JP2006188299A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer using a curled print paper capable of ensuring the flatness of the print paper at a print part and enhancing the degree of versatility of the design of the printer by straightening the curl of the print part during the conveyance. <P>SOLUTION: The printer having a conveying passage to convey a print paper P set to a magazine storage part 2 to a print part 4 has a curl straightening unit U3 to straighten the curl of the print paper P having a curl straightening roller 43 to wind and stretch the print paper P to be conveyed so as to be bent to the side opposite to the curl caused by the roll set of the roll, and a pressing roller 44 which holds the print paper P facing the curl straightening roller 43 and provides the pressure to a holding part with the curl straightening roller 43 in the print paper P. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention pulls out a long print paper set in a roll form around a paper set unit from the paper set unit and conveys it to the print unit, and the print unit prints on the print surface of the print paper. Belongs to the technical field related to printers.

  In general, a printer used in a photographic printing system or the like includes a paper set unit on which print paper is set, and a conveyance path for pulling out the print paper set in the paper set unit from the paper set unit and conveying it to the print unit. And. In this print unit, printing is performed by discharging ink from the print head to the print paper, and the print paper printed by the print unit is discharged to the outside.

  In the printer as described above, long paper wound in a roll shape is used, and the print paper is set in the paper set portion in a state wound in a roll shape. For this reason, the printed paper conveyed to the printing unit is curled by the curl of the roll.

  However, when the print paper is curled as described above, the flatness of the print paper in the print section is deteriorated, which is a factor that adversely affects the print quality particularly in an ink jet printer. For this reason, conventionally, the flatness of the print paper is ensured by sucking the print paper to the print table by the suction device in the printing unit (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

On the other hand, it is also known to correct the curl by bending the conveyance path largely in the middle of the conveyance path to the print unit and bending the printed paper to the side opposite to the curl (for example, Patent Document 2). If the curl is corrected on the upstream side of the print unit in this way, there is a possibility that flatness can be secured with a simple and small suction device, or even if the suction device is eliminated. Becomes higher.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-260827 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-86411

  However, in the curl correcting means described in Patent Document 2, it is necessary to provide a greatly bent conveyance path in the print paper conveyance path in order to correct the curl of the print paper. That is, in the printer described in Patent Document 2, in order to correct the curl of the printed paper only by bending the conveyance path, if the desired curl correction amount is obtained, the angle for bending the conveyance path is adjusted accordingly. There is a need to. Therefore, the shape of the conveyance path and the occupied space are limited by the amount of curl of the print paper to be corrected, which limits the degree of freedom in designing the printer and increases the size of the printer.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to correct the curl of the print paper during conveyance in a printer using the curled print paper, so that the print paper in the print unit is corrected. An object of the present invention is to ensure flatness and to improve the degree of freedom in designing a printer.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a curl correction apparatus is configured to wrap a print paper so as to bend the print paper in a direction opposite to the curl, and to oppose the curl correction roller. The curled print paper is wound around the curl correction roller so as to bend on the side opposite to the curl, and pressure is applied to the bent portion by the curl correction roller and the pressure member. I tried to correct the curl of the printed paper.

  Specifically, in the first invention, a paper set unit that is set in a state in which a long print paper is wound in a roll, a print unit that performs printing on the print paper, and the paper set unit The printer is provided with a transport path for transporting the print paper set in the printer to the print unit.

  A curl correction device for correcting the curl of the printed paper is provided in the middle of the transport path, and the curl correction device places the printed paper to be transported on the side opposite to the curl due to the curl of the roll. The curl correcting roller wound so as to be bent, and a pressure member for holding the print paper so as to face the curl correcting roller and for applying pressure to a clamping portion of the print paper with the curl correcting roller.

  With the above configuration, the curled print paper is not simply wound around the curl correction roller so as to bend on the opposite side of the curl due to the curl of the roll in the conveyance path, but also the curl correction roller and the pressure member. The part sandwiched by the pressure is pressed, that is, the part bent to the opposite side of the curl is more strongly brazed, and the curl due to the curl of the roll of the printed paper is surely corrected. Become.

  In this way, the print paper to be corrected is obtained by winding the print paper around the curl correction roller so that it can be bent on the side opposite to the curl and correcting the curl by the cooperation of the pressure between the curl correction roller and the pressure member. By adjusting the pressure between the curl correction roller and the pressure member with respect to the curl amount of the paper, the amount of winding of the print paper around the curl correction roller, that is, the angle at which the conveyance path is bent can be adjusted. If the angle at which the conveyance path is bent can be adjusted, restrictions on the shape and occupation space of the conveyance path are reduced, and the degree of freedom in designing the printer is improved. For example, the conveyance path can be configured more linearly by increasing the pressure between the curl correction roller and the pressure member.

  As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the curl correction roller for winding the printed paper to be bent on the side opposite to the curl due to the curl of the roll on the transport path, and the curl correction By providing a curl correcting device for correcting the curl of the printed paper, which has a pressure member for sandwiching the printed paper facing the roller and applying pressure to a sandwiched portion of the printed paper with the curl correcting roller. Even if the amount of the print paper wound around the correction roller is small, the curl of the print paper can be corrected by the pressure between the curl correction roller and the pressure member. In addition, the angle at which the conveyance path is bent can be adjusted by adjusting the pressure between the curl correction roller and the pressure member with respect to the curl amount of the printed paper to be corrected. As a result, the shape of the conveyance path and the occupied space can be adjusted. And the degree of freedom in designing the printer can be improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 of the Invention
FIG. 1 shows an inkjet printer according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. This ink jet printer is used in a photographic print system, and is connected via a communication cable to a receiving block 100 (see FIG. 3) that acquires image data and order information and performs necessary correction processing and the like. The image data transmitted from the receiving block 100 via the communication cable is printed on the print paper P based on the order information.

  The ink jet printer is provided with a housing 1, a magazine housing portion 2 disposed in the lower portion of the housing 1, and an upper portion in the housing 1, and prints image data on the print paper P. A print unit 4 to be performed, a first transport path for transporting the print paper P from the magazine housing unit 2 to the print unit 4, and a print paper P printed by the print unit 4 from the print unit 4 to the outside of the housing 1 And a discharge tray 5 provided outside the housing 1 and receiving the print paper P discharged to the outside of the housing 1 through the second conveyance path. The front-rear direction of the case is the left-right direction in FIG. 1, the front side of the case is the right side of FIG. 1, and the rear side of the case is the left side of FIG. The left-right direction of the housing is a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG.

  A print paper P, which is a long paper wound in a roll shape, is set in the magazine storage portion 2 while being stored and held in the paper magazine 8. The print paper P is wound downward (clockwise in FIG. 1) from the front side of the casing to the rear side so that the print surface to be printed is on the outside. Thus, the magazine housing unit 2 constitutes a paper set unit in which the long print paper P is set while being wound in a roll shape. In the magazine housing 2, it is also possible to set two print papers P having a small width in parallel in the left-right direction of the housing, and when two are set in parallel in this way, The set two print papers P are simultaneously pulled out from the magazine housing unit 2 and conveyed in two rows. The print unit 4 prints the two print papers P and discharges them simultaneously to the discharge tray.

  In the casing 1, a first supply unit U1, a cutter unit U2, a curl correction unit U3, and a print unit U5 that constitute the first transport path are provided.

  The first supply unit U1 is provided in the magazine housing portion 2 (paper magazine 8). The first supply unit U1 includes three support rollers 15 that support the roll-shaped print paper P, a guide member 16 that guides the print paper P to the cutter unit U2, and a print member that is provided in the middle of the guide member 16. A pressure supply roller 17 composed of driving and driven rollers 17a and 17b for transporting the paper P to the cutter unit U2, and a guide roller 18 provided on the upstream side of the guide member 16 and around which the print paper P is wound. It has. Of the three support rollers 15, a roller disposed on the front side of the casing is rotationally driven by an electric motor (not shown) to apply a rotational force to the print paper P around the center of the roll. Further, the drive roller 17a of the supply roller 17 is fed by an electric motor 30 disposed in the cutter unit U2 via a transmission belt 31 and a gear train 19 and a later-described feed roller 25 disposed in the cutter unit U2. The drive roller 25a is rotationally driven. The first supply unit U1 configured as described above draws the print paper P set in the magazine housing unit 2 upward on the rear side of the housing of the paper magazine 8 and conveys it to the cutter unit U2. A first paper detection sensor 20 is provided at the downstream end of the first supply unit U1. When the print paper P is all pulled out from the magazine accommodating portion 2 by the first paper detection sensor 20, the first paper detection sensor 20 is provided. The rear end of the print paper P is detected. When the rear end of the print paper P is detected, the fact is notified to the operator via a display or the like.

  The cutter unit U2 is disposed on the rear side and the upper side of the first supply unit U1 in a state of being fixed to a vertical frame 6 extending in the vertical direction, and is a pressure-bonding type that sends out the print paper P to the curl correction unit U3. Feed roller 25, a cutter 26 which is disposed downstream of the feed roller 25 and includes a fixed blade 26a and a movable blade 26b for cutting the print paper P, and a drive for driving the movable blade 26b. A cutter driving unit 27 in which a mechanism and the like are accommodated, and a guide member 28 that extends in the vertical direction and feeds the print paper P from the roller 25 to the cutting position by the cutter 26 are provided. The cutter 26 cuts the print paper P drawn from the magazine housing unit 2 to a predetermined length based on the order information from the receiving block 100. The feed roller 25 includes one drive roller 25 a and two driven rollers 25 b that sandwich the print paper P, and these driven rollers 25 b are pressed against the drive roller 25 a by one compression coil spring 29. As described above, the drive roller 25a is rotationally driven by the electric motor 30 through the transmission belt 31 together with the drive roller 17a of the supply roller 17 in the first supply unit U1. The print paper P is moved upward in the vertical direction by the feed roller 25 and the guide member 28 and sent to the curl correction unit U3, and then cut by the cutter 26. The curl correction unit U3 may receive the print paper P after cutting instead of receiving the print paper P before cutting. However, in this case, since the conveyance path in the cutter unit U2 becomes long, it is preferable to receive it before cutting.

  The curl correction unit U3 constitutes a curl correction device provided in a conveyance path between the magazine housing unit 2 and the print unit 4. The curl correction unit U3 receives the print paper P conveyed from the upstream conveyance path (that is, the first supply unit U1 and the cutter unit U2) located upstream of the curl correction unit U3, and receives the print paper P. While curling due to curling of the roll in the magazine housing section 2 of the magazine, it is sent out to the downstream side conveyance path (that is, the print unit U5) located on the downstream side of the curl correction unit U3. In other words, the print paper P drawn from the magazine housing unit 2 is corrected to curl due to roll curl while being conveyed to the print unit 4.

  Specifically, the curl correction unit U3 includes an upstream guide roller 41 positioned above the guide member 28 of the cutter unit U2 and a downstream guide positioned at the rear side of the casing of the conveyance roller 75 of the print unit U5. A roller 42 and a curl correction roller 43 positioned between the upstream guide roller 41 and the downstream guide roller 42. The curl correction roller 43 is located on the front side of the casing with respect to a straight line connecting the upstream guide roller 41 and the downstream guide roller 42 (one-dot chain line in FIG. 1). Further, a pressure roller 44 as a pressure member facing the curl correction roller 43 is rotatably disposed on the front side of the casing of the curl correction roller 43. It is pressed against the curl correction roller 43 by two compression coil springs 45. A second paper detection sensor 40 for detecting the print paper P is provided on the upstream side of the upstream guide roller 41, while the print paper P is detected on the downstream side of the downstream guide roller 42. For this purpose, a third paper detection sensor 46 is provided. The curl correction unit U3 configured as described above further includes a conveyance roller and a conveyance guide (not shown), and the print paper P conveyed from the cutter unit U2 is disposed in front of the casing via the upstream guide roller 41 and It is conveyed to the curl correction roller 43 located above, further conveyed to the downstream guide roller 42 located behind and above the case via the curl correction roller 43, and then forward directed to the case by the downstream guide roller 42. To the print unit U5. Thus, in the curl correction unit U3, the intermediate portion of the conveyance path is bent so as to protrude to the front side of the housing. Further, the print paper P that is wound around the curl correction roller 43 is pressed from the front side of the casing toward the curl correction roller 43 by a pressure roller 44 and a compression coil spring 45. . Thus, the print paper P passing through the curl correction roller 43 is pressurized so as to protrude and bend toward the front side of the casing. That is, by loading the curled print paper P into the curl correction unit U3 in a direction protruding to the rear side of the housing, the print paper P is pressurized in a state bent to the opposite side of the curl, The curl can be corrected. The curl correction roller 43 may be provided with a compression coil spring so as to apply a pressing force in a direction opposite to the pressure roller 44, and the compression coil spring 45 of the pressure roller 44 is omitted. You may provide the compression spring which provides the force pressed only to the curl correction roller 43 in the direction which opposes the pressure roller 44. FIG.

  The print unit U5 is provided at a fixed base 65 fixed to a horizontal frame 7 extending in the horizontal direction at the upper end position of the vertical frame 6, and is provided at an intermediate portion in the vertical direction of the fixed base 65, and supports the print paper P during printing. A print table 66 and a print head 67 facing the print paper P located on the print table 66 and ejecting ink to the print paper P for printing are provided. The print table 66 and the print head 67 constitute the print unit 4.

  The print table 66 is not configured to suck and hold the print paper P from the lower side of the print table 66 with a fan or the like, and does not have a suction hole or the like as shown in FIG. . At both ends of the print table 66 in the paper width direction (X direction shown in FIG. 2), a plurality of grooves 66a (six on each side in the first embodiment) 66a extending in the paper transport direction (Y direction) are provided in the paper width direction. Are arranged at predetermined intervals. Each of the grooves 66a is provided corresponding to both positions in the width direction of the print paper P having various sizes. In each groove 66a, the ink ejected from the print head 67 is arranged in the width direction of the print paper P. An ink absorbing material 68 for absorbing the ink is fitted when it comes off from both ends (especially, it easily comes off when performing borderless printing). A concave portion 66b is formed in the central portion of the print table 66 in the paper width direction, corresponding to each position of three head units 67a described later, and 2 pieces of print paper P are placed in each concave portion 66b. An ink absorbing material 69 that absorbs ink preliminarily ejected (trial strike before printing) from each head unit 67a of the print head 67 when being printed in a row is fitted.

  In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the print head 67 has a plurality of ink discharge nozzles 67b on the bottom surface (surface facing the print table 66) in the sub-scanning direction (paper transport direction (Y direction)). The three head units 67a are arranged so as to be arranged in a row, and these three head units 67a are arranged at intervals in the sub-scanning direction. Note that only one nozzle row of each head unit 67a is shown in FIG. 2, but actually, a plurality of nozzle rows are provided in the paper width direction corresponding to each of a plurality of colors of ink. Further, the number of head units 67a is not necessarily three, but may be one or two, or may be four or more.

  The upper surface of the print head 67 is fixedly attached to a drive belt 70 for reciprocating the print head 67 in the main scanning direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1 (X direction shown in FIG. 2)). The drive belt 70 extends in the main scanning direction, and is wound around two pulleys 71 (only one is shown in FIG. 1) disposed at both ends thereof and rotatably supported on the upper portion of the fixed base 65. It is hung. The one pulley 71 is rotationally driven by an electric motor (not shown). A guide rail 72 extending in the main scanning direction along the drive belt 70 is attached and fixed to the upper portion of the fixed base 65, and the print head 67 is guided by the guide rail 72 while being driven by the drive belt 70. It reciprocates in the scanning direction. The print paper P on the print table 66 is intermittently (stepwise) conveyed in the sub-scanning direction by a constant unit conveyance amount by a conveyance roller 75 provided on the upstream side of the print table 66, and this intermittent conveyance is performed. At each stop of the print paper P at the time, the print head 67 is scanned one time in the main scanning direction (one-way operation or one-time operation), and the ink of each head unit 67a at each position in the main scanning direction during this scanning. Ink is ejected from the ejection nozzle 67b. That is, after one scan of the print head 67, the print paper P is transported by the unit transport amount, and then the print head 67 is scanned once again, and this operation is repeated to print a desired image. . Thus, the conveyance roller 75 is a roller for controlling the conveyance amount of the print paper P when printing on the print paper P in the printing unit 4.

  The transport roller 75 is provided at the upstream end of the print unit U5 (that is, the upstream end of the downstream transport path and in the vicinity of the downstream guide roller 42 (see FIG. 1) of the curl correction unit U3). The print paper P conveyed from the curl correction unit U3 is also received and conveyed to the printing unit 4. The transport roller 75 is composed of a plurality of rollers arranged above and below. That is, similar to the feeding roller 25 in the cutter unit U2, the driving roller 75a (lower roller) and the two driven rollers 75b (upper roller) sandwich the print paper P up and down. The driven roller 75b is pressed against the drive roller 75a by one compression coil spring 76. The drive roller 75a is rotated by an electric motor 77 via a transmission belt 78.

  The height position of the sandwiched portion of the print paper P sandwiched by the transport roller 75 is higher than the upper surface of the print table 66, and the print paper P is wound around the drive roller 75a while being printed. The portion of the print base 66 that is wound around the drive roller 75a by the guide roller 79 that is supported from the upper end of the print table 66 so as to have a gap above the upstream end. In other words, the print paper P is conveyed in a state where the back surface of the print paper P is substantially in contact with the upper surface of the print table 66.

  On the other hand, on the downstream side of the printing stand 66, two pairs of pressure bonding composed of driving and driven rollers 81a and 81b are provided to form a second transport path for discharging the printed paper P to the outside of the housing 1. The mold discharge rollers 81 are provided at intervals in the paper transport direction. The drive roller 81 a of each discharge roller 81 is driven simultaneously by the electric motor 82 via the transmission belt 83. The height of the downstream discharge roller 81 is higher than that of the upstream discharge roller 81, and the print paper P is lifted between the downstream discharge roller 81 and the upstream discharge roller 81 and the downstream side. A guide member 84 that leads to the discharge roller 81 is provided.

  As described above, since the print paper P is lifted to a position higher than the upper surface of the print table 66 on the upstream side and the downstream side of the print table 66, the portion of the print paper P on the print table 66 is the print table 66. It comes to be pressed against the top surface. Thereby, the flatness of the print paper P on the print table 66 is ensured. In particular, the printed paper P conveyed from the magazine housing unit 2 is curled so that the central portion in the length direction protrudes toward the printing surface side with respect to both ends by the winding curl by the roll. Even if the print paper P is curled, the flatness can be secured without being attracted to the print table 66. In the first embodiment, as described above, the print paper P conveyed from the magazine housing unit 2 has its curl corrected before being supplied to the print table 66 by the curl correcting unit U3. Can be further improved.

  The discharge tray 5 is provided on the front side of the discharge roller 81 outside the casing 1 and protrudes forward of the casing 1, and an auxiliary tray 5a is stored at the front end thereof. . When the length of the printed paper P to be discharged is longer than the length of the discharge tray 5, the auxiliary tray 5a can receive the long printed paper P by pulling it forward of the housing 1. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the present inkjet printer has a microprocessor 101 (hereinafter referred to as a CPU), a conveyance control unit 102 connected to the CPU 101 via a data bus, a head control unit 103, a print control, as shown in FIG. Unit 104, semiconductor memory RAM / ROM 105, communication interface 106, first paper detection sensor 20, second paper detection sensor 40, and third paper detection sensor 46 described above.

  The conveyance control unit 102 controls the operation of each of the units U1 to U5. The head control unit 103 controls the operation of the print head 67. The communication interface 106 is for transmitting and receiving information to and from the reception block 100. The print control unit 104 controls the print paper P to print image data based on the image data received from the receiving block 100 via the communication interface 106.

  Under the control of the conveyance control unit 102, the units U1 to U5 operate as follows.

  First, by operating the support roller 15 and the supply roller 17 of the first supply unit U1 and the feed roller 25 of the cutter unit U2, the print paper P is pulled out from the magazine housing portion 2 and conveyed to the curl correction unit U3. .

  When the leading edge of the print paper P is detected by the second paper detection sensor 40, the curl correction unit U3 starts to drive a conveyance roller (not shown) and moves the print paper P conveyed vertically upward from the cutter unit U2. Transport toward the upper print unit U5. Then, after the front end of the print paper P is detected by the second paper detection sensor 40, after the amount determined based on the order information is conveyed, the movable blade 26 b of the cutter 26 is operated to cut the print paper P. The The operations of the support roller 15 and the supply roller 17 of the first supply unit U1 and the feed roller 25 of the cutter unit U2 are stopped after the print paper P is cut.

  Specifically, the print paper P conveyed to the curl correction unit U3 is projected to the front side of the housing as viewed in the paper width direction by the upstream guide roller 41, the curl correction roller 43, and the downstream guide roller 42. It is conveyed in a bent shape. Here, the print paper P transported to the curl correction unit U3 is printed in the magazine storage unit 2 with the print surface facing outward, and the print paper P wound downward from the front side of the housing to the rear side. Since the sheet is pulled upward from the rear side of the body and conveyed as it is, the printed surface faces the rear side of the casing, that is, protrudes to the rear side of the casing due to the roll curl in the magazine housing portion 2. It is conveyed in a curled state. That is, the printed paper P that protrudes toward the front side of the casing and is bent in a square shape is bent to the side opposite to the curl due to the roll curl in the magazine housing portion 2. Further, the print paper P wound around the curl correction roller 43 is pressed by a pressure roller 44 and a compression coil spring 45 from the side opposite to the curl correction roller 43. In this way, the print paper P is pressed in a state of being bent in a square shape protruding toward the front side of the casing, and thus curling due to roll curl in the magazine housing portion 2 of the print paper P is corrected. . The amount of curl to be corrected can be adjusted by adjusting the urging force of the compression coil spring 45.

  Subsequently, the leading edge of the print paper P is detected by the third paper detection sensor 46, and the conveyance roller 75 of the print unit U5 starts operating by this detection. The transport roller 75 receives the print paper P sent out from the curl correction unit U3 and transports it to the print table 66 as it is. Thereafter, the print head 67 is moved in the main scanning direction while being intermittently transported by a unit transport amount by the transport roller 75, and printing on the print table 66 is performed from the ink discharge nozzles 67b of the head units 67a of the print head 67. Printing is performed by ejecting ink to the paper P.

  The printed print paper P is discharged to the outside of the housing 1 with the print surface facing upward by the discharge roller 81 and received by the discharge tray 5.

  In this way, the printed paper P drawn out from the magazine accommodating unit 2 is sequentially cut by the cutter 26, and the cut printed paper P is sequentially conveyed to the printing unit 4 and printed by the printing unit 4 in order. It is discharged to the outside of the body 1 and stacked on the discharge tray 5.

  Therefore, in the first embodiment, the arrangement of the upstream guide roller 41, the curl correction roller 43, and the downstream guide roller 42 causes the printed paper P to be conveyed to be opposite to the curl due to the roll curl in the magazine housing unit 2. The curl correction roller 43 is wound around the curl correction roller 43 and the portion of the print paper P sandwiched between the rollers 43 and 44 is pressed by the curl correction roller 43 and the pressure roller 44 to thereby print the print paper P. It is possible to more strongly correct the curl of the portion bent to the opposite side of the curl. As a result, the print paper P is corrected to be flat, and the flatness of the print paper P in the print unit 4 can be ensured.

  Further, as described above, the print paper P is wound around the curl correction roller 43 so as to be bent on the side opposite to the curl, and the print paper P is cooperated with the pressure of the curl correction roller 43 and the pressure roller 44. In order to correct the curl of the print paper P, the amount of wrapping of the print paper P around the curl correction roller 43 by adjusting the pressure of the curl correction roller 43 and the pressure roller 44 with respect to the curl amount of the print paper P to be corrected, That is, the angle at which the conveyance path is bent can be adjusted. As a result, restrictions on the shape of the conveyance path and the occupied space are reduced, and the degree of freedom in designing the ink jet printer is improved. For example, by increasing the pressure between the curl correction roller 43 and the pressure roller 44, the conveyance path can be configured more linearly (although it needs to be bent somewhat).

  Furthermore, since pressure is applied to the portion of the print paper P that is wound around the curl correction roller 43 by the pressure roller 44 that is rotatably provided, the print paper P is prevented from being damaged during the curl correction. Can do.

  Subsequently, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and further description thereof is omitted.

<< Embodiment 2 of the Invention >>
In the second embodiment, the configuration of the curl correction unit U3b is different from the curl correction unit U3 of the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the curl correction unit U3b is located above the cutter unit U2 and behind the housing of the print unit U5, and corrects the curl of the print paper P conveyed from the cutter unit U2, Transport to U5.

  Specifically, the curl correction unit U3b includes an upstream guide roller 41b positioned above the guide member 28 of the cutter unit U2 and a downstream guide positioned at the rear side of the casing of the conveyance roller 75 of the print unit U5. The roller 42b has three curl correction rollers 43b, 43c, and 43d arranged in tandem between the upstream guide roller 41b and the downstream guide roller 42b. Further, the curl correction unit U3b overlaps with the curl correction rollers 43b, 43c, and 43d when viewed in the longitudinal direction and between the curl correction rollers 43b and 43c and between the curl correction rollers 43c and 43d. It further has auxiliary rollers 47b and 47c arranged at the positions. That is, the curl correction rollers 43b, 43c, 43d and the auxiliary rollers 47b, 47c are alternately arranged in the vertical direction. Further, pressure rollers 44b, 44c, and 44d facing the curl correction rollers 43b, 43c, and 43d are rotatably disposed on the front side of the casing of the curl correction rollers 43b, 43c, and 43d, respectively. The pressure rollers 44b, 44c, and 44d are pressed against the curl correction rollers 43b, 43c, and 43d by compression coil springs 45b, 45c, and 45d, respectively. A second paper detection sensor 40b for detecting the print paper P is provided on the upstream side of the upstream guide roller 41b, and the print paper P is detected on the downstream side of the downstream guide roller 42b. A third paper detection sensor 46b is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the printed paper P carried in with the print surface facing the rear of the casing with respect to the curl correction unit U3b configured in this way is against the curl correction rollers 43b, 43c, and 43d. Zigzags between the rollers 43b, 43c, 43d, 47b, and 47c so that the front side of the housing passes through the rear side of the auxiliary rollers 47b and 47c. That is, portions of the print paper P that are wound around the curl correction rollers 43b, 43c, and 43d are bent with the print surface inside, whereas portions that are wound around the auxiliary rollers 47b and 47c are printed on the print surface. It is bent with the outside. In the print paper P, only the portions wound around the curl correction rollers 43b, 43c and 43d, which are bent with the print surface inside, are pressed by the pressure rollers 44b, 44c and 44d. . Thus, the curl of the printed paper P can be corrected by pressurizing the portion of the magazine housing portion 2 bent to the side opposite to the curl due to the curl of the roll. On the other hand, the portion of the print paper P that is bent with the print surface outward and is wound around the auxiliary rollers 47b and 47c is merely wound, so that the roll of the roll in the magazine housing portion 2 is wound. There is no such thing as curling by a kite.

  Therefore, even if the curl correction rollers 43b, 43c, 43d and the auxiliary rollers 47b, 47c are arranged in a substantially straight line and the print paper P is conveyed while meandering, the curl of the print paper P can be curled. Pressure is applied by pressure rollers 44b, 44c, and 44d to portions wound around the correction rollers 43b, 43c, and 43d. In other words, since the pressure is applied only when the roll is bent to the opposite side to the curl due to the curl of the roll in the magazine housing portion 2, the curl due to the curl can be reliably corrected without promoting the curl due to the curl. .

  Further, since the curl correction unit U3b constituted by the curl correction rollers 43b, 43c, 43d and the auxiliary rollers 47b, 47c is formed substantially linearly, the degree of freedom in designing the ink jet printer can be improved. Further, even if the curl correction rollers 43b, 43c, 43d and the auxiliary rollers 47b, 47c are arranged in a substantially straight line as described above, the plurality of rollers are alternately provided, so that the interval between the curl correction roller and the auxiliary roller is increased. By shortening, it is possible to secure a sufficient amount of winding of the print paper P around the curl correction rollers 43b, 43c, and 43d.

<< Other Embodiments >>
In the first and second embodiments, the pressure rollers 44, 44b, 44c, 44d apply pressure to the curled straightening rollers 43, 43b, 43c, 43d of the lint paper P. It is not limited to. For example, the pressure member is a belt member having a constant tension, and the print paper P is sandwiched with the curl correction roller 43 and the curl correction roller 43 is inserted into the belt member. The guide member may be a member that presses the clamping portion between the belt member 43 and the belt member, and has a shape along the circumferential surface of the curl correction roller 43 and is biased toward the curl correction roller 43 by the compression coil spring 45 or the like. In other words, the present invention can be applied to any configuration as long as the print paper P can be sandwiched with the curl correction roller 43 and pressure can be applied to the sandwiched portion. it can.

  In the first and second embodiments, the curl correction units U3 and U3b are configured to extend in the vertical direction, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the curl correction units U3 and U3b are arranged in the bent portion in a state where the conveyed print paper P is bent on the side opposite to the curl in the transfer path between the first supply unit U1 and the print unit U5. If the curl is corrected by applying pressure, the curl correction units U3 and U3b do not need to extend in the vertical direction, and may extend in the horizontal direction or be inclined. However, as in the first embodiment, the print unit U5 is disposed above the magazine housing portion 2 and the curl correction units U3 and U3b are disposed on the rear side of the housing, so that the entire inkjet printer can be made compact. preferable.

  Furthermore, in the said Embodiment 1, 2, although the cutter unit U2 is arrange | positioned immediately downstream of the magazine accommodating part 2, it is not restricted to this. For example, it is arranged on the downstream side of the printing unit 4, and the print paper P set in the magazine housing unit 2 is conveyed to the printing unit 4 without being cut and cut after being printed by the printing unit 4. Also good.

  In addition, in the first and second embodiments, the printer of the present invention is applied to an ink jet printer used in a photographic print system. However, a paper in which a long print paper P is set in a roll shape. The present invention can be applied to any ink-jet printer as long as the print paper P is pulled out from the set unit and conveyed to the print unit 4.

  In the second embodiment, the curl correction unit U3b includes the three curl correction rollers 43b, 43c, and 43d and the two auxiliary rollers 47b and 47c. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, by providing a plurality of curl correction rollers and auxiliary rollers, and arranging them alternately, the curl of the printed paper P can be corrected while arranging the plurality of curl correction rollers and auxiliary rollers in a substantially straight line. Can do.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful for a printer in which print paper set in a roll-shaped state is pulled out from the paper set unit and is conveyed to the print unit, and is particularly used in a photographic printing system. Useful for inkjet printers and the like.

It is the schematic seen from the housing | casing side which shows the structure of the inkjet printer which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a top view which shows a printing stand. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a control system. It is the schematic seen from the housing | casing side which shows the structure of the inkjet printer which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

P Print paper U3 Curl correction unit (Curl correction device)
2 Magazine storage (paper set)
4 Print section 26 Cutter (cutting means)
43 Curl correction roller 44 Pressure roller (Pressure member)

Claims (1)

A paper set unit that is set in a state where a long print paper is wound in a roll shape, a print unit that performs printing on the print paper, and the print paper that is set in the paper set unit to the print unit A printer having a conveyance path for conveying,
In the middle of the conveyance path, a curl correction device for correcting the curl of the printed paper is provided,
The curl correction apparatus includes a curl correction roller that wraps the conveyed print paper so as to be bent in a direction opposite to the curl due to the curl of the roll, and sandwiches the print paper so as to face the curl correction roller. And a pressurizing member that applies pressure to a portion sandwiched with the curl correction roller.

Images