Medium processing device

Abstract

To provide a medium processing device that is provided with a carriage that can move in a width direction of a medium and pinch rollers that can move in the width direction of the medium, which can properly sense positions of the pinch rollers in the width direction of the medium and an origin position of the carriage in the width direction of the medium and yet can reduce costs by reducing the number of components.SOLUTION: The medium processing device is provided with: a plurality of pinch rollers 13 that are energized toward a conveying roller 11 and can move in a width direction of a medium; a first sensing member 18 for sensing positions of the pinch rollers 13 in the width direction of the medium; a second sensing member 19 for sensing an origin position of a carriage in the width direction of the medium; and a sensor for sensing the first sensing member 18 and the second sensing member 19. In the medium processing device, a shape of a first sensing part 18a of the first sensing member 18 is different from a shape of a second sensing part 19a of the second sensing member 19.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a media processing device for performing predetermined processing on a medium. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, printing devices that eject ink to print on a medium are known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The printing device described in Patent Document 1 includes a print head that ejects ink, a carriage on which the print head is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism that moves the carriage in the main scanning direction, and a medium transport mechanism that transports the medium. The medium transport mechanism includes a feed roller for transporting the medium, a roller drive mechanism that drives the feed roller, and multiple pinch rollers that are urged toward the feed roller and pinch the medium between them. The pinch rollers are movable in the main scanning direction. In the printing device described in Patent Document 1, the pinch rollers are moved in the main scanning direction before printing according to the layout of the image to be printed on the medium. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-142005 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the printing device described in Patent Document 1, the pinch roller is moved in the main scanning direction according to the layout of the image to be printed on the medium, so it is necessary to know the position of the pinch roller in the main scanning direction. Therefore, in this printing device, it is necessary to properly detect the position of the pinch roller in the main scanning direction. Furthermore, in the printing device described in Patent Document 1, in order to properly print on the medium, it is necessary to operate the carriage on which the print head is mounted based on an origin position in the main scanning direction. Therefore, in this printing device, it is necessary to properly detect the origin position of the carriage in the main scanning direction.

[0005] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a media processing device that has a carriage that can move in the width direction of the medium and a pinch roller that can move in the width direction of the medium, and that is capable of properly detecting the position of the pinch roller in the width direction of the medium and the origin position of the carriage in the width direction of the medium, while reducing the number of parts and reducing costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the media processing device of the present invention has a transport roller for transporting the media. , transportation a plurality of pinch rollers that are biased toward the feed roller and pinch the medium between the feed roller and the conveyance roller; , medium A carriage that can move in the width direction of the body ,tree A device for holding the cartridge movably Ruho To detect the position of the pinch roller in the width direction of the media and the support frame was established A first detected member; The shape of the first detectable portion is made different so as to be recognizable from that of the second detectable portion, Detects the origin position of the carriage in the width direction of the media was established a second detectable member and a detector for detecting the first detectable member and the second detectable member; Common Equipped with sensors R It is characterized by: [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] BookIn the invention, in a media processing device having a carriage that can move in the width direction of the medium and a pinch roller that can move in the width direction of the medium, even if it is possible to properly detect the position of the pinch roller in the width direction of the medium and the origin position of the carriage in the width direction of the medium, it is possible to reduce the number of parts of the media processing device and thereby reduce the cost of the media processing device. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a media processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a rear view of the media processing device shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the media processing device shown in FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is an enlarged front view illustrating the configuration of part E in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 5] (A) is a plan view of the first detectable member etc. shown in Figure 4, (B) is a plan view of the second detectable member etc. shown in Figure 4, and (C) is a side view showing the second detectable part and sensor from the FF direction of (B). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] In the media processing device of this embodiment, the shape of the first detectable portion of the first detectable member, which is used to detect the position of the pinch roller in the width direction of the medium, is different from the shape of the second detectable portion of the second detectable member, which is used to detect the origin position of the carriage in the width direction of the medium. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the first detectable portion and the second detectable portion are detected by a common sensor mounted on the carriage, it is possible to distinguish and recognize the first detectable portion and the second detectable portion.

[0011] In other words, in this embodiment, even if a sensor for detecting the first detectable portion and a sensor for detecting the second detectable portion are not provided separately, a common sensor can properly detect the position of the pinch roller in the width direction of the medium and the origin position of the carriage in the width direction of the medium. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the position of the pinch roller in the width direction of the medium and the origin position of the carriage in the width direction of the medium can be properly detected, it is possible to reduce the number of parts in the media processing device and thereby reduce the cost of the media processing device.

[0012] In this embodiment, it is preferable that the second detectable portion is formed in a flat plate shape with a hole, and the first detectable portion is formed in a flat plate shape without a hole. With this configuration, it is relatively easy to make the shape of the first detectable portion and the shape of the second detectable portion different.

[0013] In this embodiment, for example, the sensor is a transmissive optical sensor having a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element that face each other with a gap between them. Also, in this embodiment, for example, the media processing device is equipped with an inkjet head that is mounted on a carriage and ejects ink toward the medium. In other words, the media processing device is, for example, an inkjet printer.

[0014] (Overall configuration of media processing device) Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a media processing device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a rear view of the media processing device 1 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the media processing device 1 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged view illustrating the configuration of part E in Fig. 1 from the front side.

[0015] The medium processing device 1 of this embodiment is a commercial inkjet printer that ejects ink to print on a medium 2 (see FIG. 3). Therefore, in the description of this embodiment, the medium processing device 1 will be referred to as the "printer 1." The medium 2 is, for example, printing paper, fabric, or resin film. The medium 2 is formed in a long, narrow strip shape. The printer 1 includes an inkjet head 3 (hereinafter referred to as the "head 3") that ejects ink toward the medium 2, a carriage 4 on which the head 3 is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism 5 that moves the carriage 4 in the main scanning direction (the Y direction in FIG. 1, etc.), a Y-bar 6 that serves as a holding frame that movably holds the carriage 4, a medium transport mechanism 7 that transports the medium 2, and a platen 8 on which the medium 2 is placed.

[0016] The head 3 ejects ink downward. A plurality of nozzles that eject ink are formed on the underside of the head 3. The head 3 is equipped with a piezoelectric element that ejects ink from the nozzles. The carriage 4 is movable in the main scanning direction. The carriage drive mechanism 5 includes, for example, two pulleys, a belt that is stretched over the two pulleys and is partially fixed to the carriage 4, and a motor that rotates the pulleys. The platen 8 is disposed below the carriage 4. The medium 2 is placed on the platen 8 during printing. The Y-bar 6 is formed in an elongated shape that is long in the main scanning direction. The Y-bar 6 may be composed of a single member or multiple members.

[0017] In the following description, the main scanning direction (Y direction) is referred to as the "left-right direction," and the X direction in FIG. 1, etc., which is perpendicular to the up-down direction (vertical direction, Z direction) and left-right directions, is referred to as the "front-rear direction." The Y1 direction in FIG. 1, etc., which is one side of the left-right direction, is referred to as the "right" side, the Y2 direction in FIG. 1, etc., which is the opposite side of the right side, is referred to as the "left" side, the X1 direction in FIG. 1, etc., which is one side of the front-rear direction, is referred to as the "front" side, and the X2 direction in FIG. 1, etc., which is the opposite side of the front side, is referred to as the "rear" side. The left-right direction coincides with the width direction of the medium 2, which is perpendicular to the thickness direction of the medium 2 and the transport direction of the medium 2. In other words, the left-right direction (Y direction) in this embodiment is the width direction of the medium 2. The up-down direction (Z direction) is the thickness direction of the medium 2 placed on the platen 8 during printing, and the front-rear direction (X direction) is the transport direction of the medium 2 moving over the platen 8 and is also the sub-scanning direction.

[0018] The medium transport mechanism 7 includes a transport roller (grid roller) 11 for transporting the medium 2, and a roller drive mechanism 12 for driving the transport roller 11. The medium transport mechanism 7 of this embodiment includes one transport roller 11. The medium transport mechanism 7 also includes multiple pinch rollers 13 that are urged toward the transport roller 11 and pinch the medium 2 between the transport roller 11 and the pinch rollers 13, and multiple roller holding members 14 to which each of the multiple pinch rollers 13 is rotatably attached. The medium transport mechanism 7 includes, for example, seven pinch rollers 13 and seven roller holding members 14.

[0019] The transport roller 11 and the pinch roller 13 are rotatable with the left-right direction as their axis of rotation. The left-right width of the transport roller 11 is wider than the left-right width of the pinch roller 13. The transport roller 11 and the pinch roller 13 are disposed behind the platen 8. The pinch roller 13 is disposed directly above the transport roller 11 and faces the transport roller 11 from above. The multiple pinch rollers 13 are disposed with intervals between them in the left-right direction. The medium 2 transported by the medium transport mechanism 7 is sandwiched between the transport roller 11 and the pinch roller 13. The roller drive mechanism 12 includes a motor and a power transmission mechanism, such as a belt or pulley, that transmits the power of the motor to the transport roller 11.

[0020] The roller holding member 14 is made of resin. The roller holding member 14 is attached to the Y bar 6. The roller holding member 14 is also movable left and right relative to the Y bar 6. In this embodiment, the operator of the printer 1 manually moves the roller holding member 14 left and right relative to the Y bar 6 before printing on the medium 2, depending on the width of the medium 2 to be printed, etc. A clamping mechanism is attached to the roller holding member 14 to secure the roller holding member 14 to the Y bar 6. This clamping mechanism is switchable between a clamped state in which the roller holding member 14 is secured to the Y bar 6 and an unclamped state in which the roller holding member 14 is movable left and right relative to the Y bar 6. The clamping mechanism is in the clamped state when printing on the medium 2. When the operator manually moves the roller holding member 14 left and right, the clamping mechanism is in the unclamped state.

[0021] The medium transport mechanism 7 is equipped with a pinch roller movement mechanism that moves the pinch rollers 13 between a medium holding position where a portion of the medium 2 is sandwiched between the multiple pinch rollers 13 and the transport roller 11, and a retracted position where the multiple pinch rollers 13 are separated from the transport roller 11. When the medium 2 is set in the printer 1, the pinch rollers 13 move to the retracted position, and when the medium 2 is set in the printer 1, the pinch rollers 13 move to the medium holding position.

[0022] The printer 1 also includes a maintenance unit 15 for preventing clogging of the multiple nozzles formed on the underside of the head 3. The maintenance unit 15 cleans the head 3 to prevent clogging of the multiple nozzles of the head 3. For example, the maintenance unit 15 performs purging, which forcibly sucks ink out of the nozzles of the head 3, flushing, which forcibly ejects ink from the nozzles of the head 3, and wiping, which wipes the underside of the head 3 with a specified wiper member. The maintenance unit 15 is located at the right end of the printer 1.

[0023] Furthermore, the printer 1 is equipped with a first detectable member 18 for detecting the position of the pinch roller 13 in the left-right direction, a second detectable member 19 for detecting the origin position of the carriage 4 in the left-right direction, and a sensor 20 for detecting the first detectable member 18 and the second detectable member 19. The configurations of the first detectable member 18, the second detectable member 19, and the sensor 20 will be described below.

[0024] (Configuration of the first detected member, the second detected member, and the sensor) Figure 5(A) is a plan view of the first detectable member 18 etc. shown in Figure 4, Figure 5(B) is a plan view of the second detectable member 19 etc. shown in Figure 4, and Figure 5(C) is a side view showing the second detectable portion 19a and sensor 20 from the FF direction of Figure 5(B).

[0025] The sensor 20 is a transmissive optical sensor having a light-emitting unit 21 and a light-receiving unit 22 that face each other with a gap between them. The sensor 20 is mounted on the carriage 4. Specifically, in the printer 1 of this embodiment, a cutter unit 23 for cutting the medium 2 is attached to the carriage 4, and the sensor 20 is mounted on the cutter unit 23. In other words, the sensor 20 is mounted on the carriage 4 via the cutter unit 23. The sensor 20 is also located on the rear side of the carriage 4. The light-emitting unit 21 and the light-receiving unit 22 face each other in the vertical direction. The sensor 20 may also be mounted directly on the carriage 4.

[0026] The first detectable members 18 are formed integrally with each of the roller holding members 14. That is, the printer 1 includes the same number of first detectable members 18 as the number of pinch rollers 13 and roller holding members 14. The first detectable members 18 include first detectable portions 18a that are detected by the sensor 20. The first detectable portions 18a are formed in the shape of a rectangular flat plate. The first detectable portions 18a are also formed in the shape of a flat plate without any holes. The first detectable portions 18a are arranged so that the thickness direction of the first detectable portions 18a coincides with the up-down direction. The first detectable portions 18a are arranged on the front side of the roller holding members 14. The first detectable portions 18a are also arranged in a position that can block the gap between the light-emitting portion 21 and the light-receiving portion 22 of the sensor 20, which moves left and right together with the carriage 4.

[0027] The second detectable member 19 is formed, for example, by bending a metal flat plate formed into a predetermined shape. The second detectable member 19 is attached to the Y-bar 6. In this embodiment, the right end side of the printer 1 is the origin position of the carriage 4, and the second detectable member 19 is attached to the right end of the Y-bar 6. The second detectable member 19 is also fixed to the front side of the Y-bar 6 with screws. The second detectable member 19 has a second detectable portion 19a that is detected by the sensor 20. The second detectable portion 19a is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape. A through-hole 19b that penetrates the second detectable portion 19a is formed in the second detectable portion 19a. In other words, the second detectable portion 19a is formed in a flat plate shape with a hole.

[0028] The second detectable portion 19a is disposed so that the thickness direction of the second detectable portion 19a coincides with the up-down direction. The second detectable portion 19a is disposed on the front side of the Y-bar 6. The second detectable portion 19a is disposed in a position where it can block the gap between the light-emitting portion 21 and the light-receiving portion 22 of the sensor 20, which moves left and right together with the carriage 4. The second detectable portion 19a is disposed in a position where the optical axis from the light-emitting portion 21 to the light-receiving portion 22 can pass through the through-hole 19b. As described above, the first detectable portion 18a is formed in a flat plate shape without any holes, while the second detectable portion 19a is formed in a flat plate shape with holes. In other words, the shapes of the first detectable portion 18a and the second detectable portion 19a are different.

[0029] When detecting the origin position of the carriage 4 in the left-right direction, the carriage 4, which is positioned to the left of the origin position, is moved to the right, and the position where the second detectable portion 19a is detected by the sensor 20 is defined as the origin position of the carriage 4 in the left-right direction. The position of the pinch roller 13 in the left-right direction is detected by moving the carriage 4 based on the origin position of the carriage 4 in the left-right direction. The position where the first detectable portion 18a is detected by the sensor 20 is defined as the position of the pinch roller 13 in the left-right direction.

[0030] (Main effect of this form) As described above, in this embodiment, the shape of the first detectable portion 18a of the first detectable member 18 for detecting the position of the pinch roller 13 in the left-right direction (main scanning direction) is different from the shape of the second detectable portion 19a of the second detectable member 19 for detecting the origin position of the carriage 4 in the left-right direction. Specifically, the second detectable portion 19a has a through-hole 19b, while the first detectable portion 18a does not have a through-hole. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the first detectable portion 18a and the second detectable portion 19a are detected by the common sensor 20 mounted on the carriage 4, it is possible to distinguish and recognize the first detectable portion 18a and the second detectable portion 19a based on the presence or absence of a through-hole.

[0031] That is, in this embodiment, even if a sensor for detecting first detectable portion 18a and a sensor for detecting second detectable portion 19a are not provided separately, it is possible to properly detect the position of pinch roller 13 in the left-right direction and the origin position of carriage 4 in the left-right direction by common sensor 20. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if it is possible to properly detect the position of pinch roller 13 in the left-right direction and the origin position of carriage 4 in the left-right direction, it is possible to reduce the number of parts in printer 1 and reduce the cost of printer 1.

[0032] In this embodiment, second detectable portion 19a is formed in a flat plate shape with a hole, and first detectable portion 18a is formed in a flat plate shape without a hole, so that in this embodiment, it is relatively easy to make the shape of first detectable portion 18a and the shape of second detectable portion 19a different.

[0033] (Other embodiments) The above-described embodiment is one example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0034] In the above-described embodiment, as long as the shape of first detectable portion 18a and the shape of second detectable portion 19a are different, second detectable portion 19a does not have to have through-hole 19b, or a through-hole may be formed in first detectable portion 18a. Also, in the above-described embodiment, as long as the shape of first detectable portion 18a and the shape of second detectable portion 19a are different, first detectable portion 18a and second detectable portion 19a may be formed in any shape other than a rectangle.

[0035] In the above-described embodiment, the first detectable member 18 may be formed separately from the roller holding member 14. In this case, the first detectable member 18 is attached to each of the multiple roller holding members 14. In the above-described embodiment, the sensor 20 may be a reflective optical sensor or a sensor other than an optical sensor. In the above-described embodiment, the medium 2 does not have to be formed in a long shape. The medium processing device 1 to which the present invention is applied may be a printer other than an inkjet printer, or may be a device other than a printer that performs a predetermined process on the medium 2. For example, the medium processing device 1 may be a cutting plotter that cuts the medium 2 into a predetermined shape. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1. Printers (inkjet printers, media processing devices) 2 medium 3 heads (inkjet heads) 4 carriages 5 Carriage drive mechanism 6 Y-bar (holding frame) 11 Conveyor roller 12 Roller drive mechanism 13 Pinch roller 14 Roller holding member 18 First detected member 18a First detected part 19 Second detected member 19a Second detected part 20 sensors 21 Light-emitting part 22 Light receiving part Y Media width direction

Claims

1. A media processing device characterized by comprising: a transport roller for transporting a medium; a plurality of pinch rollers that are urged toward the transport roller and pinch the medium between the transport roller and the pinch roller; a carriage that can move in the width direction of the medium; a holding frame that movably holds the carriage; a first detectable member provided for detecting the position of the pinch roller in the width direction of the medium; a second detectable member that has a recognizably different shape from the first detectable member and is provided for detecting the position of the carriage in the width direction of the medium; and a common sensor for detecting the first detectable member and the second detectable member.

2. the second detected member is a flat plate having a hole, 2. The media processing device according to claim 1, wherein the first detected member is a flat plate without a hole.

3. 3. The media processing device according to claim 2, wherein the common sensor is a transmission-type optical sensor having a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element.

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