JP2005271433A - Paper magazine for inkjet printer and engaging structure between paper magazine for inkjet printer and inkjet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a paper magazine for an inkjet printer capable of preventing a paper in the magazine from absorbing moisture by preventing the open air from flowing into the magazine when the magazine is not used by a simple constitution. <P>SOLUTION: The paper magazine 1 is equipped with a lid member 13 for opening and closing a slit 8 for taking out the paper in a main body casing 5 storing the papers, and an energizing member 14 provided through a space between the lid member 13 and the main body casing 5 and energizing the lid member 13 in the direction for closing the slit 8 for taking out the paper. The lid member 13 closed by the energizing member 14 hermetically seals the slit 8 for taking out the paper, and the slit 8 for taking out the paper is opened by operating the lid member 13 by engaging the lid member 13 with the outside engaging member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper magazine for an ink jet printer that houses a long paper for an ink jet printer, and an engagement structure between the paper magazine for an ink jet printer and the ink jet printer.

  Conventionally, as a paper magazine for an ink jet printer, one disclosed in Patent Document 1 below is known. In the paper magazine disclosed in Patent Document 1, a paper take-out slit for taking out the paper out of the casing is formed in a main body casing that houses the paper for an inkjet printer wound in a roll shape. The paper take-out slit is always open so that the air inside and outside the casing can freely enter and exit.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-16476 ([0019], [0020], FIG. 1, FIG. 4)

  By the way, when the paper for inkjet printers is exposed to a high humidity condition for a long time, it absorbs moisture in the air, and the end face and the surface are deformed into a wave shape. In particular, after the air conditioning is turned off using an ink jet printer in an environment where air conditioning (cooling) is effective, such as in summer, the temperature change becomes severe due to a high temperature and humidity environment, and thus the above-described moisture absorption phenomenon appears remarkably. When the paper having a wave shape as described above is printed as it is, the gap between the print head and the printing stand is small due to the mechanism of the ink jet printer, and the paper and the print head may interfere with each other when the head reciprocates. In addition, since the ink receiving layer of the paper is already in a hygroscopic state, the ink may not easily dry or slightly bleed after printing, which may deteriorate the print quality. In order to avoid these problems, after the printing operation is completed, the entire paper magazine containing the paper is transferred to a sealed container, or only the paper is taken out of the paper magazine and stored separately in the sealed container. Such work of putting in and out of the sealed container is very troublesome and impairs workability before and after the printing work.

  Therefore, a method of blocking the outside air by providing a cover member on the paper magazine is conceivable, but in that case, a mechanism such as a shutter that opens the paper take-out slit is required only during printing. That is, if a movable shutter mechanism that has a mechanism for blocking outside air and that opens a paper take-out slit during printing work is employed, the number of components increases, resulting in a complicated and expensive configuration. In order to provide such a movable shutter mechanism, a larger installation space is required. In addition, there is a problem that anxiety is caused in terms of durability and reliability due to the complicated configuration of the movable shutter mechanism.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and has a simple configuration that prevents outside air from flowing into the magazine when the magazine is not used, and prevents paper in the magazine from absorbing moisture. It is an object of the present invention to provide a paper magazine for an ink jet printer, and an engagement structure between the paper magazine for an ink jet printer and an ink jet printer.

  In order to achieve the above object, a paper magazine for an ink jet printer according to the present invention is designed to take out paper from a casing in a main body casing that can accommodate a long paper for an ink jet printer and is configured to be hermetically sealed. In the paper magazine in which the paper take-out slit is formed, a lid member that opens and closes the paper take-out slit, and a cover member that is provided between the lid member and the main body casing and biases the lid member in a direction to close the paper take-out slit And a lid member closed by the biasing member seals the paper take-out slit in an airtight manner, and the lid member is actuated by the engagement between the lid member and the external engagement member, thereby taking out the paper. The slit is opened.

  Further, in the above configuration, the lid member is formed of an elastic body roll that is formed in a cylindrical roll shape and opens and closes the paper take-out slit, and a pivot shaft that is rotatably inserted into a cylindrical hole of the elastic body roll. The urging member is provided between the pivot shaft of the portion protruding from the cylindrical hole of the elastic body roll and the main body casing.

  According to the engagement structure between the ink jet printer paper magazine and the ink jet printer according to the present invention, the ink jet printer paper magazine according to claim 1 or 2 is inserted to a predetermined magazine use position in the ink jet printer. An engagement member that is sometimes engaged with the lid member of the paper magazine for an inkjet printer and operates the lid member in a direction to open the paper take-out slit is provided in the inkjet printer.

  According to the paper magazine for an inkjet printer according to the present invention, the paper take-out slit when the magazine is not used can be hermetically sealed with a simple configuration such as a lid member and a biasing member. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the outside air from flowing into the magazine when the magazine is not used, and to prevent the paper in the magazine from absorbing moisture. On the other hand, a simple structure such as a lid member and an external engaging member can open the paper take-out slit when the magazine is used.

  In the case where the lid member is composed of an elastic body roll formed in a cylindrical roll shape and a pivot shaft rotatably inserted into a cylindrical hole of the elastic body roll, the cylindrical roll elastic body By the roll, the opening operation and the closing operation with respect to the paper take-out slit can be smoothly performed, and the paper take-out slit when the magazine is not used can be sealed in a more airtight manner.

  According to the engagement structure between the ink jet printer paper magazine and the ink jet printer according to the present invention, the paper take-out slit of the paper magazine is opened only by inserting the paper magazine into a predetermined magazine use position of the ink jet printer. Therefore, the paper can be taken out immediately and used for printing work. On the other hand, when the paper magazine is pulled out from a predetermined magazine use position when the magazine is not used, the engagement state between the engagement member and the lid member is released, and the paper take-out slit is sealed in an airtight manner by the lid member. Therefore, outside air can be prevented from flowing into the magazine when the magazine is not used, and the paper in the magazine can be prevented from absorbing moisture.

The best embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is merely an example embodying the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a paper magazine for an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external view of the ink jet printer in which the paper magazine is used, and FIG. 3 is a view of the paper magazine and the ink jet printer. It is the schematic block diagram which showed the inside.
1 and 3, a paper magazine 1 according to this embodiment includes a main body casing 5 that can accommodate paper P for an ink jet printer.

  The main body casing 5 swings up and down via a left and right pivots 4 and 4 at the rear end of the lower case 2 and the lower end of the lower case 2 so as to accommodate a roll R wound with a long paper P. The upper case 3 is pivotally supported freely (in the direction of arrow G) and covers the upper surface opening of the lower case 2. When the upper case 3 covers the top opening of the lower case 2, that is, when the front side of the upper case 3 is in contact with the front opening 6 of the lower case 2 and seals the front opening 6 The left and right sliding surfaces 15 and 15 and the rear side of the upper case 3 and the lower case 2 are in an airtight sealed state by the intervention of a rubber material or the like. The upper case 3 is separated from the lower case 2 by being removed at the portion of the pivot 4.

A concave curved surface 7 is formed on the upper surface of the front portion of the upper case 3, and a paper take-out slit 8 for taking out the paper P out of the casing is provided on the curved surface 7. The paper take-out slit 8 is formed long in the left-right direction. Locking pins 9 </ b> L and 9 </ b> R project outward from the left and right side surfaces of the upper case 3 at a position behind the paper take-out slit 8.
On the curved surface 7, an elastic body roll 10 made of a closed cell foam made of ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM) is formed in a cylindrical roll shape. The elastic roll 10 is formed to have a durometer hardness of about 10 to 20, for example. The entire outer peripheral surface of the elastic roll 10 is formed as a flat skin layer free of bubbles and is an air blocking layer 10A that does not allow air to pass through. A pivot shaft 11 that rotatably supports the elastic body roll 10 is inserted into the cylindrical hole 12 that penetrates the elastic body roll 10 in the roll center direction. The elastic roll 10 and the pivot shaft 11 constitute a lid member 13 that opens and closes the paper take-out slit 8.

The urging member 14 disposed on the right side of the main casing 5 is interposed between the protruding portion 11R of the pivot shaft 11 and the locking pin 9R of the main casing 2 so as to connect them to the left side of the main casing 5. The arranged biasing member 14 is interposed between the protruding portion 11L of the pivot shaft 11 and the locking pin 9L of the main body casing 2 to connect them. The urging members 14 and 14 always urge the lid member 13 in the direction of closing the paper take-out slit 8. In this embodiment, the urging member 14 uses a coil spring. However, the urging member of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it urges the lid member in the direction to close the paper take-out slit, and for example, a leaf spring or a rubber material can be used.
In the lower part of the lower case 2, support rollers 16 and 17 for placing the roll R of the paper P in a rollable manner are provided. The paper P fed out from the roll R is guided by guide rollers 18 and 19 and drawn out of the casing from the paper take-out slit 8.

  The paper magazine 1 described above is used in the ink jet printer 30 shown in FIGS. In the inkjet printer 30, a magazine housing unit 44 is provided at the lower part of the casing 31, and a print unit U <b> 1 for printing image data on the paper P is provided at the upper part of the casing 31. On the upper surface of the casing 31, there are provided a sorting unit 45 through which a relatively small size paper is sent out via a lateral feed belt 43, and a rack plate 33 for receiving the large size paper.

  The magazine housing portion 44 includes a drawer 34 provided integrally with the front plate 32, and the paper magazine 1 is installed between the front and rear positioning protrusions 36 and 35 provided on the drawer 34. The drawer 34 moves freely on and off wheels 37, 37 provided at the lower part in the housing 31 in the front-rear direction (arrow B direction, arrow A direction) of the housing 31. When the magazine housing portion 44 is inserted to a predetermined position in the housing 31, the front plates 31A, 31B, 31C of the housing 31 and the front plate 32 of the magazine housing portion 44 are set to be substantially flush with each other. ing. An engagement member 20L is suspended from the left side of the insertion path of the magazine housing portion 44 in the housing 31, and an engagement member 20R is suspended from the right side.

  In the ink jet printer 30, the paper P from the paper magazine 1 installed in the magazine housing portion 44 is supplied to the print unit U 1 by the transport roller 39 through the paper guide 38. In the print unit U <b> 1, image data is printed in such a manner that the paper P is transported on the printing stand 41 and ink is sprayed by the print head 40. The paper P printed in this way is conveyed by the conveying roller 42 to the cut unit U3 via the loop forming unit U2 and cut into a predetermined print size. The cut paper PS is transported to the discharge unit U5 after the transport direction is reversed by the reversing unit U4, and sent to the lateral feed belt 43 or the rack plate 33 on the upper surface of the housing 31 by the discharge unit U5. Yes.

  Next, how the paper magazine 1 is used will be described. The elastic body roll 10 of the lid member 13 is always urged by the urging members 14 and 14 in the direction of closing the paper take-out slit 8 (arrow C direction). Therefore, when the paper magazine 1 is not used, the elastic body roll 10 covers and closes the paper take-out slit 8 as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 5 (a). In this case, the paper take-out slit 8 is sealed in an airtight manner by the elastic roll 10 which is a soft foam being in close contact with the paper take-off slit 8 to prevent ventilation. Therefore, the paper magazine 1 is placed on the drawer 34 of the magazine housing portion 44 drawn forward. At this time, the engaging members 20L and 20R on the ink jet printer 30 side are located away from the pivot shaft 11 on the paper magazine 1 side.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 4B and 5B, when the magazine housing portion 44 is pushed into the housing 31 of the inkjet printer 30, the left and right projecting portions 11 </ b> L of the pivot shaft 11 of the lid member 13. 11R engages with the engaging members 20L and 20R and is stopped at that position. Further, since the magazine accommodating portion 44 is pushed over the urging force of the urging members 14, 14, the elastic roll 10 of the lid member 13 moves relatively away from the paper take-out slit 8 (arrow D direction). Open the paper take-out slit 8. In this way, the paper take-out slit 8 is automatically opened simply by pushing in the magazine housing portion 44 and loading the paper magazine 1 to a predetermined magazine use position, so that the paper P of the paper magazine 1 can be used immediately. This improves the workability of the printing process.

  That is, the engaging members 20L and 20R are inserted when the magazine housing portion 44 is inserted into the housing 31 and the front plate 32 is substantially flush with the front plates 31A and 31B of the housing 31 (on the drawer 34). When the paper magazine 1 is inserted into a predetermined magazine use position), the left and right protruding portions 11L and 11R of the pivot shaft 11 of the lid member 13 are engaged with each other, and the elastic roll 10 is moved in the direction of arrow D. The paper take-out slit 8 can be opened by being operated at the position in the housing 31. The engagement structure between the lid member 13 and the engagement members 20L and 20R is an example of the engagement structure between the paper magazine and the ink jet printer according to the present invention.

  For example, when the magazine accommodating portion 44 is slightly pulled forward from the housing 31 at the end of use of the magazine, the elastic roll 10 approaches the paper take-out slit 8 by the urging force of the urging members 14, 14, and the pivot shaft 11 is moved. The elastic body roll 10 hermetically seals the paper take-out slit 8 immediately after leaving the engaging members 20L and 20R. Thereby, the air in the main body casing 5 of the paper magazine 1 is not replaced with the external air, and the inside of the main body casing 5 is held with the air-conditioning condition when the magazine is used. Accordingly, as in the prior art, since the paper take-out slit 8 remains open when the magazine is not used, outside air having different air conditioning conditions from the inside of the main body casing 5 flows from the paper take-out slit 8 and absorbs the paper P. As a result, the end face and the surface of the paper P are not ruffled or the print quality is not deteriorated.

As described above, according to the paper magazine 1 of this embodiment, the engagement state between the engagement members 20L and 20R and the pivot shaft 11 is released simply by pulling out the drawer 34, and the elastic body roll 10 of the lid member 13 is released. Thus, the paper take-out slit 8 is automatically hermetically sealed. Therefore, it is possible to store the paper P satisfactorily while the paper magazine 1 is set in the inkjet printer 30 even in a high humidity environment. As a result, the workability before and after the printing work can be greatly improved. In addition, it is not necessary to transfer the entire magazine or the paper roll R alone to another sealed container (not shown) and store it after the printing operation.
And since the paper P which water-absorbed and waved like the prior art was printed, the trouble that the paper P contact-contacts with the print head 40 was eliminated. Further, since the distance between the flat paper P and the print head 40 is substantially uniform over the entire surface of the paper P, the print quality of the paper P is improved.

In addition, the main part of the paper magazine 1 is composed of simple parts such as the pivot shaft 11, the elastic roll 10, and the biasing member 14 made of a coil spring, and does not require a complicated mechanism. Can be achieved. Incidentally, although a complicated configuration causes anxiety in terms of durability and reliability, since the paper magazine 1 can be realized with a simple configuration, the reliability is improved. Further, since the pivot shaft 11, the elastic roll 10, and the urging member 14 are deployed without taking up a large space, the entire inkjet printer 30 is reduced in size.
Further, since the upper case 3 can be removed from the lower case 2, the lower case 2 alone can accommodate and use the roll R of the paper P. That is, when the moisture-proof function is not required, the lower case 2 alone can be used, which contributes to further reduction in manufacturing cost.

Next, FIG. 6 shows a main part of the paper magazine in which the shaft support plate portion 21 having the guide groove 22 and the locking pin 9A is provided at the right front end portion and the left front end portion of the upper case 3, respectively. The structure of the other parts is the same as the paper magazine 1 described. FIG. 6 shows the shaft support plate 21 at the right front end of the upper case 3. In the shaft support plate portion 21, the locking pin 9 </ b> A is provided to project rightward and outward at the rear position of the paper take-out slit 8. The guide groove 22 is formed along a line connecting the pivot shaft 11 of the lid member 13 and the locking pin 9A when the paper take-out slit 8 is sealed. The pivot shaft 11 of the lid member 13 is slidably inserted into the guide grooves 22 and 22 of the left and right shaft support plate portions 21 and 21. Although the shaft support plate portion at the left front end is not shown in the drawing, the shaft support plate portion 21 is configured to be bilaterally symmetric with the shaft support plate portion 21 at the right front end, and the locking pin protrudes leftward. The pivot shaft 11 and the left and right locking pins 9A are connected to each other with an urging member 14 interposed therebetween.
According to this paper magazine, the pivot shaft 11 of the lid member 13 that engages with the engaging members 20L and 20R and moves back and forth when the paper take-out slit 8 is opened and closed slides in the longitudinal direction of the groove within the guide groove 22. Therefore, the pivot shaft 11 can move smoothly, and the paper take-out slit 8 can be opened and closed reliably.

  The paper magazine shown in FIG. 7 has the same configuration as that of the paper magazine shown in FIG. 6, but the paper guide 38A on the ink jet printer 30 side is arranged in front of the housing 31 with respect to the paper guide 38 shown so far. Thus, the case where the transport path of the paper P is changed is shown. In the case of such a configuration, the elastic roll 10 of the lid member 13 rotates in a state where the paper take-out slit 8 is opened, that is, in contact with the paper P that has passed through the paper take-out slit 8, and the paper P is turned into the paper guide 38A. It can serve as a guide roller for guiding.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the cylindrical roll-shaped elastic body roll 10 is exemplified as an element constituting the lid member. -It may be in any shape, and is not limited to a cylindrical roll shape or an elastic body.
Moreover, the form of the long paper accommodated in the main body casing is not limited to the form of the roll R, and for example, a form such as a continuous sheet folded in a plurality of bellows is also included in the present invention.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a paper magazine for an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an external view of the inkjet printer in which the paper magazine is used. It is the schematic block diagram which showed the inside of the said paper magazine and an inkjet printer. The paper magazine is shown in a state where it is loaded into an ink jet printer, (a) is a plan view of a state where a paper take-out slit is sealed, and (b) is a plan view of a state where the paper take-out slit is opened. . FIGS. 4A and 4B correspond to FIGS. 4A and 4B, respectively. FIG. 4A is a side sectional view showing a state where the paper take-out slit is sealed, and FIG. 4B shows a state where the paper take-out slit is opened. FIG. It is a principal part side view which provided the shaft support plate part with a guide groove in the front upper part of the said paper magazine. It is a principal part side view which shows the aspect which utilizes an elastic body roll as a paper guide roller with the guide groove of the said shaft support plate part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper magazine 2 Lower case 3 Upper case 5 Main body casing 8 Paper extraction slit 9L Locking pin 9R Locking pin 9A Locking pin 10 Elastic body roll 11 Pivoting shaft 11L Projection part 11R Projection part 12 Cylindrical hole 13 Cover member 14 With Force member 20L Engagement member 20R Engagement member 30 Inkjet printer A Arrow C Arrow P Paper R Roll

Claims (3)

  In a paper magazine in which a paper take-out slit for taking out the paper out of the casing is formed in a main body casing that can accommodate a long paper for an ink jet printer and is hermetically sealed, the paper take-out slit is opened and closed. A lid member, and a biasing member that is provided between the lid member and the main body casing and biases the lid member in a direction to close the paper take-out slit, and the lid member closed by the biasing member A paper magazine for an ink jet printer, wherein the slit is sealed in an airtight manner, and the lid member is operated by the engagement between the lid member and an external engagement member to open the paper take-out slit.   The cover member is composed of an elastic roll that is formed in a cylindrical roll shape and opens and closes the paper take-out slit, and a pivot shaft that is rotatably inserted into a cylindrical hole of the elastic roll. 2. The paper magazine for an ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein a biasing member is provided between a pivot shaft of a portion protruding from the hole and the main body casing.   When the paper magazine for an inkjet printer according to claim 1 or 2 is loaded to a predetermined magazine use position in the inkjet printer, the paper magazine is engaged with a lid member of the paper magazine for the inkjet printer to open the paper take-out slit. An engagement structure between an ink jet printer paper magazine and an ink jet printer, wherein an engaging member for operating the lid member in the direction is disposed in the ink jet printer.

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