JP2012158463A - Conveyor, and recording apparatus having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveyor enabling a recording medium having been subjected to recording to be appropriately discharged, and to provide a recording apparatus having the conveyor.SOLUTION: The conveyor includes: a paper discharge drive roller 44a which is rotation-driven to convey a paper sheet P along a holding surface 61 for holding a paper sheet P having been subjected to recording in a standing state; and a paper discharge driven roller 44b which pinches the paper sheet P between the paper discharge drive roller 44a and rotates following the movement of the paper sheet P. Here, the paper discharge drive roller 44a has a gear wheel shape having a plurality of teeth along its periphery so that a rear end of the paper sheet P is caught.

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport unit that transports a recording medium so as to follow a holding surface that holds the recorded recording medium in an upright state, and a recording apparatus including the transporting unit.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a recording medium is transported from a recording paper container that can hold a recording medium (recording paper) in an upright position, and a recording stack that holds a recorded recording medium in an upright position, and is rotated to perform recording. A vertical type of drive roller that includes a drive roller (discharge roller) that conveys the broken recording medium to a discharge stack, and a driven roller (presser roller) that is driven to rotate while pinching the recording medium between the discharge rollers. A conveying means of a recording apparatus is known (see Patent Document 1).
The driving roller and the driven roller are provided at opposite positions, respectively, and sandwich and convey the recording paper on which recording has been performed.

JP 2006-205655 A

  In such a conventional conveying means, the recorded recording medium is conveyed to the paper discharge stack only by the holding force between the driving roller and the driven roller. In this case, there is a problem that the recording medium in which the holding force between the driving roller and the driven roller is released remains on the driving roller, and the recording medium is not properly discharged onto the discharge stack. Generally, since the surface of the paper discharge roller is made of rubber or the like, there is a problem that if the paper discharge roller is driven in a state where the recording medium is in contact with the paper discharge roller, the recording medium becomes dirty or damaged. Further, if the paper discharge roller is reversed while the recording medium is in contact with the paper discharge roller, the recording medium is pulled in, causing a paper jam.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a transport unit that can appropriately discharge a recording medium on which recording has been performed, and a recording apparatus including the transport unit.

  The conveying means of the present invention clamps the recording medium between the driving roller that conveys the recording medium so as to follow the holding surface that holds the recording medium that has been rotated and recorded in an upright state, and the driving roller. A driven roller that rotates in a driven manner, and the drive roller has a gear shape having a plurality of teeth along the outer periphery so that the rear end of the recording medium is caught.

  According to this configuration, even if the trailing end of the recorded recording medium is conveyed and the nipping force by the driving roller and the driven roller is removed, the trailing end of the recording medium is one of the plurality of teeth formed on the outer periphery of the driving roller. It is conveyed to the hook holding surface. As a result, the recording medium does not remain on the driving roller, and the problem of contamination or damage of the recording medium due to contact between the recording medium and the driving roller can be reliably prevented. Further, it is possible to prevent the recording medium from being drawn (paper jam) due to the reverse rotation of the driving roller.

  In this case, it is preferable that the driving roller has a shape of a claw wheel in which a plurality of teeth are formed in a claw shape.

  According to this configuration, since each tooth is formed in a claw shape, the lower end of the recording medium is easily caught during conveyance, and is not easily dropped off. Thereby, conveyance of the recording medium by a drive roller can be performed reliably and appropriately.

  In this case, the driving roller has a plurality of roller bodies in which a plurality of teeth are formed along the outer periphery, and a rotation shaft on which the plurality of roller bodies are respectively attached. It is preferable that the teeth are formed on the rotation shaft while shifting the phase of the tooth formation position.

  In this case, it is preferable that the plurality of roller bodies are axially attached with their phases shifted from each other so that a plurality of teeth included in each roller body have a circular outline as a whole.

Here, the drive roller (roller body) in the form of a gear (claw wheel) is not in contact with the recording medium in a portion where the teeth are not present, so that the force for pinching the recording medium is weakened, and the idling of the driving roller and the recording medium Accurate conveyance of the recording medium such as misalignment cannot be performed.
However, according to these configurations, the plurality of teeth formed on each roller body are formed so as to be displaced on the circumference of each roller body. For this reason, one of the teeth of one of the roller bodies comes into contact with the recording medium conveyed while being sandwiched between the driving roller and the driven roller. In particular, the plurality of misaligned teeth are formed so as to form a circular outline as a whole, so that they always come into contact with the recording medium. Accordingly, it is possible to reliably prevent the idling of the driving roller and the displacement of the recording medium during conveyance, and it is possible to accurately convey the recording medium. That is, when the conveyance amount of the recording medium is detected (measured), the accuracy can be maintained high.
In addition, since the rear end of the recording medium engages with any tooth of any roller body, it is possible to improve the removal performance (reliability that can be removed) of the recording medium from the drive roller.

  In this case, it is preferable that a second driving roller and a second driven roller are further provided on the upstream side in the transport direction.

  According to this configuration, since the recording medium can be transported by the second driving roller and the second driven roller provided on the upstream side in the transport direction, the transport amount is reduced due to a decrease in transport efficiency in a portion where the teeth of the drive roller do not exist. There is no error. That is, conveyance accuracy can be ensured. Therefore, when the second driving roller and the second driven roller are provided, it is not necessary to shift the formation positions of the plurality of teeth of the driving roller (roller body).

  A recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a holding unit having a holding surface for holding a recording medium on which recording has been performed in an upright state, and any one of the above-described conveyance units.

  According to this configuration, the recording medium on which recording has been performed can be appropriately discharged to the holding unit. As a result, the recording medium due to contact between the recording medium and the driving roller can be reliably prevented from being stained or damaged.

1 is an external perspective view of a recording apparatus. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of the recording apparatus in a state where a sheet is separated from a feeding roller. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the recording apparatus in a state where a sheet is pressed against a feeding roller. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the recording apparatus with a housing removed. FIG. 5A is a perspective view and FIG. 5B is a side view of the paper discharge driving roller according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a perspective view and FIG. 5B is a side view of a paper discharge driving roller according to a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a state in which an upper outer cover of the recording medium cassette is opened. (A) of the discharge drive roller which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention is a perspective view, (b) is a side view.

  Hereinafter, a recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This recording apparatus performs desired recording while conveying a sheet (recording medium) held in an upright posture, and holds (stocks) the discharged recorded sheet in an upright state. In addition, as shown in each drawing, the X axis (left and right) direction, the Y axis (front and rear) direction, and the Z axis (up and down) direction are defined and described below.

  As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the external appearance of the recording apparatus 1 is constituted by a casing 2 that is a thin box-shaped body having dimensions in the Z-axis direction larger than those in the X-axis and Y-axis directions. . In addition, the recording apparatus 1 accommodates the paper P in an upright posture, the printing unit 3 that performs printing processing on the paper P facing the conveyance path by an ink jet method, the conveyance unit 4 that sends the sheet P along the conveyance path, and In addition, a recording medium cassette 5 that is detachably attached to the housing 2, a device frame (not shown) that supports the transport unit 4, the printing unit 3, and the like, and a control device that controls the entire device (not shown). And.

  An operation panel 21 on which operation buttons and the like are arranged, a cable terminal 22 to which a cable for connecting to a PC and the like, and a plurality of ink cartridges (not shown) are detachably mounted on the upper surface of the housing 2. And a cartridge cover 23 for opening and closing a cartridge mounting portion (not shown). A paper discharge port cover 25 that opens and closes a paper discharge port 24 for discharging recorded paper P (recording medium) is provided on the upper surface of the housing 2. The paper discharge port cover 25 is opened and closed by the user. However, even when recording is executed in a closed state, the sheet discharge port cover 25 is automatically opened by an opening / closing mechanism (not shown).

  The printing unit 3 is disposed on the downstream side of a pair of conveyance rollers 42 described later, and includes a carriage 31 on which the inkjet head 32 is mounted, and a guide member 33 provided at a position facing the inkjet head 32. ing.

  The carriage 31 is provided so as to be reciprocally movable by a motor (not shown) along a carriage guide shaft 34 extending in the X-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 2, since the carriage 31 is provided in an inclined posture, a force for rotating about the carriage guide shaft 34 is generated. Thus, the guided portion 35 provided above the carriage 31 holds the carriage guide plate 36 extending in the X-axis direction, so that the posture of the carriage 31 is kept constant.

  The guide member 33 constitutes a part of the transport path and defines a gap (work gap) between the recording surface of the paper P and the inkjet head 32. In addition, the guide member 33 is formed with a recess for receiving ink to be ejected in a region off the edge of the paper P during borderless printing at a position facing the ink jet head 32. In this recess, an ink absorbing material (not shown) for absorbing ink is provided. Further, a waste liquid tank (not shown) for storing the discarded ink is disposed below the guide member 33.

  The present embodiment is a so-called off-carriage type in which the ink cartridge is provided independently of the carriage 31, but may be a so-called on-carriage type in which the ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage 31. In this embodiment, the carriage 31 is a so-called serial printer that performs recording while moving in the X-axis direction. However, a fixed inkjet head 32 that covers the width of the paper P may be used. Furthermore, the recording method is not limited to the ink jet method, and other recording methods may be used.

  The transport unit 4 is provided at a position facing the front end of the loaded recording medium cassette 5 from the upstream side, a feeding roller 41 that feeds the paper P supplied from the recording medium cassette 5 to the downstream side, and the paper P A pair of transport rollers 42 for transporting the paper P to the printing unit 3, a guide roller 43 for preventing the paper P from lifting from the guide member 33 of the printing unit 3, and a pair for discharging the recorded paper P from the printing unit 3. And a paper discharge roller 44. The feed roller 41 (auxiliary driven roller 46 described later), the transport rollers 42, the guide rollers 43, and the paper discharge rollers 44 are respectively rotated with a rotation shaft extending in the width direction (X-axis direction) of the paper P. And a roller body that is attached to a plurality of shafts at appropriate intervals on the shaft (see FIG. 4).

  The feed roller 41 feeds the paper P downward by being rotated by a motor (not shown) while being in contact with the leading edge of the paper P. At a position facing the outer peripheral surface of the feed roller 41, a guide member 45 that forms a substantially U-shaped transport path in which the sheet P is curved and reversed is disposed. Reference numeral 46 denotes an auxiliary driven roller that assists the feeding of the paper P by the feeding roller 41. That is, the feeding roller 41 and the auxiliary driven roller 46 form a nip roller.

  The pair of transport rollers 42 includes a transport drive roller 42a that is rotationally driven by a drive motor (not shown), and a transport driven roller 42b that is biased toward the transport drive roller 42a by a biasing unit (not shown). In the form of a nip roller. The transport driven roller 42b is driven to rotate by pinching the paper P with the transport driving roller 42a.

  The pair of paper discharge rollers 44 includes a paper discharge drive roller 44a that is rotationally driven by a drive motor (not shown), and a paper discharge driven roller 44b that is urged toward the paper discharge drive roller 44a by a biasing means (not shown). And in the form of a nip roller. The paper discharge driving roller 44a is formed in a gear shape (spur shape) having a plurality of teeth along its outer periphery. Similarly, the paper discharge driven roller 44b is formed in a spur shape (star wheel), and is driven to rotate by sandwiching the paper P with the paper discharge driving roller 44a.

  The paper P sent out downward is inverted upward by the feed roller 41 and the guide member 45 and sent to the pair of transport rollers 42. The paper P is sandwiched between the pair of transport rollers 42 and sent to the printing unit 3. The paper P recorded by the printing unit 3 moves upward through the guide roller 43 and the pair of paper discharge rollers 44 while being in sliding contact with a holding surface 61 (described later) of the recording medium cassette 5 (see FIG. (See dashed line 3). The lower end of the discharged paper P is supported in a standing posture on the receiving portion 62 provided in the apparatus frame near the paper discharge driving roller 44a. The guide roller 43 is constituted by a spur roller (star wheel).

  The receiving portion 62 has a leading end on the side of the paper discharge driving roller 44a bent upward so that the lower end of the supported paper P does not fall off or come into contact with the paper discharge driving roller 44a. The plurality of receiving portions 62 are arranged at appropriate intervals in the X-axis direction so as to enter between the plurality of paper discharge driving rollers 44a arranged at appropriate intervals. That is, the receiving part 62 is formed in a substantially comb-like shape as a whole. The “holding portion” in the claims refers to the receiving portion 62 and the holding surface 61.

  With reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the paper discharge drive roller 44a will be described in detail. The paper discharge drive roller 44a has a plurality of (eight in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5A) paper discharge roller bodies 47 formed with a plurality of teeth along the outer periphery and a plurality of paper discharge roller main bodies 47 respectively. And a paper discharge rotating shaft 48 rotatably supported on the apparatus frame.

  Each paper discharge roller body 47 is formed with irregularities at equal intervals along the outer periphery so that the rear end of the paper P is caught, and the convex portions are teeth. In this embodiment, eight teeth are formed, and each tooth is formed in a nail shape. That is, each paper discharge roller body 47 has a claw shape when viewed from the side. The plurality of paper discharge roller bodies 47 are formed in the same shape, and all the paper discharge roller bodies 47 have the same discharge rotation shaft 48 so that the phases of the respective teeth (unevenness) are the same. It is fixed to. That is, one tooth of all the paper discharge roller bodies 47 is arranged in a line in the X-axis direction (see FIG. 5B).

Since the recorded paper P is sandwiched and conveyed between the paper discharge driving roller 44a and the paper discharge driven roller 44b, the rear end of the paper P passes through the paper discharge driving roller 44a and the paper discharge driven roller 44b. Then, the pinching force (pinch force) is lost.
However, in the paper discharge driving roller 44a of the present embodiment, the rear end of the paper P is caught by any one of a plurality of teeth (claws) formed on the outer periphery of each paper discharge roller main body 47 to the holding surface 61. It is transported reliably. Thus, the paper P does not remain on the paper discharge driving roller 44a, and the problem of the dirt and breakage of the paper P due to the contact between the paper P and the paper discharge driving roller 44a after paper discharge is surely prevented. Can do. Further, the pulling-in (paper jam) of the paper P due to the reverse rotation of the paper discharge driving roller 44a can be prevented. Further, since each tooth is formed in a claw shape, the lower end of the paper P is easily caught during conveyance and is not easily dropped. Thereby, the paper P can be transported reliably and appropriately by the paper discharge driving roller 44a.

The paper discharge drive roller 44a of this embodiment is fixed to the paper discharge rotating shaft 48 so that the teeth of all the paper discharge roller main bodies 47 are in phase, so When the concave portion of the sheet faces the paper P, the holding force with respect to the paper P is weakened. However, in this embodiment, since the transport driving roller 42a and the transport driven roller 42b are provided on the upstream side of the transport path, it is possible to prevent an error in the transport amount of the paper P.
Although not shown in the drawings, a further decrease in the conveyance accuracy can be reliably prevented by further providing a pickup roller for pulling up the paper P on the downstream side of the pair of paper discharge rollers 44.

  Each paper discharge roller main body 47 is not limited to the shape of the ratchet wheel as described above. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a star-shaped spur gear shape as viewed from the side (see FIG. 6B). You may form in. That is, it is only necessary that the unevenness is formed along the outer periphery so that the rear end of the paper P is caught.

  Subsequently, the recording medium cassette 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 7. The recording medium cassette 5 is configured to be detachable by sliding in the Z-axis direction with respect to the housing 2, and configures the appearance of the recording apparatus 1 by being mounted. Moreover, since the inside of the recording apparatus 1 is exposed by removing the recording medium cassette 5, problems such as the paper P being jammed in the transport path can be easily solved.

  The recording medium cassette 5 is flush with the casing 2 when mounted, and a cassette casing portion 53 that forms an overview of the recording apparatus 1, a main body tray 54 that is formed in a tray shape as a whole, and a sheet that stores sheets P. The upper outer cover 55 that opens and closes the housing space S, the upper inner cover 56 that is slidably provided so as to protrude from the upper end of the main body tray 54 with respect to the upper outer cover 55, and the main body tray 54 The upper slide tray 57 slidably provided so as to protrude from the upper end of the paper, the edge guide 58 provided slidable in the X-axis direction with respect to the upper outer cover 55, and the paper P stored in the paper storage space S And a movable tray 59 that swings the tip of the.

  A paper front end support wall 54 a that supports the front end of the stored paper P is formed at the lower end of the main body tray 54. The paper P accommodated in the state where the recording medium cassette 5 is mounted is supported in a state where the front end thereof is in contact with the paper front end support wall 54a.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the upper outer cover 55 rotates about a pair of left and right rotation fulcrums 55 a provided at a substantially central portion in the vertical direction of the main body tray 54. By opening the upper outer cover 55, the paper storage space S appears and the paper P can be stored. Further, the outer surface of the upper outer cover 55 (the surface facing the inner side of the apparatus when mounted) functions as a holding surface 61 for holding (accumulating) the recorded paper P.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the upper inner cover 56 and the upper slide tray 57 are expanded and contracted according to the length of the paper P in the Z-axis direction, thereby forming a paper storage space S optimal for the paper P. be able to. When the upper inner cover 56 is extended, the outer surface of the upper inner cover 56 extends so as to continue from the outer surface of the upper outer cover 55, and the holding surface 61 is extended in the Z-axis direction.

  The edge guide 58 is slidably engaged with an elongated hole 55b (see FIGS. 4 and 7) that extends in the X-axis direction and opens in the upper outer cover 55, and guides the edge of the set paper P. Although not shown, the edge guide 58 is slidable even when the upper outer cover 55 is closed by operating a portion exposed to the outside of the upper outer cover 55.

  The movable tray 59 is provided on the lower side of the main body tray 54, rotates around a pair of left and right swinging fulcrums 59a, and presses the leading end of the stored paper P against the feeding roller 41 (see FIG. 3). ) And a separated state (see FIG. 2) (so-called hopper). Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the movable tray 59 has a plurality of contact openings at appropriate intervals along the X-axis direction so that the feeding roller 41 can be pressed into a position corresponding to the leading end of the paper P. 59b is formed.

  The paper P discharged by the pair of paper discharge rollers 44 moves toward the paper discharge port 24 while being in sliding contact with the holding surface 61, and is held in a state where the standing posture is held. Further, the lower end portion of the paper P is received by the receiving portion 62 in a state where the position is regulated so as not to contact the paper discharge driving roller 44a. As a result, the paper P is appropriately accumulated on the holding surface 61 without falling down, so that the paper P can be discharged continuously. Further, it is possible to prevent the damage of the paper P that occurs when the recording medium cassette 5 is removed while the recorded paper P is tilted. Further, since the recorded paper P can be supported on a wide surface in the width direction (X-axis direction), the recorded paper P can be reliably held without being damaged.

  According to the above configuration, the sheet P on which recording has been performed can be appropriately discharged to the holding surface 61. Thereby, it is possible to reliably prevent the paper P from being soiled or damaged due to the paper P and the paper discharge driving roller 44a coming into contact again after paper discharge.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, with reference to FIG. 8, the paper discharge drive roller 44a of the recording apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, only the description different from that according to the first embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 8A, in the paper discharge driving roller 44a according to the second embodiment, a plurality of paper discharge roller bodies 47 are arranged so as to shift the phase of the plurality of tooth formation positions, respectively, and the paper discharge rotation shaft 48. It is attached to the shaft. That is, the plurality of teeth formed on each paper discharge roller main body 47 are formed so as to be displaced on the circumference of each paper discharge roller main body 47. In the paper discharge driving roller 44a, any tooth of any one of the paper discharge roller bodies 47 comes into contact with the conveyed paper P.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 8B, the plurality of (eight) teeth of the plurality of discharge roller bodies 47 of the discharge drive roller 44a have a circular outline as a whole. The phase is shifted to the discharge rotation shaft 48. More specifically, one discharge roller main body 47 and the adjacent discharge roller main body 47 are displaced by 5.625 ° in the rotation direction of the discharge rotation shaft 48 and are attached to the discharge rotation shaft 48. Has been. In the paper discharge drive roller 44a according to this modification, a plurality of misaligned teeth are formed so as to form a circular outline as a whole, so that any tooth of any one of the paper discharge roller bodies 47 is Be sure to touch the paper P.

  Thereby, it is possible to reliably prevent the paper discharge drive roller 44a from idling and the positional deviation of the paper P during conveyance, and the paper P can be accurately conveyed. That is, when detecting (measuring) the transport amount of the paper P, the accuracy can be maintained high. In this case, the pair of transport rollers 42 may be omitted. Further, since the rear end of the paper P is engaged with any tooth of any one of the paper discharge roller bodies 47, the performance of removing the paper P from the paper discharge driving roller 44a (reliability that can be removed) is improved. Can do.

  1: recording device, 4: transport unit, 42a: transport drive roller, 42b: transport driven roller, 44a: paper discharge drive roller, 44b: paper discharge driven roller, 47: paper discharge roller body, 48: paper discharge rotating shaft, 61: holding surface, 62: receiving portion, P: paper

Claims (6)

A drive roller that conveys the recording medium so as to follow a holding surface that rotates and holds the recording medium on which recording is performed in an upright state;
A driven roller that is driven and rotated by sandwiching the recording medium with the driving roller,
The conveying means, wherein the drive roller has a gear shape having a plurality of teeth along an outer periphery so that a rear end of the recording medium is caught.   The conveying means according to claim 1, wherein the driving roller has a claw shape in which the plurality of teeth are formed in a claw shape. The drive roller has a plurality of roller bodies in which the plurality of teeth are formed along an outer periphery, and a rotation shaft on which the plurality of roller bodies are respectively attached.
The conveying means according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the plurality of roller bodies is attached to the rotating shaft while shifting the phase of the formation positions of the plurality of teeth.   The conveying means according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of roller bodies are axially attached to each other so that the plurality of teeth of each of the plurality of roller bodies are shifted in phase so as to form a circular outline as a whole.   The conveying means according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a second driving roller and a second driven roller on the upstream side in the conveying direction. A holding unit having a holding surface for holding the recording medium on which recording is performed in an upright state;
A recording apparatus comprising: the conveying unit according to claim 1.

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