JP2002145482A - Skew correcting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a skew correcting device to be simple in control and decreased in erroneous motion. SOLUTION: The skew correcting device comprises a feed roller 500 for a medium situated in a conveyance route 102; a driven roller 220 to convey a medium in cooperation with the feed roller 500; a direction correcting roller 600 to move the medium, fed to the conveyance route 102 in an oblique feed direction; a front shutter 210 having a front guide surface with which the front edge of the medium fed to the conveyance route 102 is brought into contact; a servo motor 700 to generate a rotation drive force; and a drive mechanism to rotate the feed roller 500 and a direction correction roller 600 based on a rotation drive force from the servo motor 700 and protruding and retracting the front shutter 210 to and from the conveyance route 102 and contacting and separating a driven roller 220 with and from the feed roller 500. By this constitution for driving each part by a single servo motor 700, the motion timing of each part is easily taken and thus control of each part is facilitated and the occurrence of erroneous motion is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a skew correction device which is mounted on a paper supply unit of a printer and corrects the skew of a medium such as a supplied paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as a tilt correcting device of this kind, a medium feed roller, a driven roller which conveys a medium in cooperation with the feed roller, and a tilt of a medium supplied to a conveying path are corrected. And a front-side shutter that can freely move in and out of the transport path. In this conventional apparatus, a medium supplied to a transport path is transported in an oblique feed direction by a direction correcting roller, and a side edge of the medium is brought into contact with a side wall provided on a side of the transport path, and the medium is transported. It has a function of correcting the inclination of the medium by bringing the front edge into contact with the front shutter.

[0003]

In the above-described conventional apparatus, at least rotation of the feed roller, rotation of the direction correcting roller, and opening and closing of the front shutter are required. Has been realized using a plurality of drive sources. That is, the feed roller obtains a rotational driving force by using a main driving source of a printer or the like to be mounted, and separate driving sources are used for the rotation driving of the direction correcting roller and the opening / closing operation of the front shutter. It was provided in the device. As described above, in a conventional device including a plurality of drive sources, a program for controlling the plurality of drive sources is complicated, and a malfunction may occur even if there is a slight timing shift. The present invention has been made in order to solve such problems of the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a tilt correction device which is easy to control and has few malfunctions.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a medium feeding roller provided on a transport path, and is capable of coming into contact with and separating from the feeding roller, and cooperating with the feeding roller. A driven roller for transporting the medium, a direction correcting roller for moving the medium supplied to the transport path in the oblique feed direction, and a front end edge of the medium supplied to the transport path that is freely retractable in the transport path. A front shutter having a front guide surface to be driven, a single drive source for generating a rotational driving force,
And a drive mechanism for rotating the feed roller and the direction correcting roller based on the rotational driving force from the drive source, causing the front shutter to protrude and retract in the transport path, and move the driven roller toward and away from the feed roller. (Claim 1).

According to the present invention having such a configuration, since each unit is driven by a single drive source, the operation timing of each unit is easy to be set, and therefore the control of each unit is easy and the malfunction is small.

Here, the driving mechanism includes a first driving mechanism for transmitting the rotational driving force of the driving source in both forward and reverse directions to the feed roller;
A direction correcting roller rotating mechanism for transmitting only one-way rotational driving force of a driving source for rotating the feed roller in the feeding direction to the direction correcting roller, and rotating the direction correcting roller in one direction, and a conveyance path by pressing a front shutter. And a driven roller separated from the feed roller in conjunction with the shutter drive cam to be retracted from the
A driven roller contact / separation mechanism for bringing the driven roller into contact with the feed roller in conjunction with the evacuation operation of the front shutter from the conveyance path, and only a one-way rotational driving force for driving the feed roller for rotating the feed roller in the feed direction to the shutter drive cam. The transmission includes a second drive mechanism for transmitting the rotation, rotation restriction means for restricting rotation of the second drive mechanism, and restriction release means for selectively releasing the rotation restriction of the second drive mechanism by the rotation restriction means. (Claim 2).

Further, the second drive mechanism includes a driving gear that rotates by receiving a rotational driving force from a driving source, a driven gear that transmits the rotational driving force to a shutter driving cam, and the one-way driving gear described above. And a one-way clutch that transmits only the rotational driving force to the driven gear, and the rotation restricting means can be configured to restrict the one-way rotation allowed by the one-way clutch (claim 3).

In addition, the rotation restricting means is constituted by a ratchet wheel which rotates integrally with the driven gear, and the restriction releasing means comprises a locking piece which is detachable from the ratchet wheel, and this locking piece is connected to the ratchet wheel. It can also be configured with a detachable actuator (claim 4).

[0009] With these configurations, it is possible to more easily set the operation timing of each section and to manufacture a suitable apparatus with less malfunction.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a flexible medium (for example, paper) having at least a front edge and one side edge substantially orthogonal to each other is assumed,
The posture in which the side edge is parallel to the transport direction is a normal posture without inclination.

[Overall Structure] First, the overall structure of the inclination correcting apparatus according to the present embodiment will be outlined. 1 to 4 are views showing the entire structure of a tilt correcting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are exploded perspective views showing a part of the device, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the main body, and FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the main body of the apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the inclination correcting device according to the present embodiment includes a main body 100, an upper unit 200, and an upper cover 300. The upper surface of the main body 100 forms a medium transport surface 101, and a medium transport path 102 is formed in the front-rear direction along the transport surface 101. The medium is supplied to the transport path 102 from behind the main body 100 and is transported forward. Transfer surface 101
Is provided with a medium detection sensor 107 at an appropriate position, and detects a medium supplied from the rear to the transport path 102.
A side wall member 400 is attached to one side of the transport surface 101 formed on the main body 100 to abut the side edge of the medium to correct the inclination.

As shown in FIG. 4, a feed roller 500 for transporting a medium and a direction correcting roller 600 for transporting the medium in an oblique feed direction and contacting the side wall member 400 are provided at a lower portion on the front side of the main body 100. Oblique transfer means). The upper unit 200 is, as shown in FIG.
00 is attached to the upper front side of the upper cover, and the outer periphery of the upper
Coated with 00. The upper unit 200 includes a front shutter 210 and a driven roller 220 that can freely move in and out of the transport path 102. The front shutter 210 is for correcting the inclination of the medium in cooperation with the side wall member 400, and makes the front edge of the medium abut on the front shutter 210. The driven roller 220 has a function of conveying the medium in cooperation with the feed roller 500.

Further, side plates 103 are mounted on both side ends of the main body 100, respectively. Between these side plates 103, a shutter drive shaft 701 for driving the front shutter 210 and a rotation shaft 702 of the feed roller 500 are provided. Are provided rotatably (see FIGS. 3 and 4).
Among them, the shutter drive shaft 701 is provided so as to extend in the width direction at a position near the upper unit 200 mounted on the front upper portion of the main body 100, and the rotation shaft 702 of the feed roller 500 is provided at the front lower portion of the main body 100. , Extending in the width direction.

[Sidewall Member] Next, the detailed structure of each part constituting the inclination correcting device will be described. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing the side wall member, and FIG. 6 is a front sectional view of the side wall member. The side wall member 400 is guided by the guide bar 401 and is movable in the width direction of the main body 100. Note that a clamp member 402 is provided at a bearing portion of the side wall member 400 through which the guide rod 401 passes.
With the second function, the side wall member 400 is fixed at an arbitrary moving position. Although the side wall member 400 defines the width of the transport path 102, the width of the transport path 102 can be arbitrarily changed according to the width of the supplied medium 1 because the member 400 is movable. .

The side wall 403 formed upright on the outer side of the side wall member 400 has a flat inner side guide surface 403.
a. This side guide surface 403a
Has a function of correcting the inclination of the medium 1 by bringing the side edges of the medium 1 supplied to the transport path 102 into contact with each other. Further, as shown in FIG.
A sensor substrate 404 is mounted on the outer side surface. A posture confirmation sensor 405 is soldered to the sensor substrate 404, and the posture confirmation sensor 405 is disposed at a position close to the inside of the side guide surface 403a via a through hole 406 formed in the side wall 403. .

As the posture confirmation sensor 405, various sensors that can detect the presence of an object, such as a well-known optical sensor, proximity sensor, and photoelectric sensor, can be applied. For example, FIG. 6 illustrates a configuration example of an optical sensor including a light emitting element 405a and a light receiving element 405b. The posture confirmation sensor 405 detects the medium 1 at a position close to the inside of the side guide surface 403a. As described above, since the posture confirmation sensor 405 is attached to the side wall member 400, it moves integrally with the side wall member 400. Therefore, regardless of the position of the side wall member 400 with respect to the main body 100, the posture confirmation sensor 405 always detects the medium 1 at a position close to the inside of the side guide surface 403a.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the posture confirmation sensors 405 are mounted at two locations along the side guide surface 403a of the side wall member 400, and the medium 1 is detected at those two locations. In addition, the installation position of the posture confirmation sensor 405 is not limited to two positions, and can be set at any plural positions along the side guide surface 403a. However, in any of the posture confirmation sensors 405, the detection position of the medium 1 is adjusted to a position near the inside of the side guide surface 403a. Further, in the present embodiment, the mounting position in the front-rear direction of the posture confirmation sensor 405 mounted near the front of the side wall member 400 is determined by the front shutter 210 that advances onto the transport path 102 as described later.
Is positioned close to a side position where the front guide surface 210a is disposed.

In the present embodiment, the side edge of the medium 1 is brought into contact with the side guide surface 403a of the side wall member 400, and the front edge of the medium 1 is brought into contact with the front guide surface 210a of the front shutter 210. The inclination of the medium 1 is corrected by positioning these two sides. By installing one of the posture confirmation sensors 405 close to the side position where the front guide surface 210a is arranged as described above,
The posture confirmation sensor 405 can detect the contact of the medium 1 with the front guide surface 210a in addition to the contact with the side guide surface 403a.

[Feed Roller and Upper Unit] FIGS. 7 and 8 are sectional side views showing, on an enlarged scale, a front portion of the inclination correcting device. As shown in these figures, the feed roller 500
Is mounted on a rotating shaft 702 provided at a lower portion on the front side of the main body 100, and rotates integrally with the rotating shaft 702. The feed roller 500 is formed of a rubber material or the like having a large frictional resistance and elasticity, and has an upper end portion on a peripheral surface thereof substantially flush with the transfer surface 101 of the main body 100. The feed roller 500 has a function of conveying the medium 1 forward (in the feed direction) in cooperation with a driven roller 220 described later.

The upper unit 200 includes the unit body 20
1, a front shutter 210, a driven roller 220, and a medium pressing member 230 are incorporated. The unit main body 201 is attached to the main body 10 by a fastener 104 such as a screw.
No. 0 is fastened and fixed to the mounting portion, and is disposed on the upper front side of the main body 100. The front shutter 210 is mounted on the unit body 201.
7 can be swung about a support shaft 211 and urged clockwise in FIG. 7 by urging means such as a coil spring 212. The front end of the front shutter 210 is bent,
The inner surface of the bent portion forms the front guide surface 210a.

The driven roller 220 is rotatably mounted on the tip of the support arm 221. Support arm 221
Is rotatably mounted on the unit body 201 via a support shaft 222. The support arm 221 is urged in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 7 by urging means such as a torsion coil spring (not shown). At the rear end of the support arm 221, a contact portion 223 is formed to protrude upward,
The contact portion 223 is in contact with the lower surface of the front shutter 210. Thus, a driven roller contacting / separating mechanism for bringing the driven roller into contact with / separating from the feed roller in conjunction with the swing of the front shutter 210 is configured.

A shutter driving shaft 701 extending to a position above and near the front shutter 210 has a shutter driving cam 70
The shutter driving cam 703 is in contact with the upper surface of the front shutter 210. The shutter driving cam 703 has a short diameter portion 703a (a cam surface having a short diameter from the center) and a long diameter portion 703b (a cam surface having a long diameter from the center).

When the short diameter portion 703a of the shutter driving cam 703 comes into contact with the front shutter 210 (FIG. 7).
), And the front shutter 210 is placed at a position where the front shutter 210 swings clockwise in the figure by the urging force of the coil spring 212. At this time, the front guide surface 210a formed at the tip of the front shutter 210 rises and is located at a position where the transport path 102 of the medium 1 is opened. Further, the support arm 221 rotates counterclockwise in the figure by the urging force of a not-shown torsion coil spring, and brings the driven roller 220 into contact with the feed roller 500.

In this state (the state of FIG. 7), the feed roller 5
00 and the driven roller 220 cooperate to convey the medium 1 supplied to the conveyance path 102. That is, the medium 1 is transported forward (in the feed direction) by the forward rotation of the feed roller 500, while the medium 1 is transported backward (in the discharge direction) by the reverse rotation of the feed roller 500.

The long diameter portion 7 of the shutter driving cam 703
When 03b comes into contact with the front shutter 210 (see FIG. 8), the front shutter 210 is pressed by the shutter drive cam 703 to be in a position where it swings counterclockwise in the drawing.
At this time, the front guide surface 210a descends, advances to the transport path 102 for the medium 1, and shields the transport path 102 in the width direction. In conjunction with this operation, the support arm 221
The abutting portion 223 is pressed from above by the front shutter 210 and rotates clockwise in the drawing, thereby separating the driven roller 220 from the feed roller 500.

In this state (the state of FIG. 8), the transport path 10
The front edge of the medium 1 supplied to the medium 2 is brought into contact with a front guide surface 210a formed on the front shutter 210, and the tilt correction operation of the medium 1 is performed.

The medium pressing member 230 is a member for transferring the medium 1 in an oblique feeding direction in cooperation with a direction correcting roller 600 described later. The medium pressing member 230 is formed in a semi-elliptical spherical shape, and the top is
Are arranged so as to protrude downward through a through hole 202 formed in the bottom portion of the. The medium pressing member 230 is urged downward by urging means such as a coil spring 231, and the top abuts on the conveyance surface 101 of the main body 100 with the urging force.

[Direction Correction Roller] Direction Correction Roller 600
As shown in FIG. 4, the medium 1 is disposed at an inclination with respect to the feeding direction of the medium 1 (the direction from the bottom to the top in FIG. 4), and the medium 1 supplied to the transport path 102 is obliquely fed. The side edge of the medium 1 is brought into contact with the side guide surface 403a of the side wall member 400 described above.

The direction correcting roller 600 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the roller is formed of a square roller having corner portions 601 and flat portions 602 alternately, and a pair is provided on the rotating shaft 702 at a predetermined interval. In the present embodiment, the direction correcting roller 600 is constituted by triangular square rollers. In addition, various polygonal square rollers in which corner portions 601 and flat portions 602 are alternately formed are used. It can be applied as the correction roller 600. Like the feed roller 500, the direction correcting roller 600 is also formed of a rubber material or the like having a large frictional resistance and elasticity.

The corner portion 601 of the direction correcting roller 600 intermittently protrudes above the transport surface 101 from a notch 106 formed in the transport surface 101 of the main body 100 as it rotates (see FIG. 8). On the other hand, the flat portion 6 of the direction correcting roller 600
02 does not protrude from the transport surface 101 of the main body 100 (see FIG. 7).

FIGS. 9 and 10 are views for explaining the operation of the above-described direction correcting roller and the medium pressing member. The medium 1 supplied onto the transport surface 101 is pressed from above by the medium pressing member 230. This pressing position is positioned in the middle of the portion where the pair of direction correcting rollers 600 protrudes on the transport surface 101, as shown in FIG. 9B. As the direction correcting roller 600 rotates, the corner 601 protrudes above the transport surface 101 as shown in FIG. 9 (transfer state), and the flat portion 602 extends parallel to the transport surface 101 as shown in FIG. The state of being disposed and not protruding from the transport surface 101 (non-transfer state) is intermittently repeated.

In the transfer state shown in FIG. 9, the corner 601 of the direction correcting roller 600 comes into contact with the bottom surface of the medium 1 supplied on the transport surface 101, and the medium 1 is moved in the oblique feeding direction with frictional force. Transfer. At this time, since the medium pressing member 230 presses the intermediate portion of the pair of direction correcting rollers 600 from above, the medium 1 is prevented from rising from the transport surface 101. Therefore, a large frictional force is generated between the direction correcting roller 600 and the medium 1, and it is possible to realize a reliable transfer without slippage. Note that the flexible medium 1 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the sheet is curved between the medium pressing member 230 and the direction correcting roller 600.

On the other hand, in the non-transfer state shown in FIG. 10, since the direction correcting roller 600 does not contact the medium 1, no external force is applied to the medium 1 from the direction correcting roller 600. Further, since the direction correcting roller 600 does not protrude from the transport surface 101, the medium 1 does not bend from below, and therefore, the medium 1 keeps a flat surface on the transport surface 101 (see FIG. 10B).

The side edge of the medium 1 transported in the oblique feeding direction by the direction correcting roller 600 abuts on the side guide surface 403a of the side wall member 400, and the front edge of the medium 1 is in front of the front shutter 210. The inclination is corrected by contacting the guide surface 210a. After that, when the direction correcting roller 600 continues to rotate and an external force is applied to the medium 1, the medium 1 that has been prevented from moving by the side wall member 400 and the front shutter 210 bends. However, since the direction correcting roller 600 intermittently repeats the transfer state shown in FIG. 9 and the non-transfer state shown in FIG. 10, even if the medium 1 bends in the transfer state, the deflection in the non-transfer state occurs. Is eliminated. As a result, it is possible to prevent the medium 1 from being excessively bent and wrinkled.

The tilt correction of the medium 1 is executed before the supplied medium 1 is conveyed in the feed direction, as will be described later, and is not performed when the medium 1 is discharged. At the time of this discharge, as shown in FIG.
By stopping the direction correcting roller 600 in a state in which it is arranged in parallel with the sheet 1 and does not protrude from the transport surface 101, the roller can smoothly perform the discharging operation without obstructing the discharging operation of the medium 1. be able to.

[Driving Mechanism] Next, a driving mechanism of the inclination correcting apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a driving mechanism incorporated in the inclination correcting device. In the tilt correcting device according to the present embodiment, the feed roller 500 and the direction correcting roller 600 are rotated by a rotational driving force from a single driving source, the front shutter 210 is moved in and out of the transport path 102, and the driven roller 220 Are moved toward and away from the feed roller 500. It is to be noted that the contacting / separating operation of the driven roller 220 is performed in conjunction with the protruding / retracting operation of the front shutter 210, as described above (see FIGS. 7 and 8).

In this embodiment, the servo motor 70
0 is used as a drive source, and the servomotor 700 is mounted on one side plate 103 of the main body 100 (FIG. 1).
To FIG. 4). The driving mechanism includes a first driving mechanism 710 for rotating the feed roller 500, a direction correcting roller rotating mechanism 720 for rotating the direction correcting roller 600 in one direction, and a second driving mechanism 730 for rotating the shutter driving cam 703.
In this embodiment, each drive mechanism is constituted by a gear mechanism.

The first drive mechanism 710 for rotating the feed roller 500 includes a first gear 711, a second gear 712, a third gear 713, and a fourth gear 714. Among them, the first gear 711 meshes with the drive gear 704 mounted on the drive shaft of the servomotor 700, and the fourth gear 714
Are mounted on the rotating shaft 702 of the feed roller 500. The second gear 712 and the third gear 713 are intermediate gears integrally formed coaxially. The second gear 712 meshes with the first gear 711, and the third gear 713 meshes with the fourth gear 714. Here, assuming that the rotation for transporting the medium 1 forward (in the feed direction) of the transport path 102 is a forward rotation (a forward rotation), the forward rotation of each gear is in a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. Now, when the servo motor 700 rotates in the forward direction, the rotational driving force is applied to the driving gear 704, the first gear 711, the second and third gears 712, 713, and the fourth gear 714.
To the rotating shaft 70 on which the fourth gear 714 is mounted.
2, the feed roller 500 rotates in the forward direction. Further, the rotation for transporting the medium 1 to the rear of the transport path 102 (discharge direction) is referred to as reverse rotation (reverse rotation).
When the servo motor 700 rotates in the reverse direction, this rotational driving force is sequentially transmitted to the driving gear 704, the first gear 711, the second and third gears 712, 713, and the fourth gear 714.
The feed roller 500 rotates in the opposite direction integrally with the rotating shaft 702 on which the gear 714 is mounted.

The direction correcting roller rotating mechanism 720 for rotating the direction correcting roller 600 in one direction includes a fifth gear 721,
A sixth gear 722, a seventh gear 723, and an eighth gear 724 are included. Among them, the fifth gear 721 is the feed roller 5
The rotation shaft 702 is mounted on the rotation shaft 702 and rotates integrally with the rotation shaft 702. The sixth gear 722 is connected to the direction correcting roller 6.
00 is attached to the rotating shaft 610. Sixth gear 722
And the seventh gear 723 are intermediate gears integrally formed coaxially. The sixth gear 722 meshes with the fifth gear 721, and the seventh gear 723 meshes with the eighth gear 724. Note that the rotation shaft 610 of the direction correcting roller 600 is disposed to be inclined with respect to the feed direction.
It is also inclined with respect to the rotation axis 702 of 00. Therefore, the fifth and sixth gears 721 and 722 meshing with each other are bevel gears and correspond to the inclination of each of the rotating shafts 702 and 610.

As shown in FIG. 12, the rotating shaft 610 of the direction correcting roller 600 is different from the inner rotating shaft 611.
An outer rotating shaft 612 is externally fitted to the inner rotating shaft 611, and a rotational driving force is transmitted between the rotating shafts 611 and 612 by a one-way clutch 613. The eighth gear 724 (see FIG. 11) is mounted on one end of the inner rotating shaft 611 on the driving side, and the direction correcting roller 600 is mounted on the outer rotating shaft 612 on the driven side. Then, the rotational driving force transmitted to the inner rotating shaft 611 is transmitted to the outer rotating shaft 612 via the one-way clutch 613, and the direction correcting roller 600 is rotationally driven.

Here, the inner rotating shaft 611 and the outer rotating shaft 6
When the inner rotation shaft 611 rotates in the forward direction, the one-way clutch 613 built in between the two rotation shafts 61
1 and 612 are firmly connected to each other to transmit the rotational driving force to the outer rotating shaft 612. On the other hand, the one-way clutch 613
When the inner rotation shaft 611 rotates in the opposite direction, the rotation between the two rotation shafts 702 is enabled.
Thus, the reverse rotation can be easily prevented.

As shown in FIG. 12, a hook wheel 614 is mounted on the outer rotating shaft 612 between a pair of direction correcting rollers 600, and a locking piece 615 is engaged with the hook wheel 614 to rotate. It constitutes a regulation means. The locking piece 615 is connected to the fulcrum 6
It is swingable around the center 15a, and is urged by urging means such as a tension coil spring 615b in a direction in which it always comes into contact with the ratchet wheel 614. The pawl 614a formed on the ratchet wheel 614 prevents the rotation of the outer rotary shaft 612 when the ratchet wheel 614 integrally rotates with the outer rotary shaft 612 when the ratchet 614 is about to rotate in the opposite direction. When the ratchet wheel 614 rotates in the forward direction, the locking piece 61
5 is formed in a shape that allows the rotation of the member 5 to escape.

Further, the formation position of the claw 614 a of the ratchet wheel 614 is adjusted such that the flat portion 602 of the direction correcting roller 600 engages with the locking piece 615 at a rotation angle parallel to the conveying surface 101 of the main body 100. Have been. In this embodiment, three hooks 614a are formed on the ratchet wheel 614 at an interval of 120 ° in correspondence with the flat portions 602 on three sides formed on the triangular direction correcting roller 600.

Therefore, when the inner rotating shaft 611 rotates in the opposite direction, the outer rotating shaft 612
Rotation until 14a meshes with locking piece 615, and thereafter rotation of the reverse direction is prevented by engagement of ratchet wheel 614 with locking piece 615. At this time, the inner rotation shaft 611 idles. As a result, the inconvenience that the direction correcting roller 600 rotates in the reverse direction during the discharging operation of the medium 1 and changes the discharging direction of the medium 1 is avoided. In addition, since one of the flat portions 602 formed on the direction correcting roller 600 is disposed in parallel with the transport surface 101 of the main body 100, the direction correcting roller 600 does not protrude from the transport surface 101, and therefore, the medium 1 There is no possibility that the direction correcting roller 600 may become a hindrance in the discharging operation.

Second rotation of the shutter drive cam 703
The drive mechanism 730 includes a first gear 711, a ninth gear 731,
The tenth gear 732 and the eleventh gear 733 are included. Of these, the first gear 711 meshes with the drive gear 704 mounted on the drive shaft of the servo motor 700 as described above, and the eleventh gear 733 is the shutter drive cam 70.
3 is mounted on a shutter drive shaft 701 to which the shutter 3 is mounted.
The ninth gear 731 and the tenth gear 732 are intermediate gears fitted coaxially, and the ninth gear 731 is the first gear 71.
The tenth gear 732 is engaged with the eleventh gear 733.
And are engaged.

Here, the ninth gear 731 which is the driving side gear
13 and the tenth gear 732 as a driven gear.
Are connected via a one-way clutch 739 shown in FIG. The one-way clutch 739 includes a first ratchet wheel 734 and a second
A first ratchet wheel 735 and a coil spring 740;
The ratchet wheel 734 is formed integrally with the tenth gear 732. On the other hand, from the center of the ninth gear 731,
Is extending. Then, a coil spring 740 is fitted into a central portion from the tenth gear 732 to the first ratchet wheel 734 and a central portion of the second ratchet wheel 735, and the rotation shaft 741 of the ninth gear 731 is rotatable. Shaft hole 7 that can be inserted
34b and 735b are formed respectively.

Both ends of the coil spring 740 are bent outward to form engaging portions 740a and 740b, and the inner circumference of the shaft hole 734b of the first ratchet wheel 734 and the shaft hole 735b of the second ratchet wheel 735. On the surface, these engaging portions 740a, 740
Key grooves 734c and 735c with which b engages are formed.

With the engagement portion 740a engaged with the key groove 734c, substantially half of the coil spring 740 in the axial direction is fitted into the shaft hole 734b of the first ratchet wheel 734. In a state where the engaging portion 740b is engaged with the key groove 735c, almost the other half in the axial direction is fitted into the shaft hole 735b of the second ratchet wheel 735. As described above, the coil spring 740 is built in, and opposing side surfaces of the respective ratchet wheels 732 and 735 are slidably contacted. Then, the rotation shaft 74 of the ninth gear 731
1 is inserted through the shaft hole 734b, the hollow portion of the coil spring 740, and the shaft hole 735b.

The one-way clutch 739 having the above-described structure includes:
The peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 741 extending from the ninth gear 731 is in light contact with the inner peripheral surface of the coil spring 740. Further, when a torsion torque in the same direction as the forward rotation of the ninth gear 731 is applied, the coil spring 740 is tightened and wound in a direction to reduce the inner diameter.

Therefore, when the ninth gear 731 is rotated in the forward direction (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 13), the built-in coil spring 740 is subjected to a torsional torque acting in the direction of being wound with contact resistance (friction) with the rotating shaft 741. And the coil spring 7
The inner diameter of the coil spring 740 is reduced and the inner peripheral surface of the coil spring 740 is firmly wound around the peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 741. As a result, the ninth gear 731 and the tenth gear 732 are
1, the coil spring 740 and each of the ratchet wheels 732 and 435 are integrated, and the rotational driving force of the ninth gear 731 is transmitted to the tenth gear 732.

On the other hand, when the ninth gear 731 is rotated in the opposite direction, the built-in coil spring 740 receives a torsional torque from the rotating shaft 741 in a direction to increase the inner diameter. Therefore, the contact resistance between the rotating shaft 741 and the inner peripheral surface of the coil spring 740 decreases, and the rotating shaft 741 runs idle.

As shown in FIG. 14A, a first engaging piece 736 is engaged with the first ratchet wheel 734. First locking piece 7
Reference numeral 36 is swingable about a fulcrum 736a, and is urged by an urging means such as a tension coil spring 736b in such a direction as to constantly contact the first ratchet wheel 734. The pawl 734a formed on the first ratchet wheel 734 is provided with a tenth gear 732.
When the first ratchet wheel 734 tries to rotate in the opposite direction integrally with the first gear 73, the first locking pieces 736 are firmly engaged with each other and the tenth gear 73.
2 is prevented from rotating, and when the first ratchet wheel 734 rotates in the forward direction, the first engaging piece 736 is released to allow the rotation.

FIG. 14B shows the second ratchet wheel 735.
As shown in the figure, the second locking piece 737 is engaged. The second locking piece 737 is swingable about a fulcrum 737a, and is urged by an urging means such as a tension coil spring 737b in a direction to always contact the second ratchet wheel 735. The pawl 735a formed on the second ratchet wheel 735 is the first pawl 735a.
When the second ratchet wheel 735 tries to rotate in the forward direction integrally with the 0 gear 732, the second locking piece 737 is firmly engaged to prevent the tenth gear 732 from rotating.

When the second engagement piece 737 is engaged with the second ratchet wheel 735 and the first engagement piece 736 is engaged with the first ratchet wheel 734, the one-way clutch shown in FIG. Since both ends of the coil spring 740 of 739 are fixed, even if the ninth gear 731 rotates in the forward direction, the ninth gear 731 is not tightened, so that the rotating shaft 741 idles.

The pawl 73 formed on the second ratchet wheel 735
5a is shaped to allow the second engagement piece 737 to escape and allow the rotation when the second ratchet wheel 735 rotates in the opposite direction. However, the rotation of the tenth gear 732 in the reverse direction is prevented by the engagement between the first ratchet wheel 734 and the first locking piece 736 described above. Therefore, the tenth gear 732
Does not rotate in the reverse direction, and the ninth gear
When the reverse rotational driving force is transmitted to the gear 731, the ninth gear 731 idles.

In the vicinity of the second locking piece 737, FIG.
As shown in (b), the second locking piece
A solenoid 738 is provided as an actuator for releasing the rotation restriction of the ratchet wheel 735. The solenoid 738 attracts the base end of the second locking piece 737 by energization, rotates the locking piece 737 counterclockwise in the drawing, and releases the engagement state with the second ratchet wheel 735. . Therefore, while the solenoid 738 is in the energized state (ON state), the tenth gear 73 by the second ratchet wheel 735 is used.
2 is released, and together with the ninth gear 731, the first
The zero gear 732 is also the one-way clutch 739 shown in FIG.
Rotate in the forward direction via.

The rotation driving force of the tenth gear 732 in the forward direction is transmitted to the eleventh gear 733, whereby the shutter drive cam 703 rotates in the forward direction integrally with the shutter drive shaft 701. When the shutter drive cam 703 rotates,
When the long diameter portion 703b of the cam presses the front shutter 210 downward, the front guide surface 2 of the front shutter 210
10a advances into the transport path, and shields the transport path 102 in the width direction. In conjunction with this operation, the driven roller 220 separates from the feed roller 500 (see FIG. 8). further,
When the shutter driving cam 703 rotates in the forward direction and the short-diameter portion 703a of the cam comes into contact with the front shutter 210, the front shutter 210 as shown in FIG.
The front guide surface 210a is lifted by the urging force of 2, and the transport path is opened. In conjunction with this operation, the driven roller 220 comes into contact with the feed roller 500.

A switch operation cam 705 is further mounted on the shutter drive shaft 701 on which the shutter drive cam 703 is mounted. This switch operation cam 705 has
As shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 16, an operation member 706 movable in the front-rear direction is engaged. The switch operation cam 705 moves the operation element 706 forward or backward with the rotation of the shutter drive shaft 701. The timing is such that when the long diameter portion 703b of the shutter drive cam 703 moves to the lower end and the front shutter 210 is pushed down, the operation element 706 moves to the retreat position (see FIG. 15), and the shutter drive cam 703 moves.
Of the front shutter 210
When the front guide surface 210a of the
Is set to move to the forward position. And
A state detection switch 707 of the front shutter 210 is provided in front of the operation element 706. When the operation element 706 is at the forward position, the state detection switch 707 is pressed to turn on the switch 707. I have. That is, the state detection switch 707 is
When the zero front guide surface 210a comes to a position where the transport path 102 is opened, an ON signal is output.

[Description of Operation] Next, the operation of the above-described inclination correcting apparatus will be described with reference to timing charts shown in FIGS. The terminations A to I in FIG.
Are the endings A to I in FIG. 18 and the endings J to R in FIG.
Follows the start ends J to R in FIG.

[Medium tilt correction operation] When the medium 1 is supplied to the transport path 102, a medium detection sensor 107 provided on the transport surface 101 of the main body 100 detects the medium 1 and outputs an ON signal. . ON from medium detection sensor 107
When the signal is output, the servo motor 700 rotates in the forward direction, and the rotational driving force is transmitted to the feed roller 500 via the above-described drive mechanism, and the feed roller 500 rotates in the forward direction. At the same time, the rotation of the servo motor 700 is also transmitted to the direction correcting roller 600, and the direction correcting roller 600 rotates in the forward direction.

The shutter drive cam 703 pushes down the front shutter 210 to move the front guide surface 210 a to the transport path 1.
02 is shielded in the width direction, and the rotation angle position where the driven roller 220 is separated from the feed roller 500 is set as the initial position, and is set to this initial position when the medium is supplied. Therefore, when the direction correcting roller 600 rotates in the forward direction at the timing described above, the front guide surface 210a of the front shutter 210 shields the transport path 102 in the width direction. At this time, the solenoid 738 is turned off.
F, the second locking piece 737 is engaged with the second ratchet wheel 735 to restrict the rotation of the tenth gear, so that no rotational driving force is transmitted to the shutter driving cam 703. In this state, the medium 1 supplied to the transport path 102 is transported in the oblique feeding direction by the rotation of the direction correcting roller 600 in the forward direction, and the side guide surface 403a of the side wall member 400.
To one side edge, and the front shutter 2
The inclination is corrected by bringing the front edge into contact with the front guide surface 210a of the ten.

When the inclination of the medium 1 is corrected, the side wall member 4
A detection signal is output from a posture confirmation sensor 405 provided at a position close to and along the side guide surface 403a.
When a detection signal is output from the posture confirmation sensor 405, the solenoid 738 is turned ON at an arbitrary timing, and the rotational driving force in the forward direction is transmitted to the shutter driving cam 703.
With this rotational driving force, the shutter driving cam 703 rotates in the forward direction, and when the short-diameter portion 703a comes to a rotation angle position where the front shutter 210 is pressed, the front guide surface 210a of the front shutter 210 moves along the transport path 102. When the driven roller 220 is opened, the driven roller 220
Contact with 00. At this time, the state detection switch 707 is set to O
Switches from FF to ON. This state detection switch 70
At the timing when 7 is turned ON, the solenoid 73 is turned ON.
8 is turned off, and the rotation of the shutter drive cam 703 is stopped.

[Medium Feeding Operation] As described above, when the driven roller 220 comes into contact with the feed roller 500 via the medium 1, the medium 1 held by the rollers 220 and 500 is rotated by the rotation of the feed roller 500. It is transported forward (in the feed direction). At this time, the direction correcting roller 6
00 is also rotating in the forward direction. The medium detection sensor 107 provided on the transport surface 101 of the main body 100
Outputs F signal. At the timing when this OFF signal is output, the servo motor 700 stops and the medium 1
The feed operation of is ended. In conjunction with the stop of the servo motor 700, the feed roller 500 and the direction correcting roller 600 also stop rotating.

For example, when the apparatus is mounted on a paper supply unit of a printer, the medium 1 (paper) is corrected to a state without inclination by the above-described inclination correction operation, and is conveyed to a printing unit of the printer by a subsequent feeding operation. To go.

[Medium Ejection Operation] When an ejection signal for the medium 1 is input from an object to which the present apparatus is applied (for example, a printer), the servo motor 700 rotates in the reverse direction. At this time, the front guide surface 210a of the front shutter 210 is located at a position where the transport path 102 is opened, and the driven roller 220
Is in contact with the feed roller 500. The medium 1 conveyed from the front to the rear (discharge direction) of the present apparatus is gripped by the feed roller 500 and the driven roller 220, and is conveyed in the discharge direction on the transfer path 102 by the reverse rotation of the feed roller 500. You.

At this time, the direction correcting roller 600 also attempts to rotate in the reverse direction. However, as shown in FIG. 12, the engaging piece 615 engages with the ratchet wheel 614 mounted on the outer rotating shaft 612, and the rotation is performed. (Rotation in the opposite direction) to prevent the inner rotation shaft 6
Only 11 spins idle. As a result, when the medium 1 is ejected, the direction correcting roller 600 rotates in the reverse direction,
The inconvenience of changing the discharge direction of the gas is avoided. Also,
When the engaging piece 615 is locked by the ratchet wheel 614, one of the flat portions 602 formed on the direction correcting roller 600 is disposed parallel to the transfer surface 101 of the main body 100. The direction correcting roller 600 does not protrude to 101, and therefore, there is no possibility that the direction correcting roller 600 becomes an obstacle during the discharging operation of the medium 1.

When the medium 1 is ejected and taken out of the transport path 102 by the user, the transport surface 101 of the main body 100
Outputs an OFF signal. At the timing when this OFF signal is output, the servo motor 700 is switched to the forward rotation, and the solenoid 738 is turned ON to transmit the forward rotation driving force to the shutter drive cam 703. With this rotational driving force, the shutter driving cam 703 rotates in the forward direction and is set to the above-described initial position. When the shutter drive cam 703 is set to the initial position, the state detection switch 707 switches from ON to OFF, and at this time the servomotor 700 stops and enters a standby state.

The object to which the present invention is applied is not limited to a printer. Various apparatuses which require the function of the apparatus of the present invention for correcting and transporting various media 1 to a normal posture without inclination are used. Of course, it can be applied.
Further, in the above embodiment, the drive mechanism is mainly constituted by a gear train (for example, first to eleventh gears), but these gear trains are formed by another rotational power transmission mechanism, for example, a power transmission mechanism using a friction wheel, a belt, or the like. It is also possible to change to a wrapping power transmission mechanism such as transmission.

[0069]

As described above, according to the inclination correcting apparatus of the present invention, since each unit is driven by a single drive source, the operation timing of each unit is easy, and therefore, the control of each unit is easy. There are few malfunctions.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a tilt correction device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which an upper unit is incorporated in a main body of the inclination correcting device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a main body of the tilt correction device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the main body of the inclination correcting device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing a side wall member.

FIG. 6 is a front sectional view of a side wall member.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional side view showing a front portion of the inclination correcting device.

8 is an enlarged cross-sectional side view showing a front portion of the inclination correction device in an operation state different from that in FIG. 8;

9A and 9B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the direction correcting roller and the medium pressing member, wherein FIG. 9A is an oblique side sectional view, and FIG. 9B is an oblique front sectional view.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are views for explaining the operation of the direction correcting roller and the medium pressing member, wherein FIG.
(B) is an oblique front sectional view.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a driving mechanism.

FIG. 12 is an oblique side sectional view showing a configuration related to a rotation axis of a direction correcting roller.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure of a one-way clutch provided between a ninth gear and a tenth gear.

14A is a side view illustrating a configuration related to a first ratchet wheel, and FIG. 14B is a side view illustrating a configuration related to a second ratchet wheel.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a configuration related to a state detection switch.

FIG. 16 shows a configuration related to the state detection switch,
FIG. 15 is a perspective view illustrating an operation state different from that in FIG. 14.

FIG. 17 is a timing chart showing the operation of the inclination correction device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a timing chart subsequent to FIG. 17, illustrating the operation of the tilt correction device according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a timing chart subsequent to FIG. 18, illustrating the operation of the tilt correction device according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Medium 100: Main body 101: Conveying surface 102: Conveying path 103: Side plate 104: Fastener 106: Notch 107: Medium detecting sensor 200: Upper unit 201: Unit main body 202: Through hole 210: Front shutter 210a: Front Part guide surface 211: support shaft 212: coil spring 220: driven roller 221: support arm 222: support shaft 223: contact portion 230: medium pressing member 231: coil spring 300: upper cover 400: side wall member 401: guide rod 402 : Clamping member 403: Side wall 403a: Side guide surface 404: Sensor substrate 405: Posture confirmation sensor 405a: Light emitting element 405b: Light receiving element 406: Through hole 500: Roller 600: Direction correction roller 601: Corner 602: Flat section 610 : Rotating shaft 611: inner rotating shaft 612: outer rotating shaft 13: friction clutch 614: ratchet wheel 614a: pawl 615: locking piece 615a: fulcrum 615b: tension coil spring 700: servo motor 701: shutter drive shaft 702: rotary shaft 703: shutter drive cam 703a: short diameter portion 703b: long diameter Unit 704: drive gear 705: switch operation cam 706: operator 707: state detection switch 710: drive mechanism 711: first gear 712: second gear 713: third gear 714: fourth gear 720: direction correcting roller rotation mechanism 721: fifth gear 722: sixth gear 723: seventh gear 724: eighth gear 730: drive mechanism 731: ninth gear 732: tenth gear 733: eleventh gear 734: first ratchet wheel 734a: pawl 734b: Shaft hole 734c: Keyway 735: Second ratchet wheel 735a: Claw 735b: Shaft hole 735c: Over groove 736: first locking pieces 736a: fulcrum 736b: tension coil spring 737: second locks 737a: fulcrum 737b: tension coil spring 738 Solenoid 739: one-way clutch 740: coil spring 741: rotary shaft

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takeya Uehara 6-11-12 Honcho, Tanashi-shi, Tokyo Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. Tanashi Factory (72) Inventor Yoshiro Kato 6-1-112 Honcho, Tanashi-shi, Tokyo Citizen 3F102 AA11 AB01 BA02 BB02 BB04 DA06 EA06 FA03

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A feed roller for a medium provided on a transport path, a driven roller which is freely movable toward and away from the feed roller and transports the medium in cooperation with the feed roller, and is supplied to the transport path. A direction correction roller for moving the medium in an oblique feed direction, a front shutter having a front guide surface which can freely move in and out of the conveyance path and abuts a front edge of the medium supplied to the conveyance path, and a rotational driving force. A single drive source that generates the rotation, based on the rotational driving force from the drive source, rotates the feed roller and the direction correction roller, causes the front shutter to protrude and retract in the transport path, and sends the driven roller to the feed roller. A tilt correcting device, comprising: a drive mechanism for bringing the roller into and out of contact with the roller. 2. The drive mechanism, comprising: a first drive mechanism for transmitting forward and reverse rotational driving forces of the drive source to the feed roller; and a one-way rotation of the drive source for rotating the feed roller in a feed direction. A direction correction roller rotating mechanism that transmits only a driving force to the direction correction roller and rotates the direction correction roller in one direction; a shutter drive cam that presses the front shutter to move in and out of the transport path; The driven roller is separated from the feed roller in conjunction with the advance operation to the transport path, and the driven roller is brought into contact with the feed roller in contact with the feed roller in conjunction with the retraction operation of the front shutter from the transport path. A second drive mechanism that transmits only one-way rotational driving force of the drive source that rotates the feed roller in a feed direction to the shutter drive cam; 2. A rotation restricting means for restricting rotation of the second drive mechanism, and a restriction release means for selectively releasing rotation restriction of the second drive mechanism by the rotation restriction means. Tilt correction device. 3. The driving mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the second driving mechanism is a driving gear that rotates by receiving a rotational driving force from the driving source, a driven gear that transmits a rotational driving force to the shutter driving cam, and the driving gear. A one-way clutch that transmits only the one-way rotational driving force to the driven side gear, wherein the rotation restricting means restricts the one-way rotation allowed by the one-way clutch. The tilt correcting device according to claim 2, wherein 4. The rotation restricting means is constituted by a ratchet that rotates integrally with the driven gear, and the restriction release means is formed by a locking piece detachable from the ratchet and a locking piece. 4. The inclination correcting device according to claim 3, wherein the device comprises an actuator that engages with and disengages from the ratchet wheel.