Patent Application
20230150280
The present invention relates to a printing technique using a liquid.
A printing apparatus that can use, as a print medium, a long print medium such as a roll sheet is provided with a cutter configured to cut the print medium after a printing operation. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-85531 discloses a printing apparatus that allows a user to select not only a setting for automatically performing cutting of the print medium after the printing operation but also a setting for performing cutting at a timing instructed by the user. In the setting for performing cutting at a timing instructed by the user, cutting of the print medium can be performed after the user confirms an image (ink image) on the print medium has dried.
In addition, a printing apparatus that performs printing by discharging a liquid from a printhead to a print medium is provided with a maintenance mechanism that maintains/recovers the liquid discharge performance of the printhead. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2018-20460 discloses a printing apparatus including a maintenance mechanism that shares a motor serving as a driving source with a conveyance roller. If the conveyance roller and the maintenance mechanism share the motor, the apparatus can be made compact.
In a printing apparatus having a setting for performing cutting at a timing instructed by a user, like the printing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-85531, when the time to wait for the user instruction is long, drying of the liquid discharge port of the printhead may progress. As a method of suppressing drying of the liquid discharge port, capping the liquid discharge port using a cap member of the maintenance mechanism is known. However, if capping is performed each time during a wait for the user instruction, throughput may lower in a job in which, for example, the printing operation continues. Also, for example, in a printing apparatus that shares a motor with a conveyance roller, like the printing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2018-20460, the conveyance roller may rotate at the time of capping because of the mechanism, and the cut position of the print medium changes.
The present invention provides a technique for suppressing drying of a liquid discharge port in a printing apparatus having a cut setting for cutting a print medium at a timing instructed by a user.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus comprising: a cap member configured to be switched between a capped state in which an ink discharge port of a printhead is covered by the cap member and a non-capped state; a conveyance unit configured to convey a print medium to the printhead; and a cutting unit configured to cut the print medium on which an image is formed by the printhead, wherein a cutting setting for operating the cutting unit can be set in advance based on a cutting instruction of a user, and in a case in which the cutting setting is set, the cap member waits for the cutting instruction in the non-capped state, and the cap member is switched to the capped state when a wait time for the cutting instruction reaches a predetermined time.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to the attached drawings).
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note, the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention. Multiple features are described in the embodiments, but limitation is not made an invention that requires all such features, and multiple such features may be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same or similar configurations, and redundant description thereof is omitted.
Note that “print” includes not only formation of significant information such as a character or graphic pattern but also formation of an image, design, or pattern on print media in a broader sense regardless of whether the information is significant or insignificant or has become obvious to allow human visual perception. Also, “print media” may be paper, fabrics, plastic films, and the like.
The printing apparatus 1 uses a roll sheet P as a print medium. The roll sheet P is formed by winding one sheet into a roll around a tubular core. However, a cut sheet may be used as the print medium. Also, a user may be allowed to select the roll sheet or the cut sheet as the print medium.
The printing apparatus 1 includes a printhead 2 that discharges ink to the roll sheet P to form an image on the roll sheet P. The printhead 2 is supported by a carriage 3. Ink is supplied as a liquid from an ink tank (not shown) to the printhead 2. The ink tank may be integrated with or separated from the printhead 2. If separated, the ink tank may be mounted on the carriage 3, or may be arranged in a place different from the carriage 3.
The carriage 3 is reciprocally moved by a moving mechanism 4 in a direction (in this embodiment, the Y direction) crossing the conveyance direction (in this embodiment, the X direction) of the roll sheet P. The moving mechanism 4 is a mechanism using a CR motor (carriage motor) 40 as a driving source, and is, for example, a belt transmission mechanism. The belt transmission mechanism includes a pair of pulleys apart in the Y direction, and an endless belt wound around the pair of pulleys, and the carriage 3 is fixed to the endless belt. The endless belt is caused to travel by the CR motor 40 rotating the pulleys, and the carriage 3 is thus moved. The moving mechanism 4 may include a guide shaft that guides the movement of the carriage 3 in the Y direction. The guide shaft extends in the Y direction and engages with the carriage 3 such that the carriage 3 can freely slide.
As mechanisms for conveying the roll sheet P, the printing apparatus 1 includes a feeding unit 5 and a conveyance unit 6, which are arranged from the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the roll sheet P. The feeding unit 5 includes a support portion 51 that rotatably supports the roll sheet P. The roll sheet P is supported in such a posture that its widthwise direction (the axial direction of the roll) is set in the Y direction. The support portion 51 is rotated by the driving force of a feeding motor 50, and rotates the feeding motor 50. Depending on the rotation direction of the feeding motor 50, a feeding operation of feeding the roll sheet P to the conveyance unit 6 on the downstream side and a take-up operation in the reverse direction can be performed.
The conveyance unit 6 conveys, to the printhead 2, the roll sheet P conveyed by the feeding unit 5. In this embodiment, the conveyance unit 6 is formed by a conveyance roller. More specifically, the conveyance unit 6 includes a driving roller 61, and a driven roller 62 (pinch roller) pressed against the driving roller 61 by a spring (not shown). The driving roller 61 is rotated by the driving force of a conveyance motor 60. When the conveyance motor 60 rotates forward, the roll sheet P is sandwiched in the nip portion between the driving roller 61 and the driven roller 62, and the roll sheet P is conveyed in the +X direction to the printhead 2. In the take-up operation of the roll sheet P, the conveyance unit 6 can convey the roll sheet P to the upstream side (return the roll sheet P to the side of the feeding unit 5) along with the reverse rotation of the conveyance motor 60.
As described above, the printing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment is a serial type printing apparatus in which the printhead 2 is mounted on the carriage 3. A conveyance operation (intermittent conveyance operation) of conveying the roll sheet P by a predetermined amount by the conveyance unit 6 and a print scanning operation of discharging ink from the printhead 2 while moving the carriage 3 during conveyance stop are repeated, thereby performing a printing operation for the roll sheet P. An image (ink image) is formed on the roll sheet P by the printing operation. The roll sheet P is partially discharged from a discharge port 1a to the outside of the apparatus by the conveyance.
A cutting unit 7 is provided on the downstream side of the printhead 2. The cutting unit 7 cuts the printed roll sheet P. The cutting unit 7 includes, for example, a cutter 71 that is moved by the driving force of a cutter motor 70. The cutter 71 is guided by a guide 72 and moved in the direction (in this embodiment, the Y direction) crossing the conveyance direction of the roll sheet P. The cutter 71 stands by outside the conveyance path of the roll sheet P, and is moved to cross the conveyance path at the time of cutting to cut the roll sheet P. The cut roll sheet P is wholly discharged through the discharge port 1a.
The printing apparatus 1 includes an input/output unit 8 that outputs information to the user and accepts an instruction input of the user. The input/output unit 8 is, for example, a touch panel or a combination of hard keys and a display device. In this embodiment, the input/output unit 8 is a touch panel. The input/output unit 8 may include a device that outputs sound to the user. A human detection sensor 9 is a motion sensor that detects whether a person (user) exists on the periphery of the printing apparatus 1, and is, for example, an infrared sensor.
A maintenance unit 10 is provided at one end portion of the moving range of the carriage 3 in the Y direction. The maintenance unit 10 maintains/recovers the liquid discharge performance of the printhead 2 when the carriage 3 is located at a predetermined stop position (home position). The maintenance unit 10 includes a cap member 11. The cap member 11 covers the liquid discharge port (ink discharge port) of the printhead 2, thereby suppressing drying of the liquid discharge port. An operation mechanism 13 is a mechanism that switches the cap member 11 between a capped state and a non-capped state.
In the non-capped state shown in
In the non-capped state, the liquid discharge performance of the printhead 2 can be maintained by discharging ink from the printhead 2 to the cap member 11 (so-called preliminary discharge). As shown in
In this embodiment, the operation mechanism 13 lifts/lowers the cap member 11 between the capped state and the non-capped state. The driving source of the operation mechanism 13 is the conveyance motor 60 of the conveyance unit 6, that is, the driving source is shared with the conveyance unit 6. The driving force of the conveyance motor 60 is transmitted to the shaft of the driving roller 61 via gears 60a and 61a and further transmitted to the operation mechanism 13 via a gear 61b and an interrupting mechanism 14.
As shown in
A plurality of stop positions are set on the moving path of the carriage 3. The interrupting mechanism 14 includes a lever member (not shown) that is pressed by the carriage 3 when the carriage 3 moves to a specific stop position (called a gear moving position), and can bring the gear 142 close to the gear 141 using the rotation of the lever member. That is, using the movement of the carriage 3, the gears 141 and 142 can be switched to a driving transmission state in which the engaging portions 143 engage.
On the cam plate 110, a rack 111 meshed with the gear 141 is extended in the X direction. By the rotation of the gear 141, the cam plate 110 moves in the X direction. On the cam plate 110, a guide wall 112 is extended in parallel to the rack 111. The guide wall 112 maintains the driving transmission state between the gear 141 and the gear 142. More specifically, as shown in
The cam plate 110 includes a cam face 113 with an undulated structure in the Z direction. When the cam plate 110 moves in the X direction, the cap member 11 is lifted/lowered via a cam follower (not shown). For example, when the cam plate 110 is located at the positions shown in
In this embodiment, the operation mechanism 13 is a translation cam mechanism. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various mechanisms can be employed. Also, although the conveyance motor 60 is shared as the driving source for moving the cam plate 110, a unique driving source for operating the operation mechanism 13 may be provided.
The control unit 20 is an electric circuit including the following components connected via a system bus. A CPU 21 is a processor (microcomputer) and is the central processing unit of the control unit 20. The CPU 21 executes programs stored in a Flash ROM 24 and controls the overall operation of the printing apparatus 1. The control unit 20 includes a plurality of storage devices. The Flash ROM 24 is connected to the system bus via a ROM I/F 24a, and stores programs to be executed by the CPU 21 and data necessary for various kinds of control. The RAM 25 is connected to the system bus via the memory controller 25a and used as the work area of the CPU 21 or a temporary storage area for various kinds of data. Various kinds of data can include setting data associated with printing. The number and types of storage devices can appropriately be selected.
The image processing unit 22 performs various kinds of image processing. For example, the image processing unit 22 performs processing of rasterizing (converting) print data (for example, data expressed by a page description language) into image data (bitmap image data). The image processing unit 22 also converts the color space (for example, YCbCr) of image data included in input print data into a standard RGB color space (for example, sRGB). In addition, the image processing unit 22 performs various kinds of image processing such as syntax analysis, resolution conversion, image analysis, and image correction for image data, as needed. Image data obtained by image processing is stored in the RAM 25.
The printhead 2 is connected to the system bus via a head I/F 2b. A maintenance motor 12a configured to drive the pump 12, the CR motor 40, the feeding motor 50, the conveyance motor 60, and the cutter motor 70 are individually driven by a motor driver 26. Various kinds of sensors 27 are connected to the system bus via a sensor I/F 27a, and the CPU 21 can acquire the detection results of the various kinds of sensors 27. The human detection sensor 9 is included in the various kinds of sensors 27. In addition to the human detection sensor 9, the various kinds of sensors 27 include a detection sensor for the conveyance position of the roll sheet P, a detection sensor for the position of the carriage 3, and the like. The input/output unit 8 is connected to the system bus via an input/output unit I/F 8b. In this embodiment, the input/output unit 8 is fixed to the printing apparatus 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the input/output unit 8 may be, for example, a terminal capable of communicating with the control unit 20 via a network, and a plurality of terminals may be provided. Also, the host computer 200 can be used as the input/output unit 8.
An example of processing executed by the CPU 21 of the control unit 20 will be described.
In step S1, preprocessing is executed. Preprocessing is processing associated with preparation of a printing operation. For example, the roll sheet P is conveyed up to an image formation start position. In addition, when the cap member 11 is in the capped state, it is switched to the non-capped state. In step S2, a printing operation is performed. In the printing operation, as described above, the intermittent conveyance operation of the roll sheet P by the conveyance unit 6 and print scanning by the printhead 2 during conveyance stop are repeated, and an image is formed on the roll sheet P. In step S3, post-processing is executed. In post-processing, processing associated with cut of the roll sheet P is mainly performed.
In this embodiment, concerning cutting of the roll sheet P, the user can select one of two types of cutting settings. The two types of cutting settings will be referred to as an automatic cutting mode and a cutting instruction mode. In the automatic cutting mode, after the printing operation (step S2), the roll sheet P is automatically cut by the cutting unit 7. On the other hand, in the cutting instruction mode, the cutting unit 7 is operated based on a cutting instruction of the user, thereby cutting the roll sheet P.
In the cutting instruction mode, the user can cut the roll sheet P at the timing desired by himself/herself. This can obtain the following advantages for the user. For example, before the roll sheet P falls from the discharge port 1a onto the floor, the user can hold it by a hand to prevent an image from becoming dirty. When cutting is performed after confirming that an image has dried, it is possible to prevent the quality from lowering due to touch on the image.
Selection of the automatic cutting mode or the cutting instruction mode may be set by the user on the host computer 200, and information representing the selection result may be included in the print job. The selection may be accepted by the input/output unit 8. The selection result can be stored in, for example, the RAM 25 and read out and referred to as needed. Selection of the automatic cutting mode or the cutting instruction mode may automatically be set in accordance with the type of the print medium or print data (an ink discharge amount or the like).
On the other hand, in the cutting instruction mode, since the roll sheet P is cut after waiting for the cutting instruction of the user, the wait time may be long. When the printing operation (step S2) is ended, the cap member 11 is in the non-capped state. Hence, when the wait time is long, drying of the liquid discharge port of the printhead 2 may progress. In this embodiment, when the wait time reaches a predetermined time (defined as time T), the cap member 11 is set in the capped state. This suppresses drying of the liquid discharge port. The time T is, for example, about 5 min.
In step S12, it is determined whether the cutting instruction from the user exists. When the cutting instruction exists, the process advances to step S20. When the cutting instruction does not exist, the process advances to step S13. In step S20, the cutting unit 7 is driven to cut the roll sheet P. In step S21, it is determined whether the next print instruction exists (whether the next print job is received). When the next print instruction exists, the post-processing is ended. After that, preprocessing (step S1) is started. When the next print instruction does not exist, the process advances to step S17.
In step S13, it is determined whether it is the preliminary discharge timing. When it is the preliminary discharge timing, the process advances to step S14 to drive the printhead 2 and perform preliminary discharge. In this embodiment, by the processes of steps S13 and S14, preliminary discharge is performed at a predetermined interval (for example, 2 sec) during the wait for the cutting instruction. This can suppress drying of the liquid discharge port even if the cap member 11 is in the non-capped state. The interval to perform preliminary discharge is set from the viewpoint of drying suppression.
In step S15, it is determined whether the wait time reaches the time T. When the wait time reaches the time T, the process advances to step S16. When the wait time does not reach the time T, the process returns to step S12 to continuously wait for the cutting instruction.
When the wait time reaches the time T, the cap member 11 is switched from the non-capped state to the capped state, as described above. To operate the operation mechanism 13, the conveyance motor 60 needs to be driven. During the wait, the roll sheet P with the image formed thereon is sandwiched between the driving roller 61 and the driven roller. When the conveyance motor 60 is driven, the roll sheet P moves. Hence, first, although the cutting instruction of the user does not exist, in step S16, the cutting unit 7 is driven to cut the roll sheet P with the image formed thereon. This processing can be called a forcible cutting operation because the roll sheet P is cut without a user instruction.
In step S17, to make the roll sheet P retreat from the conveyance unit 6, the feeding unit 5 is driven to take up the roll sheet P. At this time, the conveyance unit 6 may also be driven to convey the roll sheet P in the -X direction. The length to take up is at least the distance length from the conveyance unit 6 to the cutting unit 7. By the take-up operation in step S17, the roll sheet P does not exist in the conveyance unit 6 anymore, and the operation mechanism 13 can be operated by driving the conveyance motor 60.
In step S18, the cam plate 110 is moved to the position in
Display control of the input/output unit 8 in the post-processing will be described with reference to
The display example includes messages 8a and 8b and an instruction button 8c, and a notification to the user is performed. The message 8a describes that when the user taps the instruction button 8c, the roll sheet P is cut, and notifies the user that the apparatus is waiting for the cutting instruction. The message 8b notifies the time left until reaching the time T, and particularly indicates the time left until the forcible cutting operation in step S16 is executed. This notification can urge the user to input the cutting instruction, and can notify the user of the timing of executing the forcible cutting operation.
Referring back to
As a case where a forcible cutting operation (step S16) is executed, a case where the user is away from a printing apparatus 1 can be considered, and a cut sheet after cutting falls from a discharge port 1a. Due to the impact of falling, the cut sheet may be folded or damaged, resulting in lower quality. To prevent this, a roll sheet P may be conveyed by a predetermined amount in the +X direction and stopped before cutting, and the roll sheet P may be cut after that. The leading edge of the roll sheet P comes close to the landing point, and the impact in falling can be reduced.
In step S41, a conveyance unit 6 is driven to convey the roll sheet P by a predetermined amount in the +X direction. A feeding unit 5 is also driven as needed to assist conveyance of the roll sheet P. The conveyance amount is, for example, 10 cm to several tens of cm. In step S42, a cutter motor 70 is driven to cut the roll sheet P. The cut sheet after cutting is discharged from the discharge port 1a. At this time, when the leading edge of the cut sheet already reaches or is close to the landing point, the impact of falling can be reduced.
As another measure for reducing the impact of falling of the cut sheet after cutting, the cutting speed may be changed between the forcible cutting operation (step S16) and the normal cutting operation (step S20). In the forcible cutting operation (step S16), the cutting speed is reduced as compared to the normal cutting operation. Since the cut sheet after cutting slowly falls from the discharge port 1a, the impact of falling can be reduced. On the other hand, in the normal cutting operation, the cutting speed is made relatively high, thereby improving throughput. In this embodiment, the cutting speed is the moving speed of a cutter 71.
When executing the forcible cutting operation (step S16), cutting may be performed after the user is notified that a roll sheet P is to be cut. This can urge the user to do preparation such that the user can be aware of execution of the forcible cutting operation and support, by a hand, the roll sheet P discharged from a discharge port 1a.
When the cutting instruction wait time reaches a time T, a roll sheet P may be taken up by a feeding unit 5 without performing a forcible cutting operation (step S16).
If it is determined in step S21 that the next print instruction does not exist, the process advances to step S17A. Also, when the wait time reaches the time T in step S15, the process advances to step S17B. The operations of steps S17A and S17B are the same in terms of taking up the roll sheet P by driving the feeding unit 5 to make the roll sheet P retreat from a conveyance unit 6, as in step S17 of
However, at the stage of step S17A, since the operation is executed after the roll sheet P is cut, the image printed portion exists on the cut sheet after cutting but not on the roll sheet P. The length to take up is at least the distance length from the conveyance unit 6 to a cutting unit 7. On the other hand, at the stage of step S17B, the roll sheet P is not cut yet, and the image printed portion exists on the roll sheet P. The length to take up is at least the length from the conveyance unit 6 to the leading edge of the roll sheet P. Depending on the length of the printed portion in the X direction, at least a part of the image printed portion is taken up by the cylindrical portion of the roll sheet P. The take-up operation in step S17B can also be called a forcible take-up operation because it is performed without a user instruction.
After that, an idle suction operation in step S18 and capping in step S19 are performed, and post-processing is ended. In this embodiment, since the forcible cutting operation (step S16) of the roll sheet P is not performed, quality never lowers due to falling of the cut sheet.
The take-up speed of a roll sheet P in a forcible take-up operation (step S17B) may be lower than the take-up speed of the roll sheet P in the normal take-up operation (step S17A) according to the fourth embodiment. In the normal take-up operation (step S17A), the roll sheet P is taken up at a higher speed, thereby improving throughput. In the forcible take-up operation (step S17B), the roll sheet P is taken up at a lower speed. When taking up an image printed portion by the cylindrical portion of the roll sheet P, this can suppress lowering of quality caused by rubbing of the image with another portion of the roll sheet P. The take-up speed can be controlled by the rotation speed of a feeding motor 50. In the forcible take-up operation (step S17B), the feeding motor 50 is rotated at a speed, for example, a half of the speed in the normal take-up operation (step S17A). The switching setting of the rotation speed is set at the start of each take-up operation (step S17A or S17B).
In the first embodiment, when performing a forcible cutting operation (step S16), when an image on a roll sheet P is not sufficiently dried, the image printed portion may contact an object around when the cut sheet falls after cutting, resulting in lower quality. Also, in the fourth embodiment, when performing a forcible take-up operation (step S17B), when an image on the roll sheet P is not sufficiently dried, set-off or lowering of image quality may occur when the image printed portion is taken up by the cylindrical portion of the roll sheet P.
When the time T is made long, drying of the image is promoted, but drying of the liquid discharge port simultaneously progresses. To prevent this, ink is wastefully consumed by preliminary discharge.
On the other hand, the drying time of the image changes depending on a print condition such as a print medium type or an ink discharge amount. For example, the drying time is shorter in plain paper than in glossy paper. The drying time is shorter in a character image that needs a small ink discharge amount than in a photo image that needs a large ink discharge amount.
Hence, the time T may be set in accordance with the print condition in each printing.
In the fourth embodiment, when the forcible take-up operation (step S17B) is performed, an image printed portion exists on a roll sheet P. This needs to be discharged until next printing. As an assumption, in this embodiment, information (called take-up information) representing that the forcible take-up operation is performed is stored. The storage destination is, for example, a Flash ROM 24 or a RAM 25.
After the forcible take-up operation is executed in step S17B, take-up information is stored in step S22. In this embodiment, the take-up information includes not only the information representing that the forcible take-up operation is executed but also information representing the length of the roll sheet P that has been taken up.
The discharge operation and the cutting operation of the roll sheet P using the take-up information will be described. The discharge/cutting operation is executed when a predetermined condition is satisfied. For example, when the user instructs, or at the time of next printing, the operation can automatically be executed.
In step S71, it is determined whether the take-up information is stored. When the take-up information is stored, the process advances to step S72. If the take-up information is not stored, the processing is ended. In step S72, an instruction button is displayed on an input/output unit 8.
Referring back to
Note that in the example shown in
Next,
When the wait time of the cutting instruction of the user reaches a time T, a forcible cutting operation (step S16) may be performed, and a forcible take-up operation (step S17A) may then be performed. Alternatively, the forcible take-up operation (step S17B) may be performed without performing the forcible cutting operation.
If it is determined instep S21 that the next print instruction exists, the process advances to step S17A to perform a normal take-up operation. The contents of the normal take-up operation in step S17A are the same as the normal take-up operation according to the fourth embodiment.
When the wait time reaches the time T in step S15, the process advances to selection processing in step S23. In the selection processing, whether to perform the forcible cutting operation (step S16) and then perform the normal take-up operation (step S 17A) or perform the forcible take-up operation (step S17B) without performing the forcible cutting operation is selected.
As the selection method, for example, a method of selecting an operation selected by the user in advance or a method of selecting based on a print condition can be used. In the former case, the user may select an operation on a print job basis or may select an operation uniformly independently of a print job. In the latter case, an operation can be selected in accordance with the drying state of an image on a roll sheet P. The drying time of the image changes depending on a print condition such as a print medium type or an ink discharge amount. For example, the drying time is shorter in plain paper than in glossy paper. The drying time is shorter in a character image that needs a small ink discharge amount than in a photo image that needs a large ink discharge amount. In a case where drying of the image is insufficient, when the forcible take-up operation is performed, set-off or lowering of image quality may occur. Hence, discharging the printed portion by performing the forcible cutting operation is advantageous. When drying of the image progresses to some extent, the possibility that the above-described problem occurs is low even if the forcible take-up operation is performed. Since the printed portion may be damaged due to falling of the cut sheet in the forcible cutting operation, selecting the forcible take-up operation is advantageous.
Print conditions are, for example, various kinds of settings included in a print job, and include a print medium type and print data. An evaluation value concerning the ink discharge amount can be obtained from the print data. The evaluation value is, for example, an average ink discharge count per scanning. The print conditions also include, for example, an image type. These include colors, for example, monochrome, several specific colors such as two colors, and full color, and contents to be printed, for example, a line art, an image (a photo or the like), and a mixture of these. There are also image settings, for example, a density, a resolution, and a roughness.
In step S24, it is determined, based on the selection result in step S23, whether the forcible cutting operation is selected. When the forcible cutting operation is selected, the process advances to step S16. When the forcible cutting operation is not selected (when the forcible take-up operation is selected), the process advances to step S17B.
In step S16, the forcible cutting operation is performed. The contents are the same as the forcible cutting operation described in the first embodiment. After that, the process advances to step S17A to perform the normal take-up operation. The contents of the normal take-up operation in step S17A are the same as the normal take-up operation according to the fourth embodiment. After that, the process advances to step S16.
In step S17B, the forcible take-up operation is performed. The contents are the same as the forcible take-up operation according to the fourth embodiment. After that, the process advances to step S16.
As described above, in this embodiment, when the wait time of the cutting instruction of the user reaches the time T, the forcible cutting operation or the forcible take-up operation is selectively performed. It is therefore possible to perform an operation according to the desire of the user or the print condition.
When the cutting instruction mode is set, a notification for urging the user to input a cutting instruction may be done even at a timing other than post-processing. This can urge the user to input the cutting instruction. The notification may be performed always or periodically during preprocessing (step S1) and the printing operation (step S2), or may be performed always or periodically during the printing operation (step S2).
Referring back to
When the notification shown in
In step S91, information stored in the RAM 25 is referred to, and it is determined whether the cutting instruction mode is set. When the cutting instruction mode is set, the process advances to step S92 to acquire the detection result of a human detection sensor 9 and determine whether the user is detected around the printing apparatus 1. When the user is detected, the process advances to step S93. When the user is not detected, the process advances to step S94. In step S93, display for promoting the cutting instruction shown in
In step S95, it is determined whether post-processing (step S3) is started. If it is determined that post-processing is started, the process advances to step S96. The detection result of the human detection sensor 9 is acquired, and it is determined whether the user is detected around the printing apparatus 1. When the user is detected, the process advances to step S97. When the user is not detected, the process advances to step S98. In step S97, display of the instruction button for accepting the cutting instruction of the user is started, and acceptance of the cutting instruction is started. The display example is the same as described with reference to
In step S99, it is determined whether the cutting instruction exists (in the example shown in
Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a ‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or that includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computer executable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions. The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-186522, filed Nov. 16, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-186522 | Nov 2021 | JP | national |
