Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Medium and processing means
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-14
2003-07-15
Nguyen, Thinh (Department: 2853)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Medium and processing means
C242S560000, C226S143000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06592217
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying machine or the like, and more particularly, to a recording apparatus which records images, characters and the like to a rolled recording material such as a rolled recording paper, a rolled recording film or the like.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, as a recording apparatus which performs recording to a rolled recording material, generally, the apparatus of the structure described as follows is known.
FIG. 10
is a sectional view showing a structural example (of a paper path) of the conventional recording apparatus. The recording apparatus shown in
FIG. 10
adopts an ink-jet system in which a recording head performs recording as scanning on the rolled recording material, and intermittently conveys the rolled recording material while the recording is being performed. In the recording apparatus, a rolled recording paper (called a rolled paper hereinafter) is used as the rolled recording material.
The recording apparatus shown in
FIG. 10
roughly consists of a roll folder
100
which rotatably holds and feeds a rolled paper Pr, a recording unit
130
which records images, characters and the like onto the rolled paper Pr in a state that the rolled paper Pr is held on a platen
134
, a rolled paper conveying unit
110
which conveys the rolled paper Pr from the roll folder
100
to the recording unit
130
, a discharge unit
140
which cuts the rolled paper Pr to which the recording was performed by the recording unit
130
and discharges the cut paper outside the recording apparatus, and an in-path rolled paper sensor
115
which detects presence and absence of the rolled paper Pr in the conveying path of the rolled paper conveying unit
110
.
The roll folder
100
includes a rotatably supported spool
101
, and the rolled paper Pr is rolled around a paper tube. When the rolled paper Pr is put inside the roll folder
100
, the spool
101
is passed internally in the paper tube, and the spool
101
and the paper tube are then fixed. Hereinafter, the paper tube and the spool are together called the spool. Moreover, the leading edge (A in
FIG. 10
) of the rolled paper Pr is set as being nipped by a feed roller
102
. If the rolled paper Pr is drawn out by the feed roller
102
in such a state, the rolled paper Pr and the spool
101
in the roll folder
100
are integrally rotated.
The roll folder
100
is made drawable to this side of the apparatus (the right in FIG.
10
), so that the rolled paper Pr can be easily exchanged.
Hereinafter, an operation of the recording apparatus structured as above will be explained.
First, a paper feed operation is started, and the rolled paper Pr is conveyed from the roll folder
100
by the rotation of the feed roller
102
.
If the rolled paper Pr reaches the rolled paper conveying unit
110
, this paper is then conveyed to the recording unit
130
by conveying force of a conveying roller
111
and guiding of pairs of conveying guides
113
and
114
, and further conveyed onto the platen
134
as being rolled on the surface of a conveying roller
131
.
If the leading edge of the rolled paper Pr passes a discharge sensor
144
in the discharge unit
140
, the rolled paper Pr is stopped after elapsing predetermined time period.
Subsequently, a recording operation is started, and the images, the characters and the like are recorded, by a recording head
135
, to the rolled paper Pr put on the platen
134
.
If the recording operation ends, the rolled paper Pr is conveyed by a pre-cutter discharge roller
141
and a post-cutter discharge roller
143
until the recorded portion of the rolled paper Pr reaches the position at the downstream of a cutter
142
.
After then, a cut operation is performed by the cutter
142
, and the recorded portion of the rolled paper Pr is discharged outside the recording apparatus. On the other hand, the rolled paper Pr which remains in the apparatus is taken up until the leading edge of the remaining rolled paper Pr reaches the position nipped by the feed roller
102
, and the printing operation ends.
Here, in the recording apparatus of
FIG. 10
, since the pre-cutter discharge roller
141
and the post-cutter discharge roller
143
used in the discharge unit
140
are disposed immediately after the recording unit
130
, each of these rollers is formed by a spur roller or the like of which the press-contact force is small so that an impression or the like due to the press-contact force of the roller does not deteriorate image quality. For this reason, the conveying force of the pre-cutter discharge roller
141
and the post-cutter discharge roller
143
for the rolled paper Pr is weak.
Particularly, since the rolled paper Pr is in the state rolled around the paper tube, this paper is curled. Thus, there is a problem that, under discharging, the rolled paper Pr is caught in the conveying path because of the curl and thus stagnates or stands easily.
Therefore, after the paper cut, such the stagnation of the rolled paper Pr is prevented by pushing the cut paper with the paper remaining inside the apparatus.
Such a cut and discharge operation of the rolled paper Pr will be explained with reference to a flow chart of FIG.
11
.
FIG. 11
is the flow chart for explaining the cut and discharge operation of the rolled paper to be performed after the recording operation in the recording apparatus of FIG.
10
.
If the recording operation ends, the rolled paper Pr is first conveyed by the pre-cutter discharge roller
141
and the post-cutter discharge roller
143
until the recorded portion of the rolled paper Pr reaches the position at the downstream of the cutter
142
(step S
1101
).
Next, the rolled paper Pr is cut by the cutter
142
(step S
1102
), and the recorded portion of the cut rolled paper Pr is discharged outside the recording apparatus by the post-cutter discharge roller
143
, and at the same time, the remaining rolled paper Pr is conveyed toward the discharge side by the conveying roller
131
and the pre-cutter discharge roller
141
(step S
1103
). Thus, if the rolled paper Pr remaining inside the apparatus is conveyed toward the discharge side, the rolled paper Pr cut by the cutter
142
is pushed outside the recording apparatus, whereby discharge capability of the rolled paper Pr is improved.
After then, the rolled paper Pr remaining inside the apparatus is taken up into the roll folder
100
(step S
1104
), and the cut and discharge operation of the rolled paper Pr ends.
Next, the structure of a spool rotation sensor mechanism within the roll folder
100
will be explained with reference to FIG.
12
. It should be noted that the spool rotation sensor mechanism is the mechanism to detect the presence and the absence of the rolled paper Pr according to the rotation of the spool
101
.
FIG. 12
is a view showing an example of the spool rotation sensor mechanism within the roll folder
100
shown in FIG.
10
.
In
FIG. 12
, a disklike slit plate
104
is fixed to a core rod
103
of the spool
101
, and plural slits are formed on the slit plate
104
at equiangular intervals. Further, a transmission optical sensor
105
is fixed within the roll folder
100
, and an electrical pulse is generated at timing according to the rotational speed of the spool
101
by the transmission optical sensor
105
, whereby the rotation of the spool
101
is detected according to whether or not the electrical pulse is generated. The spool
101
is not driven by the motive force of a motor or the like but is rotated according to the feed roller
102
when the rolled paper Pr is conveyed, while the spool
101
is driven by the motive force of a not-shown motor or the like when the rolled paper Pr is taken up.
Therefore, if the rolled paper Pr is used up on the spool
101
during the recording operation, any electrical pulse is not generated by the transmission optical sensor
105
, and thus the rotation of the spool
101
is not detected, whereby it is possible to detec
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Huffman Julian D.
Nguyen Thinh
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