JP6562000B2 - Method for adjusting tension of conveyor belt, conveyor apparatus and inkjet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tension adjustment method for a conveyor belt, a conveyor apparatus, and an inkjet recording apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an inkjet recording apparatus is provided with a conveyance apparatus that conveys a recording medium by rotationally driving a conveyance belt stretched between a driving roller and a driven roller by the driving roller.

  In the transport apparatus, in order to transport the recording medium with high accuracy, it is necessary to apply a tension within an appropriate range to the transport belt. When the tension of the conveyor belt is smaller than the above range, the power transmission efficiency of the drive roller is lowered, and the conveyor belt may be poorly rotated. On the other hand, if the tension of the conveyor belt is larger than the above range, the drive roller and the driven roller will bend too much and the recording medium will not be conveyed accurately, resulting in image quality degradation or the need to enlarge the drive motor. There is. Furthermore, if the conveyor belt is used for a long time with a high tension, permanent distortion may occur in the conveyor belt, the elasticity may be reduced, and the tension may not be applied, resulting in a rotation failure.

For this reason, in order to adjust the tension of the conveyor belt within an appropriate range in the conveyor, there is a method of adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt, for example, by adjusting the distance between rollers.
As such a method, for example, by manually measuring the length of a predetermined area of the conveyance belt in a state where no tension is applied, and adjusting the distance between the rollers until the length of the area becomes a predetermined ratio longer, A method for adjusting the tension of the belt can be mentioned. However, in this adjustment method, it is not always possible to adjust to an appropriate tension due to various factors such as the thickness, rigidity, temperature, and material of the transport belt. In addition, since the method is performed by manually measuring the length of the predetermined area of the conveyor belt, there are problems that the operation is complicated and the measurement error is large.

  As another method for adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt by adjusting the distance between the rollers, for example, the strain of the roller is measured by a strain gauge attached to the roller, and the roller is moved by the stepping motor according to the measured value. A method for adjusting the distance between the rollers and adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-163478 A

  However, in the above adjustment method, the strain gauge is provided not on the peripheral surface portion of the roller in contact with the conveyance belt but on the roller shaft portion positioned outside the portion where the conveyance belt of the roller is stretched. Therefore, the distortion of the roller cannot be measured with high accuracy, and the tension of the conveyor belt cannot be adjusted with high accuracy.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a conveyor belt tension adjusting method capable of accurately adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt, a conveyor device capable of accurately adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt, and an ink jet recording apparatus including the same. .

In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 is a method for adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt.
A transport belt tension adjusting method for adjusting the tension of a transport belt in a transport device that is provided in an ink jet recording apparatus and transports a recording medium by an endless transport belt stretched between a first roller and a second roller. And
A tension applying step of applying tension to the conveyor belt by moving at least one of the first roller and the second roller;
A detection step of detecting, by a deflection detection sensor, a displacement amount due to any deflection of the conveyor belt stretched portion of the first roller with reference to before the tension is applied to the conveyor belt;
An adjustment step of adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt by moving at least one of the first roller and the second roller based on the displacement amount;
It is characterized by having.

The invention according to claim 2 is the method for adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt according to claim 1,
In the detection step, a displacement amount due to bending of a central portion in the axial direction of the conveyor belt stretched portion of the first roller is detected.

The invention according to claim 3 is the tension adjustment method for the conveyor belt according to claim 1 or 2,
In the detection step, a displacement amount due to bending of the central portion in the axial direction and both end portions in the axial direction of the conveyor belt stretched portion of the first roller is detected.

Invention of Claim 4 is the tension adjustment method of the conveyance belt as described in any one of Claim 1 to 3,
In the detection step, a displacement amount due to bending in the entire axial direction of the conveyor belt stretched portion of the first roller is detected.

The invention according to claim 5 is the tension adjustment method for the conveyor belt according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
In the tension applying step and the adjusting step, the first roller is fixed and the second roller is moved.

Invention of Claim 6 is a conveying apparatus,
A conveyance device that is provided in an inkjet recording apparatus and conveys a recording medium by an endless conveyance belt stretched between a first roller and a second roller,
An adjustment unit that adjusts the tension of the conveyor belt by moving at least one of the first roller and the second roller;
A deflection detection sensor for detecting a displacement amount due to deflection of any of the conveyor belt stretched portions of the first roller with reference to before the tension is applied to the conveyor belt;
The adjustment unit moves at least one of the first roller and the second roller to apply tension to the transport belt, and the first is based on before the tension is applied to the transport belt by the deflection detection sensor. A displacement amount due to bending of any one of the conveyor belt stretched portions of one roller is detected, and at least one of the first roller and the second roller is moved by the adjusting unit based on the displacement amount, and the conveyor belt is moved. A control unit for adjusting the tension of
It is characterized by providing.

The invention according to claim 7 is the transfer apparatus according to claim 6,
The adjusting unit moves at least one axial end portion of each of the first roller and the second roller.

Invention of Claim 8 is a conveying apparatus of Claim 6 or 7, Comprising:
The first roller is fixed;
The adjusting unit moves the second roller.

The invention according to claim 9 is an inkjet recording apparatus,
A transport apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8,
An inkjet head that ejects ink onto a recording medium conveyed by the conveying device;
It is characterized by providing.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the tension adjustment method of the conveyance belt which can adjust the tension | tensile_strength of a conveyance belt with high precision, the conveyance apparatus which can adjust the tension | tensile_strength of a conveyance belt with high precision, and an inkjet recording device provided with the same can be provided.

It is a perspective view of an inkjet recording device. It is a perspective view of a conveying apparatus. It is a schematic plan view of a conveying apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the one end part of the meandering adjustment part of a conveying apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the other end part of the meandering adjustment part of a conveying apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of a conveying apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a tension adjustment process. It is a schematic plan view which shows arrangement | positioning of the head on a carriage.

  Hereinafter, a tension adjustment method, a conveying device, and an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the illustrated examples. In addition, in the following description, what has the same function and structure attaches | subjects the same code | symbol, and abbreviate | omits the description.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an ink jet recording apparatus 1 of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet recording apparatus 1 includes, for example, a transport apparatus 2 that transports a recording medium along a horizontal direction, and a plurality of heads 3 that eject ink from above onto the transported recording medium (see FIG. ), A main scanning device 5 that transports the carriage 4 along a horizontal direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording medium, and an ink supply system that supplies ink to each head 3 mounted on the carriage 4. (Not shown) and a frame 100 that supports the entire apparatus.
In the following description, the horizontal direction and the direction along the conveyance direction of the recording medium are the Y-axis direction, the horizontal direction and the direction along the conveyance direction of the carriage 4 are the X-axis direction or the main scanning direction, and the vertical direction. The direction is sometimes referred to as the Z-axis direction.

[Conveyor]
The conveyance device 2 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
2 is a perspective view of the transfer device 2, FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the transfer device 2, and FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views showing one end and the other end of the meandering adjustment unit 26 provided in the transfer device 2, respectively. FIG.

  The conveying device 2 includes a driving roller 21 having a driving motor 211 for rotational driving, a driven roller 22 driven by the driving roller 21, an endless conveying belt 23 stretched around the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22, Laser sensors (deflection detection sensors) 24a to 24c for detecting displacements due to bending of the stretched portion of the conveying belt 23 of the driving roller 21 with reference to before the tension is applied to the belt 23, and the driven roller 22 are moved and conveyed. An adjusting unit 25 for adjusting the tension of the belt 23, a meandering adjusting unit 26 for preventing the meandering of the conveyor belt 23, a casing 27 for supporting each unit at a predetermined position, a control unit 9 for controlling each unit (see FIG. 5), etc. It is configured with. The conveyor belt stretched portion is a portion where the conveyor belt 23 is stretched in the axial direction of the drive roller 21.

The drive roller 21 is rotatably supported and is disposed so as to extend in the X-axis direction. The drive motor 211 is a drive source for rotationally driving the drive roller 21, and is attached to one end side of the drive roller 21.
When the head 3 completes one-way scanning along the X-axis direction, the drive motor 211 rotates the drive roller 21 by a predetermined amount to transport the recording medium by a predetermined distance in the transport direction F, and stops the head. 3 starts and ends scanning in the direction opposite to the main scanning direction X, the drive roller 21 is rotated again by a predetermined amount, and the recording medium is transported by a predetermined distance in the transport direction F and stopped. The medium is conveyed intermittently.
As the recording medium, it is possible to use resin films, metals, etc. in addition to paper and fabric.

  The driven roller 22 is rotatably supported, is disposed so as to extend in the X-axis direction, and is disposed in parallel to the driving roller 21. The driven roller 22 is made of the same material and size as the drive roller 21 and does not include a drive source. Further, the driven roller 22 can be moved in the Y-axis direction by the adjusting unit 25, and the position of the driven roller 22 can be adjusted with respect to the driving roller 21.

  The conveyor belt 23 is formed in an endless shape and is stretched between the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22. When the driving roller 21 rotates, the conveying belt 23 circulates between the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22 and conveys the recording medium placed on the upper surface thereof in the conveying direction F along the Y-axis direction. When the rotation of the driving roller 21 is stopped, the rotation between both rollers is stopped, and the conveyance of the recording medium is stopped.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the laser sensors 24 a to 24 c are respectively supported by a support base 241 and fixed so as to be disposed inside the transport belt 23. The laser sensors 24 a to 24 c are disposed in contact with the peripheral surface of the driving roller 21 in a non-contact manner inside the conveyor belt 23, the laser sensor 24 a is an axially central portion of the driving roller 21, and the laser sensor 24 b is the driving roller 21. The end portion on the side of the drive motor 211 and the laser sensor 24c are disposed opposite to the end portion of the drive roller 21 on the side opposite to the drive motor 211, respectively. Thus, since the laser sensors 24a to 24c are provided in a non-contact manner with respect to the driving roller 21, it is possible to prevent the rotational driving of the driving roller 21 from being hindered and the peripheral surface from being damaged.

The laser sensors 24a to 24c arranged in this manner detect the distance between the driving roller 21 and the amount of displacement due to the bending of the driving roller 21 with reference to the tension before the conveyor belt 23 is applied. To detect. Specifically, when tension is applied to the conveyor belt 23, a load is applied to the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22, and the driving roller 21 and the driven roller are driven so that the axial center portions of the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22 approach each other. Each of the rollers 22 bends slightly. For this reason, a difference arises in the distance between the drive roller 21 and each laser sensor 24a-24c compared with before tension | tensile_strength is provided. Therefore, the laser sensors 24a to 24c detect the distance from the driving roller 21 before tension is applied to the conveyor belt 23, and after the tension is applied to the conveyor belt 23 or after the tension is adjusted. By detecting the distance to the drive roller 21, it is possible to detect the amount of displacement due to the deflection of the drive roller 21 with reference to before tension is applied. As the tension applied to the conveyor belt 23 increases, the driving roller 21 bends and the amount of displacement increases. Therefore, by detecting the amount of displacement and adjusting the distance between the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22 based on the amount of displacement. The tension of the conveyor belt 23 can be adjusted.
Further, when tension is applied to the conveyor belt 23, the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22 are bent most greatly in the axial central portion, and therefore, based on the displacement amount of the axial central portion of the driving roller 21 detected by the laser sensor 24a. By adjusting the tension, the tension of the conveyor belt 23 can be adjusted with high accuracy.

  In addition, when the laser sensors 24b and 24c detect the displacement amount of the driving roller 21 at both axial end portions of the driving roller 21, respectively, when the displacement amount is different at both axial end portions of the driving roller 21. This can be detected. When there is a difference in the amount of displacement at both ends in the axial direction of the drive roller 21, there is also a difference in the tension applied to the conveyor belt 23 on both sides in the width direction. By adjusting the tension based on the above, the tension of the conveyor belt 23 can be adjusted uniformly in the width direction (X-axis direction).

  The adjusting unit 25 is provided in the vicinity of the driven roller 22 and moves the driven roller 22 relative to the driving roller 21 by moving the driven roller 22 in the Y-axis direction.

Specifically, the adjustment unit 25 includes a housing 251 that rotatably supports the driven roller 22, a rail 252 that supports the housing 251 so as to be slidable in the Y-axis direction, and one end attached to the housing 251 and rotated. Thus, an adjustment screw 253 that moves in the Y-axis direction is provided.
The adjustment screw 253 is supported by the housing 27 so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction by rotating, and the tip of the adjustment screw 253 is attached to the housing 251. By rotating the adjustment screw 253, the position of the tip of the adjustment screw 253 moves in a direction away from the drive roller 21 in the Y-axis direction. As a result, the housing 251 is pressed against the tip of the adjustment screw 253 and moves in a direction away from the drive roller 21 in the Y-axis direction. When the adjustment screw 253 is rotated in the reverse direction, the position of the tip of the adjustment screw 253 moves in a direction approaching the drive roller 21 in the Y-axis direction. As a result, the housing 251 is pulled by the adjustment screw 253 and moves in the direction approaching the drive roller 21 in the Y-axis direction.
Since the driven roller 22 is attached to the housing 251, the driven roller 22 moves with the movement of the housing 251, and the distance between the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22 can be adjusted. Thereby, while being able to give tension to the conveyance belt 23 stretched around the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22, the tension can be adjusted.

  Further, the housing 251, the rail 252, and the adjusting screw 253 constituting the adjusting unit 25 are provided in the vicinity of both ends in the axial direction of the driven roller 22, and the adjusting unit 25 has both ends in the axial direction of the driven roller 22 respectively. Can be moved. For this reason, the distance between the axial direction one end part of the drive roller 21 and the driven roller 22, and the distance between the axial direction other end part of the drive roller 21 and the driven roller 22 can be adjusted separately, respectively. The tension applied to the conveyor belt 23 can be adjusted uniformly on both sides in the width direction.

The meandering adjustment unit 26 is provided between the drive roller 21 and the driven roller 22 and is driven under the control of the control unit 9 to adjust the moving direction of the transport belt 23.
Specifically, the meandering adjustment unit 26 is attached to the housing 27 so that the roller 261 that is rotatably supported and arranged so as to extend in the X-axis direction and the one end 261a in the axial direction of the roller 261 are attached to the casing 27. A portion 262, a housing 263 that supports the other end 261b in the axial direction of the roller 261, a rail 264 that supports the housing 263 so as to be slidable in the Y-axis direction, and the like. The roller 261 is provided inside the conveyor belt 23 and is disposed in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the conveyor belt 23. By moving the housing 263 on the rail 264 in one direction in the Y-axis direction, the other end portion 261b of the roller 261 moves in either direction in the Y-axis direction with the one end portion 261a of the roller 261 as a fulcrum. As a result, the roller 261 is disposed obliquely with respect to the X-axis direction, and the moving direction of the conveying belt 23 that is rotated by the driving roller 21 can be adjusted to prevent the conveying belt 23 from meandering.
The roller 261 is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the transport belt 23, but does not affect the tension of the transport belt 23.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control system of the inkjet recording apparatus 1. The control unit 9 shown in FIG. 5 controls the entire inkjet recording apparatus 1, but here, only the configuration of the transport device 2 is illustrated, and the other configurations are not illustrated.
As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 9 is connected to each part constituting the transport device 2 and controls each part constituting the transport device 2. The control unit 9 includes a CPU 91, a RAM 92, a ROM 93, and the like. The CPU 91 reads out and executes various programs, data, and the like corresponding to the processing contents from a storage device such as the ROM 93, and controls the operation of each unit of the transport device 2 according to the executed processing contents. The RAM 92 temporarily stores various programs and data processed by the CPU 91. The ROM 93 stores various programs and data read by the CPU 91 and the like.
Specifically, the control unit 9 moves the driven roller 22 by the adjustment unit 25 to apply tension to the conveyance belt 23, and uses the laser sensor 24 a to 24 c as a reference before the tension is applied to the conveyance belt 23. The amount of displacement due to the deflection of the central portion and both ends of the driving roller 21 is detected, and the driven roller 22 is moved by the adjusting unit 25 based on the amount of displacement to adjust the tension of the transport belt 23. The distance between the axes of the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22 when the conveying belt 23 is tensioned is w1, and the distance between the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22 when no tension is applied to the conveying belt 23. When w2 is w2, it is preferable that the tension obtained by (w1-w2) / w2 × 100 is 0.2 to 2.0%.

An example of the tension adjustment processing of the conveyor belt 23 performed by the controller 9 in the conveyor device 2 configured as described above will be described below with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6 illustrates a tension adjustment process in which tension is applied to the conveyor belt 23 spanned between the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22 when the conveyor device 2 is manufactured or installed, or when the conveyor belt 23 is replaced. It is a flowchart which shows an example.

  First, the control part 9 detects the distance with the drive roller 21 by laser sensor 24a-24c (step S101). At this time, the conveyor belt 23 is stretched between the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22, but no tension is applied to the conveyor belt 23.

  Next, the control unit 9 causes the adjustment unit 25 to move the driven roller 22 in a direction away from the driving roller 21 and applies tension to the transport belt 23 (step S102).

  Next, the control unit 9 detects the distance from the driving roller 21 by using the laser sensors 24a to 24c, so that the axially central portion and both end portions of the driving roller 21 with reference to before the tension is applied to the transport belt 23. The amount of displacement due to the bending of is detected (step S103). That is, the laser sensors 24a to 24c detect the difference between the distance detected in step S101 and the distance detected in step S103 as the displacement amount of the drive roller 21.

  Next, the control unit 9 determines whether or not the displacement detected in step S103 has reached a target value (step S104). Here, the target value is the driving roller 21 when an optimum tension is applied to the transport belt 23 so that the image quality is not deteriorated on the transported recording medium and the rotation failure of the transport belt 23 does not occur. This is a displacement amount due to the bending of, and is a value obtained in advance by simulation, testing, or the like.

  When it is determined that the detected displacement amount has not reached the target value (step S104; NO), the control unit 9 adjusts the position of the driven roller 22 by the adjustment unit 25 and adjusts the tension applied to the transport belt 23. (Step S105). The control unit 9 adjusts the distance between the driven roller 22 and the driving roller 21 and then performs the process of step S103 again.

  When it is determined that the detected displacement amount has reached the target value (step S104; YES), the control unit 9 ends the tension adjustment process.

[Tension adjustment method of conveyor belt]
Next, the tension adjustment method for the conveyor belt of the present invention will be described. In the following description, a case where the transfer apparatus 2 configured as described above is used will be described.

  In the tension adjusting method of the present invention, first, the driven roller 22 is moved in a direction away from the driving roller 21 in the Y-axis direction to apply tension to the transport belt 23 (tension applying step). Before the tension applying step, the conveyor belt 23 is stretched over the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22, but the conveyor belt 23 is in a relaxed state and no tension is applied.

Next, the laser sensors 24a to 24c detect displacement amounts due to bending of the central portion of the driving roller 21 and the both end portions in the axial direction with reference to before the tension is applied to the transport belt 23 (detection step). Specifically, the distance to the driving roller 21 is detected in advance by the laser sensors 24a to 24c before the tension is applied to the transport belt 23, and further, after the tension is applied to the transport belt 23 or the tension is adjusted. Later, the distance to the driving roller 21 is detected by the laser sensors 24a to 24c to detect the amount of displacement.
In the detection step, it is also possible to detect the amount of displacement due to the deflection in the entire axial direction after the conveyor belt 23 stretched portion of the drive roller 21. In this case, for example, the detection may be performed by a laser sensor configured to be capable of scanning in the X-axis direction, or may be detected by a plurality of laser sensors provided along the X-axis direction.

  Next, the tension of the conveyor belt 23 is adjusted by moving the driven roller 22 in one of the Y-axis directions based on the detected displacement amount (adjustment process). Specifically, the tension of the conveyor belt 23 is adjusted by moving the driven roller 22 by the adjustment unit 25 so that the displacement detected by the laser sensors 24a to 24c becomes a preset target value. .

In the above-described method for adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt, the control unit 9 moves the driven roller 22 by the adjusting unit 25 in the tension applying step and the adjusting step. However, the user manually adjusts the adjusting screw 253 of the adjusting unit 25. The driven roller 22 may be moved by rotating at. In this case, for example, in the adjustment process, the displacement detected by the laser sensors 24a to 24c is displayed on a monitor (not shown) or the like, and the user approaches the preset target value so that the displacement is close to the target value. The adjusting roller 25 moves the driven roller 22 to adjust the tension of the transport belt 23.
In the above-described method for adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt, the displacement amount is detected by the laser sensors 24a to 24c provided in the conveyor device 2 in the detection step, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt in a conveyor that does not have a laser sensor, the detection process was performed after attaching the laser sensor to the conveyor, and the tension adjustment of the conveyor belt was completed. The laser sensor may be removed later.

[flame]
As shown in FIG. 1, the frame 100 includes a rectangular main body portion 101 extending along the X-axis direction, a first base portion 102 that supports one end portion in the X-axis direction of the main body portion 101, and the main body portion 101. And the second base portion 103 that supports the other end portion in the X-axis direction.
The first base portion 102 supports one end portion of the main body portion 101 from below while storing and holding a nozzle moisturizing portion and the like (not shown) therein. The second base 103 supports the other end of the main body 101 from below while storing and holding a maintenance section (not shown) therein.
The main body 101 stores and holds a pair of carriage rails 51, 51 of the main scanning device 5, which will be described later, in the X-axis direction, and the carriage 4 extends in the X-axis direction inside the main body 101. Are transported.
Further, the first base portion 102 and the second base portion 103 are disposed on both sides in the X-axis direction with the above-described transport device 2 interposed therebetween, and the main body portion 101 is installed above the transport device 2. Thus, it is possible to form an image by ejecting ink from each head 3 mounted on the carriage 4 while transporting the carriage 4 in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording medium by the transport device 2.

[Main scanning device and carriage]
The main scanning device 5 includes a pair of bar-shaped carriage rails 51 and 51 supported so as to extend along the X-axis direction inside the main body 101 of the frame 100. The pair of carriage rails 51 and 51 are provided so as to straddle the upper portion of the conveyance belt 23 of the conveyance device 2. A box-shaped carriage 4 is supported on the carriage rails 51 and 51 so as to be reciprocally movable along the X-axis direction.

The carriage 4 is a substantially rectangular casing with an open top, and a plurality of heads 3 are mounted on the bottom plate. As shown in FIG. 1, the carriage 4 has arm portions 42 and 42 extending toward both sides in the Y-axis direction at the upper part of both side surfaces in the Y-axis direction, and the arm portions 42 and 42 are respectively linear guides. The carriage rails 51 and 51 are placed on the carriage rails 51 and 51 so that the carriage rails 51 and 51 can slide along the X-axis direction.
A linear motor is provided between the carriage rails 51 and 51 and the arm portions 42 and 42 of the carriage 4. That is, each carriage rail 51, 51 is equipped with a linear motor stator, each arm portion 42, 42 of the carriage 4 is equipped with a mover, and the carriage 4 is controlled by current control of the stator side coil. A transport operation along the X-axis direction is given.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the bottom plate 41 of the carriage 4 as viewed from above. In this inkjet recording apparatus 1, Y (yellow), Lm (light magenta), Or (orange), M (magenta), Bk (black), Bl (blue), Lk (light black), C (cyan), Lc Each of the nine colors of (light cyan) includes nine heads 3, and a total of 81 heads 3 are attached to the bottom plate of the carriage 4.
As shown in the figure, the head groups of each color are arranged in the order of Y, Lm, Or, M, Bk, Bl, Lk, C, and Lc along the X-axis direction, and the nine heads 3 of each head group are arranged. Are arranged in a staggered manner along the Y-axis direction.
The bottom plate 41 is provided with a slit-shaped opening along the Y-axis direction for each mounting position of each head 3, and each head 3 attached to the bottom plate 41 from above is directly below the carriage 4 through the opening. Ink droplets can be ejected. In the example shown in FIG. 7, an opening is shown only for the Y color, and the other colors are omitted.
As described above, the nine heads 3 are arranged in a staggered manner for each color, so that the ink of each color can be placed at an arbitrary position within the range of almost the entire width in the Y-axis direction on the bottom plate 41 of the carriage 4. It is possible to perform discharge.

[head]
The head 3 has a plurality of nozzle rows along the Y-axis direction arranged in the X-axis direction on the nozzle plate facing the recording medium conveyed at the bottom. The head 3 includes an ink flow path for guiding ink to each nozzle and a plurality of piezoelectric elements provided for each nozzle. The ink flow path communicates with a first port and a second port provided in the upper portion of the head 3, and ink is supplied to each nozzle from an ink supply system (not shown) via the first port. The excess ink is discharged from the second port.

[Technical effects of the embodiment of the invention]
As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, in the conveyance device 2 that is provided in the inkjet recording apparatus 1 and conveys the recording medium by the endless conveyance belt 23 stretched around the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22, the conveyance belt 23. The tension adjustment method for adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt includes a tension applying step of applying tension to the conveyor belt 23 by moving the driven roller 22 and before applying tension to the conveyor belt 23 by the laser sensors 24a to 24c. A detection step of detecting the amount of displacement due to bending of the stretched portion of the conveyor belt 23 of the driving roller 21 as a reference, an adjustment step of adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt 23 by moving the driven roller 22 based on the amount of displacement, Therefore, based on the amount of displacement due to the bending that occurs in the drive roller 21 when tension is applied to the conveyor belt 23. , It is possible to perform tension adjustment. Since the driving roller 21 is mainly bent at the stretched portion of the conveyor belt 23, the tension of the conveyor belt 23 is adjusted by adjusting the tension based on the amount of displacement caused by any of the stretched portions of the conveyor belt 23 of the drive roller 21. It becomes possible to adjust with high accuracy. Furthermore, since the tension of the conveying belt 23 is adjusted based on the amount of displacement due to the deflection of the driving roller 21, it is possible to suppress degradation in image quality during printing caused by the deflection of the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22. .

  Further, in the detection step, the laser sensor 24a to 24c detects the amount of displacement due to the deflection of the central portion in the axial direction of the conveyor belt 23 stretched portion of the driving roller 21, so the central portion in the axial direction of the driving roller 21 having the largest deflection. The tension can be adjusted based on the amount of displacement, and the tension of the conveyor belt 23 can be adjusted with higher accuracy.

  In the detection step, the laser sensors 24a to 24c detect the displacement amount due to the deflection of the central portion in the axial direction and the both end portions in the axial direction in the stretched portion of the conveying belt 23 of the driving roller 21. It is possible to detect the left-right difference in the amount of displacement of the portion, and by adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt 23 based on this difference, the tension applied to the conveyor belt 23 can be adjusted uniformly in the width direction.

  Further, in the detection step, when the displacement amount due to the deflection in the entire axial direction of the conveyor belt 23 stretched portion of the driving roller 21 is detected by the laser sensor, the displacement amount in the entire axial direction of the driving roller 21 is detected. By adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt 23 based on this, the tension of the conveyor belt 23 can be adjusted with higher accuracy.

  Moreover, in the tension | tensile_strength provision process and an adjustment process, since the driving roller 21 is fixed and the driven roller 22 is moved, the displacement amount by the bending of the driving roller 21 can be detected with a sufficient precision in a detection process.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the conveyance device 2 that is provided in the ink jet recording apparatus 1 and conveys the recording medium by the endless conveyance belt 23 stretched around the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22 is the driven roller 22. And a laser that detects the amount of displacement due to the bending of the stretched portion of the conveyor belt 23 of the drive roller 21 with reference to before the tension is applied to the conveyor belt 23. The driven roller 22 is moved by the sensors 24a to 24c and the adjustment unit 25 to apply tension to the conveyor belt 23, and the drive roller 21 is set based on before the tension is applied to the conveyor belt 23 by the laser sensors 24a to 24c. The amount of displacement due to any deflection of the stretched portion of the conveyor belt 23 is detected, and the adjusting unit 25 based on the amount of displacement. A control unit 9 for adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt 23 by moving the moving roller 22, so provided with the same effects as the effects of the tension adjusting method of the conveyor belt described above.

  Moreover, since the adjustment part 25 moves the axial direction both ends of the driven roller 22, respectively, the tension | tensile_strength of the conveyance belt 23 can be adjusted uniformly in the width direction.

  Moreover, since the driving roller 21 is fixed and the adjusting unit 25 moves the driven roller 22, the displacement amount due to the bending of the driving roller 21 can be detected with higher accuracy by the laser sensors 24a to 24c.

[Others]
Note that the description in the embodiment of the present invention is an example of the transport apparatus and the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this. The detailed configuration and detailed operation of each functional unit constituting the transport device and the ink jet recording apparatus can be appropriately changed.
In addition, the transport device and the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention are not only used for performing a printing operation on a recording medium, but also for other uses such as forming a wiring pattern by discharging a wiring material to a substrate. It is also possible to use it.

  In the above-described embodiment, the first roller is the driving roller 21 and the second roller is the driven roller 22. However, the first roller is the driven roller 22, and the second roller is the driving roller 21. It is good as it is.

  In the above-described embodiment, the laser sensors 24a to 24c are used as the deflection detection sensors. However, it is possible to detect the displacement amount due to the deflection of the roller that is generated when the conveyor belt 23 is tensioned. Any sensor may be used. For example, a non-contact sensor such as an ultrasonic sensor or a capacitance sensor may be used, or a contact sensor such as a pick tester or a dial gauge may be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, the laser sensors 24 a to 24 c are disposed to face the driving roller 21. However, the laser sensors 24 a to 24 c may be disposed to face the driven roller 22. In this case, the laser sensors 24 a to 24 c are configured to follow the driven roller 22 that moves in the Y-axis direction by the adjusting unit 25.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the laser sensors 24a to 24c arranged to face the axial center and both ends of the driving roller 21 are provided. However, only the laser sensor 24a may be provided. In addition, two or four or more laser sensors including the laser sensor 24a may be provided.
In the embodiment described above, the laser sensors 24a to 24c are fixed to the support base 241, but may be configured to be able to scan in the X-axis direction. In this case, it becomes possible to detect the amount of displacement due to the deflection in the entire axial direction in the stretched portion of the transport belt 23 of the driving roller 21, and by adjusting the tension of the transport belt 23 based on this, the transport belt 23 can be adjusted with higher accuracy.

  In the above-described embodiment, the driven roller 22 is moved to adjust the tension of the conveyor belt 23. However, both the driving roller 21 and the driven roller 22 are moved to adjust the tension of the conveyor belt 23. It is also good.

  In the above-described embodiment, the meandering adjustment unit 26 is driven under the control of the control unit 9. However, the user manually moves the housing 263 to adjust the moving direction of the conveyance belt 23, thereby conveying the conveyance belt. 23 may be prevented from meandering.

  In the above-described embodiment, the transport device 2 is not provided with a tension roller, but may be configured with a tension roller. In this case, the tension of the conveyor belt 23 can be adjusted with higher accuracy.

  The present invention can be used in a tension adjustment method for a conveyor belt, a conveyor apparatus, and an inkjet recording apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet recording apparatus 2 Conveyance apparatus 3 Head (inkjet head)
9 Control unit 21 Drive roller (first roller)
22 Followed roller (second roller)
23 Conveyor belt 24a, 24b, 24c Laser sensor (deflection detection sensor)
25 Adjustment unit

Claims (9)

A transport belt tension adjusting method for adjusting the tension of a transport belt in a transport device that is provided in an ink jet recording apparatus and transports a recording medium by an endless transport belt stretched between a first roller and a second roller. And
A tension applying step of applying tension to the conveyor belt by moving at least one of the first roller and the second roller;
A detection step of detecting, by a deflection detection sensor, a displacement amount due to any deflection of the conveyor belt stretched portion of the first roller with reference to before the tension is applied to the conveyor belt;
An adjustment step of adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt by moving at least one of the first roller and the second roller based on the displacement amount;
A method for adjusting the tension of a conveyor belt, comprising:   The method for adjusting the tension of the conveyor belt according to claim 1, wherein, in the detecting step, a displacement amount due to a deflection of an axially central portion of the conveyor belt stretched portion of the first roller is detected.   3. The transport belt according to claim 1, wherein in the detection step, a displacement amount due to bending of an axial center portion and both axial end portions of the transport belt stretched portion of the first roller is detected. Tension adjustment method.   4. The conveyance belt according to claim 1, wherein in the detection step, a displacement amount due to bending in the entire axial direction of the conveyance belt stretched portion of the first roller is detected. 5. Tension adjustment method.   5. The tension adjustment method for a conveyor belt according to claim 1, wherein in the tension applying step and the adjustment step, the first roller is fixed and the second roller is moved. A conveyance device that is provided in an inkjet recording apparatus and conveys a recording medium by an endless conveyance belt stretched between a first roller and a second roller,
An adjustment unit that adjusts the tension of the conveyor belt by moving at least one of the first roller and the second roller;
A deflection detection sensor for detecting a displacement amount due to deflection of any of the conveyor belt stretched portions of the first roller with reference to before the tension is applied to the conveyor belt;
The adjustment unit moves at least one of the first roller and the second roller to apply tension to the transport belt, and the first is based on before the tension is applied to the transport belt by the deflection detection sensor. A displacement amount due to bending of any one of the conveyor belt stretched portions of one roller is detected, and at least one of the first roller and the second roller is moved by the adjusting unit based on the displacement amount, and the conveyor belt is moved. A control unit for adjusting the tension of
A conveying device comprising:   The transport device according to claim 6, wherein the adjusting unit moves at least one axial end portion of each of the first roller and the second roller. The first roller is fixed;
The conveyance device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the adjustment unit moves the second roller. A transport apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8,
An inkjet head that ejects ink onto a recording medium conveyed by the conveying device;
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising:

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