JPH08290624A - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To eliminate the decrease in the feeding accuracy of a sheet even when the sheet having high stiffness is delivered. CONSTITUTION: The ink jet printer comprises a pair of support means for supporting both the sides of a sheet printed on the upper surface by an ink jet head and delivered from below, wherein at least one support means 90 of the pair of the means has a plurality of support surfaces 91d, 92d having different heights selectively brought into contact with the sheet.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to ink jet printers. In particular, it relates to the improvement of the paper discharge unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an ink jet printer is designed to eject ink onto a sheet for printing.
When printing on multiple sheets of paper continuously, if the next paper is ejected before the ink on the printed paper dries and comes into sliding contact with the printed surface of the printed paper, the printed surface of the printed paper becomes dirty. There is a problem that it will end up.

As an attempt to solve such a problem, an ink jet printer described in JP-A-6-91861 is known.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing a paper discharge section of this printer.

The ejecting section 1 has an ink jet head 60 '.
Both side supporting portions 2 and 2 for guiding and guiding both side portions of the paper P printed and discharged on the upper surface by the above from below.
And a push-down portion 3 for pushing down the central portion of the paper.

The both-sides supporting portion 2 is composed of a fixed rib integrally formed with the frame 4, and an upper surface 2a thereof is inclined upward in the paper discharge direction.

The depressing portion 3 is composed of a serrated roller, and is rotatably supported by an arm 3a rotatably attached to a frame (not shown).

The paper discharge operation in the printer as described above is as follows.

(I) When printing is performed on the paper P and the paper P enters the discharge section 1, both side portions thereof are gradually guided upward by the upper surfaces 2a of the both side support portions 2 and are supported thereby. At the same time, the central portion of the paper gradually pushes up the push-down portion 3 while rotating the arm 3a upward, but conversely, the central portion of the paper gradually enters below the push-down portion 3 to push down the push-down portion 3 and the arm 3a. It will be pushed down compared to both sides due to the weight of.

As described above, the paper P is gradually discharged from the leading end thereof while being forcibly bent into a concave shape in which the printing surface is depressed when viewed from the discharge direction. It should be noted that such a concave shape of the sheet may occur due to the weight of the sheet even if the pressing portion 3 is not necessarily provided.

(Ii) When the paper P is forcibly bent into a concave shape when viewed from the discharge direction, the rigidity of the paper P becomes strong and the paper P is conveyed in a floating state. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 24, the ejected paper P is printed and ejected first, and the print surface P of the paper P1 that has been ejected and is stacked on the paper ejection tray 5.
The time until sliding contact with 1f is delayed, and the printed paper P
The time for the ink of No. 1 to dry is secured.

(Iii) The sheet P is further conveyed, and
As shown in FIG. 5, when the trailing edge Pb passes through the paper discharge roller 6, the carrying force is lost, and the trailing edge portion Pc of the paper is retained by the discharging section 1 in a concave shape.

(Iv) The succeeding paper P2 is printed, and as shown in FIG. 25, the leading end P2a of the preceding paper P passes through the paper discharge roller 6 and hits the trailing end Pb of the preceding paper P. The holding by the discharging unit 1 is released (the released state is shown in FIG. 26). When the preceding paper P is pushed by the succeeding paper P2, the holding thereof is released and is stacked on the preceding printed paper (P1 in FIG. 24). Time is further delayed.

[0014]

In the printer having the above-described paper discharge structure, when printing is performed on a relatively strong paper such as a postcard and the paper is to be discharged, the supporting surface 2a of the supporting portion 2 is Since it is at a relatively high position relative to the ejected paper, it is a strong resistance to the ejected paper when it is stiff and therefore difficult to bend, which may reduce the paper feeding accuracy and deteriorate the print quality. It was

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide an ink jet printer in which the paper feeding accuracy is not deteriorated even when a strong paper is discharged.

[0016]

In order to achieve the above object, an ink jet printer according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a pair of supporting means for supporting both side portions of a sheet printed and discharged on the upper surface by an ink jet head from below. At least one of the pair of supporting means has a plurality of supporting surfaces having different heights that are selectively brought into contact with the sheet.

[0017]

According to the ink jet printer of the first aspect, the paper printed on the upper surface by the ink jet head and ejected is ejected while the both side portions thereof are supported by the pair of supporting means.

Since at least one of the pair of supporting means has a plurality of supporting surfaces of different heights which are selectively brought into contact with the sheet,
When a relatively high supporting surface is selected, it becomes a state suitable for ejecting a relatively weak paper similarly to the above-mentioned prior art, and when a relatively low supporting surface is selected,
The state is suitable for ejecting relatively strong paper.

That is, when a relatively low supporting surface is selected, when a relatively strong sheet is ejected, this supporting surface does not have a great resistance to the ejected sheet, and therefore, the sheet cannot be ejected. The feed accuracy of the is no longer reduced.

[0020]

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 FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are respectively FIG. FIG.

First, an outline of this printer will be described.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a printer main body, 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 at the rear of 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 H which is a characteristic part of the present embodiment. The discharge part H is provided on the front surface of the main body. Further, on the front surface of the main body 10, a paper discharge tray 18 for stacking the discharged paper 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 discharged onto the paper discharge tray 18 through the paper discharge roller pairs 71 and 72 and the discharge unit H.

Next, the details of each part will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the 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 paper 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 a tip portion of the bottom plate 23a, a clip portion 23c provided at a rear end portion 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 can be attached to and detached from the main body 10 by inserting an insertion piece 24a formed in the lower portion thereof into an insertion 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 sheet feeder 20, when the automatic sheet feeder is not operated, 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 round bar rollers, and four pinch rollers 40 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, the pinch roller 40 has the shafts 40a at both ends thereof movably supported in the arrow X direction by the rectangular holes 42a formed in the arm portion 42, and the top 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 slope 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 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, 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. 16, 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 paper discharge roller pair 7 are provided.
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 tip 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.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the discharge portion H is a pair of supporting means 80 and 90 for supporting both side portions of the paper discharged by the discharge roller pair 71 and 72 from below.
And a push-down portion 19.

The supporting means 80, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, comprises a first supporting member 81, a second supporting member 82, and a slider 84.

The first support member 81 is A4 size, B5
Plain paper such as size (In addition to plain paper, coated paper, OHP
(Overhead projector sheet, glossy paper, glossy film, etc.), for guiding and supporting the left end of relatively weak paper, and the second support member 82 is a relatively elastic material such as an envelope or a postcard. It is for guiding and supporting the left end of strong paper.

The first support member 81 has a shaft 81 at its base.
a is integrally formed, and this shaft 81a is rotatable and movable back and forth with respect to the slider 84 (arrow X1, FIG. 5).
It can be moved in the X2 direction).

A torsion spring 83 is attached to the shaft 81a, one end 83a of which is locked to the first support member 81 and the other end 83b of which is locked to the slider 84. The torsion spring 83 constantly urges the first support member 81 in the arrow X1 direction, and also urges the first support member 81 in a direction in which the first support member 81 is always erected.

As shown in FIG. 6, an engaging portion 84a is formed on the slider 84, and the lower portion 81b of the first supporting member 81 is engaged with and disengaged from the engaging portion 84a by a click operation. It is supposed to do.

As shown in FIG. 6, the locking portion 84a has two peaks 84a1 and 84a2 and one trough 84a3.

The first support member 81 is erected when its lower portion 81b is engaged with the trough portion 84a3 of the engaging portion 84a, and is rotated by the switching means described later on the shaft 81a thereof in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. When the turning force acts, the lower part 81
While b is disengaged from the valley portion 84a3 of the locking portion 84a, and at the same time, the shaft 81a moves in the arrow X2 direction,
In FIG. 7, it is designed to fall to the left.

When the first support member 81 is tilted by a certain angle or more, the lower portion 81b thereof has a mountain portion 84a on the left side of the locking portion 84a.
By contacting the lower surface of 1, the collapsed state is lightly held. That is, the locking portion 84a is
It also constitutes a holding portion of the first support member 81. A state in which the first support member 81 is tilted to the left is shown by imaginary lines in FIGS. 6 and 7.

When a rotating force in the clockwise direction in FIG. 7 acts on the shaft 81a by the switching means described later, the first support member 81 in the tilted state causes the torsion spring 8 to rotate.
It stands up by the spring force of 3, and its lower portion 81b has the locking portion 8
The state of standing up by engaging with the valley portion 84a3 of 4a is maintained.

In this embodiment, the first support member 81
The upright state 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.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first state in the standing state
The upper end surface 81d of the support member 81 forms a rising support surface that inclines upward in the paper discharge direction.
The ascending support surface 81d is located slightly above the sheet discharged by the pair of sheet discharge rollers 71 and 72, and guides the sheet slightly obliquely upward.

A disk-shaped arm 81e is integrally formed at the rear end of the shaft 81a of the first support member 81,
At the rear of this arm 81e, pins 81f and 81
g is integrally projected (hereinafter, the pin 81f is also referred to as an upper pin and the pin 81g is also referred to as a lower pin).

On the other hand, on the front surface of the regulating member 50 described above,
The switching means 59 is integrally formed.

The switching means 59 is provided in the slide track of the supporting means 80, and as shown in FIG. 7, the first inclined plate 59a forming the guide body and the second inclined plate 5 are formed.
9b and. At the lower end of the first inclined plate 59a,
A rail 59c extending rightward in FIGS. 6 and 7 is integrally formed. At the connecting portion between the lower end of the first inclined plate 59a and the rail 59c, a convex portion 59d protruding slightly downward is provided.
Are formed. The first inclined plate 59a and the second inclined plate 59b are formed so as to be slightly shifted vertically as shown in FIG.

The switching means 59 includes a range B2 (see FIGS. 2 and 7) in which the side portion of the sheet is required to be supported by the first supporting member 81 in the sheet width direction, and the sheet by the first supporting member 81. It is provided at the boundary position C with the range B1 where the support of the side portion is not required (see FIGS. 2 and 7).

The operation of the switching means 59 is as follows.

In FIG. 7, when the support means 80 in the range B2 where the support is required moves from the position shown by the solid line toward the range B1 where the support is not required, the upper pin 81f of the switching means 59 moves to the first position. 2 inclined plate 5
It passes above 9b and contacts the first inclined plate 59a (see FIG. 8 (a)), whereby the first support member 81 rotates counterclockwise. When the upper pin 81f moves over the convex portion 59d, the first support member 81 is in the state of being rotated most counterclockwise, and as described above, the first support member 81.
The lower portion 81b of the contact portion comes into contact with the lower surface of the mountain portion 84a1 on the left side of the locking portion 84a, and is lightly held in a tilted state as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. Even if some force acts in the direction of raising the first support member 81, the upper pin 81f does not interfere with the rail 59.
Since it abuts the lower surface of c, the fallen state is maintained.

On the contrary, in FIG. 7, when the supporting means 80 in the range B1 where the support is not required moves from the position shown by the phantom line toward the range B2 where the support is required, the switching means 59 As shown in FIG. 8B, the upper pin 81f passes below the first inclined plate 59a and comes into contact with the second inclined plate 59b, whereby the holding is released and the first support member 81 is released. It turns clockwise and stands up.

As will be described later, the first support member 8
1 is, when this is to the left of the second inclined plate 59b,
It may be manually tilted as shown in FIG. However, when the supporting means 80 slides to the right after that, the lower pin 81g comes into contact with the second inclined plate 59b to automatically stand up.

As described above, the first supporting member 81 automatically falls or stands up by the sliding movement of the supporting means 80.

The second support member 82 is composed of a standing piece integrally formed with the slider 84, and as shown in FIG. 5, a downward support surface 82a inclined downward in the paper discharge direction. have. Down support surface 82a
Is located below the sheet discharged by the pair of discharge rollers 71 and 72.

As shown in FIG. 7, the first supporting member 81 is formed in a crank shape as viewed from the front, and its upper portion 81c is located above the second supporting member 82 in the standing state. .

Therefore, the discharged sheet is supported by the first supporting member 81 when the first supporting member 81 is in the standing state as shown by the solid line in FIG.
When the support member 81 is in a tilted state as shown by an imaginary line, it is supported by the second support member 82.

The slider 84 is the bottom frame 12 of the body.
It is attached slidably with respect to the above, so that the sliding operation, that is, the sliding operation of the supporting means 80, is interlocked with the edge guide 23 of the above-mentioned automatic paper feeding device 20 and the interlocking mechanism (described later) which is interlocking means. It has become.

As shown mainly in FIG. 5, the slider 84 has a base portion 84d at its rear portion, and the bent portion 1 at the front portion of the bottom frame 12 is provided at this base portion 84d.
Fitting portion 8 slidably fitted to 2a
4e and a leg portion 84f guided by the upper surface 12b of the bottom frame 12 are formed. The slider 84 is
The fitting portion 84e and the legs 84f are slidably supported on the bottom frame 12. 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 a front portion (side of the supporting means 80) of the interlocking rod 110, a second pinion 112 integrally formed on a rear portion (edge guide side) of the interlocking rod 110, and It has a first rack 56 that meshes with the first pinion 111, and a second rack 16f that meshes with the second pinion 112. The first rack 56 is formed on the lower surface of the hanging piece 57 of the regulating member 50, and the second rack 16f is formed on the rear lower surface of the bottom plate 16a of the sub-frame 16.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 9, 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. 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 hanging piece 58 of the regulating member 50.
It is rotatably supported by the lower surface 58a of the. The rear portion 114 of the first pinion 111 is also slidable in the direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 5 with respect to the lower surface 58a of the hanging piece 58 of the regulating member 50.

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. 10, 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 connected to the connecting plate 2
6 is rotatably connected.

The upper portion 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 end 113 of the interlocking rod 110 is surely 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 supporting means 80. Will move the same distance as the edge guide 23.

In this way, the support means 80 moves reliably in the same distance as the edge guide 23 in conjunction with the edge guide 23 (see the phantom line in FIG. 2), and passes through the above-mentioned switching means 59 in the process of moving. As a result, the first support member 81 automatically falls or stands up. As described above, the discharged sheet is supported by the first support member 81 when the first support member 81 is in the upright state as shown by the solid line in FIG. 7, and the first support member 81 is virtually When it is in a tilted state as shown by a line, it is supported by the second support member 82.

The left end of the discharged sheet is the first support member 8
Whether to be supported by 1 or the second supporting member 82 should be selected depending on at least the width of the sheet.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the selection, that is, the position of the switching means 59 (the boundary position C described above) is the position when B5 size paper is placed vertically, and the postcard is placed horizontally. It is set between the position when set to. In FIG. 7, the alternate long and short dash line indicated by “B5” is the position of the upper surface 81d of the first support member when B5 size paper is set vertically in the paper feed tray 24, and is “postcard (horizontal)”. The alternate long and short dash line indicates the position of the upper surface 81d of the first support member when the postcard is set horizontally on the paper feed tray 24. That is, in the present embodiment, after printing is performed on a sheet of B5 size or more, the sheet is removed and a postcard or the like is placed on the sheet feeding tray, and the edge guide 23 is slid in accordance with the sheet, and the edge guide 23 is automatically slid. The first support member 81 collapses to expose the second support member 82, and the discharged postcards and the like are supported by the second support member 82. Further, as will be described later, when printing on an envelope or the like that exceeds B5 size, the first support member 8 is used.
1, the edge guide 23 is slid to the right when printing on B5 size plain paper or the like after that, and the supporting means 80 is also slid in conjunction with this to slide under the first supporting member. When the pin 81g contacts the second inclined plate 59b, the first supporting member 81 automatically stands up. In this embodiment, the second inclined plate 59b
A third inclined plate (not shown) similar to the above is also provided at a position corresponding to the A4 size, and the first supporting member 81 is manually tilted to print on an envelope or the like that exceeds the A4 size.
Even when the edge guide 23 is slid to the right for printing on 4 size plain paper or the like and the supporting means 80 slides in conjunction with this, the lower pin 81g of the first supporting member is moved to the third position.
The first support member 81 is automatically erected by contacting the inclined plate.

The other supporting means 90 is, as shown in FIG. 11, a first supporting piece 91, a second supporting piece 92, and a shaft 93.
And a base portion 94.

The first support piece 91 is for guiding and supporting the right end of a relatively weak paper such as plain paper of A4 size, B5 size, etc., and the second support piece 92 is an envelope. It is for guiding and supporting the right end of a relatively strong paper such as a postcard.

First support piece 91 and second support piece 92
Are integrally provided on the shaft 93, and the shaft 93 is rotatable and movable back and forth with respect to the base portion 94 (arrow Y in FIG. 11).
(Movable in the Y1 and Y2 directions). The base portion 94 is formed integrally with the defining member 50.

A hook 93a is integrally provided on the shaft 93, and a tension spring 85 constituting a biasing means is provided between the hook 93a and the hook 94a provided on the base 94. . The extension spring 85 has a shaft 9
3 is always urged in the direction of the arrow Y1.

A locking portion 94c is formed in the front portion of the base 94, and a lower portion 91c of the first supporting piece 91 or a lower portion 92c of the second supporting piece 92 is formed with respect to the locking portion 94c.
Is engaged and disengaged with a click action.

As shown in FIG. 11A, the locking portion 94c has two crests 94c1 and 94c2 and one trough 94.
c3 and.

As shown in FIG. 11, when the second support piece 92 is upright, its lower portion 92c engages with the valley portion 94c3 of the engaging portion 94c, and the lower portion 91c of the first support piece 91 is engaged. The lower surface 94c4 (see FIG. (C)) of the mountain portion 94c1 of the stop portion 94c is brought into contact with the lower surface 94c1 to hold the state.

From this state, when the first support piece 91 or the second support piece 92 is picked up and rotated in the arrow a1 direction in FIG. 9B, the shaft 93 resists the spring force and moves in the arrow Y2 direction. While moving, the lower portion 91c of the first support piece 91 is locked by the locking portion 94.
At the same time as it comes off from the lower surface 94c4 of the crest portion 94c of c
The lower portion 92c of the supporting piece 92 of the is the trough portion 94c of the locking portion 94c.
3, the lower portion 91c of the first support piece 91 is released from the engaging portion 9
When it reaches the valley portion 94c3 of 4c, it engages with it and the lower portion 92c of the second support piece engages with the mountain portion 94 of the locking portion 94c.
The lower surface 94c5 of c2 is engaged and the state is maintained (see FIG. 12).

The heights of the first support piece 91 and the second support piece 92 are different.

Therefore, the discharged sheet is guided and supported by the relatively high supporting surface 91d when the first supporting piece 91 is in the upright state as shown in FIG. 12, and as shown in FIG. When the second support piece 92 is in the upright state, it is guided and supported by the relatively low support surface 92d.

The supporting surface when these supporting pieces stand up is
As shown in FIG. 12, the rightmost serrated roller 7 among the serrated rollers 72 forming one of the pair of discharge rollers.
It is configured to be located inside in the paper width direction with respect to 2 '. In the conventional printer shown in FIG. 23, the support surface 2a is at the same position in the paper width direction (on the extension line in the paper transport direction) as the serrated roller 6'which contacts the upper side portion of the paper P as shown in FIG. Was configured to be. For this reason, the side edge Pe of the sheet is raised, and it may come into contact with the head 60 'and become dirty.

On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the support surface (91d) is located inward of the serrated roller 72 'in the paper width direction. In addition, the side portion of the sheet P is pressed downward by the serrated roller 72 '. Therefore, the side edge Pe does not come into contact with the head 60 and become dirty.

Further, the problem of the stain on the side edge of the paper is as follows.
In a conventional printer, it also occurs on the left side edge of the paper.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the first supporting member 81 in the above-mentioned supporting means 80 for supporting the left side portion of the sheet.
The position is also configured similarly.

That is, in FIG. 2, A4e indicates the left side edge of the ejected A4 size paper, and is indicated by the alternate long and short dash line A.
Reference numeral 4 indicates the corresponding position of the upper end surface of the first support member 81, that is, the support surface 81d. Similarly, B5
e indicates the left side edge of the ejected B5 size paper, and the alternate long and short dash line B5 indicates the corresponding first support member 81.
The position of the upper end surface, that is, the support surface 81d is shown.

As is clear from this figure, when printing on A4 size paper, the support surface 81d is located slightly inside (right side in FIG. 2) of the serrated roller 72A4 that holds the left side of the upper surface of the paper, When printing on B5 size paper, the support surface 81d is located slightly inside (right side in FIG. 2) of the serrated roller 72B5 that holds the left side of the upper surface of the paper.

Conversely, the serrated roller 72A4 that presses the upper left portion of the A4 size sheet is located slightly outside the position of the support surface 81d when printing on the A4 size sheet, and the B5 size sheet. This means that the serrated roller 72B5 that holds the left side of the upper surface of the above is disposed slightly outside the position of the support surface 81d when printing on B5 size paper.

As a result, the left edge of the paper is moved to the head 60.
It is prevented from coming into contact with and getting dirty.

The area indicated by A in FIG. 2 is the printable area in the paper width direction, and the maximum paper size that can be printed over the entire width in this printer is A4.
Is. However, in this printer, B4 size paper can also be conveyed and printed in the print area A, and one support means 8 corresponding to this can be carried out.
0 can move beyond the area A to the left end (position indicated by a solid line). However, since the head 60 does not come to this position, the above-mentioned stain on the left side edge does not occur.

The push-down portion 19 is composed of a serrated roller, and is rotatably supported by a holder 19a rotatably attached to the support plate 53, as shown in FIG. The holder 19a has a guide side 19 with which the front end of the paper P ejected by the paper ejection roller pair 71, 72 comes into contact.
b. When the leading edge of the sheet comes into contact with the guide side 19b, the holder 19a is lifted by the sheet and rotates in the direction of the arrow Y in FIG. To guide you.

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

(I) When setting the paper, use 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 supporting means 8 of the discharging portion H is
0 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 feeding device 20 operates to feed the paper to the paper feeding 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 when 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 head 6 positioned above when printing on thick paper such as an envelope.
In this case, the head 60 is shown.
Since the distance between the lower surface (nozzle opening surface, that is, the ink ejection surface) 60a of the sheet and the regulating member 50 becomes large, the leading edge Pf of the sheet is directed toward the space S between the head 60 and the pair of discharge rollers 71 and 72. Although it tends to enter easily, even in such a case, the space S where the leading edge Pf of the sheet is 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 pair of paper discharge rollers 71, 72. As described above, the paper P is reliably guided to the paper discharge roller pair 71, 72 by the guide roller 75.

(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 rib 51 extends in the sheet P conveyance direction, the rib 51 does not hinder the sheet 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 is wavy due to ink moisture. The bulge of the sheet acts so as to enter the space 51s (see FIG. 13C) 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. 13 (a) (b) (c)
Will be described in detail with reference to. 13 (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. 7A, if the rib is not formed on the defining member and the flat portion 51f defines the spacing between the paper P and the head 60 to be the ideal spacing L, the paper P is formed by the water content of the ink. Wavy, the ridge Pc of the wavy paper P
And the ink ejection surface 60a of the head 60 may rub against each other.

In order to solve such a problem, it is conceivable to increase the distance between the head 60 and the flat surface portion 51f to a large distance L1, as shown in FIG.

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 the present embodiment, FIG.
Since the paper is guided by the ribs 51 as shown in FIG. 5, in the normal case where the printing density is relatively small, that is, when the paper does not wavy, a flat paper P ′ is placed on the upper surface of the ribs 51. By guiding, the distance between the paper and the head 60 can be set to an ideal distance L, ink dots are formed at high density on the paper P, and when the paper P is wavy due to ink moisture, The bulge (valley portion Pd) of the sheet acts by its own weight so as to enter the space 51s between the ribs 51. Therefore, even if the sheet P is corrugated, its peak portion Pc abuts against the head 60 and rubs against it. Will disappear.

Further, among the paper discharge rollers 71 and 72 constituting the conveying roller, the rubber rollers 71 arranged below the paper are arranged in plural in the paper width direction, not by one long round bar roller. 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. 14A, 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 ′.
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. 14B, 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 contacts 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 sequentially receives print data in units of one line from the host computer and performs printing for each 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 preceding line, the paper After being conveyed in the opposite direction, division printing is performed by repeating the printing by scanning 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. 15 (a)), a portion (for example, an envelope of an envelope) that hinders reverse 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, since the rib 51 is substantially trapezoidal in side view, even if the envelope or the like is sent backward, the flap or the like does not get caught, and therefore, It also eliminates pitch defects.

(B) As shown in FIG. 15A, the paper P
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. 15A, the paper is not transferred until the front end Pf of the paper reaches the paper discharge roller pair 71, 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 comes off immediately from the uppermost surface 51a of the rib as shown in FIG. 15 (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.

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, so that 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 a plurality of colors of ink from the head 60, ink dots are further formed on the ink dots, so 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) The discharge part H operates as follows.

<When the paper is plain paper such as A4 size> The first support member 81 of the one support means 80 is located on the left side of the switching means 59 in FIG. It is in.

The other supporting means 90 is the first supporting piece 91.
Is kept upright.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 5, when the leading edge Pf of the sheet P discharged by the pair of sheet discharging rollers 71, 72 contacts the guide side 19b of the holder 19a, the width of the sheet leading edge Pf. In the middle of the direction, the holder 19a is lifted and rotated in the direction of the arrow Y in FIG. 5, and is conversely pushed down by the guide side 19b and guided by the serrated roller 19.

At the same time, both side portions of the leading edge Pf of the sheet are supported by the support surfaces 81d of the first support member 81 and the first support piece 91.
It is supported from below by 91d and gradually guided upward.

Therefore, the sheet P is gradually discharged from the leading end portion thereof while being forcibly biased into a concave shape in which the printing surface is depressed as viewed from the discharge direction.

FIG. 17 is a schematic view showing 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. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 17, 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 through the pair of discharge rollers 71 and 72, the conveying force is lost, and the rear end of the sheet is held in the concave shape by the discharge section H.

Then, as shown in FIG. 18, the succeeding paper P2 is printed, and the leading end P2f of the paper P2 is the 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 portion H is released. Since the preceding paper P is released from its holding when it is pressed by the following paper P2, it is stacked on the preceding printed paper (P1 in FIG. 17).
The time until it comes into sliding contact with the printed paper 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. 17) 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.

<When the Paper is a B5 Size or Larger, Relatively Strong Envelope, etc.> For a relatively strong paper, as shown in FIG. When the paper is discharged while being supported by the support surfaces 81d and 91d of the above, it is difficult to obtain the curved state of the paper shown in FIG.
The pushing action of the preceding sheet by the succeeding sheet cannot be reliably obtained.

Therefore, when the sheet is an envelope or the like having a size of B5 or more and relatively strong, the first supporting member 81 of the one supporting means 80 is manually tilted. As a result, the second support member 82 is exposed.

In the other supporting means 90, the second supporting piece 92 is set upright.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 19, when the sheet PE is discharged by the pair of sheet discharge rollers 71 and 72, the sheet PE is discharged until the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the pair of sheet discharge rollers. Is strong, so the paper ejection roller pair 7
The sheet is discharged in a state of being supported in a substantially horizontal state (in a floating state) by the first and second supporting pieces 1, 72 and the second supporting piece 92.

For this reason, the discharged paper PE is printed on the printing surface P of the paper PE1 which has been previously printed, discharged and laminated.
The time until sliding contact with E1a is delayed, and the time for the ink on the printed paper PE1 to dry is secured.

At this time, the second supporting member 82 is below the sheet PE and does not contact with it, or even if it contacts, it is lightly contacted, and the supporting surface 92 of the second supporting piece 92.
Although d is an upwardly inclined surface, it is located at a lower position than the support surface 91d of the first support piece 91, and therefore does not give a great resistance to the discharged paper. If the paper PE having a strong stiffness is temporarily attached to the first support member 81 and the first support piece 91,
If they are to be supported (guided) by and, since these ascending support surfaces 81d and 91d are at relatively high positions, they have a large resistance to the paper discharged in a state in which they are stiff and therefore difficult to bend, and Although there is a possibility that the feeding accuracy may be lowered, such a fear is eliminated by supporting the second supporting piece 92. It should be noted that the relatively strong paper PE is used as the first support member 81 and the first support piece 91.
And the supporting surface 8 at a relatively high position
When guiding with 1d and 91d, in order to secure the feeding accuracy of the paper, the spring force of the coil spring 73 for urging the serrated roller 72 is increased, and the pressure contact force with respect to the rubber roller 71 is increased to increase the conveyance force. Although it may be increased, it is not desirable to increase the spring force of the coil spring 73, because crease marks are formed in a dotted line on the surface (printing surface) of the paper, and the printing quality deteriorates. In the case of a paper whose surface has been subjected to a gloss treatment, marks are particularly noticeable, which is particularly undesirable.

When the sheet PE is further conveyed and the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the pair of discharge rollers 71 and 72, the conveying force is lost,
As shown in FIG. 20, the trailing edge portion PEc of the sheet is composed of the descending support surface 82a of the second support member 82 and the second support piece 92.
It is held in a state of rising to the right.

Then, as shown in FIG. 20, the succeeding sheet PE2 is printed, and the leading edge PE2f thereof is ejected by the sheet ejection roller pair 7.
The trailing edge PEr of the preceding sheet PE that has passed through 1, 72
By hitting the preceding sheet PE, the preceding sheet PE is pushed by the succeeding sheet PE2, and the preceding printed sheet PE (PE1 in FIG. 19).
It will be laminated on top.

At this time, since the succeeding sheet PE2 pushes the sheet PE in the vicinity of the second supporting piece 92, the sheet PE2
Is about to rotate around the contact portion with the descending support surface 82a (direction of arrow T), the paper PE has the descending support surface 82a.
Since it is pushed out (discharged) by sliding down, it is discharged relatively straight without rotating.

When the edge guide 23 is slid to the right when printing on A4 size or B5 size plain paper or the like thereafter, as described above, the lower pin 81g of the first support member moves to the third position. Inclined plate or second inclined plate 5
The first support member 81 automatically stands up by coming into contact with 9b.

<When the paper is a relatively strong paper such as a postcard or a small envelope> A paper such as a postcard to be printed is set in the automatic paper feeder 20 and the side plate 2 of the edge guide 23 is set.
The edge guide 23 is used to bring the 3d into contact with the left edge of the sheet.
When the slide operation is performed, the supporting means 80 also slides due to the above-described operation of the interlocking mechanism.

At this time, even if the first support member 81 is in an upright state, when the first support member 81 passes through the switching means 59, the first support member 81 automatically falls due to the above-described action, The second support member 82 is exposed. Therefore, it is possible to save the trouble of performing the operation of tilting the first support member 81 separately from the operation of the edge guide 23.

In the other supporting means 90, the second supporting piece 92 is set up.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 21, when the sheet PH is discharged by the pair of discharge rollers 71, 72, the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the pair of discharge rollers 71, 72. Since the paper PH is stiff, it is discharged in a state of being supported in a substantially horizontal state (floating state) by the pair of paper discharge rollers 71 and 72 and the second support piece 92.

Therefore, the discharged paper PH is printed on the printing surface P of the paper PH1 which has been previously printed, discharged and stacked.
The time until sliding contact with H1a is delayed, and the time for the ink on the printed paper PH1 to dry is secured.

At this time, the second supporting member 82 is located below the sheet PH and does not come into contact with the sheet PH, or if it comes into contact with the sheet PH, it makes a slight contact, and the supporting surface 92 of the second supporting piece 92.
Although d is an upwardly inclined surface, it is located at a lower position than the support surface 91d of the first support piece 91, and therefore does not give a great resistance to the discharged paper.

When the sheet PH is further conveyed and the trailing edge of the sheet passes the pair of discharge rollers 71 and 72, the conveying force is lost,
As shown in FIG. 22, the trailing edge portion PHc of the sheet is composed of the descending support surface 82 a of the second support member 82 and the second support piece 92.
It is held in a state of rising to the right.

Then, as shown in FIG. 22, the succeeding paper sheet PH2 is printed, and the leading edge PH2f of the paper sheet PH2 is ejected by the paper ejection roller pair 7.
1, 72, and the trailing edge PHr of the preceding paper PH
By hitting, the preceding sheet PH is pushed by the succeeding sheet PH2 and the preceding printed sheet PH1 (PH1 in FIG. 21).
It will be laminated on top.

At this time, the succeeding sheet PH2 pushes the sheet PH in the vicinity of the second supporting piece 92, so that the sheet PH2
Is about to rotate around the contact portion with the descending support surface 82a (direction of arrow T), but the paper PH has the descending support surface 82a.
Since it is pushed out (discharged) by sliding down, it is discharged relatively straight without rotating.

After that, when the edge guide 23 is slid to the left when printing on A4 size or B5 size plain paper or the like, as described above, the upper pin 81f of the first supporting member moves to the second position. The first support member 81 automatically stands up by coming into contact with the inclined plate 59b.

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

For example, in the above embodiment, both supporting means 80 and 90 have a plurality of supporting surfaces of different heights which are selectively brought into contact with the paper, but at least:
It is sufficient if one of the supporting means 90 has it. That is, the support means 80 may have only the first support member 81. In this case, the first
Since the supporting means of No. 2 does not support the sheet, the sheet is ejected in a cantilever state in which it is supported only by the second supporting piece 92.

[0171]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain the effect that the sheet feeding accuracy does not decrease even when a strong sheet is discharged.

[0172]

[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 one supporting means, and FIG.
FIG.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged front view showing one supporting means and a switching means.

8 (a), (b) and (c) are explanatory views of the operation of one of the supporting means and the switching means.

FIG. 9 is a view on arrow IX-IX in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a rear view of the connecting plate.

FIG. 11 is a view showing the other supporting means, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a front view, and (c) is a right side view.

FIG. 12 is a front view showing the relationship between the other supporting means and the serrated roller.

13 (a), (b) and (c) are schematic front views for explaining the action in an easy-to-understand manner.

FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B are schematic front views for explaining the action of the discharge roller portion in an easy-to-understand manner.

15 (a) and 15 (b) are schematic side views for easily explaining the action of the ribs.

16 (a) and 16 (b) are explanatory perspective views of a serrated roller.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory perspective view of a paper discharge operation.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory perspective view of a paper discharge operation.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory perspective view of the paper discharge operation.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory perspective view of the paper discharge operation.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory perspective view of the paper discharge operation.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory perspective view of the paper discharge operation.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 P paper PE paper PH paper 60 inkjet head 80 support means 90 support means 91d support surface 92d support surface

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pair of supporting means for supporting both side portions of a sheet printed on an upper surface by an inkjet head and discharged from below, and at least one supporting means of the pair of supporting means is provided on the sheet. An ink jet printer having a plurality of supporting surfaces of different heights which are selectively abutted against each other.