JP2007276960A - Medium conveyance device and recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medium conveyance device capable of accurately sucking and conveying a medium to be recorded with a simple structure and a recording device equipped with the medium conveyance device. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of sucking parts 214 and 215 sucking the conveyed medium and sucking means 216 and 217 sucking the sucking parts are disposed independently along the conveyance direction, and the respective sucking means are selectively driven in accordance with processing of the conveyed medium. Thus, fluctuation of sucking force in conveying the conveyed medium can be restrained, and thereby, fluctuation of a conveyance amount of the conveyed medium can be also restrained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a medium conveying apparatus that sucks and conveys a recording medium and a recording apparatus including the medium conveying apparatus.

  Some ink jet printers that are one of recording apparatuses can perform recording on roll paper that is one of media. In such an ink jet printer, the roll paper immediately below the recording head may float due to the curl of the roll paper, and the roll paper may come into contact with the recording head and become contaminated. Therefore, a plurality of suction holes are formed in the main platen surface facing the recording head, and the roll paper is sucked to the main platen surface by sucking the roll paper through the suction holes by a built-in fan. Prevents the lifting of the.

  Further, the roll paper can be cut with a cutter using the peeling shear force generated by the suction. In view of this, there has been proposed an ink jet printer in which a plurality of suction holes are formed in the sub platen surface downstream of the main platen surface, and the roll paper is sucked through the suction holes by the fan and sucked to the sub platen surface for cutting. (See Patent Document 1).

JP 2000-158735 A

  In the above-described ink jet printer, the closing rate of the suction holes of the main platen and the sub-platen greatly varies depending on the transport position of the leading end of the roll paper, so that the suction force of the fan also varies greatly. Therefore, the transport amount at the leading edge of the roll paper greatly varies depending on the transport position, and there is a possibility that the recording quality is deteriorated. Also, since the fan needs to suck a large number of suction holes perforated from the main platen surface to the downstream sub-platen surface, it must have a high output and high performance (low noise), which increases the output power. There is a risk of high costs.

  The present invention has been made in view of the various problems as described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a medium transport apparatus capable of attracting and transporting a recording medium with a simple configuration with high accuracy, and the medium transport apparatus. It is to provide a recording apparatus provided.

  To achieve the above object, the medium conveying apparatus of the present invention is a medium conveying apparatus that adsorbs and conveys a medium to be conveyed, wherein an adsorption unit that adsorbs the medium to be conveyed and a suction unit that sucks the adsorption part are conveyed. A plurality of them are provided independently in the direction, and each of the suction means is selectively driven according to the processing of the transported medium. Thereby, since the fluctuation | variation of the attraction | suction force at the time of conveying a to-be-conveyed medium can be suppressed, the fluctuation | variation of the conveyance amount of a to-be-conveyed medium can also be suppressed. The suction unit includes a guide surface for guiding the transport of the transported medium and a suction hole drilled in the guide surface, and the suction means is provided in the suction chamber and the suction chamber connected to the guide surface. It is characterized by having a fan. Thereby, a suction part and a suction means can be made into a simple structure.

  In order to achieve the above object, a recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium according to the present invention is characterized by including the above-described medium conveying apparatuses. Thereby, a recording apparatus that exhibits the above-described actions can be provided. The suction unit includes a first part for performing a recording process and a second part for performing an additional process after the recording process. That is, the second part is a part that performs a recording measurement process and a cutting process of the recording medium. As a result, the recording medium can be sucked and conveyed during the recording process with high accuracy, and the recording accuracy can be improved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all the combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the invention. Absent.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of an ink jet printer that is one of recording apparatuses according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an internal configuration example of a main part of the ink jet printer. FIG. An ink jet printer 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a large-sized printer capable of recording even on a relatively large size recording paper such as JIS standard A1 size or JIS standard B1 size. The section 120, the paper discharge section 130, and the leg section 140 are arranged in this order from the top. A transport unit 200 including a characteristic part of the present invention is disposed from the paper feeding unit 110 to the recording unit 120. The recording unit 120, the paper discharge unit 130, and the transport unit 200 are integrated as a main body, and are configured to be separable from the paper feed unit 110 and the leg unit 140.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the paper feeding unit 110 is provided so as to protrude to the upper rear of the main bodies 120 and 130. As shown in FIG. 2, a roll paper holder 111 on which one roll paper can be set is provided inside the paper supply unit 110, and the front surface of the paper supply unit 110 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown, a flip-up roll paper cover 112 that can be opened and closed is attached to cover the roll paper holder 111.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the roll paper holder 111 is attached to the spindle 113 for holding the roll paper and a pair of flange-shaped roll paper pressers 114 and the inner surfaces of both side walls of the paper feeding unit 110. A pair of spindle receivers 115 that can be suspended are provided. The spindle 113 is placed on the spindle receiver 115 and is rotatably supported by the spindle 113 with the roll paper inserted in the center and sandwiched between the roll paper pressers 114. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the roll paper cover 112 is rotatably supported as a whole, and is opened and closed when the user holds the lower part and lifts or pushes it down.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the recording unit 120 includes a carriage 122 on which the recording head 121 is mounted, and a flexible flat cable (hereinafter referred to as FFC) that electrically connects the recording head 121 and a control unit (not shown) for performing recording. ) 123, and an ink tube 124 that connects the recording head 121 and the ink cartridge 10 containing ink. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an upper lid 125 and a front lid 126 are attached to the upper surface and the front surface of the recording unit 120 so as to cover the recording head 121, the carriage 122, and the like.

  The recording head 121 includes a black ink recording head that discharges black ink and a plurality of color ink recording heads that discharge ink of each color such as dark yellow, yellow, light cyan, cyan, light magenta, and magenta. . The recording head 121 is provided with a pressure generation chamber and a nozzle opening connected to the pressure generation chamber. The size of the recording head 121 is controlled from the nozzle opening toward the roll paper by storing ink in the pressure generation chamber and pressurizing it with a predetermined pressure. Ink droplets are discharged.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the carriage 122 is suspended from a rail 127 provided in the main scanning direction via a roller and connected to the carriage belt 128. The carriage belt 128 is operated by a carriage driving device (not shown). Then, it is accompanied by the movement of the carriage belt 128 and is guided by the rail 127 so as to reciprocate. A cutter 129 (see FIG. 3) for cutting the recording-completed roll paper is attached to the carriage 122. One end of the FFC 123 is connected to the connector of the control unit and the other end is connected to the connector of the recording head 121, and a recording signal is sent from the control unit to the recording head 121.

  The ink tubes 124 are provided for the inks of the respective colors, and one end of each ink tube is connected to the corresponding ink cartridge 10 via an ink pressure supply unit (not shown), and the other end is recorded for each corresponding color. It is connected to the head 121. The ink tube 124 is configured to send ink of each color pressurized by the ink pressure supply means from the ink cartridge 10 to the recording head 121. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the front lid 126 is rotatably supported at the lower part, and is opened and closed by the user pushing down or pushing up the upper part. The user can greatly open the recording unit 120 by opening the front lid 126, so that maintenance work of the recording head 121, the carriage 122, and the like can be easily performed.

  The cutter 129 is arranged so as to be movable up and down in the vertical direction and movable in the main scanning direction so that the cutting edge faces downward. The cutter 129 is moved up and down by, for example, a solenoid and moved in the main scanning direction together with the carriage 122. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a separate means for moving the cutter 129, so that space can be saved and cost can be reduced. The cutter 129 may be separated from the carriage 122 and moved in the main scanning direction by a unique belt mechanism, a motor, or the like.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the paper discharge unit 130 includes a paper discharge guide 131 that forms part of a path for transporting roll paper in the sub-scanning direction, and paper discharge (not shown) that transports roll paper in the sub-scanning direction. It has a roller. The paper discharge guide 131 is formed as a flat inclined surface protruding to the front surface side, and can smoothly guide the roll paper conveyed from above downward.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the leg portion 140 includes two support columns 142 each having a moving roller 141, and a reinforcing bar 143 spanned between the support columns 142. . The paper feeding unit 110 and the main bodies 120 and 130 are placed on the support pillar 142 and fixed with screws. Since the moving roller 141 is disposed on the support column 142, the heavy paper feeder 110 and the main bodies 120 and 130 can be smoothly moved to desired positions and installed. . A paper discharge receiving device that receives roll paper discharged from the paper discharge unit 130 can be installed between the support pillars 142 of the leg 140.

  Further, on the left side when viewed from the front side of the main bodies 120 and 130, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an ink cartridge holder having a holder main body 151 for storing and holding the ink cartridges 10 of each color and a cover 152 covering the front face thereof. 150 is arranged. The lower part of the cover 152 is rotatably supported with respect to the holder main body 151, and the ink cartridge holder 150 is opened and closed when the user holds down the upper part and pushes it down or pushes it up. The storage section provided in the holder main body 151 allows the ink cartridges 10 in total of seven colors of black, dark yellow, yellow, light cyan, cyan, light magenta, and magenta to be individually drawn out and pushed in from the left side in the drawing. It is partitioned. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an operation panel 160 for a user to operate recording control and the like is disposed on the upper right side as viewed from the front side of the main bodies 120 and 130. The operation panel 160 is provided with a liquid crystal screen and various buttons, and the user can operate the buttons while checking the liquid crystal screen to check, so that an erroneous operation can be prevented.

  FIG. 3 is a side view showing details of the transport unit 200, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the main part thereof. The transport unit 200 includes a flat paper feed guide 211 disposed from the paper feed unit 110 to the recording unit 120, a contact / separable paper feed roller 212 and a driven roller 213 which are disposed to face each other. Further, the main platen (suction part, first part) 214 disposed opposite to the recording head 121 and the sub-platen (suction) disposed downstream of the main platen 214 in the transport direction, which is a characteristic part of the present invention. Part, second part) 215, and paper suction units (suction means) 216, 217 for selectively sucking according to the processing of the roll paper located on the main platen 214 and the processing of the roll paper located on the sub platen 215. It has.

  The paper feed roller 212 is formed as one long roller, and the peripheral surface portion slightly larger than the maximum recordable paper width is coated with ceramic powder or the like. Thereby, since the slip at the time of paper feeding can be prevented, roll paper can be sent out with high precision. Although not shown in the drawing, both ends of the paper feed roller 212 are axially supported by the side frame via bearings, and are driven to rotate forward and backward by a driving force transmitted from the paper feed motor via a pulley and a belt. It has become.

  The driven roller 213 is formed as a plurality of short rollers, and is pivotally supported by a plurality of driven roller support members 213 a arranged in parallel in the axial direction above the paper feed roller 212. The driven roller 213 is pressed against the paper feed roller 212 by a biasing member 213b such as a spring attached to the driven roller support member 213a, and rotates forward and backward following the forward / reverse rotation drive of the paper feed roller 212. It is supposed to be. Accordingly, the roll paper can be firmly pressed from both sides and sent out, so that highly accurate recording can be performed.

  The main platen 214 is formed in the shape of a rectangular flat plate having a length slightly larger than the maximum recordable paper width, and is disposed in the immediate vicinity of the paper feed roller 212 on the downstream side in the transport direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the main platen 214 has a plurality of rectangular suction grooves 214b arranged in a row at predetermined intervals in the main scanning direction of the main platen surface (guide surface) 214a. The suction groove 214b is formed in an inverted quadrangular frustum that is surrounded by inclined side walls on the four sides of the flat bottom surface. A plurality of suction holes 214d are formed through the bottom surface of each suction groove 214b and the top surface of the partition wall 214c of each suction groove 214b.

  In addition, a rectangular opening 214 e that communicates with the paper suction unit 160 is formed at the position of the main platen surface 214 a corresponding to the side edge of the roll paper in the main platen 214. An absorbing member (not shown) is fitted into the opening 214e, and the ink particles removed from the edge of the roll paper when the roll paper is recorded without a border are collected. The absorbent member only needs to have an appropriate air permeability. For example, a sponge, a water-absorbing polymer, a felt-like fibrous material, a nonwoven fabric, or the like is used.

  The sub platen 215 is also formed in a rectangular flat plate shape having a length slightly larger than the maximum recordable paper width, and is disposed in the immediate vicinity of the main platen 214 on the downstream side in the transport direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the sub-platen 215 is formed with a cutter step 215b extending substantially in the center of the sub-platen surface (guide surface) 215a in the main scanning direction. The cutter step 215b is formed in a size that allows the cutting edge of the cutter 129 protruding from the lower surface of the roll paper to enter so that the cutter 129 does not damage the sub platen 215 when the roll 129 cuts the roll paper in the width direction. . As a result, the recorded portion and the unrecorded portion of the roll paper can be reliably separated.

  Further, a plurality of rail-like ribs 215c and 215d are disposed on the sub platen surface 215a. The ribs 215c and 215d are arranged in a row at predetermined intervals in the main scanning direction, and the ribs 215c and 215d are arranged in a straight line in the sub-scanning direction. A plurality of through holes 215e and 215f are formed in the bottom surface between the ribs 215c and the bottom surface between the ribs 215d.

  The sheet suction units 216 and 217 include suction chambers 216a and 217a disposed below the main platen 214 and the sub platen 215, and fans 216b and 217b disposed on the bottom surfaces of the suction chambers 216a and 217a. Each of the suction chambers 216a and 217a is formed in a box shape in which a part of the upper surface is opened, and a platen 214 and a paper guide 215 are attached to an open portion of the upper surface.

  Each of the fans 216b and 217b performs roll paper processing in the main platen 214, for example, recording processing by the recording head 121, roll paper processing in the sub platen 215, for example, cutting processing by the roll paper cutter 129 for which recording has been completed, and recording completed rolls. Depending on the paper measurement process or the like, either one or both are driven. Examples of the measurement processing of the roll paper that has been recorded include color measurement processing of the recorded color measurement pattern, measurement processing of the surface state of the recorded image portion, measurement processing of the generated cockling state, measurement processing of the recording accuracy, and the like. is there.

  In this way, the main platen 214 is divided into the dedicated suction chamber 216a and fan 216b, and the sub platen 215 is dedicated to the suction chamber 217a and fan 217b, and the fans 216b and 217b are selectively driven according to the roll paper processing. As a result, large fluctuations in the suction force of the fans 216b and 217b due to the transport position of the leading edge of the roll paper can be suppressed. Accordingly, the transport amount at the leading edge of the roll paper does not vary greatly depending on the transport position, and the recording quality can be maintained with high accuracy.

  Further, the fan 216b only needs to suck the suction holes 214d formed in the main platen 214, and the fan 217b only needs to suck the suction holes 215e and 215f formed in the sub platen 215. High output and high performance (low noise) are not required, and the output power can be reduced and the cost can be reduced. The main platen 214 and the sub platen 215 are provided independently in the transport direction, and are divided into the suction chamber 216a and the fan 216b, and the suction chamber 217a and the fan 217b. The accuracy of conveyance and recording can be further improved.

  Any recording apparatus provided with a medium conveying apparatus can be applied to, for example, a facsimile apparatus and a copying apparatus. In addition to a recording apparatus, the meaning of a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid corresponding to its use from a liquid ejecting head onto an ejected medium instead of ink and attaches the liquid to the ejected medium is, for example, a liquid crystal display or the like Color material jet head used for manufacturing color filters, electrode material (conductive paste) jet head used for electrode formation for organic EL display and surface emitting display (FED), bio-organic jet head used for biochip manufacturing, precision pipette The present invention can also be applied to an apparatus equipped with a sample ejection head or the like.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration example of an ink jet printer that is one of recording apparatuses according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an internal configuration example of a main part of the printer of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating details of a conveyance unit of the printer in FIG. 1. It is a perspective view of the principal part of the conveyance part of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Ink cartridge, 100 Inkjet printer, 110 Paper feed part, 120 Recording part, 129 Cutter, 130 Paper discharge part, 140 Leg part, 150 Ink cartridge holder, 200 Conveyance part, 211 Paper feed guide, 212 Paper feed roller, 213 Follower roller, 214 Main platen, 214a Main platen surface, 214d Suction hole, 215 Sub platen surface, 215a Sub platen surface, 215e, 215f Suction hole, 216, 217 Paper suction unit, 216a, 217a Suction chamber, 216b, 217b Fan

Claims (5)

A medium transport device for sucking and transporting a transported medium,
A plurality of suction units for sucking the transported medium and a suction unit for sucking the suction unit are provided independently in the transport direction, and each suction unit is selectively driven according to processing of the transported medium. A medium transporting device characterized by that. The suction portion includes a guide surface for guiding the transport of the transported medium and a suction hole drilled in the guide surface, and the suction means includes a suction chamber connected to the guide surface and a fan provided in the suction chamber. The medium conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: A recording device for recording on a recording medium,
A recording apparatus comprising the medium conveying apparatus according to claim 1. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the suction unit includes a first part that performs a recording process and a second part that performs an additional process after the recording process. The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second part is a part that performs recording measurement processing and cutting processing of the recording medium.

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