JP2014047031A - Medium feeding device and recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medium feeding device or the like capable of properly detecting an end part of a recording medium (running out of cloth) to be sent with tension applied thereto.SOLUTION: A medium feeding device includes a feeding unit for feeding a recording medium W wound around a feeding core 141 in a roll state, a medium feeding mechanism for sending the fed recording medium W along a feeding path, a rod frame 43 provided above the feeding unit to guide feeding of the fed recording medium W, a rotary unit 37 for applying tension to the recording medium W between the feeding unit and the rod frame 43, and an optical sensor 142 provided at a position facing an end part of the recording medium W hanging down from the feeding core 141 to detect the existence/absence of the recording medium W.

Description

  The present invention relates to a medium feeding apparatus and a recording apparatus for feeding and feeding a recording medium such as a fabric wound in a roll shape.

  Conventionally, from a printing section having a recording head for printing on a fabric, a conveyance belt for feeding the fabric, a fabric conveyance means having a pair of conveyance rollers over which the conveyance belt is stretched, and a fabric original winding around which the fabric is wound 2. Description of the Related Art There is known an ink jet printer for a cloth provided with a rotation driving means for feeding the cloth to the cloth conveying means, an unwinding mechanism having a sensor and a weight. In this fabric inkjet printer, when the fabric is fed by the fabric transport means, the slack portion of the fabric slackened by the weight is pulled upward, and when this is detected by the sensor, the fabric original roll is rotated by the rotation drive means and recorded. Feed out the medium. Thereby, the slack portion of the fabric is hung down again, and the fabric is stably supplied to the printing unit (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-249976 A

  By the way, in this type of fabric ink jet printer (medium feeding device), when the fabric (recording medium) is fed with tension without slackening, in order to detect the end of the fabric (cloth cut), It is conceivable to provide a light detection unit (a reflection type photo sensor or the like) on the cloth feeding path to detect the presence or absence of the cloth to be fed. However, the fabric is usually fed through the guide roller while the slackness is changing every moment, and is not sent along a certain plane. For this reason, even if the light detection unit is provided on the cloth feed path, the fabric may be removed from the detection distance of the light detection unit and may be erroneously detected as being out of cloth.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a medium feeding apparatus and a recording apparatus that can appropriately detect a terminal portion (cloth cut) of a recording medium fed with tension.

  The medium feeding device of the present invention is provided with a feeding unit that feeds a recording medium wound in a roll around a core, a medium feeding mechanism that feeds the fed recording medium along a feeding path, and a feeding unit that is provided above the feeding unit. Guide section for guiding the feeding of the recorded recording medium, a tension applying section for applying tension to the recording medium between the feeding section and the guide section, and a light detecting section for detecting the presence or absence of the recording medium hanging off the core And.

  According to this configuration, the recording medium fed from the feeding unit is fed in a tensioned state without being slackened downward between the feeding unit and the guide unit. For this reason, when there is a recording medium remaining in the core, the light detection unit detects “absence” of the recording medium. On the other hand, when there is no remaining recording medium in the core and the end of the recording medium is detached from the core and hangs down, the light detection unit detects “present” of the recording medium. Since the end portion of the recording medium hangs down from the outer peripheral surface of the core, the end portion of the recording medium does not hang out of the detection distance of the light detection unit, and this can always be detected stably. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately detect the end portion (cloth cut) of the recording medium.

  In this case, the tension applying unit is composed of a rotating unit that rotates and rewinds the core so that the tension on the recording medium becomes a required value, and tension is applied to the recording medium between the feeding unit and the guide unit. In the mode switching unit for switching between the tension mode to be applied and sent and the slack mode in which the recording medium between the feeding unit and the guide unit is slacked down and sent, It is preferable to further include a control unit that controls the rotating unit so that the core rotates out based on the detection of "."

  According to this configuration, in the slack mode, when the amount of slack of the recording medium fed out from the feeding unit decreases, the light detection unit detects “nothing” in the recording medium, and based on this, the core is fed out and rotated. The amount of slack can be controlled. As described above, the end portion of the recording medium can be detected in the tension mode by the same light detection unit, and the amount of slackness of the recording medium can be controlled in the slack mode. Therefore, the photodetection unit can be shared and the number of parts can be reduced.

  In this case, it is preferable to further include an adjustment unit that adjusts the distance in the vertical direction between the light detection unit and the feeding unit.

  When the winding amount of the recording medium is large, the height position of the lower end portion of the roll-shaped recording medium (roll body) is lower than the height position at which the end portion of the recording medium hangs down, and the light detection unit There is a possibility that the recording medium “presence” is erroneously detected by the lower end of the body. In this regard, according to the present configuration, when the amount of winding of the recording medium is large by the adjustment unit, the distance between the light detection unit and the feeding unit in the vertical direction is increased, and the light detection unit is By reducing the vertical separation between the feeding portion and the feeding portion, such erroneous detection can be prevented and the end portion of the recording medium can be detected.

  The recording apparatus of the present invention includes the above-described medium feeding device and a printing unit that performs printing on the recording medium fed by the medium feeding device.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the printing unit from performing a printing operation even after the cloth is cut by including the medium feeding device that can appropriately detect the end portion (cloth cut) of the recording medium. .

1 is a cross-sectional structure diagram schematically illustrating an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating detection of a terminal portion of a recording medium when the ink jet recording apparatus is in a tension mode. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating a modification example regarding detection of a terminal portion of a recording medium when the inkjet recording apparatus is in a tension mode.

  Hereinafter, an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This ink jet recording apparatus prints (prints) a pattern or the like on a cloth (original fabric) to be discharged in a so-called reel-to-reel format using a dye ink exclusively by an ink jet method. In the following description, the forward / reverse feed direction of the recording medium, which is a fabric, is the X axis direction, the direction orthogonal to the X axis direction is the Y axis direction, and the direction orthogonal to the X axis direction and the Y axis direction is the Z axis. Specify the direction.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional structure diagram of an ink jet recording apparatus. As shown in the figure, the inkjet recording apparatus 1 includes a feeding unit 2 that feeds and feeds a recording medium W wound in a roll shape, and a printing medium W that is fed for printing along a feeding path 3. A main body 4 to be sent, a printing unit 5 which is disposed on the upper side of the main body 4 and performs printing on the recording medium W by an inkjet method in cooperation with the main body 4, and a recording medium W printed by the printing unit 5. A winding unit 6 that winds and collects on the downstream side in the feed direction of the apparatus main body 4 and a control unit 7 that performs overall control of these constituent devices are provided.

  The apparatus main body 4 includes a main body base 11 configured by assembling steel materials, and a medium feeding mechanism 12 supported by the main body base 11 and intermittently feeding the recording medium W in the X-axis direction by belt conveyance. ing. The printing unit 5 includes a carriage unit 14 having an inkjet head 15 and a head moving mechanism 16 that reciprocates the carriage unit 14 in the Y-axis direction. On the other hand, the feeding unit 2 includes a feeding unit 18 that feeds out the recording medium W, and a loosening unit 19 that takes out the slack of the recording medium W that has been fed out. The winding unit 6 also includes a winding unit 21 that winds the recording medium W, a slip sheet unit 22 that supplies the slip sheet P to the winding unit 21, and a recording medium W that is immersed before the recording medium W is wound. And a heater unit 23 for vaporizing the solvent (moisture) of the incorporated dye ink, and these units are mounted on a winder unit base 24.

  The recording medium W (fabric) fed out from the feeding unit 18 is slackened so as to be stretched by the slackening unit 19 and fed into the medium feeding mechanism 12. The recording medium W sent to the medium feeding mechanism 12 is conveyed by a belt so as to adhere to the surface. In this belt conveyance, the recording medium W is intermittently fed in the X-axis direction (sub scanning), while the carriage unit 14 reciprocates in the Y-axis direction in synchronization with this, and ink is ejected from the inkjet head 15 ( Main scan).

  In this way, after printing is performed, the printed portion (printed portion) of the recording medium W is sent out from the medium feeding mechanism 12 to the winding unit 6. In the winding unit 6, the slip sheet P is continuously supplied from the slip sheet unit 22 to the recording medium W sent from the medium feed mechanism 12, and the record medium W and the slip sheet P are overlapped and fed to the heater unit 23. It is done. In the heater unit 23, the recording medium W is heated together with the interleaving paper P, and the solvent (moisture) of the dye ink is vaporized. In this way, the printed recording medium W that has been dried is taken up by the take-up unit 21 together with the interleaving paper P.

  The feeding unit 18 is composed of a pair of left and right (Y-axis direction) T-shaped frames 32 fixed to the main body base 11 and a plurality of bar-shaped frames 33 passed between the pair of T-shaped frames 32. The feeding frame 31 and the pair of T-shaped frames 32 are both supported and supported by the two feeding-side rod bases 34 extending in the Y-axis direction and the two feeding-side rod bases 34 so as to be slidable. A pair of feeding shaft protrusions 35. The leading end portions of the feeding shaft projections 35 are formed in a truncated cone shape, and the pair of feeding shaft projections 35 are arranged in a roll-shaped recording manner by reciprocating each other corresponding to the width of the recording medium W. The recording medium W is inserted into the feeding core 141 (see FIG. 2) of the medium W to support the recording medium W horizontally.

  Each of the pair of feeding shaft projections 35 incorporates a motor-driven width moving unit 36. When the axial displacement of the recording medium W has occurred (detection), the pair of feeding shaft projections 35 is replaced with two. The recording medium W is slightly moved on the feeding-side rod base 34 to prevent the recording medium W from being displaced in the width direction with respect to the medium feeding mechanism 12, that is, the recording medium W is meandering (skewed) in the medium feeding mechanism 12. .

  Further, a motor-driven rotation unit 37 is incorporated in one of the pair of feeding shaft protrusions 35, and the pair of feeding shaft protrusions 35 are fed and rotated by the rotating unit 37 so that the recording medium W is fed out. Yes. Further, below the feeding unit 18, a reflection type optical sensor 142 (see FIG. 2) that detects the presence or absence of the recording medium W fed from the feeding unit 18 is provided.

  In the present embodiment, there are a tension mode that feeds the recording medium W while applying a constant tension, and a slack mode that feeds the recording medium W with as little tension as possible, and mode switching is performed for each recording medium W. The tension mode and the slack mode can be switched by a GUI (Graphical User Interface) button on an operation screen (not shown) provided in the printing unit 5.

  The tension mode is intended for a normal fabric (recording medium W) having low stretchability. In this case, for example, the control unit 7 configured by a personal computer applies a required tension to the recording medium W. The rotation unit 37 is controlled so as to be given. More specifically, the control unit 7 drives the rotation unit 37 so as to feed out the recording medium W during the feeding operation of the recording medium W by the medium feeding mechanism 12 by controlling the torque of the motor of the rotating unit 37, thereby feeding the medium. When the feeding of the recording medium W by the mechanism 12 is stopped, the rotation unit 37 is driven so that the recording medium W is slightly rewound. Thereby, the recording medium W is sent in a state where tension is applied to the recording medium W between the feeding unit 18 and the loosening unit 19.

  On the other hand, the slack mode is intended for a highly stretchable fabric (recording medium W) such as a stocking, for example. In this case, the control unit 7 once causes the recording medium W that has been fed out to slack downward. After that (indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1), the rotation unit 37 is controlled so as to be fed into the slack removal unit 19. That is, the control unit 7 reduces the amount of slackness of the recording medium W as the recording medium W is fed by the medium feeding mechanism 12, and the optical sensor 142 provided below the feeding unit 18 uses the “ When “No” is detected, the rotation unit 37 is driven to rotate forward so as to feed out the recording medium W, and this increases the amount of slack. When the optical sensor 142 detects “Yes” of the recording medium W, the rotation unit 37 is driven. Stop. By controlling the slack amount, the recording medium W is fed in a state where the recording medium W between the feeding unit 18 and the slack eliminating unit 19 is appropriately slackened.

  The loosening unit 19 includes a pair of left and right (Y-axis direction) L-shaped frames 42 fixed to a side frame 62 of the medium feeding mechanism 12 to be described later, and a rod frame 43 passed between the pair of L-shaped frames 42. And a roller group 44 that is rotatably supported by a pair of L-shaped frames 42. The roller group 44 includes a first roller 45, a second roller 46, a third roller 47, and a fourth roller from the upstream side in the feeding direction so as to bend the feeding path 3 of the recording medium W fed from the feeding unit 18 at a plurality of locations. The rollers 48 are arranged in this order.

  The first roller 45 is composed of a roller having a high friction coefficient, and is placed on a pair of inclined blocks 49 whose both ends are attached to the inside of each L-shaped frame 42. The recording medium W in the state where the upstream side is slackened is rerouted diagonally outward toward the second roller 46 at the portion of the first roller 45. When the recording medium W is pulled (feeded) by the intermittent feeding of the medium feeding mechanism 12, the first roller 45 moves up the pair of inclined blocks 49 by the frictional force between the recording medium W and the first roller 45. Moving. When the feeding of the recording medium W is stopped, the first roller 45 returns to the original position by moving down the pair of inclined blocks 49 by its own weight. As a result, an appropriate tension is applied to the recording medium W being fed, and the intermittent feed shock is absorbed.

  The recording medium W that has passed through the first roller 45 reaches the third roller 47 and the fourth roller 48 in a U-turn by the second roller 46. The third roller 47 and the fourth roller 48 are disposed close to each other in the vertical direction, and are rotatably supported by a pair of bearing portions 51 in which both end portions are integrally formed. Each bearing portion 51 is rotatably supported by the L-shaped frame 42, and an angle adjustment unit 52 that adjusts the upper and lower arrangement angles of the third roller 47 and the fourth roller 48 is provided on one bearing portion 51. Is incorporated.

  The recording medium W passing through the third roller 47 and the fourth roller 48 is changed in path to an “S” shape, and this “S” curve is deformed and adjusted according to the type of the recording medium W, and the recording medium Appropriate tension can be applied for each W. As a result, the recording medium W is fed into the medium feeding mechanism 12 after partial slack and wrinkles are eliminated. Note that these rollers 45, 46, 47, and 48 preferably have a medium-high shape so that a component force from the center to the outside acts on the recording medium W.

  The medium feeding mechanism 12 is supported by the main body frame 61 having a pair of left and right (Y-axis direction) side frames 62 mounted and fixed on the main body base 11 and the pair of side frames 62, and is an endless transport belt. A belt conveyance unit 63 having 64 and a belt cleaning unit 65 disposed below the belt conveyance unit 63 are provided. Further, the medium feeding mechanism 12 includes a pressing roller 66 that faces the belt conveyance unit 63 from the upper side on the upstream side, and a separation roller 67 that is disposed obliquely above the belt conveyance unit 63 on the downstream side.

  The main body frame 61 includes a pair of side frames 62 made of a thick plate material, and a pair of front and rear (X-axis direction) connection frames 71 that connect the pair of side frames 62. 62 is placed and fixed on the main unit base 11. The main body frame 61 is located between the pair of connection frames 71 and has a support frame 72 that connects the pair of side frames 62 and supports the belt cleaning unit 65. Each side frame 62 is appropriately provided with a notch for attaching the belt conveyance unit 63 and a notch for attaching the printing unit 5, and an opening for inspecting the belt cleaning unit 65 is formed. ing.

  The belt conveyance unit 63 includes a drive pulley 81 located on the downstream side in the feed direction, a driven pulley 82 located on the upstream side in the feed direction, and an endless conveyance belt 64 bridged between the drive pulley 81 and the driven pulley 82. ,have. The belt conveyance unit 63 is located in the vicinity of the driven pulley 82 and is located immediately below the printing unit 5 and the first guide plate 83 that guides the conveyance belt 64 and guides the conveyance belt 64. A second guide plate 84 and a third guide plate 85 that is located immediately above the support frame 72 and guides the travel of the conveyor belt 64 that wraps around the back side.

  The first guide plate 83 and the second guide plate 84 are bridged between the pair of side frames 62 in a state where the surfaces of the first guide plate 83 and the second guide plate 84 are flush with each other (the same horizontal plane). It also functions as a part. Further, the first guide plate 83 guides the conveyance belt 64 (upper side) immediately after being separated from the driven pulley 82 to run horizontally, and the second guide plate 84 is a conveyance belt 64 ( On the upper side) so that no slack occurs. Therefore, the conveyance belt 64 positioned immediately above the second guide plate 84 functions as a platen. Further, the third guide plate 85 guides the conveyor belt 64 that receives the thrust force by the belt cleaning unit 65 so as to press down (details will be described later).

  The drive pulley 81 and the driven pulley 82 are rotatably supported by a pair of side frames 62 via dedicated bearings, and a conveyance belt 64 intermittently travels on one shaft end of the drive pulley 81. A motor 86 is connected. The conveyance belt 64 is formed of a wide special belt having adhesiveness (adhesion treatment) on the outer peripheral surface (front surface), and a recording medium W is adhered and sent in the X-axis direction. As a result, the recording medium W is printed (intermittently fed) immediately below the printing unit 5 without causing any distortion.

  On the upper side of the driven pulley 82, a pressing roller 66 that sticks the recording medium W sent from the slack eliminating unit 19 to the transport belt 64 is disposed. The pressing roller 66 is rotatably supported at the distal ends of a pair of support arms 87 that are rotatably supported by the side frame 62. The pressing roller 66 has a predetermined elasticity and its own weight, and presses the recording medium W against the conveyance belt 64 immediately above the driven pulley 82 by its own weight. That is, the pressing roller 66 and the driven pulley 82 function as a nip roller with the conveyance belt 64 interposed therebetween, and continuously adhere the recording medium W to the traveling conveyance belt 64. An air cylinder 88 for rotating the support arm 87 is connected to an intermediate position between the support arms 87, and the pair of air cylinders 88 are driven synchronously so that the pressing roller 66 is moved from the conveyor belt 64. Torn apart.

  On the other hand, a separation roller 67 is disposed above the drive pulley 81 so that the recording medium W after printing is peeled off from the transport belt 64 and sent to the winding unit 6. The separation roller 67 is rotatably supported by a pair of sub frames 89 extending from the side frame 62. In this case, the separation roller 67 circulates the drive pulley 81 and relatively peels off the recording medium W from the conveyance belt 64 that wraps around to the back side. However, in actual operation, the peeling force from the conveyance belt 64 is The recording medium W differs depending on the type. For this reason, depending on the type of the recording medium W, there are a type in which the conveyance belt 64 starts to peel off at a position where the circulation starts and a case where the conveyance belt 64 starts to peel off at a position where the rotation has progressed to some extent. However, if the peeling point goes around to the back side, the recording medium W may be wound around the transport belt 64.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the position of the angle of the recording medium W sent from the transport belt 64 to the separation roller 67 is detected, and the winding unit 21 is driven to wind based on the detection result of the position detection, and then peeled off. This point is prevented from going around to the back side of the conveyor belt 64.

  The belt cleaning unit 65 is supported by the support frame 72 below the conveyor belt 64 and extends in the Y-axis direction so as to cross the conveyor belt 64. The belt cleaning unit 65 includes a unit base 91 placed on the support frame 72, a lifting cylinder 92 provided so as to stand on the unit base 91, a cleaning unit body 93 lifted and lowered by the lifting cylinder 92, and a cleaning unit. And a pair of lifting guides 94 for guiding the lifting and lowering of the main body 93.

  The cleaning unit main body 93 includes a box-shaped cleaning container 96 that extends in the Y-axis direction and stores cleaning liquid, a rotating brush 97 that is accommodated in the cleaning container 96, a cleaning motor 98 that rotates the rotating brush 97, A wiper 99 that relatively scrapes off the cleaning liquid adhering to the conveyor belt 64. The wiper 99 is attached to the inside of the cleaning container 96 and is composed of two wiping blades 99a arranged in a “V” shape. The wiper 99 comes into contact with the traveling conveyor belt 64 and scrapes the cleaning liquid. The cleaning liquid finally remaining on the conveyor belt 64 is wiped off with a waste cloth. The cleaning liquid is preferably circulated while filtering with the external tank.

  Since lint and dust adhere to the conveying belt 64 having adhesiveness over time, the belt cleaning unit 65 periodically cleans the conveying belt 64. In this cleaning operation, after the cleaning unit main body 93 is raised to a position where the rotary brush 97 and the wiper 99 come into contact with the conveyor belt 64, the conveyor belt 64 is run and the rotary brush 97 is rotated in the opposite direction to the running. Let At this time, the conveyor belt 64 is pressed by the third guide plate 85 and comes into contact with the rotating brush 97 while maintaining the horizontal posture. Thereby, the conveyance belt 64 (adhesive surface thereof) is continuously brushed and washed. In addition, it is preferable to perform an adhesion process on the transport belt 64 after cleaning so as to restore the adhesive force.

  The printing unit 5 is mounted on the printer frame 101 extending in the Y-axis direction so as to straddle the feed path 3 (belt conveyance unit 63), the head moving mechanism 16 supported by the printer frame 101, and the head moving mechanism 16. A carriage unit 14 that reciprocates in the Y-axis direction, and a printer cover 102 that covers them. Although not particularly illustrated, the printing unit 5 is equipped with a cap unit and a cleaning unit for maintaining the inkjet head 15. The so-called paper gap (work gap) in the printing unit 5 has various thicknesses in various recording media W, and therefore the entire printing unit 5 is moved up and down with respect to the apparatus main body 4 (medium feeding mechanism 12). It is adjusted by.

  The printer frame 101 includes a sheet metal beam-like frame 104 extending in the Y-axis direction, and a pair of standing metal frames 105 that support the beam-like frame 104 at both ends, and the pair of standing frames. The portion 105 is supported by the side frame 62 described above. The printer cover 102 is attached to the printer frame 101.

  The carriage unit 14 includes an inkjet head 15 having a plurality of color nozzle arrays for color printing, and a carriage 107 that holds the inkjet head 15 so that the nozzle surface 15a (see FIG. 7) faces downward. . The dye ink of each color supplied to each nozzle row is supplied from a so-called off-carriage ink tank.

  The head moving mechanism 16 includes a carriage guide 111 that supports the carriage unit 14 in a cantilevered manner so as to be slidable in the Y-axis direction, a belt transmission mechanism 112 that reciprocates the carriage guide 111, and a carriage motor 113 that drives the belt transmission mechanism 112. And have. The carriage guide 111 includes a lower main guide 114 and an upper sub guide 115, and the main guide 114 and the sub guide 115 are supported by the pair of standing frames 105 at both ends thereof. The belt transmission mechanism 112 includes a timing belt 116, and a part of the timing belt 116 is fixed to the carriage unit 14 (carriage 107).

  When the timing belt 116 is moved forward and backward by the carriage motor 113, the carriage unit 14 is guided by the carriage guide 111 and reciprocates in the Y-axis direction. The movement position of the carriage guide 111 is detected by a linear encoder, and each color dye ink is selectively ejected from the inkjet head 15 based on the detection result and print data. Thereby, printing (printing) on the recording medium W is performed.

  The winding unit 6 includes a winding unit base 24 detachably connected to the main unit base 11 in the X-axis direction, a heater unit 23 supported on the upper part of the winding unit base 24, and a winding unit. A winding unit 21 and a slip-sheet unit 22 supported at the lower part of the department machine base 24 are provided. The printed recording medium W includes a method of winding a thick recording medium W that does not allow ink to be transferred as it is, and a method of winding an interleaf paper P on a thin recording medium W that is likely to cause ink to be transferred. The winding unit 6 in the form is designed to be compatible with any method. Hereinafter, the case where the latter method is adopted will be described.

  The winding unit base 24 includes an upper horizontal frame unit 121, a lower horizontal frame unit 122, and a vertical frame unit 123 that connects the upper horizontal frame unit 121 and the lower horizontal frame unit 122, and is an extruded form of aluminum. It is constructed by assembling materials vertically and horizontally. The vertical frame portion 123 is detachably connected to the main unit base 11.

  The heater unit 23 includes a heat radiating plate 125 having an arc-shaped heat radiating surface 125a and a heater 126 attached to the heat radiating plate 125. The heater unit 23 is attached to the upper horizontal frame portion 121 by left and right fixing members 127 provided on the upper horizontal frame portion 121 with the upper half of the heater unit 23 being placed on the upper horizontal frame portion 121. An upper end portion of the heat radiating plate 125 is disposed at a position close to the separation roller 67 and slightly lower than the separation roller 67. Further, the upper end portion of the heat radiating plate 125 is bent and formed in a downward arc shape in order to change the path of the slip sheet P introduced from below into this portion.

  The recording medium W that has passed through the separation roller 67 overlaps the slip sheet P sent from below at the upper end of the heat radiating plate 125, and is sent downward along the arcuate outer surface (heat radiating surface 125 a) of the heat radiating plate 125. . The recording medium W and the interleaf P that are fed in the vertical direction while being in sliding contact with the heat radiating surface 125 a are continuously heated by the heater 126. By this heating, the solvent (moisture) of the dye ink soaked in the recording medium W is vaporized, and the dye is fixed on the fabric.

  The slip sheet unit 22 includes a slip sheet roller 131 that feeds the rolled slip sheet P, and a guide bar 132 that changes the path of the fed slip sheet P toward the upper end of the heat dissipation plate 125. The guide bar 132 is fixed to a diagonal member connecting the lower horizontal frame portion 122 and the vertical frame portion 123. The interleaf roller 131 is supported by the front portion of the lower horizontal frame portion 122 via a pair of bearing units 133 incorporating a braking mechanism. By this pair of bearing units 133, the slip sheet P is fed out without causing slack.

  The winding unit 21 is supported by the rear portion of the lower horizontal frame portion 122 and extends in the Y-axis direction, and the two winding sides, like the feeding unit 18 described above. And a pair of winding shaft protrusions 136 slidably supported on the rod base 135. Further, the winding unit 21 has a tension roller 137 that is positioned in the feed path 3 between the lower end portion of the heat dissipation plate 125 and the pair of winding shaft protrusions 136 and applies tension to the recording medium W and the interleaf P. doing.

  The front ends of each winding shaft protrusion 136 are formed in a truncated cone shape, and the pair of winding shaft protrusions 136 are arranged so that the respective front end portions are aligned with each other by the width adjustment corresponding to the width of the recording medium W. It is inserted into a winding core for winding W, and is supported horizontally. A motor-driven rotation unit 138 is incorporated in one of the pair of winding shaft protrusions 136 so as to wind up and rotate the pair of winding shaft protrusions 136 so that the recording medium W and the interleaf paper P are simultaneously wound. I have to. The rotation unit 138 is controlled based on the detection of the angle of the recording medium W sent to the separation roller 67 in the vicinity of the separation roller 67 as described above.

  The tension roller 137 is rotatably supported at the distal ends of a pair of rotating arms 139 that are rotatably supported at the rear of the lower horizontal frame portion 122. The tension roller 137 rolls in contact with the recording medium W and the interleaf P between the recording medium W and the interleaf P, which are wound around the winding core, and urges the recording medium W and the interleaf P to rotate downward by its own weight. . As a result, an appropriate tension is applied to the recording medium W and the slip sheet P, and the recording medium W and the slip sheet P are wound around the winding core so as to be tightened.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 2, detection of the end portion of the recording medium W (out of cloth) by the optical sensor 142 in the tension mode will be described. As described above, in the tension mode, the recording medium W fed from the feeding unit 18 is not tensioned downward between the feeding unit 18 and the loosening unit 19 (rod frame 43), and tension is applied. Sent by. For this reason, when there is a remaining amount of the recording medium W in the feeding core 141, the optical sensor 142 detects “absence” of the recording medium W (see FIG. 2A).

  On the other hand, when there is no remaining recording medium W in the feeding core 141 and the trailing end of the recording medium W falls off the feeding core 141 and hangs down, the optical sensor 142 provided at a position facing the trailing end of the hanging recording medium W. However, the presence of the recording medium W is detected (see FIG. 2B). Then, since the end portion of the recording medium W hangs down from the outer peripheral surface of the feeding core 141, the end portion of the recording medium W does not hang out of the detection distance of the optical sensor 142, and this is always detected stably. Can do. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately detect the end portion (cloth cut) of the recording medium W. When the cloth breakage is detected, the control unit 7 controls the medium feeding mechanism 12 and the printing unit 5 to feed the recording medium W until the end of the recording medium W reaches the printing unit 5. Then, the feeding of the recording medium W and the printing operation are stopped, and this is notified on the operation screen.

  Further, as described above, in the slack mode, the amount of slack of the recording medium W fed from the feeding unit 18 is controlled by the optical sensor 142, and in the tension mode, the end portion of the recording medium W is controlled by the same optical sensor 142. Can be detected. Thus, by sharing the optical sensor 142, the number of parts can be reduced.

  Since the amount of sag at the end of the recording medium W is usually less than or equal to the outer peripheral length of the feeding core 141, the upper and lower sides of the contact 143 of the feeding core 141 at which the ending of the recording medium W hangs down and the optical sensor 142. The distance d in the direction is preferably equal to or less than the outer peripheral length of the feeding core 141.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the mounting position adjustment part 144 which can adjust the mounting position of the optical sensor 142 to an up-down direction is provided, and the separation distance in the up-down direction of the optical sensor 142 and the feeding unit 18 (feeding shaft protrusion 35) is provided. It is preferable that d can be adjusted. That is, when the amount of winding of the recording medium W is large, the mounting position adjusting unit 144 lowers the mounting position of the optical sensor 142 to increase the vertical distance d from the feeding unit 18 (FIG. 3). (See (a)). Thereby, even when the winding amount of the recording medium W is large, the optical sensor 142 does not erroneously detect that the recording medium W is “present” by the lower end portion of the roll-shaped recording medium W. Further, when the winding amount of the recording medium W is reduced and the end portion is close, the mounting position adjusting unit 144 moves the mounting position of the optical sensor 142 upward so that the separation distance d in the vertical direction from the feeding unit 18 is increased. (See FIG. 3B). As a result, the end portion of the recording medium W can be detected. The attachment position of the feeding unit 18 may be adjustable in the vertical direction.

  As described above, according to the ink jet recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to appropriately detect the end portion (cloth cut) of the recording medium W fed with tension.

  1: inkjet recording apparatus, 12: medium feeding mechanism, 18: feeding unit, 37: rotating unit, 43: lot frame, 141: feeding core, 142: optical sensor, W: recording medium

Claims (4)

A feeding section for feeding out a recording medium wound around the core in a roll;
A medium feeding mechanism for feeding the fed recording medium along a feeding path;
A guide unit provided above the feeding unit and guiding the feeding of the fed recording medium;
A tension applying unit that applies tension to the recording medium between the feeding unit and the guide unit;
A light detection unit for detecting the presence or absence of the recording medium hanging off the core;
A medium feeding device comprising: The tension applying unit is configured by a rotating unit that rotates and rewinds the core so that the tension on the recording medium has a required value.
A tension mode in which a tension is applied to the recording medium between the feeding unit and the guide unit and sent; and a slack mode in which the recording medium between the feeding unit and the guide unit is slackened and sent; and A mode switching unit for switching between,
In the slack mode, based on detection of “nothing” of the recording medium by the light detection unit, a control unit that controls the rotation unit so that the core is extended and rotated;
The medium feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising:   The medium feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising an adjustment unit that adjusts a separation distance in the vertical direction between the light detection unit and the feeding unit. A medium feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A printing unit for printing on the recording medium sent by the medium feeding device;
A recording apparatus comprising:

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