JP2007238270A - Roll-like medium support device and recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a roll-like medium support device capable of making the right and left back tension of a roll-like medium uniform at draw-out of the roll-like medium, and a recording device provided with the roll-like medium support device. <P>SOLUTION: The roll-like medium support device is provided with a rotation mechanism 50 for making a medium support part 111 rotatable in a medium draw-out direction at the center of the medium support part. Thereby, when the right and left back tension of the roll-like medium is made non-uniform when the roll-like medium is drawn out, since a side where the back tension of the medium support part for supporting the roll-like medium is strong is rotated in the medium draw-out direction, the right and left back tension of the roll-like medium can be made uniform. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a roll-shaped medium support device including a medium support portion that supports a roll-shaped medium, and a recording apparatus including the roll-shaped medium support device.

  Inkjet printers, which are one type of recording apparatus, include a type capable of recording not only on cut paper but also on roll paper as a recording medium. The roll paper is axially supported by a roll paper holder mounted on the upper back of the printer main body, and is drawn out by a paper feed roller built in the printer main body to be conveyed and recorded (patent) Reference 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3092667

  In the above-described ink jet printer, the roll paper supported by the roll paper holder is pulled out by the paper feed roller to be conveyed and recorded, so that the rotation center axis of the roll paper holder and the paper can be improved to improve the conveyance accuracy and recording accuracy. It is desirable that the rotation center axis of the feed roller is always maintained in parallel. However, due to variations in component accuracy, assembly accuracy, etc., there is a limit to always maintaining the rotation center axis of the roll paper holder and the rotation center axis of the paper feed roller in parallel. For this reason, the rotational shake of the outer periphery of the roll paper is likely to occur, and the right and left back tensions of the roll paper may not be uniform, which may adversely affect the conveyance accuracy and the recording accuracy.

  The present invention has been made in view of the various problems as described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a roll-shaped medium support device capable of making the left and right back tensions of the roll-shaped medium uniform when pulling out the roll-shaped medium. Another object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus provided with the roll-shaped medium support device.

  In order to achieve the above object, the roll-shaped medium support device of the present invention is a roll-shaped medium support device including a medium support portion that supports a roll-shaped medium, and the medium support portion is rotatable in the medium drawing direction. A rotating mechanism is provided at the center of the medium support portion. As a result, if the left and right back tensions of the roll-shaped medium become non-uniform when the roll-shaped medium is pulled out, the stronger back tension side of the medium support portion that supports the roll-shaped medium rotates in the medium pull-out direction. The left and right back tension can be made uniform.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that a rotation restricting means for restricting the rotation of the medium support portion when the roll-shaped medium is set on the medium support portion is provided. Thereby, since the medium support part can be fixed, the roll-shaped medium can be easily set on the medium support part. The rotation mechanism is characterized in that the center of rotation is movable in the medium width direction. As a result, the left and right back tensions can be made uniform even for roll media having different widths.

  To achieve the above object, the recording apparatus of the present invention is a recording apparatus for recording while conveying a roll-shaped recording medium, and is characterized by including each of the roll-shaped medium support devices. Thereby, a recording apparatus that exhibits the above-described effects can be provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all the combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the invention. Absent.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of an ink jet printer that is one of recording apparatuses according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an internal configuration example of a main part of the ink jet printer. FIG. 3 and FIG. 3 are side views showing further details of the main part of the internal configuration. The ink jet printer 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 can perform recording on a recording sheet (recording medium) such as a roll paper or a cut sheet having a relatively large size such as a JIS standard A1 size or a JIS standard B1 size. This is a large printer, and a paper feed unit (roll medium support device) 110 including a characteristic part of the present invention, a recording / conveying unit 120, a paper discharge unit 130, and a leg unit 140 are arranged in this order from the top. It has been configured.

  That is, the roll paper fed from the paper feeding unit 110 arranged at the uppermost part is conveyed obliquely downward between the recording / conveying unit 120 and the paper discharging unit 130 arranged at an inclination in the lower part. Thus, the sheet is discharged to a sheet receiving tray (not shown) disposed between the leg portions 140 disposed at the bottom. The recording / conveying unit 120 and the paper discharge unit 130 are integrated as a main body, and are configured to be separable from the paper feeding unit 110 and the leg unit 140, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the paper feeding unit 110 is provided so as to protrude to the upper rear of the main bodies 120 and 130. As shown in FIG. 2, a roll paper holder (medium support unit) 111 on which one roll paper can be set is provided inside the paper supply unit 110. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a flip-up roll paper cover 112 that can be opened and closed is attached so as to cover the roll paper holder 111. The roll paper cover 112 can prevent the roll paper held in the roll paper holder 111 from being contaminated, and can ensure the safety of the user. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a rotation mechanism 50, which is a characteristic part of the present invention, is provided inside the paper feeding unit 110 so that the roll paper holder 111 can rotate in the roll paper drawing direction. . The details of the rotating mechanism 50 will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the roll paper holder 111 includes a spindle 113 for holding the roll paper and a pair of flange-shaped roll paper pressers 114, and a spindle receiver 115 on which the spindle 113 can be attached and detached. Both ends of the spindle 113 are placed on the spindle receiver 115 and are rotatably supported by the spindle 113 in a state where the roll paper is inserted in the center and is sandwiched between the roll paper pressers 114. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the roll paper cover 112 is rotatably supported as a whole, and is opened and closed when the user holds the lower part and lifts or pushes it down. The user can easily open and close the roll paper cover 112 and can shorten the roll paper replacement operation time and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the recording / conveying unit 120 includes a carriage 122 on which the recording head 121 is mounted, and a flexible flat cable (hereinafter referred to as “electrical connection”) that electrically connects the recording head 121 and a control unit (not shown) for performing recording. FFC) 123, and an ink tube 124 that connects the recording head 121 and the ink cartridge 10 containing ink. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an upper lid 125 and a front lid 126 are attached to the upper surface and the front surface of the recording unit 120 so as to cover the recording head 121, the carriage 122, and the like.

  The recording head 121 includes a black ink recording head that discharges black ink, and a plurality of color ink recording heads that discharge ink of each color such as light yellow, yellow, light cyan, cyan, light magenta, and magenta. . The recording head 121 is provided with a pressure generation chamber and a nozzle opening connected to the pressure generation chamber. The size of the recording head 121 is controlled from the nozzle opening toward the roll paper by storing ink in the pressure generation chamber and pressurizing it with a predetermined pressure. Ink droplets are discharged.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the carriage 122 is suspended from a rail 127 provided in the main scanning direction via a roller and connected to the carriage belt 128. The carriage belt 128 is operated by a carriage driving device (not shown). Then, it is accompanied by the movement of the carriage belt 128 and is guided by the rail 127 so as to reciprocate. As shown in FIG. 2, the FFC 123 has one end connected to the connector of the control unit and the other end connected to the connector of the recording head 121, and sends a recording signal from the control unit to the recording head 121. .

  The ink tubes 124 are provided for the inks of the respective colors, and one end of each ink tube is connected to the corresponding ink cartridge 10 via an ink pressurizing supply means (not shown), and the other end of each color recording head. 121 is connected. The ink tube 124 is configured to send ink of each color pressurized by the ink pressure supply means from the ink cartridge 10 to the recording head 121. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the front lid 126 is rotatably supported at the lower part, and is opened and closed by the user pushing down or pushing up the upper part. The user can greatly open the recording unit 120 by opening the front lid 126, so that maintenance work of the recording head 121, the carriage 122, and the like can be easily performed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the recording / conveying unit 120 includes a flat sheet feeding guide 211 extending from the sheet feeding unit 110, a contact / separable sheet feeding roller 212 and a driven roller 213, and a carriage 122. A flat platen 214 disposed opposite to the mounted recording head 121, a paper guide 215 disposed on the downstream side of conveyance immediately below the platen 214, a sheet suction unit 216 that adsorbs the roll paper on the platen 214 and the paper guide 215. I have. Note that a cutter 129 for cutting the recording-completed roll paper is attached to the carriage 122.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the paper feed roller 212 is formed as one long roller, and a peripheral surface portion slightly larger than the maximum recordable paper width is coated with ceramic powder or the like. Thereby, since the slip at the time of paper feeding can be prevented, roll paper can be sent out with high precision. Although not shown in the drawing, both ends of the paper feed roller 212 are axially supported by the side frame via bearings, and are driven to rotate forward and backward by a driving force transmitted from the paper feed motor via a pulley and a belt. It has become.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the driven roller 213 is formed as a plurality of short rollers, and is pivotally supported by a plurality of driven roller support members 213 a arranged in parallel in the axial direction above the paper feed roller 212. It is supported. The driven roller 213 is pressed against the paper feed roller 212 by a biasing member 213b such as a spring attached to the driven roller support member 213a, and rotates forward and backward following the forward / reverse rotation drive of the paper feed roller 212. It is supposed to be. Accordingly, the roll paper can be firmly pressed from both sides and sent out, so that highly accurate recording can be performed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the platen 214 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape having a length slightly larger than the maximum recordable sheet width, and is disposed in the immediate vicinity of the conveyance downstream side of the paper feed roller 212. As shown in FIG. 3, the paper guide 215 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape having a length slightly larger than the maximum recordable paper width, and is disposed in the immediate vicinity of the transport downstream side of the platen 214. As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet suction unit 216 includes a pressure chamber 216a disposed below the platen 214 and the paper guide 215, and a fan (not shown) disposed below the pressure chamber 216a. The pressure chamber 216a is formed in a box shape in which a part of the upper surface is opened, a platen 214 and a paper guide 215 are attached to the open part of the upper surface, and a fan is attached via a pipe joint 216b attached to the bottom surface. It has been.

  By rotating the fan of the sheet suction unit 216, air is sucked into the pressure chamber 216a from a suction hole (not shown) formed in the platen 214 and the paper guide 215, and is exhausted to the outside through the fan. Accordingly, when roll paper is supplied to the upper surface of the platen 214 and the paper guide 215, negative pressure is generated on the lower surface side of the roll paper. Therefore, the roll paper is attracted to the upper surface of the platen 214 and the paper guide 215 to The paper posture can be stabilized by completely preventing the lifting, and the recording accuracy can be reliably maintained with high accuracy.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cutter 129 is arranged so as to be movable up and down in the vertical direction and movable in the main scanning direction with the cutting edge facing downward. The cutter 129 is moved up and down by, for example, a solenoid and moved in the main scanning direction together with the carriage 122. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a separate means for moving the cutter 129, so that space can be saved and cost can be reduced. The cutter 129 may be separated from the carriage 122 and moved in the main scanning direction by a unique belt mechanism, a motor, or the like.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the paper discharge unit 130 includes a paper discharge guide 131 that forms part of a path for transporting roll paper in the sub-scanning direction, and paper discharge (not shown) that transports roll paper in the sub-scanning direction. It has a roller. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the paper discharge guide 131 is formed as a flat inclined surface protruding to the front side so that the roll paper conveyed from above can be smoothly guided downward. It has become.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the leg portion 140 includes two support columns 142 each having a moving roller 141, and a reinforcing bar 143 spanned between the support columns 142. . The paper feeding unit 110 and the main bodies 120 and 130 are placed on the support pillar 142 and fixed with screws. Since the moving roller 141 is disposed on the support column 142, the heavy paper feeder 110 and the main bodies 120 and 130 can be smoothly moved to desired positions and installed. . A paper discharge receiving device that receives roll paper discharged from the paper discharge unit 130 can be installed between the support pillars 142 of the leg 140.

  Further, on the left side when viewed from the front side of the main bodies 120 and 130, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an ink cartridge holder having a holder main body 151 for storing and holding the ink cartridges 10 of each color and a cover 152 covering the front surface thereof. 150 is arranged. The lower part of the cover 152 is rotatably supported with respect to the holder main body 151, and the ink cartridge holder 150 is opened and closed when the user holds down the upper part and pushes it down or pushes it up. The storage section provided in the holder main body 151 allows the ink cartridges 10 in total of seven colors of black, light yellow, yellow, light cyan, cyan, light magenta, and magenta to be individually drawn out and inserted in order from the left side in the drawing. It is partitioned. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an operation panel 160 for a user to operate recording control and the like is disposed on the upper right side as viewed from the front side of the main bodies 120 and 130. The operation panel 160 is provided with a liquid crystal screen and various buttons electrically connected to a control unit (not shown) so that the user can operate the buttons while checking the liquid crystal screen.

  FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5A, and 5B are a front view and a side view showing details of the rotating mechanism 50 and its peripheral portion. The rotation mechanism 50 includes a first arm 51, a second arm 52, a first bearing 53, a second bearing 54, a third bearing 55, a rotating shaft 56, and two air cylinders (rotation restricting means) 57. It has. The first arm 51 is an upper part of the main body 120, 130, and is erected with a gap in front of the center of the spindle receiver 115 of the roll paper holder 111, and the axis SL of the spindle 113 and the center of the spindle receiver 115. The first bearing 53 is fitted so that the axis RL of the rotating shaft 56 comes to the intersection CP with the line CL.

  The second arm 52 is erected on the center back side of the spindle receiver 115 of the roll paper holder 111 via the second bearing 54 at the upper part of the main body 120, 130, and the axis SL of the spindle 113 and the spindle The third bearing 55 is fitted so that the axis line RL of the rotating shaft 56 comes to the intersection CP with the center line CL of the receiver 115. The rotating shaft 56 is fitted into the spindle receiver 115 such that the axis RL is at the intersection CP between the axis SL of the spindle 113 and the center line CL of the spindle receiver 115, and both ends thereof are the first bearing 53 and the third bearing. 55 is supported by the shaft. The first bearing 53 and the third bearing 55 are radial rolling bearings, and the second bearing 54 is a thrust rolling bearing.

  According to such a configuration, the spindle receiver 115 is rotatable about the rotation shaft 56 in the direction of arrow a shown in FIG. Therefore, even if the left and right back tensions of the roll paper R sandwiched between the paper feed roller 212 and the driven roller 213 are non-uniform, the strong back tension side of the spindle receiver 115 is in the direction of drawing the roll paper R. Since it rotates, the strength of the back tension is weakened, and the left and right back tensions of the roll paper R can be made uniform. Further, since the back tension is the same on the left and right sides of the roll paper R, the image quality in the direction of the carriage 122 can be made uniform on the left and right.

  The two air cylinders 57 are fixed to the both sides of the upper portions of the front surfaces of the main bodies 120 and 130 so that the pistons 57a can contact and be separated from the lower ends of both side plates 115a of the spindle receiver 115. As described above, the spindle receiver 115 is configured to be rotatable about the rotation shaft 56 in the arrow a direction shown in FIG. For this reason, when the roll paper R is set on the spindle receiver 115, the spindle receiver 115 rotates, and it may be difficult to set the roll paper R. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, when setting the roll paper R on the spindle receiver 115, the pistons 57 a of the two air cylinders 57 are extended from the cylinders 57 a and are in contact with and supported by the lower ends of both side plates 115 a of the spindle receiver 115. Thereby, since the rotation of the spindle receiver 115 is restricted, the roll paper R can be easily set on the spindle receiver 115. Here, various sizes of the roll paper R are defined by JIS standards. Therefore, the rotation mechanism 50 needs to cope with these various sizes of roll paper R.

  FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating an example of a set state of roll paper R having different sizes. The rotation mechanism 50 in this case is fixed at the center of the spindle receiver 115. That is, the conveyance of the roll paper R is always the center reference. Accordingly, the roll paper R1 having the same width as the spindle receiver 115 shown in FIG. 6A is set so that the center is on the center line CL of the spindle receiver 115. Further, the roll paper R2 having a shorter width than the roll paper R1 shown in FIG. 6B is also set so that the center is on the center line CL of the spindle receiver 115. Thereby, the left and right back tensions can be made uniform even for the roll papers R1 and R2 having different widths.

  FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating another example of a set state of roll paper R having different sizes. In this case, the rotation mechanism 50 can be fixed at the center of the spindle receiver 115 and also has a slit 115c extending from the center provided on the back plate 115b of the spindle receiver 115 in the axis SL direction to the home position side (right side). It can be moved and fixed to any position along. That is, the conveyance of the roll paper R is always the home position reference. Accordingly, the roll paper R1 having the same width as the spindle receiver 115 shown in FIG. 7A is set so that the center thereof is on the center line CL of the spindle receiver 115 as in FIG. 6A. On the other hand, the roll paper R2 whose width is shorter than the roll paper R1 shown in FIG. Set to Thereby, the left and right back tensions can be made uniform even for the roll papers R1 and R2 having different widths.

  FIG. 8 is a plan view showing still another example of a set state of roll papers R of different sizes. In this case, the right side plate 115aa, the left side plate 115ab, and the back plate 115b of the spindle receiver 115 are divided, the right side plate 115aa is fixed, and the left side plate 115ab is configured to be movable in the axis SL direction of the spindle 113. Has been. Further, similarly to FIG. 7, the rotation mechanism 50 can be fixed to the center of the spindle receiver 115, and from the center provided on the back plate 115 b of the spindle receiver 115 in the axis SL direction to the home position side (right side). It can be moved and fixed along a slit 115c that extends to). That is, the conveyance of the roll paper R is always the home position reference.

  Therefore, the roll paper R1 having the same width as the spindle receiver 115 shown in FIG. 8A is set so that the center is on the center line CL of the spindle receiver 115, as in FIG. 7A. On the other hand, in the roll paper R2 having a shorter width than the roll paper R1 shown in FIG. 8B, the right end surface is aligned with the right end surface of the roll paper R1, and the distance between the left end surface and the left side plate 115ab is the right end surface and the right side plate 115aa. Are set so that the left side plate 115ab comes to a position that is the same as the distance between and the axis RL of the rotation shaft 56 of the rotation mechanism 50 comes to the center. As a result, the spindle 113 can be adapted to the width of the roll paper R2, so that the left and right back tensions can be made even more uniform for the roll papers R1 and R2 having different widths.

  Any recording apparatus provided with a roll-shaped medium support apparatus can be applied to, for example, a facsimile apparatus and a copying apparatus. In addition to a recording apparatus, the meaning of a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid corresponding to its use from a liquid ejecting head onto an ejected medium instead of ink and attaches the liquid to the ejected medium is, for example, a liquid crystal display or the like Color material jet head used for manufacturing color filters, electrode material (conductive paste) jet head used for electrode formation for organic EL display and surface emitting display (FED), bio-organic jet head used for biochip manufacturing, precision pipette The present invention can also be applied to an apparatus equipped with a sample ejection head or the like.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration example of an ink jet printer that is one of recording apparatuses according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an internal configuration example of a main part of the printer of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a side view showing details of a further main part of the internal configuration of the printer of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a first front view and a side view showing details of a rotation mechanism of the printer of FIG. 1 and its peripheral part. It is the 2nd front view and side view which show the detail of the rotation mechanism of the printer of FIG. 1, and its peripheral part. It is a top view which shows an example of the setting state of the roll paper R of a different size. It is a top view which shows another example of the set state of the roll paper R of a different size. It is a top view which shows another example of the set state of the roll paper R of a different size.

Explanation of symbols

50 Rotating Mechanism, 51 First Arm, 52 Second Arm, 53 First Bearing, 54 Second Bearing, 55 Third Bearing, 56 Rotating Shaft, 57 Air Cylinder, 100 Inkjet Printer, 110 Paper Feed Part, 113 spindle, 115 spindle receiver, 120 recording / conveying part, 121 recording head, 122 carriage, 130 paper discharge part, 140 leg part, 150 ink cartridge holder

Claims (4)

A roll-shaped medium support device provided with a medium support part for supporting a roll-shaped medium,
A roll-shaped medium support apparatus comprising a rotation mechanism at the center of the medium support section that allows the medium support section to rotate in the medium drawing direction. The roll-shaped medium support device according to claim 1, further comprising a rotation restricting unit that restricts rotation of the medium support part when the roll-shaped medium is set on the medium support part. The roll-shaped medium support device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation mechanism is capable of moving a rotation center in a medium width direction. A recording apparatus for recording while conveying a roll-shaped recording medium,
A recording apparatus comprising the roll-shaped medium support device according to claim 1.

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