JP2002347974A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recorder providing simple construction permitting the recording of high-quality images on various recording media without slowing the carrying speed of the recording media. SOLUTION: The recorder comprises a carrying roller 9 having a protruded shape on the outer periphery face for carrying recording sheets, a pinch roller 10 to be rotated following the carrying roller 9, and a pinch roller spring 14 for energizing the pinch roller 10 to the carrying roller 9, wherein the energizing force of energizing the pinch roller 10 to the carrying roller 9 is varied by an eccentric shaft 51.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus used for information processing equipment such as a printer, a copying machine, a computer, or a word processor, and more particularly to a recording apparatus capable of recording high-quality images on various recording media. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording apparatus having functions such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile, or a recording apparatus used as an output device of a composite electronic device or a workstation including a computer, a word processor, etc., is based on image information. It is configured to record an image (including characters, symbols, and the like) on a recording medium such as a thin film or a plastic thin plate.

Conventionally, in a recording apparatus that performs recording on various recording media in accordance with image information, there has been an apparatus that does not change the rotation amount of a conveying roller that conveys the recording medium even if the type of the recording medium changes. Further, there has been an apparatus for correcting the rotation amount of the conveyance roller according to the type of the recording medium.

[0004]

However, the conventional recording apparatus has the following problems. In a device that does not change the rotation amount of the conveyance roller even when the type of the recording medium changes, the actual conveyance amount differs depending on the type of the recording medium. Therefore, high-quality images cannot be recorded on various recording media in some cases.

A device for correcting the rotation amount of the transport roller according to the type of the recording medium requires a drive source to adjust the transport amount of the transport roller in order to correct a minute transport amount on the order of several μm to tens of μm. It was necessary to make the resolution of the transport amount extremely small by increasing the reduction ratio. Therefore, the configuration from the drive source to the transport roller becomes large, and the recording medium cannot be transported at high speed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus capable of recording high-quality images on various recording media with a simple configuration without reducing the transport speed of the recording medium.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the recording apparatus according to the present invention comprises a conveying roller having a projecting outer peripheral surface for conveying a recording medium, and driven by the conveying roller. A pinch roller that rotates by rotation, a biasing unit that biases the pinch roller against the transport roller, and a recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium by a recording head.
A correction unit is provided for changing a biasing force for biasing the pinch roller toward the transport roller.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide a recording apparatus capable of recording high-quality images on various recording media with a simple configuration without reducing the transport speed of the recording medium.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment> An ink jet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a paper feed unit, a transport unit, a recording unit, a paper discharge unit, and the like, which are housed in an upper case 1 and a lower case 2. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing the overall configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus. Hereinafter, these configurations will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the paper feeding section 3 is mounted at an angle of 30 ° to 60 ° with respect to the apparatus main body. A paper feed port (not shown) is provided below the paper feed unit 3 to feed the recording sheet P substantially horizontally to the apparatus main body. The recording sheet P on which the image has been recorded is discharged to the front of the apparatus in a substantially horizontal state, and is stacked on the discharge tray 31.

The paper supply unit 3 includes a paper supply roller 4 driven by a paper supply motor (not shown), a movable side guide 5 that regulates the width direction of the recording sheet P, and a recording sheet P loaded on the paper supply roller 4. A biasing pressure plate 6, a base 7, a separation claw (not shown), and the like are provided. Then, the recording sheets P stacked on the pressure plate 6 are separated one by one by the feed roller 4 and the separation claw, and are conveyed to the conveyance unit 8.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining the transport section of the present embodiment. The transport unit 8 includes a transport roller 9 that transports the recording sheet P, a pinch roller 10 that rotates following the transport roller 9, and a platen 1 that supports the back surface of the recording sheet P.
1, etc. Recording sheet P transported to the transport unit
Is guided to a nip portion between the transport roller 9 and the pinch roller 10. Reference numeral 13 denotes a pinch roller holder which rotatably holds the pinch roller 10, and
It is mounted so that it can rotate freely with a inserted. In addition, PR
The stay 53 is fixed to the frame 38.

The pinch roller 10 is urged against the transport roller 9 by a spring pressure of a pinch roller spring 14. Then, the pinch roller 10 rotates following the rotation of the transport roller 9, thereby generating a transport force for the recording sheet P.

The pinch roller holder 13 holds two pinch rollers 10 rotatably about a pinch roller shaft 55. A pinch roller holder unit 54 is formed by the pinch roller holder 13, the pinch roller shaft 55, and the two pinch rollers 10. In the ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment, the pinch roller holder unit 54
When a recording sheet P of A4 size is conveyed, the recording sheet P is conveyed by nine pinch rollers 10.

Reference numeral 51 denotes an eccentric shaft on which one end of the pinch roller spring 14 is biased. Both ends of the eccentric shaft 51 are inserted into bearings 52 fixed to the frame 38. One end of the eccentric shaft 51 is configured to transmit a drive from a drive source (not shown), so that the eccentric shaft 51 can be rotated. As the eccentric shaft 51 rotates, the spring pressure of the pinch roller spring 14 changes, and the urging force of the pinch roller 10 on the transport roller 9 changes. That is,
The eccentric shaft 51 functions as a correction unit that changes the urging force for urging the pinch roller toward the transport roller.

The driving of the transport motor 18 is performed by the intermediate gear 17,
The light is transmitted to the conveyance roller 9 via the conveyance roller gear 16. The recording sheet P conveyed to the nip portion between the conveyance roller 9 and the pinch roller 10 is conveyed on the platen 11 to the recording position by the rotation of the conveyance roller 9. Then, recording is performed on the recording sheet P by the recording head 19 according to the image information.

The recording head 19 according to the present embodiment is an ink jet recording head that records an image by discharging ink onto a recording sheet P. That is, this recording head
The apparatus includes a fine liquid discharge port (orifice), a liquid path, an energy operation unit provided in a part of the liquid path, and an energy generation unit that generates droplet forming energy to act on the liquid in the operation unit.

As an energy generating means for generating such energy, a recording method using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element or the like, an electromagnetic wave such as a laser is irradiated to generate heat, and droplets are ejected by the action of the heat. There is a recording method using an energy generating unit that causes the liquid to be heated, or a recording method using an energy generating unit that discharges the liquid by heating the liquid with an electrothermal converter such as a heating element having a heating resistor.

Among them, a recording head used in an ink jet recording method for discharging a liquid by thermal energy has a high density liquid discharge port (orifice) for discharging a recording liquid droplet to form a discharge liquid droplet. , It is possible to record at a high resolution. Among them, a recording head using an electrothermal transducer as an energy generating means can be easily made compact,
In addition, it is possible to make full use of the advantages of IC technology and micro-machining technology, which have made remarkable progress in technology in the field of semiconductors and the improvement of reliability in recent years. is there.

The recording section 20 holds a carriage 21 for mounting the recording head 19, a guide shaft 22 for reciprocating the carriage 21 in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the recording sheet, and an upper portion of the carriage 21. Head 1
A guide rail 23 for maintaining a distance between the recording sheet 9 and the recording sheet P, a carriage motor 24 for generating a driving force for moving the carriage 21, a timing belt 25 for transmitting the drive of the carriage motor 24 to the carriage 21,
An idle pulley 26 for stretching the timing belt 25,
A flexible board (not shown) for transmitting a head drive signal from the electric board to the recording head 19 is provided.

The recording head 19 records an image on the recording sheet P on the platen 11 by moving while being mounted on the carriage 21. Then, each time the recording sheet P is conveyed in a line unit of, for example, 5.419 mm by the rotation of the conveying roller 9, the carriage 21 on which the recording head 19 is mounted moves to eject ink from the recording head 19 to perform recording. An image is recorded on the sheet P.

The paper discharge unit 27 includes a paper discharge roller 28, a paper discharge roller gear 40 disposed on a shaft of the paper discharge roller 28, and transmitting the drive of the transport motor 18 to the paper discharge roller 28 via the intermediate gear 17. A spur 30 pressed by a paper discharge roller 28 by a spring shaft 29 and rotated in accordance with the paper discharge roller 28, and a paper discharge tray 31 from which the recording sheet P is discharged.

Next, a configuration for changing the urging force of the pinch roller with respect to the transport roller will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 show that the eccentric shaft 51 is rotated to change the spring pressure of the pinch roller spring 14, and
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for changing the urging force of the pinch roller 10 with respect to FIG. 4 shows a state where the spring pressure of the pinch roller spring 14 is small, and FIG. 5 shows a state where the spring pressure of the pinch roller spring 14 is large.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the outer peripheral surface of the transport roller 9. On the outer peripheral surface of the transport roller 9, a projection shape of the ejected particles is attached, and the ejected particles generate a transport force of the recording sheet P.

In the state shown in FIG.
4, the pinch roller 10 is configured to obtain a biasing force of about 350 gf. At this time, as shown in FIG.
Is conveyed by an angle corresponding to the rotation of the conveying roller 9 by a radius obtained by subtracting the length L1 embedded in the recording sheet P.

In the present embodiment, when the user selects recording on glossy paper having relatively high rigidity, the eccentric shaft 51 is rotated by driving a drive source (not shown), and the state shown in FIG. I do. That is, the spring pressure of the pinch roller spring 14 is set to be high. At this time, the spring pressure of the pinch roller 10 is set such that RL1 is about 6.468 mm for a relatively rigid recording sheet. In this state, when the transport roller 9 is rotated by 48 °, the glossy paper having relatively high rigidity is 6.468 × 2 × π × 48/360 =
It is transported by 5.419 mm.

In the state shown in FIG. 5, when plain paper having low rigidity is conveyed, the amount L1 of inlay into the recording sheet becomes larger than when glossy paper is conveyed. When conveying plain paper, R-L1 is approximately 6.463 mm.
At this time, when the transport roller 9 is rotated by 48 °, the plain paper is 6.463 × 2 × π × 48/360 = 5.414 mm.
It is conveyed, and the conveyance amount is reduced by about 5 μm as compared with the case of conveying glossy paper.

In the present embodiment, when the user selects to record on plain paper having low rigidity, the eccentric shaft 51 is rotated by driving a drive source (not shown) to bring the state shown in FIG. . That is, the spring pressure of the pinch roller spring 14 is set to be low. At this time, the spring pressure of the pinch roller 10 is set such that the amount of intrusion into the recording sheet P is reduced, and RL1 is about 6.468 mm for a recording sheet having low rigidity. In this state, when the transport roller 9 is rotated by 48 °, the plain paper having low rigidity becomes 6.468 × 2 ×
π × 48/360 = 5.419 mm.

According to the configuration described above, it is possible to provide a recording apparatus capable of recording high-quality images on various recording media with a simple configuration without reducing the transport speed of the recording medium.

<Second Embodiment> A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first embodiment, the projection is formed by attaching the droplets to the outer peripheral surface of the transport roller. However, as shown in FIG. 7, a configuration using the transport roller 61 having the spike-shaped projection 61a as shown in FIG. Is also good. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the transport roller 62 having a projection 62a formed by colliding the droplets with the outer peripheral surface.
May be used.

<Third Embodiment> In the above-described embodiment, the type of the recording sheet is recognized according to a user's instruction. However, a sensor for detecting the type of the recording sheet is provided. Is also good.

In the above-described embodiment, the urging force of the pinch roller with respect to the transport roller is changed by driving a driving source (not shown).
A lever may be provided at the end of the bracket to allow the user to manually change the biasing force.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the urging force of the pinch roller is changed by two kinds of values. However, the eccentric shaft 51 is provided with a cam shape to reduce the urging force of the pinch roller by three.
A configuration in which the value is changed by more than the type may be adopted.

In each of the embodiments described above, a serial type printing apparatus for moving a print head in the main scanning direction is described.
It has a configuration to which the present invention is applied. However, the present invention is directed to a full-line type recording apparatus that uses a recording head that extends over the entire area in the width direction of the recording sheet and continuously conveys the recording sheet while recording an image by the recording head. Can also be applied.

In each of the above-described embodiments, an example using a so-called BJ type recording head of the ink jet type has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to various recording methods irrespective of the recording method of the recording head. As a recording method of the recording head, for example, a piezo method may be used in addition to the BJ method, and a recording head of a method having various recording elements such as a thermal transfer method, not an ink jet method, may be used.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A recording device capable of recording high-quality images on various recording media with a simple configuration without slowing down the transport speed of the recording medium by providing a correction unit that changes the biasing force for biasing the pinch roller to the transport roller. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an inkjet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an internal configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a transport unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for changing the urging force of a pinch roller with respect to a transport roller.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for changing the urging force of a pinch roller with respect to a transport roller.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of an outer peripheral surface of a transport roller.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of an outer peripheral surface of a transport roller according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of an outer peripheral surface of a transport roller according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Upper case 2 Lower case 3 Paper feed part 4 Paper feed roller 5 Movable side guide 6 Pressure plate 7 Base 8 Transport part 9 Transport roller 10 Pinch roller 12 Platen 13 Pinch roller holder 14 Pinch roller spring 16 Transport roller gear 17 Intermediate gear 18 Transport motor DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 19 Recording head 20 Recording part 21 Carriage 22 Guide shaft 23 Guide rail 24 Carriage motor 25 Timing belt 26 Idle pulley 27 Discharge part 28 Discharge roller 29 Spring shaft 30 Spur 31 Discharge tray 38 Frame 40 Discharge roller gear 51 Eccentric shaft 52 Bearing 53 PR stay 54 Pinch roller holder unit 55 Pinch roller shaft

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued from the front page F term (reference) 2C059 AA22 AA26 AA50 AA58 AA70 BB03 BB06 BB10 BB13 BB16 BB17 BB25 BB26 CC06 CC10 CC15 3F048 AA02 AA05 AB01 AB05 BB02 BB05 BD07 CA02 EB24 3F015 AA02 CA02 DA02 CA02 LA07 LB03 LB07

Claims (12)

[Claims] A conveying roller having a projecting outer peripheral surface for conveying a recording medium, a pinch roller rotating following the conveying roller, and an urging means for urging the pinch roller toward the conveying roller; And a correction device for changing a biasing force for biasing the pinch roller to the transport roller, the recording device comprising: a recording head for recording on a recording medium by a recording head. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the urging force is changed according to a type of a recording medium. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a recording medium detecting unit that recognizes a type of the recording medium to be conveyed. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the type of the recording medium is recognized according to a user's instruction. 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the urging force is changed by driving a driving source. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a user changes the urging force. 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a projection is formed by attaching abrasive grains to an outer peripheral surface of the transport roller. 8. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a projection is formed by providing an irregular shape on an outer peripheral surface of the transport roller. 9. The recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the concavo-convex shape is formed by roughening an outer peripheral surface of the transport roller. 10. The recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the uneven shape is a spike shape. 11. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head is an inkjet recording head capable of discharging ink. 12. The recording apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the ink jet recording head includes an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy used for discharging ink.