JP2018154071A - Printing apparatus and conveying method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily suppress a change in a moving amount of a transport belt due to a change in tension of a transport belt spanned by a plurality of rollers. SOLUTION: A ring-shaped transport belt 10 capable of supporting a medium P, a drive roller 8 for transporting the medium P in a transport direction A by rotating the transport belt 10, and a printing unit 7 for printing an image on the medium P. A control unit 31 that controls the transfer operation of the medium P, the transfer belt 10 is bridged to a plurality of rollers including the drive roller 8, and the control unit 31 is bridged to the plurality of rollers. Therefore, the input of the belt tension, which is the tension applied to the transport belt 10, is received, and the transport operation is controlled based on the correction table in which the belt tension and the movement amount of the transport belt according to the belt tension are associated with each other. Printing device 1. [Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a conveyance method.

Conventionally, various printing apparatuses are used. Among these, a printing apparatus that includes a conveyance belt that conveys a medium and prints an image on a medium that is conveyed by the conveyance belt is disclosed. In a printing apparatus including a conveyance belt that conveys such a medium, a configuration including a conveyance belt that is stretched between a plurality of rollers is generally used.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus (printing apparatus) that includes an elastic transfer belt (conveyance belt) spanned between two rolls (rollers) and further includes a correction roll.

JP 2006-267487 A

  However, in a printing apparatus including a conveyor belt that is stretched over a plurality of rollers, the tension of the conveyor belt may change due to the extension of the conveyor belt over time. When the tension of the transport belt changes, the amount of movement of the transport belt may also change, so the transport amount of the medium may deviate from a desired value. Therefore, the configuration of Patent Document 1 makes it possible to adjust the tension of the elastic transfer belt by a correction roll. However, adjustment work for adjusting to a desired tension requires skill and is very troublesome.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to easily suppress a change in the amount of movement of the conveyance belt that accompanies a change in the tension of the conveyance belt spanned by a plurality of rollers.

  A printing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention for solving the above-described problem includes a ring-shaped conveyance belt that can support a medium, a driving roller that conveys the medium in a conveyance direction by rotating the conveyance belt, A printing unit that prints an image on the medium; and a control unit that controls a conveyance operation of the medium, and the conveyance belt is stretched over a plurality of rollers including the driving roller, and the control unit Accepts an input of belt tension, which is tension applied to the conveyor belt by being stretched across the plurality of rollers, and associates the belt tension with the amount of movement of the conveyor belt according to the belt tension. The conveyance operation is controlled based on the corrected table.

  According to this aspect, it is possible to receive a belt tension input and perform a transport operation based on the correction table in which the belt tension and the amount of movement of the transport belt corresponding to the belt tension are associated with each other. For this reason, it is possible to easily suppress a change in the amount of movement of the conveyance belt due to a change in the tension of the conveyance belt without performing an adjustment operation for adjusting to a desired tension.

  In the printing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the control unit instructs a warning operation when the input belt tension is out of a corresponding range of the correction table. It is characterized by that.

  According to this aspect, since the warning operation can be performed when the belt tension is outside the corresponding range of the correction table, the movement amount of the transport belt is changed from the desired movement amount (the desired movement amount is set). In a state in which printing is not possible).

  A printing apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first or second aspect, the printing apparatus includes a tension adjusting unit capable of changing the belt tension.

  According to this aspect, since the tension adjusting unit capable of changing the belt tension is provided, even if the belt tension falls outside the corresponding range of the correction table, the belt tension can be adjusted within the corresponding range of the correction table. Therefore, it is possible to easily suppress a change in the amount of movement of the conveyance belt due to a change in the tension of the conveyance belt.

  In the printing apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the conveyance belt has a joining portion in which one end portion and the other end portion in the circumferential direction are joined together. And the controller is configured to measure the belt tension when each of the plurality of rollers is a bridge region. A measurement instruction can be received, and the connection part is moved to a position not included in the bridging region where the belt tension is measured in accordance with the reception of the measurement instruction.

  According to this aspect, it is possible to measure the belt tension after moving the connecting portion that may cause an error in the measurement of the belt tension to a position not included in the bridging region where the belt tension is measured. it can. For this reason, the belt tension can be measured with particularly high accuracy.

  A printing apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the printing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein a region between each of the plurality of rollers, the region where the conveyance belt is bridged, When each of the cross-linked areas is used, the position at which the belt tension is measured is a position included in the cross-linked area facing the printing unit.

  According to this aspect, it is possible to measure the belt tension at a position included in the bridging region facing the printing unit that is easy to access and easy to measure the belt tension. For this reason, the belt tension can be measured particularly easily.

  A printing apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention includes, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, a tension measuring unit that measures the belt tension, and the control unit is a measurement result of the tension measuring unit. It is characterized by accepting the input.

  According to this aspect, the tension measuring unit that measures the belt tension is provided, and the control unit can receive the measurement result input from the tension measuring unit and control the conveying operation. Therefore, the belt tension can be measured particularly easily without separately preparing a tension measuring unit.

  The printing apparatus according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the printing apparatus according to the sixth aspect, wherein the tension measuring unit includes a microphone capable of detecting a sound wave generated by vibrating the conveyor belt, and the sound wave detected by the microphone. The belt tension is measured on the basis of the frequency.

  According to this aspect, the belt tension is measured based on the frequency of the sound wave detected by the microphone that can detect the sound wave generated by vibrating the conveyor belt. With such a configuration, the belt tension can be measured with high accuracy.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the seventh aspect, the microphone is provided in the printing unit.

  According to this aspect, since the microphone is provided in the printing unit at a position close to the transport belt, the belt tension can be measured at a position close to the transport belt, and the belt tension can be measured with particularly high accuracy.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the sixth to eighth aspects, the tension measuring unit includes a hammer that vibrates the transport belt.

  According to this aspect, since the tension measuring unit includes the hammer that vibrates the transport belt, the belt tension can be measured particularly easily without separately preparing an instrument that vibrates the transport belt.

  A transport method according to a tenth aspect of the present invention includes an annular transport belt that can support a medium, a driving roller that transports the medium in the transport direction by rotating the transport belt, and printing an image on the medium. A printing unit, and the conveyance belt is a conveyance method in a printing apparatus spanned by a plurality of rollers including the drive roller, and is imparted to the conveyance belt by being spanned by the plurality of rollers. Receiving an input of a belt tension, which is a tension that is applied, and transporting the medium based on a correction table in which the belt tension and the amount of movement of the transport belt according to the belt tension are associated with each other. To do.

  According to this aspect, it is possible to receive a belt tension input and perform a transport operation based on the correction table in which the belt tension and the amount of movement of the transport belt corresponding to the belt tension are associated with each other. For this reason, it is possible to easily suppress a change in the amount of movement of the conveyance belt due to a change in the tension of the conveyance belt without performing an adjustment operation for adjusting to a desired tension.

1 is a schematic side view illustrating a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention. 1 is a side view illustrating a main part of a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention. 1 is a side view illustrating a main part of a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a hammer that can be used in a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view illustrating a printing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view illustrating a main part of a printing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view illustrating a main part of a printing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view illustrating a main part of a printing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view illustrating a main part of a printing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view illustrating a main part of a printing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Hereinafter, an example of a printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[Example 1] (FIGS. 1 to 5)
Initially, the outline | summary of the printing apparatus 1 which concerns on Example 1 of this invention is demonstrated.
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

  The printing apparatus 1 of this embodiment includes a feeding unit 2, a transport mechanism 3, a printing mechanism 4, a cleaning mechanism 15, and a winding mechanism 28. The feeding unit 2 can feed out a roll R1 of a medium (print medium) P for printing. The transport mechanism 3 is a mechanism for transporting the medium P in the transport direction A by an adhesive belt 10 (a transport belt constituted by an endless belt) that supports the medium P on the support surface F to which the adhesive is attached. The printing mechanism 4 includes a printing unit that prints an image on the medium P. The printing unit includes a print head 7 and a carriage 16 to which the print head 7 is attached. The printing mechanism 4 prints an image on the medium P by reciprocally scanning (reciprocating) a carriage 16 including a print head 7 that ejects ink in a scanning direction B that intersects the transport direction A of the medium P (reciprocal movement). A mechanism for ejecting ink. The cleaning mechanism 15 is a mechanism for cleaning the adhesive belt 10. The take-up mechanism 28 is a mechanism having a take-up shaft 17 that takes up the medium P. “Scanning” means that the carriage 16 is moved in the scanning direction B. For example, during printing, the carriage 16 is moved in the scanning direction B while ejecting ink from the print head 7. It is done.

  As the medium P, a material to be printed can be used. The material to be printed refers to fabrics, clothes, and other clothing products to be printed. The fabric includes woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, non-woven fabrics, etc. of natural fibers such as cotton, hemp, silk, wool, etc., chemical fibers such as nylon, or composite fibers obtained by mixing these. In addition, for clothes and other clothing products, in addition to furniture such as T-shirts, handkerchiefs, scarves, towels, handbags, cloth bags, curtains, sheets, bedspreads, etc., before sewing The existing cloth before and after cutting is also included.

  Further, as the medium P, in addition to the material to be printed, plain paper, high-quality paper, exclusive paper for inkjet printing such as glossy paper, and the like can be used. Further, as the medium P, for example, a plastic film that is not surface-treated for inkjet printing (that is, an ink absorbing layer is not formed), a paper or other base material coated with plastic, and What has a plastic film adhere | attached on base materials, such as paper, can also be used. The plastic is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, and polypropylene.

  The feeding unit 2 includes a rotating shaft 5 that also serves as a setting position of the roll R1 of the medium P for printing, and transports the medium P from the roll R1 set on the rotating shaft 5 through the driven rollers 6 and 30. It is a configuration that can be extended to. When the medium P is fed out to the transport mechanism 3, the rotating shaft 5 rotates in the rotation direction C.

The transport mechanism 3 includes an adhesive belt 10 that places and transports the medium P fed from the feeding unit 2, a drive roller 8 that moves the adhesive belt 10 in the direction E, and a driven roller 9. . The adhesive belt 10 is hung on the driving roller 8 and the driven roller 9, and in the printing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the driving roller 8 and the driven roller 9 are positioned horizontally. The bridging direction G (see FIG. 3) is a horizontal direction. The medium P is stuck and placed by being pressed against the support surface F of the adhesive belt 10 by the pressing roller 12. Note that when the medium P is conveyed, the driving roller 8 rotates in the rotation direction C.
However, the endless belt as the conveying belt is not limited to the adhesive belt. For example, an electrostatic adsorption type endless belt may be used.
Further, a support portion 19 that can support the adhesive belt 10 is provided in a region below the adhesive belt 10 of the present embodiment and facing the pressing roller 12 via the adhesive belt 10. Since the support part 19 supports the adhesive belt 10, it can suppress that the adhesive belt 10 vibrates with moving the adhesive belt 10. FIG.
Further, the pressing roller 12 of the present embodiment can reciprocate (swing) along the transport direction A in order to prevent contact marks from being attached to the medium P by contacting the same place of the medium P for a certain period of time. It has a configuration. However, the pressing roller 12 is not limited to such a configuration.

The printing mechanism 4 includes a carriage moving unit 29 (see FIG. 2) that reciprocates the carriage 16 including the print head 7 in the scanning direction B. In FIG. 1, the scanning direction B is a direction perpendicular to the paper surface.
During printing, printing is performed by reciprocating the carriage 16 including the print head 7, but the conveyance mechanism 3 stops the conveyance of the medium P during printing scanning (while the carriage 16 is moving). In other words, the reciprocating scanning of the carriage 16 and the conveyance of the medium P are alternately performed during printing. That is, at the time of printing, the transport mechanism 3 intermittently transports the medium P (the adhesive belt 10 is intermittently moved) corresponding to the reciprocating scanning of the carriage 16.
The carriage 16 is provided with a microphone 18 described later in detail.

  The cleaning mechanism 15 of the adhesive belt 10 includes a cleaning brush 13 configured by connecting a plurality of cleaning rollers in the rotation axis direction, and a tray 14 containing a cleaning agent for cleaning the cleaning brush 13.

The winding mechanism 28 is a mechanism that winds the medium P that has been printed and is transported from the transport mechanism 3 via the driven roller 11. A winding paper tube or the like is set on the winding shaft 17. By winding the medium P, the medium P can be wound as a roll R2.
Note that FIG. 1 shows a state where the surface on which printing is performed uses the outer roll R1, and the surface on which printing is performed is wound outward. For this reason, both the rotating shaft 5 and the winding shaft 17 are rotated in the rotation direction C. However, the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can use the roll R1 whose inner surface is printed, and can be wound so that the printed surface is on the inner side. That is, both the rotating shaft 5 and the winding shaft 17 can be rotated in the direction opposite to the rotating direction C.

Next, an electrical configuration of the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment.
The control unit 31 is a control unit for controlling the printing apparatus 1. The control unit 31 includes an I / F (interface) 32, a CPU 33, a storage unit 45, and the like.
The I / F 32 is used to transmit / receive data such as print data to / from the PC 46 as an external device. The CPU 33 is an arithmetic processing unit for controlling the entire printing apparatus 1 based on an input signal from the detector group 47 including the microphone 18 and the like. The storage unit 45 also includes a ROM that stores various control programs executed by the CPU 33, a RAM and an EEPROM for securing an area for storing programs executed by the CPU 33, a work area, and the like.

  The CPU 33 uses the control circuit 44 to drive the driving roller 8 that moves the adhesive belt 10 in the transport direction A, the carriage moving unit 29 that moves the carriage 16 including the print head 7 in the scanning direction B, and printing that discharges ink onto the medium P. The drive of the head 7 and each device (not shown) is controlled.

With this configuration, the control unit 31 according to the present exemplary embodiment can control the printing operation for forming an image on the medium P (the conveyance operation for the medium P and the ejection operation for ejecting ink from the print head 7). It has become. The “medium P carrying operation” is an operation of carrying the medium P in the carrying direction A.
Here, the adhesive belt 10 is stretched over a plurality of rollers (the driving roller 8 and the driven roller 9), and thus tension is applied. This tension is called belt tension. The microphone 18 serves as a tension measuring unit that can measure the belt tension. Specifically, a sound wave generated by vibrating the adhesive belt 10 using a hammer 27 (see FIG. 5) described later can be detected, and the belt tension is measured based on the frequency of the detected sound wave. Is possible.
In addition, the storage unit 45 stores a correction table in which the belt tension and the amount of movement of the adhesive belt 10 corresponding to the belt tension are associated with each other.

That is, the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a ring-shaped adhesive belt 10 that can support the medium P, a driving roller 8 that rotates the adhesive belt 10 to convey the medium P in the conveyance direction A, and the medium P. The printing head 7 that prints an image and the control unit 31 that controls the conveyance operation of the medium P are provided. The adhesive belt 10 is stretched over a plurality of rollers including the drive roller 8 (the drive roller 8 and the driven roller 9), and the control unit 31 is stretched over the plurality of rollers, thereby the adhesive belt 10 Receiving a belt tension input, which is a tension applied to the belt, and controlling the conveying operation based on a correction table in which the belt tension and the amount of movement of the adhesive belt 10 corresponding to the belt tension are associated with each other. Can do.
As described above, the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment receives an input of the belt tension, and performs the transport operation based on the correction table in which the belt tension and the movement amount of the adhesive belt 10 corresponding to the belt tension are associated with each other. It is the composition which can be performed. For this reason, the change of the movement amount of the adhesive belt 10 accompanying the change in the tension of the adhesive belt 10 can be easily suppressed without performing an adjustment operation for adjusting to a desired tension.

In other words, the ring-shaped adhesive belt 10 that can support the medium P, the driving roller 8 that rotates the adhesive belt 10 to convey the medium P in the conveyance direction A, and the image on the medium P are displayed. A printing head 7 for printing, and the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, in which the adhesive belt 10 is stretched over a plurality of rollers including the driving roller 8, receives an input of belt tension, A transport method for transporting the medium P can be executed based on a correction table in which the movement amount of the adhesive belt 10 corresponding to the belt tension is associated.
In this way, by receiving the belt tension input and carrying out the transport operation based on the correction table in which the belt tension and the movement amount of the adhesive belt 10 corresponding to the belt tension are associated with each other, the desired tension can be obtained. A change in the amount of movement of the adhesive belt 10 due to a change in the tension of the adhesive belt 10 can be easily suppressed without performing an adjustment operation for adjustment.

  Further, as described above, the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes the microphone 18 as a tension measuring unit that measures the belt tension, and the control unit 31 receives the measurement result of the microphone 18 and controls the conveyance operation. it can. For this reason, the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to measure the belt tension particularly easily without separately preparing a tension measuring unit.

  The printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a microphone 18 that can detect sound waves generated by vibrating the adhesive belt 10 as a tension measuring unit, and the belt is based on the frequency of the sound waves detected by the microphone 18. Since the tension can be measured, the belt tension can be measured with high accuracy.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 1, in the printing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the microphone 18 is provided on the carriage 16 on which the print head 7 is provided. The carriage 16 constitutes a printing unit and is provided at a position close to the adhesive belt 10. For this reason, since the microphone 18 is provided at a position close to the adhesive belt 10, the belt tension can be measured at a position close to the adhesive belt 10, and the belt tension can be measured with particularly high accuracy.

Here, an area between each of the plurality of rollers (the driving roller 8 and the driven roller 9) and the area where the adhesive belt 10 is bridged is defined as a bridging area. Specifically, between the driving roller 8 and the driven roller 9, there are an upper bridging area (crosslinking area facing the print head 7) and a lower bridging area (crosslinking area not facing the print head 7). There are two cross-linked regions.
Further, the adhesive belt 10 of this embodiment is configured to be movable in the direction E when the driving roller 8 rotates in the rotation direction C. And the adhesive belt 10 has the connection part 26 with which the one edge part and the other edge part in the circumferential direction of this adhesive belt 10 were joined (refer FIG. 1).
In the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the position 42 where the belt tension is measured is a position included in the bridging area (upper bridging area) facing the print head 7. . In this way, it is possible to measure the belt tension in the bridging region facing the print head 7 that is easy to access and easy to measure the belt tension. For this reason, the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can measure the belt tension with particularly high accuracy.
At this time, the control unit 31 can receive a measurement instruction for measuring the belt tension, and in accordance with the reception of the measurement instruction, the bridging region (lower side) where the connecting portion 26 does not face the print head 7. The connecting portion 26 is moved to the cross-linking region). In other words, the control unit 31 moves the connecting unit 26 to a position that is not included in the bridging region where the belt tension is measured in response to receiving the measurement instruction. As described above, the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment moves the connecting portion 26 that may cause an error when measuring the belt tension to a position not included in the bridging region where the belt tension is measured. With this configuration, the belt tension can be measured. For this reason, the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can measure the belt tension with particularly high accuracy. The position where the belt tension is measured may be a position other than the position included in the bridging region facing the print head 7. Moreover, the position which moves the connection part 26 should just be a position which is not contained in the bridge | crosslinking area | region which measures a belt tension.

In addition, the control unit 31 according to the present embodiment is not effective when the belt tension measured by the microphone 18 as the tension measurement unit and received from the microphone 18 is outside the corresponding range of the correction table stored in the storage unit 45. A warning operation can be instructed by issuing a warning sound from the speaker shown in the drawing or by giving a warning display on a monitor (not shown) of the printing apparatus 1 or the PC 46.
For this reason, since the printing apparatus 1 of this embodiment can perform a warning operation when the belt tension is outside the corresponding range of the correction table, the movement amount of the adhesive belt 10 has changed from the desired movement amount. It is possible to suppress the printing operation in a state (a state where the desired movement amount cannot be achieved).

  Note that the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a tension adjusting unit 21 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) that can change the belt tension when the belt tension is outside the corresponding range of the correction table. ing. For this reason, the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can adjust the belt tension within the corresponding range of the correction table even when the belt tension falls outside the corresponding range of the correction table, and the tension of the adhesive belt 10 can be adjusted. The change of the moving amount of the adhesive belt 10 accompanying the change can be easily suppressed.

Below, the tension adjustment part 21 which is the principal part of the printing apparatus 1 of a present Example is demonstrated.
Here, FIG. 3 is a side view of the transport mechanism 3 including the tension adjusting unit 21 which is a main part of the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a side view of region X in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the transport mechanism 3 according to the present embodiment includes a tension adjusting unit 21 that can change the position of the driven roller 9 in the bridging direction G on the driven roller 9 side in the bridging direction G. .

  As shown in FIG. 4, the tension adjusting unit 21 includes a base 22 that supports the driven roller 9, a biasing unit 24 that biases the base 22 in the direction G <b> 1 in the bridging direction G, and a bridging direction G A motor mechanism 23 that can change the position of the urging portion 24 and a guide portion 25 that guides movement of the base portion 22 in the bridging direction G accompanying movement of the urging portion 24 in the bridging direction G. Here, the base 22 is applied with a force in the direction G <b> 2 of the bridging direction G (that is, toward the urging portion 24) due to the tension associated with the adhesive belt 10 being hung on the driven roller 9. With such a configuration, the belt tension can be adjusted by rotating the motor of the motor mechanism 23 and adjusting the position of the urging portion 24 (base portion 22) in the bridging direction G.

Like the adhesive belt 10 of the present embodiment, the conveyor belt that is stretched over a plurality of rollers extends with time, and the tension may change accordingly. If the tension of the conveyor belt (belt tension) changes, the amount of movement of the conveyor belt may also change (generally, when the conveyor belt extends and the belt tension decreases, the amount of movement of the conveyor belt tends to increase). Therefore, the transport amount of the medium P may deviate from a desired value.
As described above, the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment performs the conveying operation based on the correction table stored in the storage unit 45 (specifically, driving) even if the adhesive belt 10 extends due to aging. The rotation amount of the roller 8 can be adjusted). However, since it is considered that the adhesive belt 10 extends beyond a predetermined range and the belt tension falls outside the corresponding range of the correction table, in such a case, the position of the driven roller 9 (base 22) is shifted, Again, it can be within the corresponding range of the correction table.

Here, the microphone 18 as the tension measuring unit of the present embodiment can detect sound waves generated by vibrating the adhesive belt 10. Any means for vibrating the adhesive belt 10 may be used. For example, it is preferable to use a hammer 27 as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the hammer 27 includes a hammer head 34 that is brought into contact with the adhesive belt 10 and a handle portion 35.
The user can vibrate the adhesive belt 10 using the hammer 27 having such a shape.
Specifically, for example, when measuring the belt tension of the adhesive belt 10, first, the user inputs an instruction to execute the belt tension measurement mode from the PC 46. Next, the arrangement of the adhesive belt 10 is adjusted by the control of the control unit 31 (the connecting portion 26 is positioned on the lower side), and a display for prompting vibration of the adhesive belt 10 is displayed on a monitor of the PC 46 or the like. Next, the user inputs the fact that the adhesive belt 10 is vibrated using the hammer 27 and the adhesive belt 10 is vibrated via the PC 46. Next, the carriage 16 is moved in the scanning direction B under the control of the control unit 31, and the sound wave is detected by the microphone 18.
The vibration operation of the adhesive belt 10 is preferably performed a plurality of times (for example, average data of those performed a plurality of times), and the sound wave detection operation in the scanning direction B is preferably performed at a plurality of positions.
Moreover, when measuring the belt tension of the adhesive belt 10, it is preferable that the printing apparatus 1 is in a state in which an obstructing operation that hinders measurement of the belt tension is not performed. Specifically, the “inhibition operation” includes a conveyance operation by the conveyance mechanism 3 (movement of the adhesive belt 10 by the driving roller 8), a cleaning operation of the adhesive belt 10 by the cleaning mechanism 15, and a fan provided in the printing apparatus 1. (For example, an intake operation by an intake fan, an exhaust operation by an exhaust fan). If such an operation is performed, the belt tension may not be accurately measured. Therefore, when the execution instruction of the belt tension measurement mode is input, the printing apparatus 1 is configured to stop the inhibition operation when there is an inhibition operation being executed. In this way, the belt tension can be measured with particularly high accuracy by measuring the belt tension in a state where the hindering operation is not performed. Note that when the belt tension is measured, it is not necessary to stop all the blocking operations, and it is also possible to stop a part of the blocking operations.

  As described above, the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which the microphone 18 is provided as the tension measurement unit and the hammer 27 is not provided (a component member different from the component member of the printing device 1). It is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the entire tension measuring unit may be a component different from the component of the printing apparatus 1 and the control unit 31 may receive an input of belt tension via the PC 46 or the like. Moreover, it is good also as a structure provided with both the microphone 18 and the hammer 27 as a tension | tensile_strength measurement part.

[Example 2] (FIGS. 6 to 11)
Next, the printing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment having a configuration including both the microphone 18 and the hammer 20 as a tension measuring unit will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 1 of the printing apparatus 1 of the first embodiment. 7 to 11 are schematic side views showing the hammer 20 as a tension measuring unit provided in the printing apparatus 1 of this embodiment. In addition, the structural member which is common in the said Example 1 is shown with the same code | symbol, and abbreviate | omits detailed description.
The printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has the same configuration as that of the printing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment except that the tension measuring unit includes a hammer 20 in addition to the microphone 18.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a hammer 20 that vibrates the adhesive belt 10 as a tension measuring unit. For this reason, the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to be able to measure the belt tension particularly easily without separately preparing a tool for vibrating the adhesive belt 10.

Next, the hammer 20 of the present embodiment will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 7, the hammer 20 of the present embodiment includes a pressing member 36 and a rotating member 37. The pressing member 36 includes a hitting portion 41 that is hit against the support surface F of the adhesive belt 10 and a hooking portion 38. The rotation member 37 is configured to be rotatable in the rotation direction C with respect to the rotation shaft 39, and has three hooked portions 40. Here, the pressing member 36 is urged toward a direction D1 (a direction toward the adhesive belt 10) by an urging member (not shown). Then, as the rotating member 37 rotates in the rotation direction C, the hooked portion 40 is hooked on the hooking portion 38 and the pressing member 36 moves in the direction D2 (the direction away from the adhesive belt 10), and further rotates. As the member 37 rotates in the rotation direction C, the pressing member 36 moves in the direction D1 when the hooking portion 38 is disengaged from the hooked portion 40, and the striking portion 41 becomes the support surface F of the adhesive belt 10. Nailed to.

  FIG. 8 shows a state where the hooking portion 38 is detached from the hooked portion 40. As shown in FIG. 8, when the hooking portion 38 is detached from the hooked portion 40, the hitting portion 41 is located at a contact position S <b> 1 that contacts the support surface F of the adhesive belt 10.

  FIG. 9 shows a state at the moment when the hooking portion 38 is hooked on the hooked portion 40. As the rotating member 37 rotates in the rotation direction C from the state shown in FIG. 9, the pressing member 36 moves in the direction D2.

  FIG. 10 shows a state where the pressing member 36 has moved from the state shown in FIG. 9 to the separation position S2 as the rotating member 37 rotates in the rotation direction C. Note that the separation position S2 shown in FIG. 10 is the home position of the pressing member 36 (a reference position when the vibration operation of the adhesive belt 10 is not performed, such as when the printing operation is performed).

  FIG. 11 shows a state in which the pressing member 36 has moved from the state shown in FIG. 10 to the striking start position S3 as the rotating member 37 rotates in the rotation direction C from the state shown in FIG. Represents. With the execution of the vibration operation of the adhesive belt 10, the hooking portion 38 comes off the hooked portion 40 as the rotating member 37 rotates in the rotation direction C from the state shown in FIG. Moves in the direction D2, and the hitting portion 41 is hit against the support surface F of the adhesive belt 10 (the state shown in FIG. 8 is reached).

  The hammer 20 of the present embodiment has such a configuration (a configuration in which three hooked portions 40 are provided on the rotating member 37 at equal intervals), and the rotating member 37 is rotated by one third. The configuration is such that the vibration operation of the adhesive belt 10 can be executed once. Here, the position of the rotation member 37 in the rotation direction C can be detected by a sensor (not shown).

When measuring the belt tension of the adhesive belt 10 using the printing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, for example, first, the user inputs an instruction to execute the belt tension measurement mode from the PC 46. Next, the arrangement of the adhesive belt 10 is adjusted under the control of the control unit 31 (the connecting portion 26 is positioned on the lower side). Next, under the control of the control unit 31, the state shown in FIG. 10, the state shown in FIG. 11, the state shown in FIG. 8, the state shown in FIG. 9, the state shown in FIG. Then, the rotary member 37 is rotated in the rotation direction C to move the pressing member 36 (the hitting portion 41 is hit against the support surface F of the adhesive belt 10), and the adhesive belt 10 is vibrated. Next, the carriage 16 is moved in the scanning direction B under the control of the control unit 31, and the sound wave is detected by the microphone 18.
The vibration operation of the adhesive belt 10 is preferably performed a plurality of times (for example, average data of those performed a plurality of times), and the sound wave detection operation in the scanning direction B is preferably performed at a plurality of positions.
Moreover, when measuring the belt tension of the adhesive belt 10, it is preferable that the printing apparatus 1 is in a state in which an obstructing operation that hinders measurement of the belt tension is not performed. Specifically, the “inhibition operation” refers to a transport operation by the transport mechanism 3 (movement of the adhesive belt 10 by the driving roller 8), a cleaning operation of the adhesive belt 10 by the cleaning mechanism 15, and a fan provided in the printing apparatus 1. (For example, an intake operation by an intake fan, an exhaust operation by an exhaust fan). If such an operation is performed, the belt tension may not be accurately measured. Therefore, when the execution instruction of the belt tension measurement mode is input, the printing apparatus 1 is configured to stop the inhibition operation when there is an inhibition operation being executed. In this way, the belt tension can be measured with particularly high accuracy by measuring the belt tension in a state where the hindering operation is not performed. Note that when the belt tension is measured, it is not necessary to stop all the blocking operations, and it is also possible to stop a part of the blocking operations.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, A various deformation | transformation is possible within the range of the invention described in the claim, and it cannot be overemphasized that they are also contained in the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printing apparatus, 2 ... Feeding part, 3 ... Conveyance mechanism, 4 ... Printing mechanism, 5 ... Rotating shaft,
6 ... driven roller, 7 ... print head, 8 ... driving roller, 9 ... driven roller,
10 ... Adhesive belt (conveyor belt), 11 ... Follower roller, 12 ... Pressing roller,
13 ... Cleaning brush, 14 ... Tray, 15 ... Cleaning mechanism, 16 ... Carriage,
17 ... winding shaft, 18 ... microphone (tension measuring part), 19 ... support part,
20 ... Hammer (tension measuring unit), 21 ... Tension adjusting unit, 22 ... Base, 23 ... Motor mechanism,
24 ... Biasing part, 25 ... Guide part, 26 ... Joint part, 27 ... Hammer, 28 ... Take-up mechanism,
29 ... Carriage moving part, 30 ... Follower roller, 31 ... Control part,
32 ... I / F (interface), 33 ... CPU, 34 ... hammer head,
35 ... handle part, 36 ... pressing member, 37 ... rotating member, 38 ... hooking part, 39 ... rotating shaft,
40 ... hooked part, 41 ... hitting part, 42 ... position for measuring belt tension,
44 ... control circuit, 45 ... storage unit, 46 ... PC, 47 ... detector group, F ... support surface,
P: medium, R1: roll of medium P, R2: roll of medium P, S1: contact position,
S2 ... separation position, S3 ... hitting start position,

Claims (10)

An annular conveyor belt capable of supporting the medium;
A driving roller for transporting the medium in the transport direction by rotating the transport belt;
A printing unit for printing an image on the medium;
A control unit that controls the transport operation of the medium,
The conveyor belt is spanned across a plurality of rollers including the drive roller,
The controller receives an input of a belt tension that is a tension applied to the conveyor belt by being laid across a plurality of the rollers, and the belt tension and an amount of movement of the conveyor belt according to the belt tension, A printing apparatus that controls the transport operation based on a correction table associated with each other. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit instructs a warning operation when the input belt tension is out of a corresponding range of the correction table. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A printing apparatus comprising a tension adjusting unit capable of changing the belt tension. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The conveyor belt has a joint portion in which one end portion in the circumferential direction and the other end portion are joined together,
When the region between each of the plurality of rollers, the region where the conveyor belt is bridged, is a bridge region,
The control unit is capable of receiving a measurement instruction for measuring the belt tension, and with the reception of the measurement instruction, the control unit is configured to place the connecting part at a position not included in the bridging region for measuring the belt tension. A printing apparatus that is moved. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
When the region between each of the plurality of rollers, the region where the conveyor belt is bridged, is a bridge region,
The position at which the belt tension is measured is a position included in the bridging region facing the printing unit. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A tension measuring unit for measuring the belt tension;
The said control part receives the input of the measurement result of the said tension | tensile_strength measurement part, The printing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The printing apparatus according to claim 6.
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tension measuring unit includes a microphone capable of detecting a sound wave generated by vibrating the transport belt, and measures the belt tension based on a frequency of the sound wave detected by the microphone. The printing apparatus according to claim 7.
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the microphone is provided in the printing unit. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tension measuring unit includes a hammer that vibrates the conveyor belt. A ring-shaped conveyance belt capable of supporting a medium; a driving roller that conveys the medium in a conveyance direction by rotating the conveyance belt; and a printing unit that prints an image on the medium. A transport method in a printing apparatus spanned across a plurality of rollers including the drive roller,
An input of belt tension, which is tension applied to the conveyor belt, is received by being stretched across the plurality of rollers, and the belt tension is associated with the amount of movement of the conveyor belt according to the belt tension. A transport method comprising transporting the medium based on a correction table.

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