JP2004168071A - Inkjet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recording apparatus which accurately conveys a long paper to a printing area. <P>SOLUTION: A printing path is formed not only by providing a recording paper inserting port 8 at one end of a case for the recording apparatus which houses a printing mechanism but also by providing a recording paper ejecting port at the other end thereof; and the port 8 is provided with a backrest member 9 for making recording paper enter the printing path at a fixed angle, and paper guide members 11 (11b) for regulating the paper width of the recording paper, which are located on both sides of the backrest member 9. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that prints characters and figures on recording paper by discharging ink droplets from nozzle openings.

  With the widespread use of ink jet recording devices, printing on not only cut paper but also continuous paper and even long paper has been demanded. There is a demand for the ability to print on long paper for creating signboards, banners, etc.

  In order to respond to such a demand, there is also an ink jet printer configured to linearize the paper feeding path, arrange a roll paper holder on this path, and perform printing while regulating the position of the roll paper with the holder. It has been put to practical use in the department.

  According to such a configuration, since the roll paper can be guided by the holder, it is possible to prevent meandering that tends to occur on long paper. On the other hand, the roll paper holder and roll paper are required, and the cost of the apparatus and special There is a problem that the running cost is required because the roll paper is required, and the width of the roll paper is standardized, so that the type of paper is limited.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and has as its object to print on any long paper that fits the width of a recording device without the need for roll paper or a roll paper holder. The present invention provides a novel ink jet recording apparatus that can perform the above.

  In order to solve such a problem, in the present invention, a recording paper insertion port is provided at one end of a case of a recording apparatus containing a printing mechanism, and a recording paper discharge port is provided at the other end to form a printing path, The recording paper insertion slot is provided with a backrest member for allowing recording paper to enter the printing path at a fixed angle, and a paper guide member for regulating a paper width of the recording paper on both sides of the backrest member. I have.

  The long paper is bent at the upper end of the backrest member to strengthen the stiffness of the long paper, and the reinforced waist allows the long paper to be drawn into the printing path while restricting the position in the paper width direction by the paper guide member. Long paper can be accurately fed to the platen without the need for special paper, such as, or a roll paper holder.

Therefore, the details of the present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiment.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention in a state in which a long sheet is loaded. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a case body of a recording apparatus. A control panel 3 in which a printing mechanism such as a recording head 20 is built in, and various operation buttons are arranged on one side of the front surface of the case, and a detachable opening 4 for an ink cartridge are provided.

  An automatic cut sheet feeder 6 for automatically feeding a cut sheet is provided at a lower part of the paper supply / discharge port 5 on the front side, and a stacker 7 for receiving printed recording paper is provided at an upper part.

  On the other hand, a paper feed port 8 is provided on the back of the case body 1 to enable manual paper feed. The paper feed port 8 is formed by a backrest member 9 disposed at a predetermined distance from the case body 1 as shown in FIG.

  The back member 9 is provided with slidable guide members 11, 11 that can be adjusted according to the width of the loaded recording paper so that both sides of the recording paper 10 are perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage 22. It is configured to guide. Reference numeral 12 in the drawing denotes a knob for rotating the paper feed roller 24 from outside.

  FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the backrest member 9 and the guide member 11 described above. The backrest member 9 is configured as a separate member from the case main body 1, and is attached to and detached from the case main body 1 by a locking member 13. In addition, a slope portion 14 for guiding recording paper to a printing path is formed on the back side.

  On the other hand, the paper guide member 11 elastically engages with the lower end 14 a and the upper end 14 b of the inclined surface 14 of the backrest member 9, and also has a rear guide portion 11 a that supports the back surface of the recording paper, and a side surface that guides both sides of the recording paper. And a guide portion 11b.

  FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the printing mechanism. In the drawing, reference numeral 20 denotes a recording head that ejects ink droplets in response to a print signal, and is provided movably on guide members 21 and 21. It is mounted on a carriage 22. Reference numeral 23 denotes a platen, which is arranged at a fixed distance from the recording head 20 and has a paper feed roller 24 arranged upstream thereof and discharge rollers 25, 26 arranged downstream thereof for recording paper. A transport mechanism is configured.

  An insertion slot 27 for recording paper fed from the auto-cut sheet feeder 6 is formed below the paper feed roller 24, and a first paper detector 28 is disposed here. A manual paper feed port 8 and a second insertion port 29 for receiving recording paper from the tractor 31 are formed in the upper portion on the downstream side of the paper feed roller 24, and a second paper detector 30 is disposed here. ing.

  Reference numeral 34 denotes a release. A release driving mechanism (not shown) applies a large friction to the contact force to the paper feed roller 24 when conveying cut-sheet paper or long paper, and a small friction when conveying the cut-sheet paper or long paper. In order to achieve the above-mentioned condition, the release switching lever 15 is configured to be capable of switching between two levels, large and small. The switching of the friction can be detected by the release detector 35. Note that reference numerals 35 to 36 in the drawing denote paper pressing rollers, respectively.

  FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a means for selecting printing on a long sheet. The print mode determining means 42 includes, for example, a mode selection switch 40 provided on the control panel 3 and a mode from an external device. In addition to detecting the long mode in response to the selection signal, it automatically receives a signal from the release detection means 35, the second paper detection means 30, the paper length detection means 41, and the like, and performs an operation shown in a flowchart to be described later. It is configured to determine the length paper printing mode and instruct the print control unit 43 to perform control for printing on the length paper.

Next, the operation of the apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, focusing on printing on long recording paper.
When paper is fed from the auto-cut sheet feeder 6, the leading edge of the recording paper is detected by the first paper detector 28, and the paper feed roller 24 is driven by a paper feed motor (not shown). As a result, the recording paper moves to the platen 23 while being wound around the paper feed roller 24 by the paper press rollers 36 and 37 and the release 34, and the leading end enters the paper discharge roller 25 and the paper press roller 38, and these rollers 24 , 36, 37, 25, and 38 are in tension.

  In this state, the inkjet recording head 20 ejects ink droplets in response to the print signal to execute printing, and the printed area is ejected to the stacker 7.

  On the other hand, when a fixed-size recording sheet, for example, an A4 size recording sheet is inserted from the manual feed port 8 until it comes into contact with the roller of the release 34, the leading end of the recording sheet reaches the second paper detector 30 in the process until the contact. After a predetermined time, for example, a wait time of 3 seconds, the paper feed roller 24 is driven by a paper feed motor (not shown). As a result, the recording paper is pressed by the paper feed roller 24 by the release 34 and moves to the platen 23, and the upstream side is pressed by the paper discharge roller 25 and the paper pressing roller 38 to be in a state where tension is given. The printing is performed by the recording head 20 in the same manner as described above.

  In the case where a recording problem occurs during the printing of the cut sheet, the recording sheet having the printing problem can be discharged by operating the discharge button of the control panel 3 once.

  When printing long paper, the contact force of the release 34 is increased in the same manner as when a cut sheet is fed from the manual feed port 8. In this state, when the long paper print mode is selected from the selection switch 40 of the control panel 3 or the external device (steps b and b), the print mode determination unit 42 unconditionally enters the long paper print mode.

  Also, when the release 34 is switched to the side where the contact force is large, an off signal is output from the release detector 35 (step C), and the insertion of the recording paper is detected by the second recording paper detector 30. (Step d) The recording operation is started in the same manner as a normal cut, and if the printing length exceeds a predetermined length L0, for example, 60 cm (step E), the long paper printing mode is automatically determined.

  When the power is turned on again in this state, the execution of the paper discharging operation as in the case of printing on the cut sheet is prevented, thereby preventing unnecessary long paper from being discharged.

  When printing on the long paper, the paper guide members 11, 11 provided in the paper feed port 8 on the rear side are adjusted in position according to the paper width of the long paper, and both ends of the long paper are guided by the paper guide members 11, 11 is inserted into the paper feed port 8 along the side guides 11b, 11b until it comes into contact with the roller of the release 34.

  When the loading of the long sheet is completed and the long sheet is released, the long sheet is bent at the upper end of the backrest member 9 by its own weight. After the leading end of the long paper is detected by the second paper detector 30 and after a certain wait time, it is conveyed to the printing area, and printing is executed by the ink jet recording head 20 in the same manner as described above.

  The reverse rotation of the paper feed motor for driving the cap suction pump can be performed even when an operation for restoring the ejection capability of the recording head 20 is required during printing and the paper feed motor also serves as a driving source for the cap suction pump. Therefore, it is possible to minimize the decrease in print quality due to the above.

  In this state, the long sheet is bent round at the upper end of the backrest member 9 and becomes strong, and even if there is a bend in the area outside the recording device or a deviation from the printing path, the reinforced waist. The long sheet is drawn into the platen 23 while being restricted to a predetermined position by the side guide portions 11b of the sheet guide members 11 on both sides as shown in FIG. Thus, the long paper is moved exactly perpendicular to the platen 23 without requiring special recording paper such as roll paper, and printing with high print quality is performed.

   If a failure occurs in the middle of the long paper printing mode, the paper feeding is stopped when a predetermined amount of paper is fed, for example, 11 inches, every time the paper ejection button on the panel surface 3 is operated once. To enter a standby state. Thus, even if the discharge button is pressed inadvertently, it is possible to prevent the long paper from being discharged for the entire length and to prevent the occurrence of paper jam due to the continuous discharge operation.

  In the above-described embodiment, the description has been made for non-rolled paper. However, it goes without saying that printing can be performed using rolled paper.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which an inkjet recording head is mounted has been described. However, even if the present invention is applied to an impact wire recording head or a recording apparatus equipped with a thermal transfer recording head, these apparatuses can be used. It is clear that printing on long paper can be performed reliably.

It is a perspective view showing one example of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a manual feed port. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a printing path of the above device. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a print mode determining unit. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of an energy saving device. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a form of a recording sheet when printing on a long sheet.

Explanation of reference numerals

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Box body 6 Cut sheet feeder 7 Tray 8 Manual feed port 9 Backrest member 10 Long paper 11 Paper guide member 14 Slope 20 Inkjet recording head 23 Platen 24 Paper feed roller 28 First paper detecting means 30 Second paper Detection means

Claims (3)

  A recording paper insertion port is provided at one end of the case of the recording apparatus that houses the printing mechanism, and a recording paper discharge port is provided at the other end to form a printing path, and the recording paper is supplied to the recording paper insertion port at the printing path. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a backrest member for entering at a fixed angle; and a paper guide member on both sides of the backrest member for regulating a paper width of the recording paper.   2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording paper discharge port is provided on the front side of the case, and the recording paper insertion port is configured as a manual recording paper insertion port on the rear side of the case body.   The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the backrest member is configured to be detachable from the case.

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