RECORDING APPARATUS AND TRANSPORTING CONTROL METHOD IN RECORDING APPARATUS

• US 20100252986A1
• Filed: 03/29/2010
• Published: 10/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: NAKAJIMA, Norihiko
• Granted Patent: US 8,267,401 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 271/3.140
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0095 Detecting means for copy material, e.g. for detecting or sensing presence of copy material or its leading or trailing end
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/42 Controlling printing material conveyance for accurate alignment of the printing material with the printhead; Print registering
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/01 indicating an entity as a function of which control, adjustment or change is performed, i.e. input
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/02 indicating an entity which is controlled, adjusted or changed by a control process, i.e. output
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/22 Distance
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/514 Particular portion of element
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/518 Particular portion of element
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2513/51 Sequence of process
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2701/1311 leading edge
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2701/1313 trailing edge
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2801/12 Single-function printing machines, typically table-top machines
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 5/34 Varying the phase of feed relative to the receiving machine
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 7/20 Controlling associated apparatus

Abstract

Provided is a recording apparatus for performing recording on a medium, including: a transporting unit which transports the medium; a recording unit which performs the recording on the transported medium; a control unit which controls the transporting unit and the recording unit; and a detection unit which detects presence or absence of the medium at a predetermined position in a transporting path, wherein, during or after the transporting of the medium, after the detection unit detects medium absence if the detection unit detects medium presence during an interval until the transporting for a regulated distance, which is set as a value of a diameter or more of a hole provided to the medium, is finished, the control unit determines erroneous operation and performs a predetermined process so as to remove the erroneous operation state.

Claims

1. A recording apparatus for performing recording on a medium, comprising:

a transporting unit which transports the medium;

a recording unit which performs the recording on the transported medium;

a control unit which controls the transporting unit and the recording unit; and

a detection unit which detects presence or absence of the medium at a predetermined position in a transporting path,

wherein, during or after the transporting of the medium, after the detection unit detects medium absence if the detection unit detects medium presence during an interval until the transporting for a regulated distance, which is set as a value of a diameter or more of a hole provided to the medium, is finished, the control unit determines erroneous operation and performs a predetermined process so as to remove the erroneous operation state;

if the transporting for the regulated distance is finished without detection of the medium presence by the detection unit during the transporting for regulated distance, the control unit does not perform the predetermined process; and

in the case where the predetermined process is performed, during or after the transporting, if the detection unit detects the medium absence, the control unit repeats the transporting for the regulated distance and the predetermined process, which is to be performed when the detection unit detects the medium presence during the transporting for the regulated distance, until the transporting is finished without detection of the medium presence by the detection unit during the transporting for the regulated distance.

2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the detection unit is configured to detect the presence or absence of the medium at the predetermined position at the upstream side in the transport direction from the recording position of the recording unit, and

wherein the control unit includes a measuring unit which performs a measuring process for measuring a second regulated distance from a position where the end of the medium passes through the predetermined position to a position where the medium reaches a recording limit position where the recording of the recording unit can be performed, wherein the regulated distance is set to a value that is less than the second regulated distance, wherein if the detection unit detects the medium absence, the performance of the measuring process of the measuring unit is temporarily suspended, wherein if the detection unit detects the medium presence during the time interval from the time when the medium absence is detected to the time when the transporting for the regulated distance is finished, a canceling process of canceling the performance of the measuring process of the measuring unit that is suspended as the predetermined process is performed, and wherein if the transporting for the regulated distance is finished without detection of the medium presence by the detection unit, the measuring process of the measuring unit that is suspended is allowed to be performed based on a value where the suspended transporting amount is reflected.

3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein if the measuring unit finishes the measurement of the second regulated distance, the control unit controls the recording unit and the transporting unit to forcibly finish the recording operation of the recording unit and to discharge the medium by the transporting unit.

4. The recording apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the transporting unit includes transport roller pairs at a position of the uppermost streamside and a position of the downstream side in the transporting path with the recording unit disposed therebetween,

wherein a setting unit, which set the regulated distance to a value smaller than a distance from the predetermined position to the transport roller pair of the upstream side in the transporting path, is further included, and

wherein, if it is determined based on the measured value of the measuring unit that the medium is in a first section where the medium is transported by the two transport roller pairs of the upstream side and the downstream side, the control unit controls the transporting unit in first transporting control, and if it is determined that the medium is in a second section where the medium is transported only by the transport roller pair of the downstream side of the two transporting roller pairs, the control unit controls the transporting unit in second transporting control different from the first transporting control.

5. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a medium mounting unit on which the medium is set in a stacked state;

a feeding unit which feeds the medium from the medium mounting unit; and

a interval detection unit which detects that the preceding medium that is fed from the medium mounting unit is transported to a position where the interval between the preceding medium and the following medium on the medium mounting unit is the regulated amount or more,

wherein if it is detected that the interval is secured to be the regulated amount or more, the control unit controls the transporting unit and the so that the feeding of the following medium is performed together with the transporting of the preceding medium, and

wherein the recording apparatus further comprises a second setting unit where the interval is set to a value that is larger than the regulated distance.

6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a discharging distance acquisition unit which acquires a discharging distance necessary to discharge the medium,

wherein, after the medium reaches the discharging distance during the medium discharging operation by the transporting unit or after the discharging operation for the discharging distance is finished, if the detection unit detects the medium absence, the control unit further performs the transporting for the regulated distance, wherein if the detection unit detects the medium presence during the transporting for the regulated distance, the control unit determines that the discharging operation is an erroneous operation, and the control unit performs a discharging operation for a predetermined distance as the predetermined process so as to remove the erroneous operation state, wherein if the transporting for the regulated distance is finished without detection of the medium presence by the detection unit, the control unit does not perform the discharging operation as the predetermined distance, and wherein in the case where the discharging operation for the predetermined distance is performed, when the discharging operation for the predetermined distance is finished, if the detection unit detects the medium absence, the control unit repeats the transporting for the regulated distance, the discharging operation for the predetermined distance, which is to be performed when the detection unit detects the medium presence during the transporting for the regulated distance until the transporting for the regulated distance is finished without detection of the medium presence by the detection unit.

7. A recording apparatus for performing recording on a medium, comprising:

a transporting unit which transports the medium;

a recording unit which performs the recording on the transported medium;

a control unit which controls the transporting unit and the recording unit; and

a detection unit which detects presence or absence of the medium at a predetermined position in a transporting path,

wherein, during or after the transporting of the medium, if the detection unit detects medium absence, the control unit further performs the transporting of a regulated distance, which is set as a value of a diameter or more of a hole provided to the medium;

after the transporting of the regulated distance, the control unit determines the presence or absence of the medium based on a result of the detection of the detection unit;

if the medium presence is determined, the control unit determines an erroneous operation and performs a predetermined process so as to remove the erroneous operation state;

if the medium absence is determined, the control unit does not perform the predetermined process; and

in the case where the predetermined process is performed, during or after the transporting, if the detection unit detects the medium absence, the control unit repeats the transporting of the regulated distance, the determination of the presence or absence of the medium after the transporting, and the predetermined process, which is to be performed when the result of the determination is the medium presence, until the result of the determination is the medium absence.

8. A transporting control method in a recording apparatus having a detection unit capable of detecting presence or absence of a medium at a predetermined position in a transporting path, comprising:

performing transporting for a regulated distance, which is set as a value of a diameter or more of a hole provided to the medium during or after transporting of the medium, after the detection unit detects the medium absence;

performing a predetermined process of removing an erroneous operation state if the detection unit detects the medium presence during the transporting for the regulated distance, where even a normal operation, in the case where the detection of the medium absence is based on passing of the end of the medium through a predetermined position, becomes an erroneous operation in the case where the detection of the medium absence is based on detection of the hole, and wherein the predetermined process is not performed in the case where the transporting for the regulated distance is finished without detection of the medium presence by the detection unit during the transporting for the regulated distance,

wherein in the case of performing the predetermined process, during or after the transporting, the performing the transporting for the regulated distance and the performing the predetermined process are repeated until the transporting for the regulated distance is finished without detection of the medium presence by the detection unit during the transporting for the regulated distance in the performing the predetermined process.