JP2012056223A - Paper conveyance device and printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper conveyance device excellent in paper feeding accuracy.SOLUTION: The paper conveyance device 40 for a printer 100 that prints information on a conveyed continuous form R includes: a paper conveyance mechanism 53 that holds and conveys the continuous form R to the print area of a print head 26, and a guide part 30 that has two guide surfaces 31 and 32 facing the conveyed continuous form R conveyed by the paper conveyance mechanism 53. A plurality of ribs 33 are disposed to at least one of the two guide surfaces 31 and 32 with a predetermined gap therebetween in a direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction, protrude to the continuous form R side, and extend in the conveyance direction. The plurality of ribs 33 are set such that the rib 33 positioned near the center of the paper width of the conveyed continuous form R has the longest length in the conveyance direction, and the length in the conveyance direction of the rib 33 becomes gradually shorter toward a side positioned in the paper width end direction of the continuous form R.

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper conveying apparatus for a recording medium on which information is recorded, and a printing apparatus including the same.

  In recent years, printing apparatuses that record information are used in various fields including industrial applications. Along with this, there are various types of recording media on which information is recorded. For example, there is a recording medium in which a plurality of sheets are overlapped. This type of recording medium is supplied as so-called fan hold paper. The fan hold paper is provided with sprocket holes (engagement holes) along the conveyance direction, and is configured to be cut with perforations at each page, and is folded alternately in the reverse direction at the perforation sites. It is a laminated state. The fan hold paper is conveyed by a paper conveyance device including a tractor.

  The tractor includes a tractor pin that can be inserted into a sprocket hole of fan hold paper, and a tractor belt having tractor pins formed on the outer peripheral surface at predetermined intervals. The fan hold paper is set on the tractor so that the tractor pin is inserted into the sprocket hole. The tractor rotates the tractor belt by the driving force from the driving source, and conveys the fan hold paper while sequentially engaging the tractor pins with the sprocket holes of the fan hold paper (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition to the tractor described above, the paper transport device for business printers that records information on a continuous form has a paper feed roller and a paper presser roller in the vicinity of the print head. By synchronizing and driving the paper feed roller and tractor, A continuous form is fed by a predetermined feed amount (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  The printing apparatus records information on a transported recording medium using a print head. In order to obtain good print quality, it is important that the recording medium is properly conveyed. If wrinkles or bulges (paper floats) occur in the conveyed recording medium, the desired positional relationship between the print head and the recording medium cannot be maintained, and print quality may be impaired. In order to prevent wrinkles and swelling of the recording medium, an ink jet recording apparatus has been proposed in which a convex portion or a concave portion is provided by ribs or the like on the entire conveyance path of the recording medium to correct the floating or swelling of the recording medium (for example, a patent Reference 3).

JP 2006-232470 A JP 2009-119574 A JP-A-9-48161

  In recent years, there are a wide variety of types of recording media and types of printing apparatuses. When the recording medium has a plurality of sheets stacked and glued at both ends in the conveyance direction, the sheet may expand and contract due to the influence of the environment, particularly humidity. In particular, when sheets made of different materials are overlapped, the degree of expansion and contraction of the sheets is different and swelling in one direction becomes remarkable. If such a recording medium is to be printed by a printing apparatus such as an ink jet printer, for example, there is a problem that the gap between the print head and the recording medium cannot be maintained properly and the print quality is deteriorated. If it is remarkable, there is a possibility that normal printing cannot be performed by contacting the print head. Further, when a roller-type paper feeding mechanism is provided in the vicinity of the print head and correction is to be made with the paper pressing roller, the bulging portion may be crushed and a crease may occur.

  The ink jet recording apparatus which attempts to correct the bulge of the paper only by the entire rib shown in Patent Document 3 describes the case of correcting the bulge on the cut sheet. There is no mention of correction for significant swelling that may occur when a plurality of sheets are stacked as in the recording medium described above.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

  (Application Example 1) A paper conveying device of a printing apparatus for printing information on a continuous form to be conveyed by using a print head, and a paper feed roller for nipping and conveying the continuous form in a printing area of the print head And a paper conveyance mechanism having a paper pressing roller, and a guide portion having two guide surfaces facing the continuous form conveyed by the paper conveyance mechanism, and either one of the two guide surfaces, A plurality of ribs are provided in the direction intersecting the transport direction with a predetermined interval and projecting toward the continuous form side and extending in the transport direction, and the plurality of ribs are the continuous form to be transported The length of the rib in the conveyance direction of the rib located in the vicinity of the central portion of the paper width is the longest, and the length of the rib in the conveyance direction is set to be gradually shortened as it is positioned in the direction of the paper width edge of the continuous form. Paper conveying apparatus according to symptoms.

  (Application example 2) A plurality of the ribs have a predetermined distance from the first rib in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the continuous form, with the rib located near the center of the width of the continuous form being the first rib. Two second ribs that are shorter than the first ribs are provided, and two second ribs that are shorter than the second ribs are spaced apart from the second ribs in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the continuous form. 3. The paper conveying device as described above, wherein three ribs are provided.

  According to these configurations, in the paper conveyance device, the bulge of the continuous form conveyed is spaced at a certain interval in the direction intersecting the first rib of the paper conveyance device located near the center of the paper width or the conveyance direction. The second ribs and the third ribs, which are arranged and gradually shortened in the transport direction, are gradually divided into a plurality of small bulges. Therefore, even if bulging occurs, the height can be reduced and averaged. As a result, the gap between the print head and the continuous form can be kept appropriate. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a decrease in print quality.

  (Application Example 3) The paper transporting apparatus according to the above, wherein the plurality of ribs are provided on the guide surface of the two guide surfaces of the guide portion that faces the printing surface of the continuous form.

  According to this configuration, the paper conveying apparatus can divide the bulge of the printing surface of the continuous form into a plurality of small bulges. Therefore, the gap between the print head and the printing surface of the continuous form can be kept appropriate.

  (Application Example 4) The paper transporting apparatus according to the above, wherein a gap between the rib and the other guide surface is narrowed along a main transporting direction of the continuous form.

  According to this configuration, the swelling of the continuous form can be gradually corrected as it is conveyed through the paper conveyance device. For this reason, it is possible to reduce paper feeding problems due to the bulging of the continuous form in the paper conveying apparatus.

  (Application example 5) The paper transporting apparatus, wherein the continuous form is constituted by two or more sheets, and both ends in the paper width direction are glued.

  (Application example 6) The paper transporting apparatus, wherein the continuous form is composed of two or more sheets of different materials, and both ends in the paper width direction are glued.

  According to these configurations, the paper conveyance device can divide the large bulge of the above-described continuous form generated by the influence of the environment, particularly temperature and humidity, into a plurality of small bulges. For this reason, the gap between the print head and the continuous form can be properly maintained even if the continuous form is composed of sheets of two or more different materials. As a result, it is possible to prevent a decrease in print quality.

  Application Example 7 The paper pressing roller of the paper transport mechanism is divided into a plurality of rollers in the paper width direction of the continuous form to be transported, and the plurality of rollers are provided on the guide surface. The paper conveying device as described above, which is disposed at a position corresponding to the rib.

  According to this configuration, the paper conveying device divides the bulge of the continuous form by the plurality of ribs, and the paper pressing roller of the paper conveying mechanism is arranged at the position of the rib. Therefore, the paper pressing roller can be arranged in a portion other than the bulge of the continuous form. As a result, it is possible to prevent the bulge from being crushed by the paper pressing roller and causing creases. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the print quality from being deteriorated due to the folding of the continuous form.

  (Application Example 8) The above-described paper transport device, a print head that ejects ink droplets onto a continuous form transported by the paper transport device, a carriage that mounts the print head, and the carriage are provided by the paper transport device. A carriage movement mechanism that reciprocates in a direction orthogonal to the paper conveyance direction.

  According to this configuration, the printing apparatus can prevent deterioration in print quality due to bulging or folding of the continuous form.

1 is an external perspective view of an ink jet printer. FIG. The figure which shows schematic structure of a paper conveying apparatus. The figure explaining a guide part. The figure which shows the structure of the power transmission mechanism of a paper conveying apparatus. The figure which shows the example of a continuous form. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of an inkjet printer. The figure which shows the conveyance state of a continuous form.

  Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings referred to in the following description, the vertical and horizontal scales of members or parts may be shown differently from the actual ones for convenience of description and illustration. In this embodiment, an example of an inkjet printer that performs printing by ejecting ink droplets onto a sheet will be described as a printing apparatus.

(Overall configuration of inkjet printer)
First, the overall configuration of the ink jet printer will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an ink jet printer. 1 indicates the paper conveyance direction of the continuous form, the Y direction indicates the width direction of the continuous form, and the Z direction indicates a direction orthogonal to the X direction and the Y direction.

  The inkjet printer 100 according to the present embodiment is a type of business printer that feeds fan hold paper as a continuous form from the rear side of the printer and discharges it to the front side of the printer. As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet printer 100 accommodates a printer main body 110 (see FIG. 2), which will be described later, in a case 10 constituted by an upper case 11 and a lower case 12. A paper discharge port 14 is opened at the front center of the case 10 in the figure, and a paper supply port 15 is opened at the rear surface in the X direction of the paper discharge port 14. The paper discharge port 14 is provided with a paper discharge tray 16 for receiving a continuous form that has been printed. On both sides of the front surface of the case 10 in the Y direction, there are provided display units 17 made up of LED lamps or the like for displaying the operation state.

  Below the display portion 17 in the Z direction, there are an ink cover 18a covering the front of the cartridge storage portion 22a for storing the black ink cartridge 21a (see FIG. 2), and a cartridge storage portion 22b for storing a plurality of color ink cartridges 21b. An ink cover 18b covering the front is provided on each of the left and right sides. The ink covers 18a and 18b are attached so as to be openable and closable, and the ink cartridges 21a and 21b can be exchanged by opening the ink covers 18a and 18b.

(About printer configuration)
Next, the configuration of the printer main body housed in the case will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the printer main body. Note that the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction shown in FIG. 2 are the same as the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the printer main body 110 includes an ink supply mechanism 20, a printing mechanism 25, a drainage tank 19, a paper transport device 40, a chassis 50, and a control device 80.

  The ink supply mechanism 20 includes cartridge storage portions 22a and 22b for storing ink cartridges 21a and 21b, an ink pressurization portion (not shown), and an ink supply pipe (not shown). The cartridge storage portions 22a and 22b are provided in the chassis 50 on the back side of the ink covers 18a and 18b, respectively. The ink in the ink cartridges 21a and 21b stored in the cartridge storage units 22a and 22b is pressurized by the ink pressurizing unit and sent to the printing mechanism 25 through the ink supply pipe.

  The printing mechanism 25 includes an inkjet head 26, a carriage 28, a carriage feed mechanism 60, and a maintenance mechanism (not shown). The ink-jet head 26 has a plurality of nozzles 27 (see FIG. 3) that eject ink supplied by the ink supply mechanism 20 as ink droplets, and the nozzle 27 is moved downward in the Z direction in FIG. 28. The carriage 28 is movably supported by a carriage shaft 29 extending in the paper width direction (Y direction), and is reciprocated in the Y direction by a carriage feed mechanism 60. The carriage feed mechanism 60 includes a carriage motor 24 and a timing belt 23 driven by the carriage motor 24. Since the carriage 28 is fixed to the timing belt 23, the carriage 28 is reciprocated in the paper width direction (Y direction) as the timing belt 23 travels.

  The maintenance mechanism includes a wiping unit (not shown) as well as a suction unit (not shown). The maintenance mechanism can make the suction unit and the wiping unit face the inkjet head 26 mounted on the carriage 28 by moving the carriage 28 in the Y direction. The suction unit seals the surface of the nozzle 27 of the inkjet head 26 when it is not in operation to prevent the nozzle 27 from drying, and also serves to suck and remove the thickened ink from the nozzle 27 of the inkjet head 26. The wiping unit plays a role of wiping off dirt adhering to the surface of the nozzle 27 of the inkjet head 26. The drainage tank 19 has a non-woven fabric such as felt and is provided in the lower part of the printer main body 110 and stores the drained ink sucked by the suction unit.

(About the configuration of the paper transport device)
Here, the configuration of the paper conveying apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the paper conveying device. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating the guide portion, in which FIG. 4A is a plan view around the guide portion, and FIG. 4B is a side view around the guide portion. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a power transmission mechanism of the paper transport device. In addition, the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction shown in FIGS. 3-5 show the same direction as the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction shown in FIG. In addition, this paper conveying apparatus conveys the continuous form R which has a sprocket hole.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the paper conveyance device 40 includes a paper conveyance path 41, a guide unit 30, a first conveyance mechanism 43, a second conveyance mechanism 53, a third conveyance mechanism 63, and a power transmission mechanism 70 ( (See FIG. 5). The paper transport path 41 starts from the paper supply port 15 of the ink jet printer 100 and the printer main body 110 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and starts from the paper discharge port 14 via the printing position A by the ink jet head 26 of the printing mechanism 25. It is formed so as to extend along the X direction in FIG. A first transport mechanism 43, a guide unit 30, a second transport mechanism 53, a printing mechanism 25, and a third transport mechanism 63 are sequentially provided from the upstream side to the downstream side along the paper transport path 41.

  The first transport mechanism 43 is provided in the vicinity of the paper supply port 15 and includes a pair of tractors 44. The tractor 44 spans a tractor pin (engagement portion) 45 that can be inserted into the sprocket hole Q1 of the continuous form R, a tractor belt 46 in which the tractor pins 45 are formed at predetermined intervals on the outer peripheral surface, and the tractor belt 46. A driving sprocket 47 and a driven sprocket 48 are provided. The pair of tractors 44 are arranged on both sides in the Y direction of the paper transport path 41 so as to correspond to the sprocket holes Q1 at both ends in the width direction of the continuous form R to be transported. Each of the drive sprockets 47 of the pair of tractors 44 is connected by a drive sprocket shaft 49 so that the pair of tractors 44 are driven in synchronization. A drive gear 42 (see FIG. 5) is attached to the end of the drive sprocket shaft 49 so as to be exposed on one outer surface of the chassis 50.

The guide unit 30 opposes the lower guide 31 that guides the lower surface Ra of the conveyed continuous form R, and the lower guide 31 with a certain distance in the Z direction, and guides the upper surface Rb of the continuous form R. And an upper guide 32. The upper guide 32 is provided with a plurality of ribs 33 having a rectangular cross section extending along the conveyance direction (X direction) of the continuous form.
As shown in FIG. 4A, in this embodiment, a plurality of, for example, five ribs 33 are provided at a constant interval m in a direction (Y direction) intersecting the transport direction (X direction). Yes. Here, the five ribs 33 are called ribs 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d, and 33e in order from the Y (+) side.

  The plurality of ribs 33 are formed with the longest length in the X direction of the ribs 33c located in the vicinity of the central portion of the paper width of the conveyed continuous form R. That is, it is formed so as to extend in the upstream (X (+)) direction in the transport direction starting from the vicinity of the end on the downstream (X (−)) side in the transport direction. The ribs 33b and 33d located on both sides of the rib 33c in the Y direction are formed shorter than the central rib 33c by a predetermined length with the same starting point. The ribs 33a and 33e located on the outer side in the Y direction of each of the ribs 33b and 33d, that is, on the paper end side of the continuous form R, are formed shorter than the ribs 33b and 33d by a predetermined length with the same starting point. Is done. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4A, the vertices in the (X (+)) direction of the ribs 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d, and 33e have a triangular shape with the upstream in the transport direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the Z (−) direction surfaces of the ribs 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d, and 33e provided on the upper guide 32 are X as the main transport direction of the continuous form R. As it goes from the (+) direction to the X (−) direction, it is formed obliquely so as to narrow the gap with the lower guide 31.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the second transport mechanism 53 is located between the first transport mechanism 43 and the printing position A by the inkjet head 26 along the paper transport path 41, specifically on the downstream side of the above-described guide unit 30. Is provided. The second transport mechanism 53 includes a first paper feed roller 55 and a first paper presser roller 58. The first paper feed roller 55 includes a cylindrical roller 56 made of an elastic body such as rubber or a sintered body coated with a granular body, and a roller shaft 57 penetrating the axial direction of the roller 56, and a paper transport path 41. Is provided below the paper transport path 41 in the Z direction. A drive gear 52 (see FIG. 5) is attached to one end of the roller shaft 57 so as to be exposed on one outer surface of the chassis 50.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the first paper pressing roller 58 includes a plurality of cylindrical rollers 59 made of an elastic body such as rubber or plastic, and a roller shaft 54 penetrating the plurality of rollers 59 in the axial direction. And have. In this embodiment, for example, five rollers 59 are provided at a constant pitch in the Y direction. Here, the five rollers 59 are called rollers 59a, 59b, 59c, 59d, and 59e in order from the Y (+) side. The position of the roller 59 in the Y direction is such that the roller 59a is on the rib 33a, the roller 59b is on the rib 33b, the roller 59c is on the rib 33c, the roller 59d is on the rib 33d, and the roller 59e is on. It arrange | positions in the position corresponding to the above-mentioned rib 33e. The first paper pressing roller 58, that is, the rollers 59 a, 59 b, 59 c, 59 d, 59 e, presses the continuous form R transported through the paper transport path 41 against the first paper feed roller 55 by the urging force from above in the Z direction. Is arranged.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the third transport mechanism 63 is provided along the paper transport path 41 between the printing position A by the ink jet head 26 and the paper discharge port 14, specifically, slightly on the ink jet head 26 side. . The third transport mechanism 63 has a second paper feed roller 65 and a second paper presser roller 68. The second paper feed roller 65 includes a cylindrical roller 66 made of an elastic body such as rubber or a sintered body coated with a granular body, and a roller shaft 67 penetrating in the axial direction of the roller 66. Is provided below the paper transport path 41 in the Z direction. A drive gear 62 (see FIG. 5) is attached to one end of the roller shaft 67 so as to be exposed on one outer surface of the chassis 50.

  The second paper presser roller 68 is divided into a plurality of parts and has a shape of a so-called knurl roller in which a metal plate is processed into a star shape, and is a continuous form that is transported through the paper transport path 41 by an urging force from above in the Z direction. R is arranged so as to press R against the second paper feed roller 65. A paper detector 78 is installed between the second paper pressing roller 68 and the inkjet head 26. The paper detector 78 is, for example, a reflection type photosensor, and detects the presence or absence and the leading edge or trailing edge of the continuous form R conveyed into the paper conveying path 41 by the paper conveying device 40.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the power transmission mechanism 70 includes a paper feed motor 72 as a drive source having a motor gear 71, a gear group 73, and a toothed belt 74, and is provided on one outer surface of the chassis 50 in the Y direction. Provided. The paper feed motor 72 is fixed to the chassis 50 so that the motor gear 71 is exposed on one outer surface of the chassis 50. As a result, on one outer surface of the chassis 50, the motor gear 71 and the gear group 73 including the drive gear 42, the drive gear 52, and the drive gear 62 described above are arranged. The toothed belt 74 is an internal tooth type endless belt, and is stretched around the motor gear 71, the drive gear 42 of the first transport mechanism 43, and the drive gear 52 of the second transport mechanism 53 with a constant tension. The drive gear 62 of the third transport mechanism 63 is engaged with the drive gear 52 of the second transport mechanism 53. The toothed belt 74 may use a tension roller in order to ensure proper tension.

  In the paper transport device 40 having the above-described configuration, the driving force of the paper feed motor 72 is transmitted from the motor gear 71 via the toothed belt 74 to the drive gear 42 of the first transport mechanism 43 and the drive gear 52 of the second transport mechanism 53. To communicate. Further, it is transmitted to the drive gear 62 of the third transport mechanism 63 via the drive gear 52 of the second transport mechanism 53. The paper feed motor 72 is controlled based on a control signal from a control device 80 described later.

  The paper conveyance device 40 conveys the continuous form R having the sprocket hole Q1 engaged with the tractor pin 45 along the paper conveyance path 41 by rotating the tractor 44 of the first conveyance mechanism 43. The continuous form R transported by the first transport mechanism 43 is gradually corrected by the plurality of ribs 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d, and 33e formed on the upper guide 32 through the guide unit 30, in detail. The second transport mechanism 53 is guided between the first paper feed roller 55 and the first paper presser roller 58 that rotate, and is further transported along the paper transport path 41. The continuous form R transported by the second transport mechanism 53 passes between the printing position A of the printing mechanism 25 and the second paper feed roller 65 and the second paper presser roller 68 that rotate the third transport mechanism 63. The paper is drawn in between and sequentially conveyed in the direction of the paper discharge port 14 along the paper conveyance path 41.

(About continuous forms)
Here, a continuous form used in the above-described inkjet printer will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a continuous form, (a) is a diagram showing one medicine bag paper, (b) is a figure showing a medicine bag paper as a continuous form, and (c) is a continuous form. It is a figure which shows the fan hold paper. In addition, the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction shown in FIG. 6 show the same direction as the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction shown in FIG.

  The medicine bag (yakutai) paper 90 is a bag-like paper that accommodates a medicine prescribed in a hospital or a pharmacy and provides the patient with the name of the patient, the kind of medicine, the number of times of taking, etc. on the surface. As shown in FIG. 6 (a), the medicine bag paper 90 of this embodiment has a two-layer structure in which the material of the transparent synthetic resin film sheet 91 and the paper sheet 92 is different, and both side edges 90a, 90b and X in the Y direction. It has a bag shape in which three sides of the direction lower edge 90c are bonded by an adhesive and the upper portion 90d in the X direction is opened. In the medicine bag paper 90, necessary items such as a patient name are printed on the paper sheet 92 portion by the above-described inkjet printer 100, and the medicine contained therein can be visually confirmed through the transparent synthetic resin film sheet 91. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, the medicine bag paper 90 is formed as a set of the above, and a plurality of medicine bag papers 90 are continuously formed and supplied as a continuous medicine bag paper 90A. That is, the synthetic resin film sheet 91 and the paper sheet 92 are one continuous long sheet 91a and 92a, respectively, and both side edges 90a and 90b are bonded with an adhesive and both side edges along the X direction. Sprocket holes Q1 to which the tractor pins 45 shown in FIG. 3 can be engaged are formed in rows 90a and 90b at a predetermined pitch. These long sheets 91a and 92a are configured to be separable one by one by a perforation (separation part) 94 provided at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction (X direction). One side of each perforation 94 is bonded with an adhesive along the width direction. This adhesion portion corresponds to the lower edge 90c. The continuous medicine bag paper 90A is alternately folded at the perforation 94 and has a so-called fan hold shape. Since the continuous medicine bag paper 90A has such a form, it can be fed and continuously printed by the ink jet printer 100 having the tractor 44.

  The continuous form R used in the inkjet printer 100 is not limited to the above-described continuous medicine bag paper 90A. As shown in FIG. 6 (c), sprocket holes Q1 are formed in rows at a predetermined pitch along the X direction at both side edges 96a and 96b in the Y direction of the paper, and at a predetermined interval in the X direction. Ordinary fan hold paper configured to be separable one by one by the provided perforation 94 may be used.

(Control of inkjet printer)
Next, the control system of the ink jet printer will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of the ink jet printer. As shown in FIG. 7, the ink jet printer 100 includes a printer main body having a printing mechanism 25 having an ink jet head 26, a carriage feeding mechanism 60 having a carriage motor (not shown), a paper transport device 40, and a detection unit 79 including a paper detector 78. 110 and a control device 80 that performs overall control thereof.

  The control device 80 includes a control unit 81 that is a main part of the control system, a head driver 82 that drives and controls the inkjet head 26, a motor driver 84 that drives the ink supply mechanism 20, the paper transport device 40, and the carriage feed mechanism 60. The interface unit 85 is provided. The control unit 81 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 86, an information processing unit 87, and a storage unit 88. The CPU 86 executes various processes such as an input signal process from an operation system and a detection system (not shown) and a printing process. The information processing unit 87 processes various information.

  The storage unit 88 includes a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like (not shown). The RAM temporarily stores various data such as print data input from the host computer 89 via the interface unit 85, or temporarily expands a program such as print processing executed by the CPU 86. Here, the print data indicates a pattern to be printed on the continuous form R by the inkjet head 26.

  The head driver 82 controls the inkjet head 26 based on a command from the CPU 86. The motor driver 84 individually controls the motors of the paper transport device 40 and the carriage feed mechanism 60 based on commands from the CPU 86. The interface unit 85 outputs print data received from the host computer 89 to the control unit 81 and outputs various information received from the control unit 81 to the host computer 89.

  The ink jet printer 100 having the above-described structure is a paper transporting operation that transports the continuous medicine bag paper 90A by the predetermined paper transport amount in the X direction shown in FIG. The continuous medicine bag paper 90A is printed while alternately performing a printing operation in which printing is performed by reciprocating in the Y direction perpendicular to the direction. The printed medicine bag paper 90 is separated and issued one by one by the perforation 94.

(Operation of inkjet printer)
Next, the operation of the above-described inkjet printer, particularly the conveyance of the continuous form will be described with reference to FIG. FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing the conveyance state of a continuous form, in which FIG. 8A is a diagram showing a G1 cross section of FIG. 4A, FIG. 8B is a diagram showing a G2 cross section of FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a G3 cross section in FIG. 4A, and FIG. 5D is a diagram showing a G4 cross section in FIG. Note that the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction shown in FIG. 8 are the same directions as the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction shown in FIG. In the following description, a case where the continuous medicine bag paper 90A is applied as the continuous form R will be described as an example.

The operation of the inkjet printer 100 includes a paper setting step S1, a paper transporting step S2, and a printing step S3.
In the paper setting step S <b> 1, the continuous medicine bag paper 90 </ b> A shown in FIG. 6B is set on the paper transport device 40 of the inkjet printer 100. Specifically, the sprocket holes Q1 formed on both side edges 90a and 90b of the continuous medicine bag paper 90A are engaged with the tractor pin 45 formed on the tractor belt 46 of the tractor 44 as the first transport mechanism 43.

  In the paper transporting step S2, the paper feed motor 72 is driven based on a control signal from the motor driver 84 of the control unit 81 shown in FIG. 7, and the first gear from the motor gear 71 shown in FIG. Driving force is transmitted to the drive gear 42 of the transport mechanism 43 and the drive gear 52 of the second transport mechanism 53. The driving force is transmitted to the driving gear 62 of the third transport mechanism 63 via the driving gear 52 of the second transport mechanism 53. By doing so, the tractor pin 45 formed on the tractor belt 46 by rotating the tractor belt 46 is sequentially engaged with the sprocket hole Q1 of the continuous medicine bag paper 90A, and the continuous medicine bag paper 90A is transferred to the paper transport path. 41 is conveyed. The continuous medicine bag paper 90 </ b> A reaches the guide unit 30.

  As described above, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), the continuous medicine bag paper 90A has a two-layer structure in which the synthetic resin film sheet 91 and the paper sheet 92 are different from each other, and the paper width (Y direction) both side edges 90a. 90b are bonded by an adhesive. Therefore, in an environment where humidity is particularly high, as shown in FIG. 8A, the expansion rate differs for each sheet, and swelling occurs on the side of the sheet having a high elongation rate. In general, at a humidity of 65 to 80%, a convex portion 95c tends to occur along the paper width direction (Y direction) on the printed paper sheet 92 side (Z direction). If such continuous medicine bag paper 90A is to be printed by the ink jet printer 100, the gap with the ink jet head 26 cannot be properly maintained by the convex portions 95c, and the print quality is deteriorated. Further, if there is a roller type paper feed mechanism in the traveling direction of the continuous medicine bag paper 90A, the convex portion 95c is crushed by the roller and a crease is generated in the center.

  The guide unit 30 has a function of correcting such swelling of the continuous medicine bag paper 90A. As shown in FIG. 8A, the continuous medicine bag paper 90 </ b> A having the convex portion 95 c reaching the guide portion 30 is conveyed between the lower guide 31 and the upper guide 32 in the X direction. As shown in FIG. 8 (b), the conveyed continuous medicine bag paper 90A hits the rib 33c provided at the center in the Y direction of the upper guide 32, and the apex of the convex portion 95c is crushed by the rib 33c. Two convex portions 95b and 95d are formed.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8C, the continuous medicine bag paper 90A to be conveyed is projected to the convex portions 95b, 33d by ribs 33b, 33d provided on the left and right of the rib 33c of the upper guide 32 while hitting the rib 33c. 95d is crushed, and two convex portions 95a and 95e are formed on both ends in the Y direction. A convex portion 95g having a smaller bulge is formed between the rib 33b and the rib 33c and between the rib 33c and the rib 33d. Further, as shown in FIG. 8 (d), the continuous medicine bag paper 90A being conveyed hits the ribs 33b, 33c, and 33d, and ribs 33a and 33d provided on both ends of the ribs 33b and 33d of the upper guide 32 in the Y direction. The convex portions 95a and 95e are crushed by 33e, and two small convex portions 95e are formed on both ends in the Y direction.

  Thus, the convex portion 95c, which is a large bulge of the continuous medicine bag paper 90A, is bulged (convex) by the rib 33c, the rib 33b and the rib 33d, and the rib 33a and the rib 33e provided on the bulging side as the guide portion 30 is advanced. Part) will be divided one after another. Therefore, when the continuous medicine bag paper 90A passes through the guide portion 30, the continuous medicine bag paper 90A has a convex portion 95f and a convex portion 95g which are small bulges.

  The continuous medicine bag paper 90 </ b> A transported along the paper transport path 41 reaches the second transport mechanism 53. The continuous medicine bag paper 90 </ b> A that has reached the second transport mechanism 53 is drawn into the nip portion between the rotating first paper feed roller 55 and the first paper presser roller 58 of the second transport mechanism 53, and is transported while being pinched. The As shown to Fig.4 (a), the 1st paper pressing roller 58 has the some roller 59 and the roller axis | shaft 54 which penetrates the some roller 59 to an axial direction. As described above, the roller 59 is divided into five rollers 59a, 59b, 59c, 59d, and 59e.

  Further, the roller 59a is disposed at a position corresponding to the rib 33a, the roller 59b is disposed at the rib 33b, the roller 59c is disposed at the rib 33c, the roller 59d is disposed at the rib 33d, and the roller 59e is disposed at a position corresponding to the rib 33e. Therefore, the rollers 59a, 59b, 59c, 59d, and 59e can avoid the positions of the convex portions 95f and the convex portions 95g that are small bulges of the continuous medicine bag paper 90A.

  The continuous medicine bag paper 90 </ b> A transported by the second transport mechanism 53 passes through the printing position A by the inkjet head 26 and reaches the third transport mechanism 63. The continuous medicine bag paper 90 </ b> A that has reached the third transport mechanism 63 is transported toward the paper discharge port 14 by the second paper feed roller 65 and the second paper presser roller 68 that are rotated by the third transport mechanism 63. The continuous medicine bag paper 90 </ b> A conveyed is detected by the paper detector 78 disposed on the paper discharge port 14 side of the first paper feed roller 55 to detect the leading edge and the presence of the paper.

  In the printing step S3, the carriage head mechanism 60 of the printing mechanism 25 causes the inkjet head 26 to reciprocate in the Y direction perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction, and swells at the guide portion 30 of the continuous medicine bag paper 90A conveyed by the paper conveyance device 40. Ink is ejected as ink droplets from the nozzles 27 of the inkjet head 26 on the printing surface where the ink has been corrected to print information such as characters and images.

The effects of this example will be described below.
(1) The above-described paper conveyance device 40 has a plurality of ribs 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d, and 33e having different lengths even if the continuous medicine bag paper 90A has a two-layer structure having a convex portion 95c that is a large bulge. By passing through the guide part 30 which has, the convex part 95c can be divided | segmented, averaging the convex parts 95f and 95g which are small bulges. Therefore, the gap between the inkjet head 26 and the continuous medicine bag paper 90A can be kept appropriate. As a result, the ink jet printer 100 can ensure good print quality.

  (2) The above-described paper transport device 40 has a simple structure in which a plurality of ribs 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d, and 33e having different lengths are provided on the guide portion 30 to which the continuous medical bag paper 90A is transported. The convex portion 95c, which is a bulge of 90A, can be corrected.

  (3) The above-described paper conveyance device 40 divides and averages the convex portion 95c, which is the bulge of the continuous medicine bag paper 90A, by the plurality of ribs 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d, and 33e having different lengths, and performs the second conveyance. The first paper pressing roller 58 of the mechanism 53 is divided into rollers 59 a, 59 b, 59 c, 59 d, 59 e, and each is arranged at the position of the rib 33. That is, the roller 59 of the first paper pressing roller 58 can be arranged at a position other than the convex portions 95f and 95g. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the convex portions 95f and 95g of the continuous medicine bag paper 90A from being crushed by the roller 59 and causing creases. As a result, it is possible to prevent deterioration in print quality due to creases in continuous forms.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, various deformation | transformation can be added with respect to the said Example in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention. For example, modifications other than the above embodiment are as follows.

(First modification)
The shape and number of the ribs 33 described in the above embodiment are examples and are not limited thereto. It can be changed as appropriate depending on the size of the continuous form R as a recording medium and the type of sheet to be configured. Further, the case where the continuous form R is applied as the recording medium is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. A single-cut state such as a medicine bag paper 90 may be used. Further, the inkjet printer 100 has been described as an example of the printing apparatus, but is not limited thereto. The printer may be a dot impact printer, a solid font type impact printer, or a thermal printer.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Case, 20 ... Ink supply mechanism, 25 ... Printing mechanism, 26 ... Inkjet head, 27 ... Nozzle, 30 ... Guide part, 33 ... Rib, 40 ... Paper conveyance apparatus, 41 ... Paper conveyance path, 43 ... First conveyance Mechanism 44 ... Tractor 45 ... Tractor pin 53 ... Second transport mechanism 58 ... First paper pressing roller 59 ... Roller 60 ... Carriage feed mechanism 63 ... Third transport mechanism 70 ... Power transmission mechanism 71 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS: Motor gear, 74 ... Toothed belt, 80 ... Control device, 81 ... Control part, 82 ... Head driver, 84 ... Motor driver, 90 ... Medicine bag paper, 90A ... Continuous medicine bag paper, 100 ... Inkjet printer, 110 ... Printer body A: Printing position, R: Continuous form.

Claims (8)

A paper conveying device of a printing apparatus that prints information on a continuous form to be conveyed using a print head,
A paper transport mechanism having a paper feed roller and a paper presser roller that sandwich and transport the continuous form in the print area of the print head;
A guide portion having two guide surfaces facing the continuous form conveyed by the paper conveyance mechanism,
At least one of the two guide surfaces is disposed at a predetermined interval in a direction intersecting the transport direction, and provided with a plurality of ribs that protrude in the continuous form side and extend in the transport direction,
The plurality of ribs have the longest length in the transport direction of the rib located near the center of the paper width of the continuous form to be transported, and the ribs in the transport direction of the ribs as they are positioned in the direction of the paper width end of the continuous form. A paper conveying apparatus characterized in that the length is set to be gradually shortened. The plurality of ribs, the ribs located near the center of the width of the continuous form as the first rib,
Two second ribs shorter than the first ribs are provided at a predetermined interval from the first ribs in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the continuous form,
The two third ribs shorter than the second rib are provided at a predetermined interval from the second rib in a direction intersecting with the conveying direction of the continuous form. Paper transport device.   The paper conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of the ribs are provided on the guide surface of the two guide surfaces of the guide portion facing the printing surface of the continuous form.   The paper conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a gap between the rib and the other guide surface is narrowed along a main conveying direction of the continuous form.   The paper conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the continuous form is configured by two or more sheets, and both ends in the paper width direction are glued.   The paper conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the continuous form is configured by two or more sheets made of different materials, and both ends in the paper width direction are glued. The paper pressing roller of the paper transport mechanism is divided into a plurality of rollers in the paper width direction of the continuous form to be transported,
The paper conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the plurality of rollers are arranged at positions corresponding to the plurality of the ribs provided on the guide surface. A paper conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A print head for ejecting ink droplets onto a continuous form conveyed by the paper conveying device;
A carriage carrying the print head;
A printing apparatus comprising: a carriage movement mechanism that reciprocates the carriage in a direction orthogonal to a paper conveyance direction by the paper conveyance apparatus.

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