JPH08217261A - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an ink jet printer provided with an edge guide and a supporting part, and whose slide operation is easy. CONSTITUTION: An edge guide 23 positioned on the upper surface of a main body 10, and a supporting flap 82 positioned on the front surface of the main body are interlocked with each other by a connecting rod 110 provided with a pinion. The supporting flap 82 is so constituted as to be turned in both right and left directions in the paper sheet width direction and is not damaged even if it collides with a press-down part 83.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to ink jet printers. In particular, the present invention relates to improvement of the paper feeding portion and the paper discharging portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional printer is known in which an edge guide for guiding a side of a sheet set in a sheet feeding device is slidably attached according to the width of the sheet.

As a conventional ink jet printer, one shown in FIGS. 16 to 18 is known (US Pat. No. 5,299,875).

This ink jet printer is provided with a paper feed tray 2 on the rear portion of the main body 1 on which a paper P for printing is set, and a pair of support portions 3, 3 on the front portion of the main body 1.
4 and an edge separator 5.

The paper P is supplied from the paper feed tray 2 to the main body 1 and is printed on the upper surface by an ink jet head provided in the main body 1. Then, as shown in FIG. 4 is guided so as to be supported from below by 4 and its central portion is discharged while being guided so as to be supported from below by the edge separator 5.

[0006] One of the supporting portions 4 is a sheet P for printing.
17 is slidable in the direction of arrow b (paper width direction) so that its position can be adjusted according to the width of the sheet. Further, in order to improve the storability when not in use, it is configured to be rotatable in the direction of arrow a (rightward in the paper width direction) toward the recess 6. It should be noted that the other support portion 3 is also provided in order to improve storability when not in use.
It is configured to be rotatable toward the recess 7.

[0007]

In the printer having the edge guides as described above, the user slides the edge guides according to the width of the sheets each time the sheets of different sizes are set in the sheet feeding device. There must be.

In the conventional ink jet printer having the supporting portion 4 as described above, the user is
Each time paper sheets of different sizes are set in the paper feed tray 2, the support portion 4 must be slid in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 17 according to the width of the paper sheets.

Therefore, when the above-mentioned edge guide is provided in the ink jet printer having the supporting portion as described above, the user sets the width of the paper each time the paper of different size is set in the paper feeding device. In addition, the edge guide and the supporting portion have to be slid, which causes a problem that these operations become troublesome.

Further, in particular, when the sheet feeding device and the discharging portion are provided on different surfaces with respect to the main body of the printer, the edge guide of the sheet feeding device and the supporting portion of the discharging portion are located greatly apart from each other. Therefore, when loading paper of different sizes in the paper feeder, the user does not forget to slide the edge guides to match the width of the paper, but at a position that is far from the paper loading position. It is easy to forget to slide a certain support. If the support part is not slid to an appropriate position, an appropriate paper discharge operation cannot be obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide an ink jet printer having an edge guide and a supporting portion, which is easy to slide.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, an ink jet printer according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a main body having a printing section and a slidable portion according to the width of a sheet fed to the main body. A sheet feeding device having an edge guide for guiding the side of the sheet and a surface different from the surface on which the sheet feeding device is provided, provided on the main body, printed on the upper surface by the printing unit, and discharged. A pair of supporting portions for supporting both side portions of the sheet from below, and at least one supporting portion of the pair of supporting portions is configured to be slidable in the sheet width direction; and the edge guide. Interlocking means for interlocking the slide and the slide of the support portion.

An ink jet printer according to a second aspect is the ink jet printer according to the first aspect,
The interlocking means is rotatably connected to the support part and the edge guide, and has an interlocking rod having a first pinion provided on the support part side and a second pinion provided on the edge guide side, It is characterized by comprising a first rack that meshes with the first pinion and a second rack that meshes with the second pinion.

An ink jet printer according to a third aspect is the ink jet printer according to the first or second aspect, wherein the one support portion is configured to be rotatable in both left and right directions in a paper width direction. .

An ink jet printer according to a fourth aspect is the ink jet printer according to the third aspect,
One of the supporting portions is a supporting position that supports the side portion of the sheet from below, and an unsupported position that does not support the side portion of the sheet by being rotated from this supporting position in either the left or right direction of the sheet width direction. And the discharge unit has a push-down unit that pushes down the central portion of the paper sheet downward, so that the one support unit passes through the push-down unit toward the other support unit. When slid, one of the supporting portions is held in an unsupported position where it does not support the side portion of the paper by abutting against the push-down portion and rotating.

[0016]

According to the ink jet printer of the first aspect, after the paper fed from the paper feeding device to the main body is printed by the printing portion, both sides of the paper are downwardly moved by the pair of supporting portions in the discharging portion. It is discharged while being supported by.

Since the slide of the edge guide in the sheet feeding device and the slide of at least one of the supporting portions in the discharging portion are interlocked with each other by the interlocking means, the edge guide is slid when the sheet is set in the sheet feeding device. Then, the supporting part will automatically slide.

Therefore, it is possible to save the labor of sliding the support portion separately from the operation of the edge guide, and at the same time, it is possible to always obtain an appropriate paper discharge operation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ink jet printer according to the first aspect, wherein the interlocking means is rotatably connected to the supporting portion and the edge guide and is provided on the supporting portion side. An interlocking rod having a first pinion and a second pinion provided on the edge guide side, a first rack that meshes with the first pinion, and a second rack that meshes with the second pinion.
Since the rack is provided, when the edge guide is slid, the second rack and the second pinion of the interlocking rod mesh with each other to rotate the interlocking rod, and at the same time, the first pinion and the first rack mesh with each other. The support portion connected to the interlocking rod is surely moved by the same distance as the edge guide without being affected by the bending of the interlocking rod.

Therefore, a more reliable interlocking operation between the edge guide and the support portion can be obtained.

According to the ink jet printer of the third aspect, the following effects can be obtained.

The support portion is slidable, and as in the prior art (see FIG. 17) described above, the support portion 4 is provided only on one side in the paper width direction (sliding direction) (arrow a direction in FIG. 17, that is, rightward direction). If the structure is such that it can rotate only when the user carelessly, for example, if the support part 4 is slid in that direction despite some obstacle in the sliding direction, There is a problem in that a force is applied in a direction in which 4 cannot rotate (a direction opposite to the arrow a direction) and the support portion 4 may be damaged.
Further, in the ink jet printer according to claim 1 or 2, the sheet feeding device and the discharging portion are provided on different surfaces with respect to the main body of the printer, and the edge guide of the sheet feeding device and the supporting portion of the discharging portion are provided. Since they are located far apart from each other, when setting the paper in the paper feeder, the user who mainly slides while watching the edge guide does not notice that the support part hits an obstacle and the support part is damaged. Not a little can happen.

On the other hand, according to the ink jet printer of the third aspect, in the ink jet printer of the first or second aspect, the one support portion is configured to be rotatable in both left and right directions in the paper width direction. Therefore, when the support portion slides, even if an external force acts on the support portion due to some obstacle in the sliding direction, for example, the support portion is not likely to be damaged.

In particular, when an ink jet printer according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is provided with a depressing section that depresses the central portion of the paper downward, the supporting section collides with the depressing section when the supporting section slides. However, even in such a case, the support portion or the push-down portion will not be damaged.

According to the ink jet printer of the fourth aspect, in the ink jet printer of the third aspect, the one supporting portion has a supporting position for supporting a side portion of the sheet from below, and a sheet width direction from the supporting position. Can be set to an unsupported position in which the side portion of the sheet is not supported by being rotated in either left or right direction, and the discharge section has a push-down section that pushes down the central section of the sheet. When the one support portion is slid toward the other support portion so as to pass through the push-down portion, the one support portion abuts against the push-down portion and rotates, so that the paper side Since it is held in the unsupported position where the part is not supported, the following effects are obtained.

Among the sheets used for printing, there are sheets having a small width such as small envelopes and postcards. Even when printing on paper with such a small width, if both sides of the paper are supported and discharged by a pair of supporting parts,
There is a possibility that the pressing action of the central part of the paper by the pressing part cannot be sufficiently obtained, and the desired paper discharge operation cannot be obtained. In such a case, it is preferable to set one of the supporting portions to an unsupported position that does not support the side portion of the sheet, and to support the sheet only by the other supporting piece so that the sheet is cantilevered. It is possible to obtain various paper discharge operations.

On the other hand, in the case of printing on a paper having a small width such as a postcard, when the edge guide is slid in accordance with the width of the paper, the supporting portion interlocked with the edge guide is usually small because the width of the paper is small. It will pass through the push-down section.

According to the ink jet printer of the fourth aspect, when the supporting portion passes through the pushing-down portion, the supporting portion is held at the non-supporting position where it does not support the side portion of the paper. Will be automatically obtained.

In particular, since the edge guide and the supporting portion are interlocked with each other, for example, by simply sliding the edge guide in accordance with the postcard, a paper discharge state suitable for the postcard or the like can be automatically obtained. .

[0030]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an internal structure of an embodiment of an ink jet printer according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially omitted plan view showing the same internal structure, and FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

First, the outline of this printer will be described.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a printer main body, and 1
Reference numeral 1 is a case of the main body, and 20 is an automatic paper feeder incorporated in the main body 10. The automatic paper feeder 20 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 10.

The main body 10 is driven by the paper feed roller 30 and the paper feed roller 30 in pressure contact with each other along the paper path PP through which the paper P (see FIG. 3) fed by the automatic paper feeder 20 passes. Pinch roller 40, a regulation member 50 that guides the back surface of the paper P, a carriage 61 on which an inkjet head 60 that ejects ink droplets toward the paper and prints is mounted, a guide roller 75, and a paper discharge roller. Vs 7
1, 72 and a discharge part 80. Ejector 80
Is provided on the front surface of the main body. Further, on the front surface of the main body 10, a paper discharge tray 9 for stacking the discharged paper is stacked.
0 is provided.

Paper P fed by the automatic paper feeder 20
(See FIG. 3) reaches the paper feed roller 30 through the paper path PP curved in a concave shape as a whole in FIG. 1, and the feed angle is defined by the pinch roller 40, and the paper feed roller 30 is fed out. First, the leading edge of the fed paper P also serves as a guide member.
0, and then as shown in FIG.
b is guided while being in contact with the uppermost surface 51a of the rib 51 formed on the upper surface of the regulation member 50, the distance from the inkjet head 60 is regulated, and the ink is discharged from the head 60 to the surface (upper surface) Pa. Are ejected and printed. A is a print area and forms a print portion.
The printed paper P is ejected onto the paper ejection tray 90 through the paper ejection roller pairs 71 and 72 and the ejection unit 80.

Next, the details of each part will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a main body 10 has a case 11 in which a bottom plate 12 made of a metal plate which also serves as a shield plate, and left and right plastic stands erected on the bottom frame 12. Side frames 13, 14
And an intermediate frame 15 made of a metal plate, which is erected on the side frames 13 and 14, and a plastic sub-frame 16 fixed in place on each of the above frames.

The sub-frame 16 includes a bottom plate 16a forming the lower part of the paper path PP, a back plate 16b, and side plates 16c and 16c 'integrally formed on the left and right sides of the bottom plate 16a and the back plate 16b. Is equipped with. That is, the bottom plate 16a, the back plate 16b, and the side plates 16c and 16c 'are integrally formed. A rib-shaped paper guide 16e is formed on the upper surface of the bottom plate 16a.

The automatic paper feeder 20 includes two paper feed rollers 2
1, a hopper 22, an edge guide 23, and a paper feed tray 24.

The paper feed roller 21 is composed of a D-shaped roller having a rubber layer on its surface and is fixed to a grooved paper feed roller shaft 21a. The paper feed roller shaft 21a is rotatably supported by the side plates 16c and 16c 'of the sub-frame 16, and is rotationally driven at the time of paper feed by a transmission mechanism (not shown) that is interlocked with the drive mechanism 100.

The hopper 22 has a bottom plate 22a for supporting the lower surface of the sheet and side plates 22b, 22b integrally formed on the left and right sides of the bottom portion 22a (only one of which is shown in FIG. 1).
Similarly, triangular side plates 22c and 22c (only one of which is shown in FIG. 1) integrally formed on the lower left and right sides of the bottom portion 22a, and side plates 22b and 22c integrally projecting laterally. It is provided with pins 22d and 22d. The pins 22d, 22d are engaged with the long holes 16d, 16d formed in the side plate 16c of the sub-frame 16, so that the hopper 22 can move up and down in an oblique direction with respect to the sub-frame 16. It is possible to install. Hopper 22 and bottom plate 16a of sub-frame 16
A hopper spring 25 is provided between and, and the hopper 22 is biased obliquely upward by the hopper spring 25. The hopper spring 25 is used for the paper feed roller 2
Two are provided at positions corresponding to 1. The side plates 16c and 16c 'of the sub-frame 16 are provided with a cam mechanism (not shown) interlocking with the drive mechanism 100 for pushing down the hopper 22 against the spring force of the hopper spring 25.
Then, the hopper 22 is released from the pressing by the cam mechanism at the time of paper feeding, and is pushed up by the hopper spring 25 so as to push the paper toward the paper feeding roller 21, and is pushed down by the cam mechanism after the paper feeding is completed. Laura 2
The contact of the sheet with 1 is released.

The edge guide 23 includes a bottom plate 23a, a bent portion 23b provided at the tip of the bottom plate 23a, a clip portion 23c provided at the rear end of the bottom surface, and a side plate 23d.
And a connecting plate 26 which will be described later, and the bending portion 23.
b is engaged with the groove 22e of the hopper 22, and the clip portion 23c
Is elastically sandwiched so as to wrap around the rear portion (upper end portion) of the hopper 22, and is slidably attached to the hopper 22.

The edge guide 23 is for guiding the left side of the sheet (not shown) set on the hopper 22 by the side plate 23d in FIG. The right side of the paper is guided by the upper inner surface of the side plate 16c ′ on the right side of the subframe 16.

As shown in FIG. 1, the paper feed tray 24 is attachable to and detachable from the main body 10 by inserting an insert piece 24a formed in the lower portion thereof into an insert hole 11a provided in the case 11 of the main body 10. The bottom surface of the sheet is supported in cooperation with the hopper 22 in the attached state.

In the above-described work of setting the sheets in the automatic paper feeder 20, when the automatic paper feeder is not in operation, the hopper 22 is pushed down by the above-mentioned cam mechanism. All you have to do is insert the paper from above.

Automatic paper feeder 2 with paper set
When 0 is operated, the hopper 22 is pushed up due to the release of the pressure by the cam mechanism, and only the uppermost sheet on the hopper comes into contact with the sheet feeding roller 21 and the sheet feeding path PP.
Is sent to.

The paper feed roller 30 is, as shown in FIG.
It is composed of two relatively long rubber rods fixed to the paper feed roller shaft 31 in the form of round rods. The paper feed roller shaft 31 is supported by the side frames 13 and 14, and is rotationally driven by the drive mechanism 100. When printing by the head 60, the paper P is printed between the lines every time the head 60 prints one line. Transport by minute.

The pinch rollers 40 are composed of metal rod-shaped rollers and four rollers are provided for the paper feed roller 30. As shown in FIG. 3, the pinch roller 40 is
The shafts 40a at the both ends of the arm 40 of the holder 41
It is rotatably supported by a rectangular hole 42a formed in the same and is movable in the arrow X direction. Holder 4
1 also serves as a paper guide and forms the upper part of the paper path PP. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of hooks 44 is provided on the upper portion of the holder 41, and the holder 41 is swingably suspended by the hooks 44 with respect to the intermediate frame 15. A spring 45 is provided between the holder 41 and the intermediate frame 15, and the urging force of the spring 45 causes the pinch roller 40 to move.
Is a top portion 30a of the paper feed roller 30 as shown in FIG.
The sheet abuts on the sheet feeding roller 30 at a position a which is slightly deviated to the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction.

Therefore, in the pinch roller 40, the shafts 40a at both ends thereof are movably supported in the arrow X direction by the rectangular holes 42a formed in the arm portion 42, and the top portion of the paper feed roller 30. The sheet feeding roller 30 is in contact with the sheet feeding roller 30 at a position a which is slightly deviated to the downstream side of the sheet conveying direction with respect to 30a.

The regulating member 50 is arranged on the back surface side of the paper P (see FIG. 3) conveyed by the paper feed roller 30, and as shown in FIG. It has a horizontal portion 51f that forms a rib and a rib 51 that integrally projects upward from the horizontal portion 51f. A plurality of ribs 51 are formed in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the paper P.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rib 51 has a slanted surface 5
1b, an uppermost surface 51a connected to the inclined surface 51b, and a descending inclined surface 51d connected to the uppermost surface 51a are substantially trapezoidal in side view and extend in the sheet conveying direction.
The inclined surface 51b guides the leading end of the paper P fed by the paper feed roller 30, and the uppermost surface 51a contacts the back surface Pb of the paper to define the distance between the inkjet head 60 and the paper P.

Further, the upstream side of the paper discharge roller pair 71, 72 in the paper transport direction is located downstream of the rib 51 in the paper transport direction, and the front end of the paper P is located at the paper discharge roller pair 71, 72.
A guide portion 51e that guides the vehicle toward is provided. The guide portion 51e is provided only in the vicinity of the upstream side of the paper discharge roller pair 71, 72, and is not provided in other parts.

The regulating member 50 is fixed to the bottom frame 12.

The ink jet head 60 is a head capable of performing color printing by ejecting a plurality of colors of ink, and is attached to the carriage 61 as shown in FIG. The carriage 61 has a guide shaft 62.
1 is guided by the guide shaft 62 and the upper edge 15a of the intermediate frame, and is driven by a carriage motor (not shown).
It reciprocates in the direction orthogonal to the paper surface of. On the carriage 61, a monochrome ink tank 63 and a color ink tank 64 are simultaneously mounted in a state of being arranged in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of paper discharge roller pairs 71 and 72 are arranged in the paper width direction (7 pairs shown). One roller 71 of the pair of discharge rollers 71, 72 is a rubber roller that is rotationally driven by the drive mechanism 100 via a transmission mechanism (not shown), and the other roller 72 is a serrated roller that is pressed against the roller 71 and is driven to rotate. Has been done. The shaft 71 a of the rubber roller 71 is rotatably supported by the side plate 52 of the regulation member 50. The knurled roller 72 is provided on the support plate 53 formed integrally with the regulation member,
It is rotatably supported around a round bar-shaped coil spring 73. As shown in FIG. 13, the serrated roller 72
Is pressed against the rubber roller 71 by the spring force of the coil spring 73. Therefore, the Giza roller 7
No. 2 is designed so that, when the paper P is a thick paper such as an envelope, it does not extremely press the paper and does not escape upward as shown in FIG.
The peripheral speed of the paper discharge roller pair 71, 72, that is, the paper conveyance speed is slightly increased as compared with the feed speed of the paper feed roller 30. Therefore, after the leading edge of the paper P reaches the paper discharge roller pair, the paper feed roller 30 and the transport roller pair 7
It is conveyed in such a state that it is stretched between 1, 72.

Then, the rib 51 of the regulating member 50 described above is used.
The uppermost surface 51a of the sheet P is slightly displaced toward the inkjet head 60 side from the position where the sheet passes if the ribs 51 are not provided.
It comes in contact with the back surface of the paper sheet by urging it to the side. In other words, the sheet P is pushed down with respect to the regulation member 51 by the paper feed roller 30, the pinch roller 40, and the pair of paper ejection rollers 71 and 72 through the regulation member 50. Are transported by
b is surely brought into contact with the uppermost surface 51a of the rib 51.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the guide roller 75 is rotatably attached to the front end of an arm portion 54 integrally formed on the lower rear portion of the support plate 53.
The guide roller 75 includes a printing section A and a pair of discharge rollers 71, 7
2 and is positioned between the sheet P and the sheet P as shown in FIG.
It is designed to lead toward 72.

The discharging section 80, as shown in FIGS.
A support piece 8 that constitutes a support section that supports both side portions of the sheet discharged by the pair of discharge rollers 71 and 72 from below.
1, 82, a push-down portion 83 that pushes down the middle of the sheet downward, and a slider 84.

One support piece 82 is configured to be slidable in the paper width direction (left and right direction in FIG. 2) as described later, and is also rotatable in both left and right directions in the paper width direction. . The other support piece 81 is composed of a fixed rib integrally formed with the regulating member 50.

The support piece 82, as shown in FIGS.
A shaft 82a is integrally formed on the base portion thereof, and the shaft 82a is attached to the slider 84 so as to be rotatable and movable back and forth (movable in the directions of arrows X1 and X2 in FIG. 5). The slider 84 will be described later in detail.

A hook 82b is integrally provided on the lower portion of the shaft 82a, and the hook 82b and the slider 8 are provided.
An extension spring 84a that constitutes a biasing means is provided between the extension spring 84a and the hook 84b provided at No. 4. The tension spring 84a always urges the support piece 82 in the direction of the arrow X1 and also urges the support piece 82 to always stand.

A locking portion 84c is formed on the front portion of the slider 84, and the lower portion 82c of the support piece 82 is engaged with and disengaged from the locking portion 84c by a click operation.

As shown in FIG. 6, the locking portion 84c has two peaks 84c1 and 84c2 and one trough 84c3.

The lower portion 82c of the support piece 82 is the locking portion 8
4c, when it is engaged with the trough 84c3, it stands up like the other support piece 81, and when a certain amount of force on its upper portion is applied from the left or right, the lower portion 82c is locked.
At the same time, the shaft 82a moves in the direction of the arrow X2 so as to be disengaged from the valley portion 84c3 of 4c, and pivots leftward or rightward to fall. Although the state in which the support piece 82 is tilted to the left is shown by imaginary lines in FIGS. 6 and 2, the support piece 82 can also be tilted to the right (see FIG. 7).

When the supporting piece 82 falls down by a certain angle or more, the lower portion 82c of the supporting piece 82 lowers the lower surface 84c4 of the locking portion 84c (see FIG. 5).
By contacting with, the fallen state is lightly held. That is, the locking portion 84c is the support piece 8
It also constitutes the second holding portion. When the support piece 82 is tilted leftward, it is held by the lower surface of one mountain portion 84c1, and when it is tilted rightward, it is held by the lower surface of the other mountain portion 84c2.

When the supporting piece 82 in the fallen state is lightly pinched with fingers or the like and raised, the supporting piece 82 is erected by the spring force of the tension spring 84a, and its lower portion 82c becomes the valley portion 84c3 of the engaging portion 84c. The engaged and upright state is maintained.

In this embodiment, the upright state of the support piece 82 is the support position for supporting the side portion of the sheet from below, and the collapsed state is the non-support position for not supporting the side portion of the sheet.

The slider 84 is slidably attached to the bottom frame 12, and the sliding operation, that is, the sliding operation of the support piece 82 is a means for interlocking with the edge guide 23 of the automatic paper feeder 20 described above. The interlocking mechanism (described later) is designed to interlock.

As shown mainly in FIG. 5, the slider 84 has a base portion 84d at its rear portion, and the base portion 84d is slidable with respect to the bent portion 12a at the front portion of the bottom frame 12. And a leg portion 84f guided by the upper surface 12b of the bottom frame 12 are formed. Slider 84
Are slidably supported with respect to the bottom frame 12 by these fitting portions 84e and legs 84f.
The upper surface 84g of the base portion 84d is slidably supported by the lower surface of the front plate 55 of the regulating member 50.

The interlocking mechanism includes the interlocking rod 110 shown in FIG.
A first pinion 111 integrally formed on the front portion (support portion side) of the interlocking rod 110 and a second pinion 11 integrally formed on the rear portion (edge guide side) of the interlocking rod 110.
2 and the first rack 5 that meshes with the first pinion 111.
6 and a second rack 1 that meshes with the second pinion 112.
6f. The first rack 56 includes the defining member 50.
Formed on the lower surface of the hanging piece 57 of the second rack 16
The f is formed on the lower surface of the rear portion of the bottom plate 16a of the sub-frame 16.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, the front portion of the first pinion 111, that is, the tip 113 of the interlocking rod is rotatably supported in the bearing hole 84h formed in the base portion 84d of the slider 84. That is, the front portion of the connecting rod 110 is rotatably connected to the support piece 82 via the slider 84. In the vicinity 114 of the rear portion of the first pinion 111 of the connecting rod 110, the rear upper surface 84i of the base portion 84d of the slider 84 and the lower surface 58a of the hanging piece 58 of the regulating member 50.
It is rotatably supported by and. The vicinity 114 of the rear portion of the first pinion 111 is the lower surface 5 of the hanging piece 58 of the regulating member 50.
8a can also be slid in a direction orthogonal to the plane of FIG.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the rear end 115 of the interlocking rod 110 is rollable by the lower bent portion 16g of the back plate 16b of the sub-frame 16, and the second pinion 1 is provided.
12 and the second rack 16f are supported so that a meshing force can be obtained. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the rear portion 116 of the second pinion 112 is rotatably engaged with the recess 26 a formed in the lower portion of the connecting plate 26. Accordingly, the rear portion of the connecting rod 110 is rotatably connected to the edge guide 23.

The upper part 26b of the connecting plate 26 is fixed to the edge guide 23 and moves together with the edge guide 23.

Therefore, when the edge guide 23 is slid on the hopper 22 when the paper is set in the automatic paper feeder 20, the second rack 16f and the second rod of the interlocking rod 110 are moved.
At the same time as the interlocking rod 110 rolls in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 1 by meshing with the pinion 112, the first pinion 1
11 and the first rack 56 mesh with each other, the tip 113 of the interlocking rod 110 is reliably moved by the same distance as the rear end 115 without being affected by the bending of the interlocking rod 110, and the slider 84, that is, the support piece 82. Is edge guide 2
It will move the same distance as 3.

Thus, the support piece 82 is the edge guide 2
It surely moves in the same distance as the edge guide 23 in conjunction with 3 (see the phantom line in FIG. 2).

The support piece 82 is formed in a substantially triangular shape, and in the state of standing upright as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the guide surface 82 is inclined upward in the paper discharge direction.
d. The support piece 81 is also formed in a substantially triangular shape, and has a guide surface 81d (see FIG. 2) that is inclined upward in the paper discharge direction.

The push-down portion 83 is composed of a serrated roller, and is rotatably supported by a holder 83a rotatably attached to the support plate 53, as shown in FIG. The holder 83a has a guide side 83 with which the leading end of the paper P ejected by the paper ejection roller pair 71, 72 abuts.
b. When the leading edge of the sheet comes into contact with the guide side 83b, the holder 83a is lifted by the sheet and rotates in the direction of the arrow Y in FIG. To guide you.

According to the above ink jet printer, the following operational effects can be obtained.

(I) When setting the paper, the hopper 2
2 can be set simply by inserting paper along the paper feed tray 24 and the paper feed tray 24.

At this time, the size of the paper to be set is changed (for example, A4 size is changed to B5 size), and the edge guide 23 is slid so that the side plate 23d of the edge guide 23 is brought into contact with the left edge of the changed paper. Then, by the above-mentioned operation of the interlocking mechanism, the support piece 8 of the discharge portion 80 is
2 is also slid, and a state in which an appropriate paper discharge operation as described later is automatically obtained is obtained.

(Ii) By the operation of the printer, the automatic paper feeder 20 operates to feed the paper to the paper feed path PP,
When reaching the paper feed roller 30, the feed angle is regulated by the pinch roller 40, and the paper is fed out from the paper feed roller 30.

At this time, as described above, the pinch roller 40 is used.
Is pressed against the paper feed roller 30 with the self-centering function, so that skewing of the paper is prevented.

(Iii) As shown in FIG. 3, the leading edge of the paper P fed by the paper feed roller 30 is the regulating member 5.
The inclined surface 51b of 0 is guided so as to be scooped, and the back surface Pb of the rib 51 abuts the uppermost surface 51a of the rib 51 to define the distance from the inkjet head 60, and the head 60 ejects ink onto the surface Pa. After being printed and printed, the leading edge of the paper is ejected by a roller pair 7
It will be heading to 1,72.

Here, as shown in FIG. 4, even if the paper P is relatively warped, the guide roller 75 is provided between the head 60 and the paper discharge roller pair 71, 72. The guide roller 75 ensures that the paper P is guided to the paper discharge roller pair 71, 72.

That is, even when the paper P is warped, the leading end Pf of the paper is prevented from entering toward the space S between the head 60 and the paper discharge roller pair 71, 72, and the paper P is head 60. It will not come into contact with or become clogged.

In FIG. 4, the phantom line indicates the position of the head 60 located above when printing on thick paper such as postcards and envelopes. In such a case, the lower surface of the head 60 is shown. (Nozzle opening surface, that is, ink ejection surface)
Since the distance between 60a and the regulation member 50 becomes large,
The leading edge Pf of the sheet is the head 60 and the pair of discharge rollers 71, 72.
However, even in such a case, the leading edge Pf of the sheet is located in the space S between the head 60 and the pair of discharge rollers 71 and 72. Is surely prevented from approaching toward.

Further, in the printer of this embodiment, the paper P is supplied to the printing section A through the curved paper path PP, so that the printer is more straight than the case where the paper path is straight. Can be miniaturized.

Although the paper path PP is curved, the leading edge Pf of the paper tends to easily enter the space S between the head 60 and the paper discharge roller pair 71, 72. As described above, the paper P is reliably guided to the paper discharge roller pair 71, 72 by the guide roller.

(Iv) The conveyed paper P has its back surface P
When b comes into contact with the rib 51 of the regulating member 50, the distance from the head 60 is regulated and printing is performed.

Since the ribs 51 extend in the paper P conveyance direction, the ribs 51 do not interfere with the paper conveyance.

Since a plurality of ribs 51 are formed in the direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction, ink dots are formed at a high density on the paper P, and even when the paper P undulates due to the water content of the ink. The bulge of the sheet acts so as to enter the space 51s (see FIG. 10C) between the ribs 51.

Therefore, even if the paper P is wavy, the paper P does not come into contact with the head 60 and rub against it.

Regarding this point, FIG. 10 (a) (b) (c)
Will be described in detail with reference to. 10 (a) (b) (c)
[Fig. 3] is a schematic front view for explaining the operation in an easy-to-understand manner.

In FIG. 10A, L is the ideal distance between the head 60 and the sheet when the sheet P is not wavy. As shown in FIG. 10A, if the rib is not formed on the defining member and the flat portion 51f defines the distance between the paper P and the head 60 to be the ideal distance L, the paper will be wetted by the water content of the ink. When P is wavy, the ridge Pc of the wavy paper P and the ink ejection surface 60a of the head 60 may be rubbed.

In order to solve such a problem, FIG.
As shown in 0 (b), it is conceivable to set the distance between the head 60 and the flat surface portion 51f to be a large distance L1.

However, if the distance is increased, and if the sheet is flat without waviness, the distance between the sheet guided by the flat portion 51f and the head (that is, substantially the same distance as L1) becomes too large. Another problem arises in that the ideal print state cannot be obtained. This is because the distance between the ink droplets ejected from the head 60 and the landing on the paper becomes large, so that the error between the ideal landing point and the actual landing point becomes large.

On the other hand, according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (c), since the paper is guided by the ribs 51, in the normal case where the printing density is relatively low, that is, when the paper is not wavy, the flat paper P ′ is provided with the ribs 51. In the case where the distance between the paper and the head 60 can be set to an ideal distance L by guiding on the upper surface of the paper, ink dots are formed on the paper P at a high density, and the water of the ink causes the paper P to wavy. In addition, since the bulge (valley Pd) of the paper acts so as to enter the space 51s between the ribs 51 by its own weight, even if the paper P corrugates, its peak Pc contacts the head 60. No more rubbing.

Further, among the roller pairs 71, 72 constituting the conveying rollers, the rubber rollers 71 arranged below the paper are not arranged by one long round bar-shaped roller but are arranged in plural in the paper width direction. It is composed of short rollers. Therefore, the swelling (valley portion Pd) of the corrugated sheet containing the water content of the ink hangs more effectively. It is desirable that the width of the rubber roller 71 be set as small as possible within a range in which the sheet conveying force is not significantly reduced. As shown in FIG. 11A, if the rubber roller is a long roller 71 ′, the valley portion Pd of the corrugated paper P rides on the roller 71 ′, and the serrated roller 7 ′ is formed.
This is because even if the paper is pressed by 2, the mountain portion Pc will be in a floating state.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11B, the width W of the rubber roller 71 in this embodiment is set smaller than the corrugated pitch P1 of the corrugated paper. As a result, the valley portion Pd of the corrugated paper hangs more effectively.

(V) When the paper P reaches the paper discharge roller pair 71, 72, the paper P is fed by the paper feed roller 30 and the paper discharge roller pair 7.
Since it is in a state of being stretched between 1 and 72, even if the ink dots are formed at high density on the paper P and the paper P is wavy by the water content of the ink, the bulge of the paper P is It is reduced by the tension acting on the paper P. Furthermore, since the regulating member 50 contacts the back surface Pb of the paper P by urging the paper P toward the inkjet head, the bulge of the paper P should be positioned relatively away from the head 60. Will be done.

Therefore, even if the paper is wavy, the paper does not come into contact with the head and rub against it.

Moreover, as described above, since the bulge of the sheet acts so as to enter the space 51s between the ribs 51, it is more reliable that the corrugated sheet P comes into contact with the head 60 and rubs against it. To be prevented.

(Vi) Since the rib 51 is substantially trapezoidal in side view, the following operational effects (a) and (b) are further provided.
Is obtained.

(A) The type of printer, for example, in a serial printer which receives print data in units of one line from the host computer and prints every line,
It may be necessary to transport the paper in the reverse direction (ie, reverse feed).

For example, when a certain standard character is printed and then an enlarged character is printed on the next line, and the top of this enlarged character is located above the top of the standard character printed on the previous line, the paper After being conveyed in the opposite direction, division printing is performed by repeating the printing by the scanning of the head and the paper feeding for the length of the printing area A shown in FIG. 3 a plurality of times to form enlarged characters. In such a case, it is necessary to send the paper back.

If the rib is not trapezoidal in side view but is rectangular in side view (see 51 ″ in FIG. 12 (a)), a portion (eg, an envelope of an envelope) that inhibits backward feeding is provided on the back surface of the sheet. If there is a flap or the like), that portion may be caught by the rib during the backward feeding, which may cause a pitch defect, that is, a misalignment in the distance between the rows to be fed backward and the feeding amount in the forward direction immediately after that.

On the other hand, according to the ink jet printer of this embodiment, the ribs 51 are substantially trapezoidal in side view, so that even if the envelope or the like is sent backward, the flap or the like will not be caught, and therefore, It also eliminates pitch defects.

(B) As shown in FIG.
When printing is performed in the vicinity of the leading end of the paper, the vicinity of the leading end of the paper may be curved as shown in FIG.

In such a case, assuming that the rib 51 ″ has a shape as shown in FIG. 12A, the sheet is not formed until the front end Pf of the sheet reaches the pair of discharge rollers 71 and 72. Since the front end Pf of P is supported by the upper surface of the rib 51 ″, the paper is easily floated and the head is easily rubbed.

On the other hand, since the rib 51 of this embodiment has a substantially trapezoidal shape in side view, the leading edge Pf of the sheet is immediately disengaged from the uppermost surface 51a of the rib, as shown in FIG. 12 (b). Therefore, the floating of the paper P is reduced and the head is less likely to rub.

(Vii) The upstream side of the paper discharge roller pair 71, 72 in the paper transport direction is located downstream of the rib 51 in the paper transport direction, and the front end of the paper P is discharged by the paper discharge roller pair 71, 72.
Since the guide portion 51e for guiding toward the 72 is provided, the leading end of the paper P is surely ejected by the pair of paper ejection rollers 71, 7 even though the rib 51 is formed in a substantially trapezoidal shape in a side view.
You will be guided toward 2.

Since the guide portion 51e is provided only in the vicinity of the upstream side of the paper discharge roller pair 71, 72 and is not provided in other parts, the leading end of the paper P is surely discharged. , 72, and at the same time, the sheet P is reliably prevented from abutting and rubbing against the head 60.

(Ix) When color printing is performed by ejecting ink of a plurality of colors from the head 60, ink dots are further formed on the ink dots, so that the wavy state of the paper becomes particularly large. Did (iv) ~
Due to the action of (vii), the corrugated paper P is fed to the head 60.
It is surely prevented from abutting against and rubbing.

(Ix) As shown in FIG. 5, when the leading edge Pf of the sheet P discharged by the pair of sheet discharging rollers 71, 72 comes into contact with the guide side 83b of the holder 83a, the sheet leading edge Pf is centered in the width direction. In the meantime, while rotating the holder 83a in the direction of the arrow Y in FIG.
On the contrary, it is guided by the serrated roller 83 so as to be pushed down by the guide side 83b.

At the same time, both side portions of the sheet front end Pf are supported from below by the inclined surfaces 81d and 82d of the support pieces 81 and 82 and gradually guided upward.

Therefore, the paper P is gradually discharged from the leading end thereof while being forcibly biased into a concave shape in which the printing surface is dented when viewed from the discharge direction.

FIG. 13 shows a schematic view of the state where the paper P is being discharged.

As shown in this figure, when the paper P is forcibly biased in a concave shape when viewed from the discharge direction, the paper P becomes stiff and is conveyed in a floating state. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, the ejected paper P is printed on the printing surface P1 of the paper P1 which has been previously printed, ejected, and stacked.
The time until sliding contact with a is delayed, and the printed paper P1
The time for the ink to dry is secured.

When the sheet P is further conveyed and the rear end of the sheet passes the pair of discharge rollers 71 and 72, the conveying force is lost, and the rear end of the sheet is held by the discharge section 80 in the concave shape.

Then, as shown in FIG. 14, the succeeding paper P2 is printed, and the front end P2f thereof is ejected by the paper ejection roller pair 71,
By passing the sheet 72 and hitting the trailing edge Pr of the preceding sheet P, the holding of the preceding sheet P by the discharge unit 80 is released. When the preceding paper P is pushed by the succeeding paper P2, its holding is released and it is stacked on the preceding printed paper (P1 in FIG. 13). Time is further delayed.

After the leading edge P2f of the succeeding sheet P2 is applied to the trailing edge Pr of the preceding sheet P to release the holding of the preceding sheet P, the conveyance of the succeeding sheet P2 is temporarily stopped. This stopping operation can be performed by counting the number of pulses of the motor that drives the pair of discharge rollers 71 and 72, and stopping the driving of the motor when the number of pulses reaches a predetermined number. As described above, the leading edge P2f of the succeeding sheet P2 is the trailing edge Pr of the preceding sheet P.
When the method of pushing out the preceding paper P by hitting it against the paper is adopted, the leading edge P2f of the succeeding paper P2 and the trailing edge Pr of the preceding paper P are engaged with each other, and the printed paper ahead of the preceding paper P is printed. The stacking operation (dropping operation) on P1 (see FIG. 13) may become uncertain, but by temporarily stopping the conveyance of the succeeding paper P2, the inertia of the preceding paper P is utilized. , The leading edge P2 of the following paper
The engagement between f and the trailing edge Pr of the preceding sheet can be reliably released.

(X) Since the support piece 82 is configured to be rotatable in both left and right directions in the paper width direction, when this support piece is slid, for example, there is an obstacle in the sliding direction and an external force is applied to the support piece. There is no possibility that the support piece will be damaged even if the above action occurs.

In particular, as in this embodiment, when the pushing-down portion 83 for pushing down the central portion of the paper is provided, the supporting piece 82 is slid when the supporting piece 82 is slid.
May hit the push-down portion 83, but even in such a case, the support piece 82 or the push-down portion 83 will not be damaged.

In addition, for example, when the printer is not used, the support piece 82 can be tilted in any direction according to the preference of the user.

Further, the support piece 82 is composed of a tension spring 84a.
Since the support piece 82 is always urged in the direction to be erected, even if an external force acts on the support piece 82 to rotate the support piece 82, as long as the support piece 82 does not rotate by a certain angle and is held by the holding portion 84c, the When the action of the external force is released, the support piece 82 automatically returns to the standing state.

Therefore, the support piece 82 is prevented from being damaged, and at the same time, the standing state is automatically obtained when no external force is applied, and the above-described sheet discharging operation is surely obtained.

(Xi) Since the operation of the discharge section 80 is as described above, when the size of the paper to be printed is changed (for example, when the A4 size is changed to the B5 size), both sides of the paper are In order to surely guide the support pieces 81 and 82, it is necessary to move one support piece 82 in accordance with the size of the sheet.

In this regard, according to the present embodiment, when the paper to be printed is set in the automatic paper feeder 20, the size of the paper to be set is changed (for example, the size is changed from A4 size to B5 size) and the edge guide is used. When the edge guide 23 is slid to bring the side plate 23d of 23 into contact with the left side edge of the changed sheet, the support piece 82 of the discharge section 80 also slides due to the above-described operation of the interlocking mechanism.

Therefore, it is possible to save the labor of sliding the support piece 82 separately from the operation of the edge guide 23, and at the same time, it is possible to always obtain an appropriate paper discharge operation.

(Xii) When printing on a paper having a small width such as a small envelope or a postcard, the edge guide 23 forms the other edge guide as shown by the phantom line in FIG. The side plate 16c 'of the sub-frame is approached. When the edge guide 23 is slid from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 to the position shown by the phantom line, the support piece 82 passes through the push-down portion 83.
Has a structure that can be rotated as described above,
When the support piece 82 passes through the push-down portion 83, it comes into contact with the push-down portion 83 and falls down as shown by the solid line in FIG. 7.

Therefore, the support piece 82 is not damaged.

Particularly, in the printer of this embodiment,
The paper feeding device 20 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 10 and at the rear,
The discharge section 80 is provided on the front side and below the edge guide 23 of the sheet feeding device 20 and the support section 82 of the discharge section 80.
And are located far apart. When setting a sheet on the sheet feeding device 20, the user mainly slides the edge guide 23 while looking at the edge guide 23, so that it is very likely that the support piece 82 does not notice that it hits the pushing-down portion.

However, according to this embodiment, as described above, even if the support piece 82 hits the push-down portion 83, the support piece 82 is rotated, so that the support piece 82 or the push-down portion 83 is prevented from being damaged. To be done.

(Xiii) In the printer of this embodiment, the support piece 82 is tilted when printing on a paper Ph having a small width such as a postcard. As a result, the paper discharge operation is
As shown in FIG. 15, the paper sheet Ph is provided only by the other supporting piece 81.
Is supported and ejected. If the paper having a small width, particularly a relatively thick paper such as a small envelope or a postcard, is ejected while being supported by the support pieces 81 and 82 on both sides, as shown in FIG. This is because it is difficult to obtain the curved state of the sheet shown in the figure, and the pushing action of the preceding sheet by the succeeding sheet cannot be surely obtained.

For this reason, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, for paper such as postcards, only the other supporting piece 81 is supported to put the paper Ph in a cantilevered state, and the trailing edge of the preceding paper is set. The edge Phr and the leading edge Ph2f of the succeeding sheet are surely brought into contact with each other.

According to this embodiment, when the edge guide 23 is slid from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 to the position shown by the phantom line, when the support piece 82 passes through the push-down portion 83, the solid line shown in FIG. Since it automatically falls as shown, the above-mentioned cantilever state is automatically obtained.

That is, not only the support piece 82 is prevented from being damaged, but also a paper discharge state suitable for postcards and the like is automatically obtained.

Further, since the holding portion 84c holds the tilted state of the support piece 82, the support piece 82 is prevented from being inadvertently returned to the support position.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be appropriately made within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0140]

According to the present invention, although the edge guide and the supporting portion are provided, the sliding operation can be easily performed.

[0141]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an internal structure of an embodiment of an inkjet printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially omitted plan view showing the internal structure of the same.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

5 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

6 is a plan view mainly showing a support piece, and a plan view with parts omitted in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged front view mainly showing a support piece.

FIG. 8 is a view on arrow VIII in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a rear view of the connecting plate.

10 (a), (b) and (c) are schematic front views for easily explaining the operation.

11A and 11B are schematic front views for easily explaining the operation of the discharge roller portion.

12A and 12B are schematic side views for explaining the action of the ribs in an easy-to-understand manner.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory perspective view of a paper discharge operation.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory perspective view of a paper discharge operation.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory perspective view of the paper discharge operation.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A printing unit P paper 10 main body 16f second rack 20 paper feeding device 23 edge guide 51 first rack 80 discharge unit 81 other support unit 82 one support unit 83 push-down unit 110 interlocking rod 111 first pinion 112 second pinion

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 9, 1995

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0003

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art As conventional ink jet printers, those shown in FIGS. 17 to 19 are known (US Pat.
P5299875).

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0005

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0005] paper P is fed from the paper feed tray 2 to the body 1, after being printed on the upper surface by an ink jet head provided in the main body 1, as shown in FIG. 1 9, both side portions thereof support 3 , 4 are supported so as to be supported from below, and the central portion is discharged while being guided so as to be supported from below by the edge separator 5.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0006

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0006] One of the supporting portions 4 is a sheet P for printing.
18 is slidable in the direction of arrow b (sheet width direction) in FIG. 18 so that its position can be adjusted according to the width. Further, in order to improve the storability when not in use, it is configured to be rotatable in the direction of arrow a (rightward in the paper width direction) toward the recess 6. It should be noted that the other support portion 3 is also provided in order to improve storability when not in use.
It is configured to be rotatable toward the recess 7.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0008

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

In the conventional ink jet printer having the supporting portion 4 as described above, the user is
Each time paper of different sizes is set in the paper feed tray 2, the support portion 4 must be slid in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 18 according to the width of the paper.

[Procedure Amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0022

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The support portion is slidable, and one side of the support portion 4 in the paper width direction (sliding direction) (the direction of arrow a in FIG. 18 , that is, the right direction) as in the above-described prior art (see FIG. 18 ). ) If the structure is such that only the user can turn the support part 4 inadvertently, for example, if the support part 4 is slid in that direction despite some obstacle in the sliding direction, There is a problem that a force is applied in a direction in which the support portion 4 cannot rotate (a direction opposite to the arrow a direction) (the support portion 4 may be damaged. Further, the support portion 4 may be damaged. In an inkjet printer, the paper feeding device and the discharge unit are provided on different surfaces with respect to the printer body, and the edge guide of the paper feeding device and the support unit of the discharge unit are located far apart from each other. , Paper feeder To when loading paper, which the user to slide operation while viewing a predominantly edge guide, unaware of the support portion hits the obstacle, the support portion is likely not a little that being damaged.

[Procedure correction 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0117

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

FIG. 14 shows a schematic view of the state where the paper P is being discharged.

[Procedure Amendment 7]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0118

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

As shown in this figure, when the paper P is forcibly biased in a concave shape when viewed from the discharge direction, the paper P becomes stiff and is conveyed in a floating state. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1 4, the sheet P to be discharged, the printing surface of the paper P1 are stacked is discharged printed previously P1
The time until sliding contact with a is delayed, and the printed paper P1
The time for the ink to dry is secured.

[Procedure Amendment 8]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0120

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0120] Then, the succeeding sheet P2 is printed as shown in FIG. 1 5, the tip P2f sheet discharge roller pair 71,
By passing the sheet 72 and hitting the trailing edge Pr of the preceding sheet P, the holding of the preceding sheet P by the discharge unit 80 is released. Preceding paper P, the the holding is to be stacked on the printing paper sheet in the released earlier (P1 in FIG. 1. 4), sliding contact with the print paper sheet when pressed in the succeeding sheet P2 Until the time is further delayed.

[Procedure Amendment 9]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0121

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

After the leading edge P2f of the succeeding sheet P2 is applied to the trailing edge Pr of the preceding sheet P to release the holding of the preceding sheet P, the conveyance of the succeeding sheet P2 is temporarily stopped. This stopping operation can be performed by counting the number of pulses of the motor that drives the pair of discharge rollers 71 and 72, and stopping the driving of the motor when the number of pulses reaches a predetermined number. As described above, the leading edge P2f of the succeeding sheet P2 is the trailing edge Pr of the preceding sheet P.
When the method of pushing out the preceding paper P by hitting it against the paper is adopted, the leading edge P2f of the succeeding paper P2 and the trailing edge Pr of the preceding paper P are engaged with each other, and the printed paper ahead of the preceding paper P is printed. The stacking operation (dropping operation) on P1 (see FIG. 14) may become uncertain, but by temporarily stopping the conveyance of the succeeding paper P2, the inertia of the preceding paper P is utilized. , The leading edge P2 of the following paper
The engagement between f and the trailing edge Pr of the preceding sheet can be reliably released.

[Procedure Amendment 10]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0134

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

(Xiii) In the flinter according to the present embodiment, when printing is performed on the paper Ph having a small width such as a postcard, the supporting piece 82 is in a tilted state. As a result, the paper discharge operation is
As shown in FIG. 16 , the paper Ph
Is supported and ejected. Small paper, especially relatively heavy paper as such as a small envelope or postcard width, if as shown in FIG. 1. 5, so as to discharge the paper to support the both sides of the support piece 81 and 82 Then, it is difficult to obtain the curved state of the sheet shown in the figure, and the pushing action of the preceding sheet by the succeeding sheet cannot be surely obtained.

[Procedure Amendment 11]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0135

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16 , for paper such as postcards, only the other supporting piece 81 is held so that the paper Ph is cantilevered, and the preceding paper is The trailing edge Phr and the leading edge Ph2f of the succeeding sheet are surely brought into contact with each other.

[Procedure Amendment 12]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] Brief description of the drawing

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an internal structure of an embodiment of an ink jet printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially omitted plan view showing the internal structure of the same.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

5 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

6 is a plan view mainly showing a support piece, and a plan view with parts omitted in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged front view mainly showing a support piece.

FIG. 8 is a view on arrow VIII in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a rear view of the connecting plate.

10 (a), (b) and (c) are schematic front views for easily explaining the operation.

11A and 11B are schematic front views for easily explaining the operation of the discharge roller portion.

12A and 12B are schematic side views for explaining the action of the ribs in an easy-to-understand manner.

13 (a) and 13 (b) are explanatory views of the knurled roller.
View.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory perspective view of a paper discharge operation.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory perspective view of the paper discharge operation.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory perspective view of the paper discharge operation.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of Codes] A Printing Section P Paper 10 Main Body 16f Second Rack 20 Paper Feeding Device 23 Edge Guide 51 First Rack 80 Ejection Section 81 Other Support Section 82 One Support Section 83 Push-Down Section 110 Interlocking Rod 111 First Pinion 112 Second Pinion

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A main body having a printing unit, a paper feed device having an edge guide for guiding a side of the paper, the main body having a main body having a print unit, and being slidable according to the width of the paper fed to the main body. A pair of supporting portions provided on the main body on a surface different from the surface on which the device is provided, and supporting both side portions of the paper printed on the upper surface by the printing unit and discharged from below, and At least one of the pair of supporting portions is provided with a discharging portion configured to be slidable in the sheet width direction, and an interlocking device that interlocks the slide of the edge guide with the sliding of the supporting portion. Inkjet printer characterized by. 2. The interlocking means is rotatably connected to the support portion and the edge guide, and includes a first pinion provided on the support portion side and a second pinion provided on the edge guide side. The inkjet printer according to claim 1, further comprising: an interlocking rod, a first rack that meshes with the first pinion, and a second rack that meshes with the second pinion. 3. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the one support portion is configured to be rotatable in both left and right directions in a paper width direction. 4. The one supporting portion is configured to support a side portion of the sheet from below and a supporting position for supporting the side portion of the sheet from below, and to rotate the side portion of the sheet in either the left or right direction of the sheet width direction from the supporting position. It can take an unsupported position where it does not support, and
The discharge unit has a push-down unit that pushes down the central portion of the sheet downward, and when one of the support units is slid toward the other support unit so as to pass through the push-down unit, one of the 4. The ink jet printer according to claim 3, wherein the supporting portion is held in an unsupported position where it does not support the side portion of the paper by abutting against the pressing portion and rotating.