder built in.

[0028] The holding member sensor 31 detects the passage of the paper holding member 24 .

[0029] The second circulation unit 20A includes belt conveyors 106A and 106B and a belt drive motor 107. Note that the alphabetical suffixes of the reference numerals of the belt conveyors 106A, 106B, etc. may be omitted to collectively indicate the belt conveyors 106A, 106B, etc.

[0030] The belt conveying units 106A and 106B hold and convey the paper P conveyed by the conveying roller 2. The belt conveying units 106A and 106B each hold and convey the same paper P. The belt conveying units 106A and 106B are disposed at the same position downstream of the downstream conveying roller 2 in the conveying direction (left-right direction) of the paper P, and spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction. The belt conveying units 106A and 106B are disposed at the same distance in front and rear from the center position of the paper P, respectively, in the front-rear direction.

[0031] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the belt conveying section 106 includes two belts (corresponding to circulating bodies) 121, a driving pulley 122, a driven pulley 123, and two paper holding members (corresponding to holding members) 124.

[0032] The two belts 121 hold and move the paper holding member 124. The belt 121 is a circular toothed belt that is stretched around a drive pulley 122 and a driven pulley 123. The two belts 121 are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction. The two belts 121 rotate (circulate) when driven by the drive pulley 122, thereby moving the paper holding member 124.

[0033] The driving pulley 122 rotates (circulates) the belt 121. The driving pulley 122 is driven by a belt driving motor 107. The driving pulley 122 is a toothed pulley that meshes with the belt 121.

[0034] The driven pulley 123 supports two belts 121 together with the driving pulley 122. The driven pulley 123 rotates following the rotation of the rotating belts 121. The driven pulley 123 is a toothed pulley that meshes with the belts 121, similar to the driving pulley 122.

[0035] The paper holding members 124 are members that hold the paper P that has been conveyed by the conveyance rollers 2. Two paper holding members 124 are attached to the belt 121, spaced apart from each other by half the circumference of the belt 121.

[0036] The belt drive motor 107 drives the belt conveyors 106A and 106B. Specifically, the belt drive motor 107 rotates the drive pulleys 122 of the belt conveyors 106A and 106B. As a result, the belts 121 rotate (circulate), and the paper holding members 124 move. The belt drive motor 107 has an encoder built in.

[0037] The holding member sensor 131 detects the passage of the paper holding member 124 .

[0038] The control unit 11 controls the operation of each part of the conveying device 1. The control unit 11 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, a hard disk, and the like.

[0039] Specifically, the control unit 11 controls the conveying rollers 2 to convey the paper P, and when the paper P is held by the paper holding members 24 of the belt conveying units 6A and 6B, drives the belt conveying units 6A and 6B to convey the paper P. In addition, when the paper P is held by the paper holding members 124 of the belt conveying units 106A and 106B, the control unit 11 controls the belt conveying units 106A and 106B to drive them to convey the paper P.

[0040] The control unit 11 also includes a calculation unit 111 and a correction unit 112 .

[0041] The calculation means 111 calculates the amount of deviation based on the rotational drive amount from the time when the paper holding member 24 is detected by the holding member sensor 31 to the time when the paper holding member 24 reaches the waiting position to which the paper P is transported, and a specified rotational drive amount calculated from the distance from the position of the holding member sensor 31 to the waiting position to which the sheet is transported.

[0042] The correction means 112 corrects the timing at which the belt 21 starts to circulate, based on the amount of deviation calculated by the calculation means 111.

[0043] 4 is a diagram for explaining the occurrence of deviation in the stop position of the holding member in the conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment. Since the belt conveying units 6A and 6B and the belt conveying units 106A and 106B have the same configuration, the belt conveying units 6A and 6B will be explained here as an example.

[0044] 4, belt 21 holds paper holding member 24 and moves it in the direction of arrow A. The position where paper holding member 24 is detected by holding member sensor 31 is called home position P1, and the position where paper holding member 24 holds paper P is called standby position P2. The distance traveled from home position P1 to standby position P2 (hereinafter referred to as specified distance) is fixed, so the number of encoder pulses corresponding to this specified distance is called the specified rotation drive amount.

[0045] The control unit 11 controls the operation of the belt conveying units 6A and 6B based on a predetermined conveying schedule. At this time, if the paper holding member 24 stops appropriately at the standby position P2, it stops at the position of the paper holding member 24 shown by the solid line, but due to the influence of slippage between the belt 21 and the drive pulley 22, the paper holding member 24 may stop at a stop position P21, which is before the standby position P2, or at a stop position P22, which is behind the standby position P2.

[0046] In this way, when the paper holding member 24 stops at the stop position P21, the paper P conveyed to the paper holding member 24 hits it, causing problems such as folding the leading edge of the paper P. Also, when the paper holding member 24 stops at the stop position P22, there is a possibility that the paper holding member 24 cannot hold the conveyed paper P and cannot convey it properly.

[0047] 5 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates the control by the control unit 11 included in the conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment. Here, an example is described in which a sheet having a short paper width in the front-rear direction is conveyed, that is, in which only the first circulation unit 10A operates.

[0048] 5, the calculation means 111 of the control unit 11 measures the number of pulses generated by the encoder of the belt drive motor 7 at the time when the paper holding member 24 is detected by the holding member sensor 31 (the time when it passes home position P1), and stores this in the internal memory as the number of sensor passing pulses. The calculation means 111 also measures the number of pulses generated by the encoder of the belt drive motor 7 at the time when the paper holding member 24 reaches the standby position P2 where the paper P is transported after passing the holding member sensor 31, and stores this in the internal memory as the number of standby position pulses.

[0049] Then, the calculation means 111 of the control unit 11 calculates the amount of deviation between the position where the paper holding member 24 actually stops and the specified waiting position by comparing the difference between the number of waiting position pulses and the number of sensor passing pulses with the number of encoder pulses equivalent to the specified distance (specified rotation drive amount).The control unit 11 stops the paper holding member 24 at the waiting position in preparation for the paper being transported there.

[0050] The correction means 112 corrects the timing at which the belt 21 starts to circulate, based on the amount of deviation calculated by the calculation means 111.

[0051] Specifically, the correction unit 112 calculates the specified time at which the paper P will arrive at the part where the paper holding member 24 grips the paper P, based on the time at which the transported paper P is detected by the discharge sensor 4 and the transport speed of the transported paper P. At this time, the correction unit 112 corrects the specified time at which the paper P will arrive at the part where the paper holding member 24 grips the paper P, based on the time equivalent to the amount of deviation calculated by the calculation unit 111, and calculates it as the operation start time of the paper holding member 24.

[0052] As a result, when paper holding member 24 stops at stop position P21 (when stopped at L1 position), the operation start time of paper holding member 24 is corrected to be earlier, so that it is possible to prevent the transported paper P from hitting paper holding member 24. Also, when paper holding member 24 stops at stop position P22 (when stopped at L3 position), the operation start time of paper holding member 24 is corrected to be later, so that the transported paper P can be reliably held by paper holding member 24.

[0053] 6 is a flowchart showing the process of the conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment. Note that, here, the process is shown when conveying a sheet having a short paper width in the front-rear direction, that is, when only the first circulation unit 10A operates.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 6, when the conveyed paper P is detected by the discharge sensor 4 in step S101, the correction unit 112 calculates the specified time in step S103.

[0055] In step S105, the control section 11 determines whether the paper P being conveyed is the second or subsequent sheet.

[0056] In step S107, the correction unit 112 corrects the specified time by adding a time corresponding to the amount of deviation calculated by the calculation unit 111 to the specified time, and calculates the corrected time as the operation start time of the paper holding member 24.

[0057] If it is determined in step S109 that the operation start time has been reached (YES), the control unit 11 starts driving the belt drive motor 7 in step S111.

[0058] In step S113, when the paper holding member 24 is detected by the holding member sensor 31 (YES), in step S115, the calculation means 111 of the control unit 11 measures the number of pulses generated by the encoder of the belt drive motor 7 and stores it in the internal memory as the number of sensor passing pulses.

[0059] If the paper holding member 24 reaches the standby position in step S117 (YES), then in step S119 the calculation means 111 measures the number of pulses generated by the encoder of the belt drive motor 7, and stores this in the internal memory as the standby position pulse number.

[0060] In step S121, the calculation means 111 of the control unit 11 calculates the amount of deviation between the position where the paper holding member 24 actually stops and the specified waiting position by comparing the difference between the number of waiting position pulses and the number of sensor passing pulses with the number of encoder pulses corresponding to the specified distance (specified rotational drive amount).

[0061] Also, as described above, when transporting a sheet with a short paper width in the front-to-rear direction, only the first circulation unit 10A operates, and when transporting a sheet with a long paper width in the front-to-rear direction, both the first circulation unit 10A and the second circulation unit 20A operate.

[0062] Therefore, when the transport of the paper P starts and ends, the control unit 11 controls the positioning of the paper holding member 24 so that the paper holding member 24 does not interfere.

[0063] FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the process of aligning paper holding member 24 at the start of conveyance of paper P in conveyance device 1 according to the present embodiment.

[0064] As shown in FIG. 7, when conveyance of the paper P is started in step S201 (YES), it is determined in step S203 whether the length in the width direction of the conveyed paper P is equal to or greater than a specified length.

[0065] If the width of the paper P is equal to or greater than the specified length (step S203; YES), both the first circulation unit 10A and the second circulation unit 20A operate, and therefore, in step S205, the control unit 11 moves the paper holding member 24 to the standby position.

[0066] In step S207, the control unit 11 moves the paper holding member 124 to the standby position.

[0067] On the other hand, if the length in the width direction of the paper P is less than the specified length (step S203; YES), only the first circulation unit 10A operates, and therefore in step S211, the control section 11 moves the paper holding member 24 to the standby position.

[0068] In step S213, the control unit 11 moves the paper holding member 124 to the home position.

[0069] FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the process of aligning the paper holding member 24 when the transport of the paper P is stopped in the transport device 1 according to the present embodiment.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 8, when the conveyance of the paper P is stopped in step S301 (YES), in order to prepare for the next conveyance operation, in step S303, the control section 11 moves the paper holding member 24 to the home position.

[0071] Then, in order to prepare for the next transport operation, in step S305, the control unit 11 moves the paper holding member 124 to the home position.

[0072] 9 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates the control by the control unit 11 included in the conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment. Here, an example is described in which a sheet having a long paper width in the front-rear direction is conveyed, that is, the first circulation unit 10A and the first circulation unit 10A are in operation.

[0073] 9, the calculation means 111 of the control unit 11 measures the number of pulses generated by the encoder of the belt drive motor 7 at the time when the paper holding member 24 is detected by the holding member sensor 31 (the time when it passes the home position P1), and stores it in the internal memory as the first sensor passing pulse number. The calculation means 111 also measures the number of pulses generated by the encoder of the belt drive motor 7 at the time when the paper holding member 24 reaches the standby position P2 where the paper P is transported after passing the holding member sensor 31, and stores it in the internal memory as the first standby position pulse number.

[0074] Similarly, the calculation means 111 of the control unit 11 measures the number of pulses generated by the encoder of the belt drive motor 107 at the time when the paper holding member 124 is detected by the holding member sensor 131 (the time when it passes the home position P1), and stores it in the internal memory as the second sensor passing pulse number. The calculation means 111 also measures the number of pulses generated by the encoder of the belt drive motor 107 at the time when the paper holding member 124 reaches the standby position P2 where the paper P is transported after passing the holding member sensor 131, and stores it in the internal memory as the second standby position pulse number.

[0075] Then, calculation means 111 of control unit 11 calculates a first deviation amount between the position where paper holding member 24 actually stops and the specified standby position by comparing the difference between the first standby position pulse number and the first sensor passing pulse number with the encoder pulse number corresponding to the specified distance (specified rotation drive amount). Control unit 11 stops paper holding member 24 at the standby position in preparation for the paper being transported there.

[0076] Similarly, calculation means 111 of control unit 11 calculates a second deviation amount between the position where paper holding member 124 actually stops and the specified standby position by comparing the difference between the second standby position pulse number and the second sensor passing pulse number with the encoder pulse number corresponding to the specified distance (specified rotation drive amount). Control unit 11 stops paper holding member 124 at the standby position in preparation for the paper being transported there.

[0077] The correction means 112 corrects the circulation start timing of the belt 21 based on the first deviation amount calculated by the calculation means 111, and also corrects the circulation start timing of the belt 121 based on the second deviation amount calculated by the calculation means 111.

[0078] Specifically, the correction unit 112 calculates the specified time at which the paper P will arrive at the part where the paper holding member 24 grips the paper P, based on the time at which the transported paper P is detected by the discharge sensor 4 and the transport speed of the transported paper P. At this time, the correction unit 112 corrects the specified time at which the paper P will arrive at the part where the paper holding member 24 grips the paper P, based on the time equivalent to the first deviation amount calculated by the calculation unit 111, and calculates it as the operation start time of the paper holding member 24.

[0079] Furthermore, correction means 112 calculates a specified time at which paper P will arrive at a portion where paper holding member 124 grips paper P, based on the time at which paper P being transported is detected by discharge sensor 4, the transport speed of paper P transported by transport roller 2, and the transport speed of paper P transported by paper holding member 24. At this time, correction means 112 corrects the specified time at which paper P will arrive at a portion where paper holding member 124 grips paper P, based on the time equivalent to the second deviation amount calculated by calculation means 111, and calculates this as the operation start time of paper holding member 124.

[0080] 10A and 10B are flow charts showing the process of the conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment. Note that, here, the process is shown when conveying a sheet having a long paper width in the front-rear direction, that is, when the first circulation unit 10A and the second circulation unit 20A are operating.

[0081] As shown in FIG. 10A, in step S401, the paper posture assistance operation is started (YES), and in step S403, when the paper holding member 24 is detected by the holding member sensor 31 (YES), in step S405, the calculation means 111 of the control unit 11 measures the number of pulses generated by the encoder of the belt drive motor 7, and stores the current system time and the number of pulses passing the first sensor in the internal memory.

[0082] In step S407, the calculation means 111 of the control unit 11 calculates the time when the paper holding member 24 stops at the standby position.

[0083] When the conveyed paper P is detected by the discharge sensor 4 in step S409, the correction unit 112 calculates the specified time when the paper P will arrive at the portion where the paper P is gripped by the paper holding member 24 in step S411.

[0084] If it is determined in step S413 that the specified time has been reached (YES), in step S415, the control unit 11 stops the operation of the paper holding member 24, and the calculation means 111 measures the number of pulses generated by the encoder of the belt drive motor 7 and stores it in the internal memory as the first waiting position pulse number.

[0085] In step S417, the calculation means 111 of the control unit 11 calculates the first deviation amount between the position where the paper holding member 24 actually stops and the specified waiting position by comparing the difference between the first waiting position pulse number and the first sensor passing pulse number with the encoder pulse number corresponding to the specified distance (specified rotational drive amount).

[0086] In step S419, when the control unit 11 determines that the specified time has arrived at the point where the paper P is gripped by the paper holding member 24 (YES), in step S421, the correction means 112 corrects the specified time by adding a time equivalent to the first shift amount calculated by the calculation means 111 to the specified time, and calculates this as the operation start time of the paper holding member 24.

[0087] If the paper holding member 24 reaches the standby position in step S423 (YES), the control section 11 starts driving the belt driving motor 7 in step S425.

[0088] In step S427, when the paper holding member 124 is detected by the holding member sensor 131 (YES), in step S429, the calculation means 111 of the control unit 11 measures the number of pulses generated by the encoder of the belt drive motor 107, and stores it in the internal memory as the current system time and the number of pulses passing the second sensor.

[0089] In step S431, the calculation means 111 of the control unit 11 calculates the time when the paper holding member 124 stops at the standby position.

[0090] In step S433, when the control unit 11 determines that the specified time has arrived at the point where the paper P is gripped by the paper holding member 124 (YES), in step S435, the control unit 11 stops the operation of the paper holding member 24, and the calculation means 111 measures the number of pulses generated by the encoder of the belt drive motor 107 and stores it in the internal memory as the second waiting position pulse number.

[0091] In step S437, the calculation means 111 of the control unit 11 calculates a second deviation amount between the position where the paper holding member 124 actually stops and the specified waiting position by comparing the difference between the second waiting position pulse number and the second sensor passing pulse number with the encoder pulse number corresponding to the specified distance (specified rotational drive amount).

[0092] In step S439, the calculation means 111 of the control unit 11 calculates the transfer position correction amount between the paper holding member 24 and the paper holding member 124.

[0093] If it is determined in step S441 that the delivery time has arrived (YES), the control unit 11 starts driving the belt driving motor 107 in step S443.

[0094] Note that belt 21 may become loose due to aging or other reasons. Therefore, the tension of belt 21 may be adjusted by changing the distance between driving pulley 122 and driven pulley 123. In that case, in order to appropriately control the device, it is necessary to correct the amount of movement per unit pulse of the encoder.

[0095] Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates the correction of the movement amount in the conveying device 1 according to the present embodiment. Fig. 11(a) shows the state when the paper holding member is detected for the first time, and Fig. 11(b) shows the state when the paper holding member is detected for the second time.

[0096] As shown in FIG. 11(a), the conveying device 1 according to this embodiment has a distance adjustment mechanism 41 that changes the distance between the driving pulley 122 and the driven pulley 123 to adjust the tension of the belt 21.

[0097] Furthermore, the paper holding members 24A and 24B have the same configuration and are provided spaced apart by a prescribed distance L11, which is the distance on the belt 21.

[0098] As shown in FIG. 11(a), the calculation means 111 of the control unit 11 acquires the number of pulses of the encoder of the belt drive motor 7 at the time when the paper holding member 24A is detected by the holding member sensor 31, and stores this in the internal memory as the first pulse number.

[0099] Then, the calculation means 111 of the control unit 11 acquires the number of pulses of the encoder of the belt drive motor 7 at the time when the paper holding member 24B is detected by the holding member sensor 31 as shown in Figure 11 (b), and stores it in the internal memory as a second pulse number.

[0100] The calculation means 111 of the control unit 11 calculates the movement amount per unit rotation drive amount by dividing the interval regulation distance L11 by the difference between the first pulse number and the second pulse number.

[0101] The control unit 11 controls the belt conveying units 6A and 6B based on the movement amount per unit rotational drive amount calculated by the calculation means 111. Specifically, the control unit 11 uses the movement amount per unit rotational drive amount calculated when controlling the paper discharge posture assist operation using the paper holding member 24 for the paper P discharged in the subsequent printing operation.

[0102] This makes it possible to correct the change in the distance caused by distance adjustment mechanism 41, which adjusts the distance between drive pulley 122 and driven pulley 123, and to appropriately control the amount of movement of paper holding member 24.

[0103] In the above-described embodiment, the conveying device 1 has been described as having two belt conveying units 6. However, the present invention is also applicable to a configuration having three or more belt conveying units 6. It is sufficient that the plurality of belt conveying units 6 are driven independently to convey the same sheet P, and a skew correction process is performed to control the conveying speed of the sheet P by each of the plurality of belt conveying units 6 so as to correct the skew of the sheet P. It is also sufficient that the conveying speed of the sheet P in at least one of the plurality of belt conveying units 6 is adjusted based on the degree of skew of the sheet P detected by a detection unit during the skew correction process.

[0104] The present invention is also applicable to devices that transport sheets other than paper.

[0105] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the components can be modified and embodied in the implementation stage without departing from the gist of the invention. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining the multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment.

[0106] [Note] This application discloses the following inventions.

[0107] (Appendix 1) A circulating body that circulates by the rotational drive of a motor; A counting means for counting the rotational drive amount of the motor; A holding member that is provided on the circulating body and holds the sheet; A detection means for detecting the position of the holding member; a calculation means for calculating a deviation amount based on the rotational drive amount from a time when the holding member is detected by the detection means to a time when the holding member reaches a standby position to which the sheet is transported and a prescribed rotational drive amount calculated from a distance from the position of the detection means to the standby position to which the sheet is transported; a correction means for correcting a circulation start timing of the circulating body based on the deviation amount calculated by the calculation means; A transport control device comprising:

[0108] As a result, for example, when the holding member stops at a stop position before the standby position, the operation start time of the holding member is corrected to be earlier, so that the conveyed sheet can be prevented from hitting the holding member. Also, when the holding member stops at a stop position behind the standby position, the operation start time of the holding member is corrected to be later, so that the conveyed sheet can be reliably held by the holding member. In this way, the sheet can be conveyed appropriately even if the sheet stop position is shifted.

[0109] (Appendix 2) The circulating body includes a pair of first circulating bodies spaced apart by a first distance in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sheet, and a pair of second circulating bodies spaced apart by a second distance, the second distance being longer than the first distance, in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sheet. 2. A transport control device as described in claim 1.

[0110] This allows the control to operate so that only the first circulating body operates when transporting a sheet with a short paper width, and so that both the first and second circulating bodies operate when transporting a sheet with a long paper width, allowing the holding member to appropriately hold and transport both sheets with a short paper width and sheets with a long paper width.

[0111] (Appendix 3) moving the holding member to a home position detected by the detection means when conveyance of the sheet is started; a control unit that controls the circulating body so as to move the holding member to the standby position when the conveyance of the sheet is completed; 2. A transport control device according to claim 1, comprising:

[0112] This makes it possible to prevent interference of the holding members by aligning the holding members when starting and finishing conveying the sheet.

[0113] (Appendix 4) One or more of the retaining members are provided, the calculation means calculates a movement amount per unit rotational drive amount based on the rotational drive amount from a time point when the holding member is detected by the detection means to a time point when the holding member is next detected by the detection means and a specified interval distance which is a distance on the circulating body between the holding members; a control means for controlling the circulating body based on a movement amount per unit rotation drive amount; 2. A transport control device according to claim 1, comprising:

[0114] Even if sagging occurs in the circulating body due to aging or the like, the movement amount per unit rotation drive amount can be corrected to an appropriate value, so that the sheet can be transported appropriately. [Explanation of symbols]

[0115] 1. Transport device 2 Conveyor roller 4 Emission sensor 5. Skew detection unit 6 Belt conveyor 6A Belt conveyor 6B Belt conveyor 7 Belt drive motor 10A 1st circulation unit 11 Control section 20A 2nd circulation unit 21 Belt 22 Drive pulley 23 Driven pulley 24 Paper holding member 24A Paper holding member 24B Paper holding member 31 Holding member sensor 41 Distance adjustment mechanism 106 Belt conveyor 106A Belt conveyor 106B Belt conveyor 107 Belt drive motor 111 Calculation Method 112 Correction means 121 Belt 122 Drive pulley 123 Driven pulley 124 Paper holding member 124 Paper holding member 131 Holding member sensor

Claims

1. A circulating body that circulates by the rotational drive of a motor; A counting means for counting the rotational drive amount of the motor; A holding member that is provided on the circulating body and holds the sheet; A detection means for detecting the position of the holding member; a calculation means for calculating a deviation amount based on the rotational drive amount from a time when the holding member is detected by the detection means to a time when the holding member reaches a standby position to which the sheet is transported and a prescribed rotational drive amount calculated from a distance from the position of the detection means to the standby position to which the sheet is transported; a correction means for correcting a circulation start timing of the circulating body based on the deviation amount calculated by the calculation means; A transport control device comprising:

2. The circulating body includes a pair of first circulating bodies spaced apart by a first distance in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sheet, and a pair of second circulating bodies spaced apart by a second distance, the second distance being longer than the first distance, in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sheet.

2. The transport control device according to claim 1.

3. moving the holding member to a home position detected by the detection means when conveyance of the sheet is started; a control means for controlling the circulating body so as to move the holding member to the standby position when the conveyance of the sheet is completed; 2. The transport control device according to claim 1, further comprising:

4. One or more of the retaining members are provided, the calculation means calculates a movement amount per unit rotational drive amount based on the rotational drive amount from a time point when the holding member is detected by the detection means to a time point when the holding member is next detected by the detection means and a specified interval distance which is a distance on the circulating body between the holding members; A control means for controlling the circulating body based on the movement amount per unit rotation drive amount, 2. The transport control device according to claim 1, further comprising:

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