Image forming device

Abstract

To reduce a working time required for replacing a continuous medium.SOLUTION: An image forming device includes: a conveying section that conveys a continuous medium supplied from a supplying section to a collecting section that collects the continuous medium via an image forming section that forms an image; and a detecting section that detects a leading edge of the conveyed continuous medium at a detection position between the supplying section and the image forming section, wherein the conveying section starts conveying the continuous medium after the continuous medium is attached to the supply section, conveys the continuous medium so that the leading edge moves from the detection position to a predetermined position after passing through the image forming section, and stops.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Among image forming apparatuses using electrophotography or inkjet printing, there are those that transport continuous media such as roll paper in a roll-to-roll manner and form an image on the transported continuous media (for example, see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-163117 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In an image forming apparatus such as that shown in Patent Document 1, when replacing roll paper, the worker must transport or stop the roll paper while visually checking the leading edge of the roll paper to ensure that it has reached the paper discharge side. Because this is a manual task, it takes time, and furthermore, during this task, it is not possible to perform other tasks such as job settings, resulting in a decrease in image formation productivity.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of reducing the operation time required for replacing a continuous medium. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a conveying section that conveys the continuous medium supplied from the supply section to a collecting section that collects the continuous medium via an image forming section that forms an image; a detection unit that detects a leading edge of the continuous medium being conveyed at a detection position between the supply unit and the image forming unit; Equipped with After the continuous medium is attached to the supply section, the conveying section starts conveying the continuous medium, and conveys the continuous medium so that the leading edge moves from the detection position to a predetermined position after passing through the image forming section, and then stops. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, the work time required for replacing the continuous medium can be reduced. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which conveyance of a continuous medium is started after the continuous medium has been attached to a supply section; [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram showing a state in which the leading edge of the continuous medium has been conveyed to a predetermined position where it can be fixed in a collection unit and has been stopped in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 is a diagram showing the state in which a continuous medium with a fixed leading end has been wound up a predetermined number of turns in a recovery unit and stopped in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a block diagram showing a main part of a control system of the image forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0010] [Configuration of image forming apparatus 100] 1 to 3 are diagrams that show a schematic overall configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 shows a state in which conveyance is started after the continuous medium S is attached to the supply unit 30. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the leading end St of the continuous medium S is conveyed to a predetermined position P2 where it can be fixed in the collection unit 40 and stopped. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the continuous medium S with the leading end St fixed is wound up a predetermined number of turns in the collection unit 40 and stopped. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the main parts of a control system of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0011] The image forming apparatus 100 is capable of forming an image on a continuous medium S such as roll paper. The continuous medium S is not limited to roll paper, but may be any continuous paper, and may also be a recording medium made of continuous cloth (woven fabric), resin, etc. Therefore, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the image forming apparatus 100 includes an image forming apparatus main body 10, a conveying section 20, a supply section 30, a collection section 40, etc.

[0012] The image forming apparatus main body 10 is, for example, a color image forming apparatus of an intermediate transfer type that utilizes electrophotographic process technology. The image forming apparatus main body 10 has an image forming section 11, which forms an image by primarily transferring toner images of each color of CMYK formed on a photoconductor onto an intermediate transfer body, superimposing the four color toner images on the intermediate transfer body, and then secondary transferring the images onto a continuous medium S. Here, CMYK stands for C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black).

[0013] Here, an intermediate transfer type color image forming apparatus using electrophotographic process technology has been exemplified as the image forming apparatus main body 10, but the image forming apparatus main body 10 may also be an image forming apparatus using inkjet technology.

[0014] The conveying unit 20 conveys the continuous medium S from the supplying unit 30 to the collecting unit 40 via the image forming apparatus main body 10. Here, a belt conveying type conveying unit is exemplified as the conveying unit 20, but a roller conveying type or a drum conveying type may be used as long as the continuous medium S can be conveyed. In addition, here, a conveying unit 20 extending from the supplying unit 30 to the collecting unit 40 is exemplified, but the conveying unit 20 may be composed of a plurality of conveying units.

[0015] The supply unit 30 has a support shaft 31 that supports the continuous medium S, and the continuous medium S wound in a roll is attached to the support shaft 31. The support shaft 31 is driven to rotate by a drive device (not shown), and supplies (pays out) the continuous medium S attached to the support shaft 31 to the transport unit 20.

[0016] The recovery unit 40 has a support shaft 41 that supports the continuous medium S, a fixing portion 42 that fixes the tip St of the continuous medium S, and the like. When the tip St of the continuous medium S is fixed to the fixing portion 42 and the support shaft 41 is driven to rotate by a drive device (not shown), the continuous medium S is wound around the support shaft 41 and the continuous medium S is recovered.

[0017] The fixing unit 42 may be, for example, a clamp member that opens and closes relative to the outer circumferential surface 41a of the support shaft 41 under the control of the control unit 90, and when closed, clamps and fixes the tip St of the continuous medium S between the clamp member and the outer circumferential surface 41a. Note that the fixing unit 42 is not limited to a clamp member, and may have another configuration, for example, a tape application device that applies and fixes the tip St of the continuous medium S to the outer circumferential surface 41a.

[0018] In addition to the image forming apparatus main body 10, the conveying section 20, the supply section 30, and the collection section 40, the image forming apparatus 100 also includes a media sensor 50 (the detection section in the present invention), an operation display section 70, a communication section 80, a control section 90, etc., as shown in FIG. 5.

[0019] The media sensor 50 is disposed between the supply unit 30 and the image forming apparatus main body 10 in the transport direction of the continuous medium S. The media sensor 50 has a sensor that detects the leading edge St of the continuous medium S transported by the transport unit 20 at a detection position P1.

[0020] The sensor that detects the leading edge St of the continuous medium S is, for example, a sensor that detects the intensity of reflected light, and when that intensity changes, it is determined that the leading edge St has been detected. Also, when a predetermined mark is affixed to the leading edge St of the continuous medium S, the sensor that detects the leading edge St of the continuous medium S is, for example, a sensor that detects an image, and when the predetermined mark is detected, it is determined that the leading edge St has been detected.

[0021] Furthermore, the media sensor 50 not only has a sensor that detects the leading edge St of the continuous medium S, but also has sensors that detect information about the continuous medium S, such as the paper type, paper thickness, basis weight, moisture content, etc. In the media sensor 50, for example, the leading edge St and paper type are detected by a reflective optical sensor, the paper thickness is detected by a displacement sensor, the basis weight is detected by a transmissive optical sensor, and the moisture content is detected by a capacitance sensor. In this way, the media sensor 50 is composed of multiple types of sensors so that it can detect the characteristics and state of the continuous medium S.

[0022] The operation display unit 70 is, for example, a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display with a touch panel. The operation display unit 70 displays an operation menu, various states of the image forming apparatus 100, and the like. The operation display unit 70 also includes various operation keys such as a numeric keypad and a start key, and accepts various input operations.

[0023] The communication unit 80 transmits and receives data between the external device 200 and the control unit 90. The communication unit 80 is formed of, for example, a communication control card such as a LAN (Local Area Network) card.

[0024] The control unit 90 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 91, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 92, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 93, a storage unit 94, etc. The CPU 91 reads out a program corresponding to the processing contents from the ROM 92, loads it in the RAM 93, and centrally controls the operation of each block of the image forming apparatus 100 in cooperation with the loaded program. The storage unit 94 is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and may also be used in combination with a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), etc.

[0025] The image forming apparatus main body 10, the transport unit 20, the supply unit 30, the collection unit 40, the media sensor 50, the operation display unit 70, and the communication unit 80 are connected to the control unit 90. These perform predetermined processes based on instructions from the control unit 90. At this time, the control unit 90 may refer to various data such as a LUT (Look Up Table) stored in the memory unit 94 to perform the predetermined processes.

[0026] The external device 200 is, for example, a server (computer) and includes a storage unit 201 (external storage device in the present invention). The external device 200 transmits and receives data, such as print jobs and image data, to and from the control unit 90 via the communication unit 80.

[0027] With the above-described configuration, the image forming device 100 transports the continuous medium S supplied from the supply section 30 to the image forming device main body 10 by the conveying section 20, and collects the continuous medium S on which an image has been formed in the image forming device main body 10 by the collection section 40.

[0028] Conventionally, when replacing the continuous medium S in the image forming apparatus 100 having such a configuration, the worker transports or stops the continuous medium S while visually checking the leading edge St of the continuous medium S to confirm that the leading edge St of the continuous medium S has reached the recovery section 40. This results in a problem that the work takes time, and furthermore, work such as job setting cannot be performed during the work, resulting in a decrease in productivity of image formation.

[0029] Therefore, in this embodiment, the control unit 90 controls the transport unit 20 to perform the following operations. Specifically, after the continuous medium S is attached to the supply unit 30, the transport unit 20 starts transporting the continuous medium S, transports the continuous medium S so that the leading edge St of the continuous medium S moves from the detection position P1 of the leading edge St to a predetermined position P2 after passing through the image forming unit 11, and stops. This operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

[0030] [Operation of Image Forming Apparatus 100] When starting a job for forming an image in the image forming apparatus 100 , an operator attaches the continuous medium S, which is the target of the job and is wound in a roll, to the support shaft 31 of the supply unit 30 .

[0031] When the continuous medium S to be processed is attached to the support shaft 31, the support shaft 31 of the supply unit 30 is rotationally driven under the control of the control unit 90 to supply (feed out) the continuous medium S attached to the support shaft 31 to the transport unit 20. At this time, under the control of the control unit 90, the transport unit 20 also starts transporting the continuous medium S supplied from the supply unit 30.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 1, when the leading edge St of the continuous medium S being transported by the transport unit 20 passes the media sensor 50, the media sensor 50 detects the leading edge St of the continuous medium S at a detection position P1.

[0033] Then, when the media sensor 50 detects the leading edge St of the continuous medium S, the conveying unit 20, under the control of the control unit 90, conveys the continuous medium S so that the leading edge St moves from the detection position P1 to a predetermined position P2 after passing through the image forming unit 11, as shown in Fig. 2, and then stops. In this way, when the operator attaches the continuous medium S to the supply unit 30, the conveying unit 20 automatically conveys the continuous medium S so that the leading edge St moves from the detection position P1 to the predetermined position P2, and then stops.

[0034] At this time, the conveying unit 20 may, for example, detect the leading edge St of the continuous medium S using a sensor provided at a predetermined position P2 and stop the conveying, or may stop the conveying after conveying the continuous medium S a conveying distance based on the conveying distance from the detection position P1 to the predetermined position P2.

[0035] This predetermined position P2 is a position where the recovery unit 40 can recover the continuous medium S, and more specifically, a position where the fixing unit 42 of the recovery unit 40 can fix the leading end St of the continuous medium S.

[0036] Under the control of the control unit 90, the fixing unit 42 fixes the leading end St of the continuous medium S, and then the recovery unit 40 winds up the continuous medium S a predetermined number of turns and stops, as shown in Fig. 3. This completes installation of the continuous medium S in the image forming apparatus 100, and the job is ready to start. In this way, even after the continuous medium S is automatically transported and stopped so that the leading end St moves to the predetermined position P2, the leading end St of the continuous medium S is automatically fixed, the continuous medium S is wound up a predetermined number of turns, and then stopped, making the job ready to start.

[0037] 3, as an example, the collection unit 40 winds up the continuous medium S by 1 / 4 rotation and then stops. The number of turns to wind up the continuous medium S may be a predetermined number of turns such as 1 / 4 rotation, 1 / 2 rotation, or several rotations, but is not limited thereto and may be changed depending on information related to the continuous medium S.

[0038] As described above, the media sensor 50 has multiple sensors and detects not only the leading edge St of the continuous medium S, but also information about the continuous medium S, such as the paper type, paper thickness, basis weight, moisture content, etc. Such characteristics and conditions of the continuous medium S are related to the strength of the continuous medium S.

[0039] For example, some types of paper have low strength. In that case, the number of turns after the leading edge St is fixed is increased so that the continuous medium S can be collected by the collection unit 40 without tearing when a job is executed.

[0040] Similarly, when the paper is thin, has a small basis weight, or has a high moisture content, the strength is low, so in such cases too, the number of turns after the tip St is fixed is increased so that the continuous medium S can be collected by the collection section 40 without being torn when a job is executed.

[0041] Conversely, if it can be determined that the strength of the continuous medium S is high based on information about the continuous medium S, the number of turns after fixing of the tip St may be reduced.

[0042] Data specifying the relationship between such information about the continuous medium S and the number of turns is stored, for example, in the memory unit 94 or the memory unit 201 of the external device 200, and the control unit 90 refers to the memory unit 94 or the memory unit 201 as necessary to determine the number of turns.

[0043] Furthermore, in order to more reliably detect information related to the continuous medium S, the media sensor 50 performs detection on the continuous medium S in a predetermined range from the leading edge St. This is because, in the case of the continuous medium S wound in a roll, the condition of the continuous medium S may differ between the first turn, which is the outermost circumference, and the first turn and thereafter, which are located inside. Taking such a possibility into consideration, the media sensor 50 performs detection on the continuous medium S in a predetermined range from the leading edge St, in order to more reliably detect information related to the continuous medium S.

[0044] In addition, the above-mentioned operation of the image forming apparatus 100 is the operation when the continuous medium S is loaded before the start of a job, but the same operation is also performed when a new continuous medium S is loaded into the supply section 30 (replaced with a new continuous medium S) during a job.

[0045] In this case, the control unit 90 temporarily stops the operation of the image forming apparatus main body 10, the transport unit 20, the supply unit 30, and the collection unit 40 to interrupt the job. Then, as described above, after a new continuous medium S is attached to the supply unit 30, the transport unit 20 starts transporting the continuous medium S, transports the continuous medium S so that the leading edge St moves from the detection position P1 to a predetermined position P2, and stops. The collection unit 40 then fixes the leading edge St of the continuous medium S at the predetermined position P2, winds up the continuous medium S a predetermined number of turns, and stops, making it possible to resume the job. The control unit 90 then resumes the job.

[0046] As described above, in this embodiment, the transport unit 20 transports the continuous medium S so that the leading edge St moves from the detection position P1 to the predetermined position P2 and then stops.

[0047] According to the present embodiment configured as described above, when the continuous medium S is attached to the supply unit 30, the transport unit 20 automatically transports the leading edge St of the continuous medium S from the detection position P1 to the predetermined position P2. This reduces the amount of manual work required by the worker, and the work time required for replacing the continuous medium S can be shortened. Furthermore, since the work time required for replacing the continuous medium S can be shortened, the time during which work such as job setting cannot be performed during the replacement work can be reduced.

[0048] In addition, even after the continuous medium S is automatically transported and stopped so that the leading edge St moves to the predetermined position P2, the leading edge St of the continuous medium S is automatically fixed, the continuous medium S is wound up a predetermined number of turns, and the continuous medium S is stopped, making it possible to start a job. This further reduces the amount of manual work by the worker, and the work time required to replace the continuous medium S can be further shortened. And because the work time required to replace the continuous medium S can be shortened, the time during which work such as job setting cannot be performed during the replacement work can be further reduced.

[0049] It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments are merely examples of the implementation of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited by these embodiments. In other words, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist or main characteristics of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 10 Image forming device body 11 Image forming section 20 Conveyor section 30 Supply section 31 Support shaft 40 Collection Department 41 Support shaft 42 Fixed part 50 Media Sensor 70 Operation display section 80 Communications Department 90 Control section 94 Memory section 100 Image forming device 200 External device 201 Storage section

Claims

1. a conveying section that conveys the continuous medium supplied from the supply section to a collecting section that collects the continuous medium via an image forming section that forms an image; a detection unit that detects a leading edge of the continuous medium being conveyed at a detection position between the supply unit and the image forming unit; Equipped with the conveying unit starts conveying the continuous medium after the continuous medium is attached to the supply unit, and conveys the continuous medium so that the leading edge of the continuous medium moves from the detection position to a predetermined position after passing through the image forming unit, and then stops the conveying unit. Image forming device.

2. The predetermined position is a position where the tip can be fixed to the collection section. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

3. The transport unit transports the leading end to the predetermined position based on a transport distance from the detection position to the predetermined position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

4. a recovery unit that fixes the leading end at the predetermined position and recovers the continuous medium; The detection unit further detects information related to the continuous medium, the recovery unit fixes the leading end, and then winds up the continuous medium a number of turns corresponding to the information and stops. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

5. the information includes at least one of a type and a condition of the continuous medium; The recovery unit determines the number of turns based on data defining a relationship between the information and the number of turns. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 .

6. A storage unit for storing the data, The collection unit refers to the data stored in the storage unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 .

7. an external storage device for storing the data; A communication unit for communicating with the external storage device; Equipped with the recovery unit refers to the data stored in the external storage device via the communication unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 .

8. the detection unit detects at least one of the type and the state of the continuous medium within a predetermined range from the leading end of the continuous medium. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 .

9. The detection unit detects an intensity of reflected light of the light, and determines that the tip has been detected when the intensity changes. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

10. the detection unit detects an image, and when a predetermined mark affixed to the leading end of the continuous medium is detected, determines that the leading end has been detected. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

11. a recovery unit that fixes the leading end at the predetermined position and recovers the continuous medium; When the job for forming the image is interrupted during the job and the continuous medium in the supply unit is replaced, the conveying unit starts conveying the continuous medium after a new continuous medium is attached to the supply unit, conveys the continuous medium so that the leading edge moves from the detection position to the predetermined position, and stops the conveying unit; the recovery unit fixes the leading end at the predetermined position, winds up the continuous medium a predetermined number of turns, and then stops the winding, thereby making the job ready to be resumed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

Images