JPH1135205A - Roll detection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a roll detection device capable of detecting the remaining quantity of a belt body wound up in a roll shape at all times from the outside of the device using the belt body. SOLUTION: The upper frame of an ink-jet printer 500 is divided into a main body cover 503 and a paper feeding cassette 505. The paper feeding cassette 505 can be freely mounted/demounted, and when it is demounted, a rolled paper 7 as a belt body can be replaced together with a cassette 80. A first rocking part 520 that abuts against the rolled paper 7 so as to rock, and a remaining quantity indication part 511 equipped with a second rocking part 530 that is rocked in response to the rocking motion of the first rocking part 520, are provided in the lower surface of the paper feeding cassette 505. The rolled paper 7 is used for maintenance, and when the radius of the rolled paper 7 taken up by a take-up shaft 87 increases, a pointer 535 formed integrally with the second rocking part 530 is thereby displaced. The displacement of the pointer can be observed from the outside of the ink-jet printer 500, and the remaining quantity of the rolled paper 7 can thereby be detected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a roll detecting device which is provided in an apparatus which is mounted with a band wound in a roll shape, sequentially transports and uses the band, and detects the remaining amount of the band. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A roll paper used for maintenance of an ink jet printer has been known as a belt of this type. In an ink jet printer using such roll paper, it is possible to wipe the nozzle surface of the head with the roll paper and to receive ink forcibly discharged from the head. Also, in devices using this type of band,
The belt is transported each time it is used, and operations such as maintenance are performed using unused parts.

[0003]

However, this kind of band is usually mounted inside a device. For this reason, the remaining amount of the band cannot be confirmed from the outside of the apparatus. It is also considered to output some signal when the remaining amount of the band becomes 0 after the band is consumed, but in this case, it is not possible to detect in advance that the remaining amount becomes 0. Some of these types of strips need to be replaced with new ones as soon as the remaining amount becomes 0, and others require that a replacement strip be prepared in advance. Therefore, in the conventional apparatus, it is necessary to open the cover or the like of the apparatus from time to time to check the remaining amount of the internal band. For example, if a red line indicating "slight remaining amount" is printed near the end of the maintenance roll paper, it is necessary to occasionally check whether or not this red line appears by opening the cover of the inkjet printer or the like. was there. Therefore, the conventional apparatus using such a band has not been very operable.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a roll detecting device capable of constantly detecting the remaining amount of a band wound in a roll form from outside a device using the band. .

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is provided with a band wound in a roll shape, and the mounted band is sequentially attached. A roll detection device provided in a device to be transported and used to detect the remaining amount of the band, wherein the used or unused band in a wound state swings according to a change in radius. A swinging member, and display means provided on the surface of the device, the display state of which changes according to the swinging of the swinging member,
It is characterized by having.

In the present invention having the above-described structure, the swinging member is formed of a used or unused band in a wound state.
Swings according to the change in radius. For this reason, the swing state of the swing member continuously changes according to the change in the remaining amount of the belt. Further, the display state of the display means changes according to the swing of the swing member. Moreover, the display means is provided on the surface of the apparatus using the above-mentioned band. Therefore, according to the present invention, the remaining amount of the band can be constantly detected from the outside of the apparatus by checking the display state of the display means. Therefore, the remaining amount of the band can be constantly detected without opening the cover or the like of the device, and the operability of the device can be improved.

Although the display means may have various configurations, the display means may be a member which is mechanically connected to the swing member and which is continuously displaced in accordance with the swing of the swing member. In this case, the configuration of the display means can be extremely simplified, and the remaining amount of the band can be continuously detected. Therefore, the operability of the device can be further improved, and the manufacturing cost of the device can be favorably reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the swing member and the display means are provided on a lid which is opened when the band is mounted. In the present invention, the swing member and the display means are provided on the lid that is opened when the belt is mounted. For this reason, the swinging member and the display means do not interfere with the mounting of the belt. Especially,
When the swing member swings by contacting a used or unused band, it is highly necessary to devise such a swing member so as not to hinder the mounting of the band. This problem can be solved by a simple configuration.

Therefore, according to the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that the structure can be further simplified and the band can be prevented from being obstructed when the belt is mounted. Therefore, it is possible to further improve the operability of the device using the above-mentioned band, and to further reduce the manufacturing cost of the device.

[0010] The third aspect of the present invention is the first or second aspect.
In addition to the configuration described above, the apparatus is an ink jet printer, and the band is used for receiving ink forcibly ejected from a head or wiping a nozzle surface of a head. .

In the present invention, the band is used in an ink jet printer for receiving ink forcibly ejected from a head or for maintenance such as wiping a nozzle surface of a head. In an ink jet printer, it is not desirable to continue using the band with the remaining amount of the band being zero. For this reason, this type of band
When the remaining amount becomes 0, it is necessary to exchange the new one as soon as possible. In the present invention, since the remaining amount of this kind of band is detected, the effect of the first or second aspect of the present invention is more remarkably exhibited.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the third aspect, the swinging member and the display means are provided in a paper feed cassette of the ink jet printer, and the paper feed cassette is detached to allow the swing member and the display means to be removed. It is characterized in that the band can be mounted. In the present invention, the belt can be mounted by removing the paper feed cassette provided with the swinging member and the display means. For this reason, similarly to the second aspect of the invention, the swinging member and the display means do not obstruct the mounting of the band. In addition, a paper cassette is generally provided detachably in an ink jet printer, and in the present invention, the belt can be mounted by removing the paper cassette. That is, in the present invention, the lid that is opened when the belt is mounted is also used as the originally detachable paper cassette. Therefore, the configuration is further simplified.

Therefore, in the present invention, in addition to the effect of the third aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that the structure can be further simplified and the band can be prevented from being obstructed at the time of mounting. Therefore, the operability of the ink jet printer to which the present invention is applied can be further improved, and the manufacturing cost of the ink jet printer can be further reduced.

[0014]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating an appearance of an inkjet printer 500 to which the present invention is applied. In addition, the inkjet printer 500 of the present embodiment
This is a so-called hot-melt inkjet printer that melts and jets solid ink.

As shown in FIG. 1, an upper frame 501 of the ink jet printer 500 includes a main body cover 503 for covering almost the entire printer main body, and a main body cover 503 for the main body.
And a paper feed cassette 505 detachably provided at one end of the paper feeder. Also, on the surface of the main body cover 503,
Various pilot lamps 507 and the like are provided. Further, a tray 509 for stacking and holding recording paper (not shown) as a recording medium is provided on the surface of the paper feeding cassette 505.
And a remaining amount display unit 511 for displaying the remaining amount of the roll paper 7 for maintenance described later. The configuration of the remaining amount display unit 511 will be described later in detail.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of the ink jet printer 500. As shown in FIG. 2, the head 1 of the inkjet printer 500 is mounted on the carriage 3 (FIG. 9) and is configured to be movable along the guide shaft 5. The head 1 ejects ink onto recording paper conveyed near the center of the movement range to form an image, and performs maintenance near the left end (left end in FIG. 2) of the guide shaft 5 before or after the image formation or at a predetermined timing. The user moves to the area and receives a maintenance operation using the roll paper 7 as a band.

Next, the structure of the head 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the head 1, FIG. 4 is a top view of the ink tank 10 of the head 1, and FIGS. 5 (a) and (b) are lines BB and C-
It is a C-line cut end view. Further, the configuration of the head 1 is described in detail in Japanese Patent Application No. 8-305325, which should be referred to.

The head 1 includes an ink tank 10, a front panel 30, a melting tank 40, a cam 50, and a control substrate stage 70, as shown in FIG. The ink tank 10 has an inclined front surface portion 15 for attaching the front panel 30 and a color output (yellow, magenta, cyan) that can store hot melt ink (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as ink). , Black), an ink tank upper cover 19, and an ink tank heater 17 attached to the back surface of the ink tank 10, as shown in FIG. 5B. Further, a communication path 21 that opens downward is provided on the back side of the bottom surface of each of the main chamber 11 and the sub chamber 13 of the ink tank 10.

The main chamber 11 has an L-shape as viewed from above as shown in FIG. 3, and includes a main chamber entrance 21a (FIG. 5B) leading to the communication passage 21 and a front panel 30.
A main chamber outlet 22a (FIGS. 5 (a) and 3) leading to the main chamber and a filter 29 (FIG. 5 (a)) are provided. Filter 29
Is manufactured by sintering stainless steel fibers into a paper shape and then pressing the fibers. Each of the fibers is complicatedly bent and overlapped, and has a passage having a three-dimensional structure (for example, , "Tommy Firek S
S "(registered trademark): manufactured by Tomoegawa Paper Mill Co., Ltd.).

The sub-chamber 13 has a sub-chamber outlet 21b leading to the communication passage 21 and a sub-chamber inlet 22b leading to the front panel 30.
3 and FIG. 5 (b), the sub chamber outlet 21b
And a substantially inverted T-shaped valve opening / closing lever 24 which opens one of the sub-chamber inlet 22b when the other is closed.

The valve opening / closing lever 24 is made of an aluminum alloy die-cast, and as shown in FIG. 5B, a lever base 25 provided between the sub-chamber outlet 21b and the sub-chamber inlet 22b is used as a support point. It is mounted so that it can swing. Further, the valve opening / closing lever 24 is provided with pressure-contact valves 27 and 28.
By being urged by the leaf spring 26,
Normally, the pressure contact valve 28 keeps the state where the sub chamber inlet 22b is sealed. Here, the pressure contact surface of the pressure contact valve 27 has a spherical shape, the edge of the corresponding sub-chamber outlet 21b has a tapered surface shape, the pressure contact surface of the pressure contact valve 28 has a planar shape, and the corresponding port of the sub-chamber inlet 22b. The edge has an annularly protruding shape. The pressure-contact valves 27 and 28 are made of silicone rubber and have a Shore hardness of about 40 ° and a heat-resistant temperature of about 200 ° C.
It is.

As shown in FIG. 3, the ink tank upper cover 19 has a front panel cover 19a adapted to the shape of the front panel 30, a sub-chamber cover 19b for covering the sub-chamber 13, and an upper end of the valve opening / closing lever 24. A long hole 19c for exposing the portion 24a and a sub chamber 13 from the melting tank 40.
Ink inlet 1 for supplying hot melt ink to
9d, an air chamber 20 for sending compressed air from a pump 160 to be described later to each main chamber 11, a through hole 20b opened from the air chamber 20 to the side surface of the ink tank 10, and an air chamber for sealing the air chamber 20. And a lid 20a. The air chamber 20 of the ink tank upper lid 19 has a through hole 23 communicating with the main chamber 11, as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the front panel 30 has four nozzle heads 31 on the front surface, and has a forward path 35 from each main chamber 11 to each nozzle head 31 on the back surface (FIG. 5A). ) And a return path 37 (FIG. 5B) from each nozzle head 31 to each sub-chamber 13 is formed. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a cover panel 30a is attached to the back surface of the front panel 30 so as to cover the outward path 35 and the return path 37, and the front panel heater 33 is attached to the back surface of the cover panel 30a. Is attached. As shown in FIG. 5, a forward entrance 35a from each main chamber 11 to each forward path 35, a forward path 35b from each forward path 35 to each nozzle head 31, and a nozzle head 3
A return path entrance 37b is provided from 1 to each return path 37, and a return path exit 37a is provided from each return path 37 to each sub-chamber 13.

The nozzle head 31 includes a piezoelectric conversion element 38, and ejects the ink supplied through the outward path outlet 35b in accordance with a change in the volume of the piezoelectric conversion element 38. Further, the ink supplied to the nozzle head 31 can be circulated to the sub chamber 13 via the return path entrance 37b and the return path 37.

The cam 50 is mounted on the ink tank top cover 19 so as to be slidable in the left-right direction in FIG. 4, and the vicinity of the contact surface 50a is projected rightward from above the ink tank top cover 19. I have. The cam 50 has a cam surface 50b.
And a projection 5 provided at the left end of the cam 50.
The cam surface 50 b is normally urged by the spring 51 bridged between the protrusion 2 e and the projection 19 e provided on the ink tank top cover 19 so that the cam surface 50 b does not touch the upper end 24 a of the valve opening / closing lever 24 at normal times. keeping.

The melting tank 40 is, as shown in FIG.
The room is divided into four rooms for each color of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, and each room has a box shape with an open top so that solid ink can be charged and stored. The lower part of each room of the melting tank 40 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), a conduction path 47 for guiding the molten ink to the sub-chamber 13 is formed.

Solid ink is supplied to the melting tank 40 from an ink supply device (not shown). The melting tank 40 is provided with a heater, and the solid ink is melted by the heater.
Supply 3 Further, the control board stage 70 includes a control board (not shown), and is mounted on the head 1.

In the head 1 configured as described above, the control panel stage 70 drives the various heaters 17 and 33 and the like to hold the solid ink in a molten state. The conversion element 38 is driven to eject ink. Further, when moving to the maintenance area, the following purging can be executed. In addition, purging is to pressurize the ink in the front panel 30 and the nozzle head 31 from the main chamber 11 side,
Bubbles and dust in the ink that cause non-ejection are sent out of the nozzle together with the ink to the nozzle portion 31a (see FIG. 16), and those in the front panel 30 to the sub-chamber 13 to be filtered. This is an operation of filling clean ink filtered at 29. The bubbles are mixed in the ink when the temperature of the head drops when the power is turned off, the ink solidifies, and the ink is melted when the power is turned on again.
Debris may enter through the nozzle.

That is, when the head 1 moves to the maintenance area, the contact surface 50a of the cam 50 is pressed against the frame 54 (see FIG. 4) of the printer body, and the hollow cylindrical cap 55 provided on the frame 54 is provided.
Covers the through hole 20b. Then, the cam 50 relatively slides leftward on the ink tank cover 19, and the cam surface 50b pushes the upper end 24a of the valve opening / closing lever 24 downward in FIG. Therefore, the valve opening / closing lever 24 swings around the lever pedestal 25 as a fulcrum, and the pressure contact valve 28 and the sub chamber inlet 2
When the pressure contact with 2b is released and the swinging further proceeds, the pressure contact valve 27 and the sub-chamber outlet 21b are pressed against each other, the sub-chamber inlet 22b is opened, and the sub-chamber outlet 21b is closed.

At this time, the cap 55 is
Since compressed air is supplied from a pump 160, which will be described later, through a pipe 57 connected to the hollow portion of the cap 55, bubbles can be pushed out as follows. That is, the air pressure in the main chamber 11 rises by sending the compressed air. Since the sub-chamber outlet 21b is closed and the sub-chamber inlet 22b is open, the ink containing air bubbles is filtered from the main chamber 11 for bubbles and dust by the filter 29, and the main chamber outlet 22a, the outgoing entrance 35a, the outgoing 3
5. Reach the nozzle head 31 via the outward exit 35b.
Next, the path is divided into a path that is discharged (discharged) from the nozzle portion 31a to the outside and two paths that are directed toward the return path entrance 37b. The respective flow ratios are the forward path 35, the return path 37, and the nozzle portion 31.
It is determined by setting the flow path resistance of a. Return entrance 3
The route on the 7b side is the return route 37, the return route exit 37a, the sub-chamber entrance 2
It is sent to the sub chamber 13 via 2b. As a result, the ink containing bubbles in the forward path 35, the nozzle portion 31a, and the return path 37 is replaced with clean ink.

Thereafter, the head 1 is moved to the left, and the contact surface 50a is separated from the frame 54.
Is not pressed by the cam surface 50b. Then, the valve opening / closing lever 24 swings around the lever pedestal 25 as a fulcrum by the urging force of the leaf spring 26, so that the sub chamber inlet 22b is closed and the sub chamber outlet 21b is opened. As a result, the ink forcedly sent into the sub-chamber 13 due to purging is returned from the communication path 21 to the main chamber 11, so that the liquid levels of the main chamber 11 and the sub-chamber 13 can be at the same level.

When the purging is performed, a part of the ink is forcibly ejected from the nozzle surface 36 of the nozzle head 31.
Since the roll paper 7 is provided in the maintenance area, the nozzle face 36 can be wiped by the roll paper 7 and the ejected ink can be received. Next, the configuration of the maintenance unit 100 as a maintenance mechanism for transporting the roll paper 7 and pressing the roll paper 7 against the nozzle head 31 will be described. First, since the roll paper 7 is a consumable item, it is held in the cassette 80 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and after use, the whole cassette 80 is replaced or only the roll paper 7 is replaced. The supply to the user is performed by both the cassette 80 and the set of the replacement roll paper 7, and the user's convenience can be selected. FIG.
And FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the cassette 80
It comprises a lid 81 and a main body 82 which can be opened and closed about a hinge 80a. Inside the main body 82, a pin 83 projecting from the inner wall surface and supporting the unused roll paper 7, a fixed amount feed roller 85 for transporting the roll paper 7, and a winding shaft for winding the transported roll paper 7 87 and a pressure contact plate 89 for pressing the roll paper 7 against the nozzle head 31. The side wall of the main body 82 on which the pin 83 is formed is formed with a substantially U-shaped cut to form a spring portion 82a. For this reason, the pin 83 swings outward when the roll paper 7 is mounted, and later returns by elastic force to support the paper tube of the roll paper 7. The rotation axes of the fixed amount feed roller 85 and the take-up shaft 87 protrude from the left and right sides of the main body 82,
Gears 91 and 92 are fixed to the outside of the left side surface of the gear 2, respectively.

Further, on the side wall of the main body 82, an elongated hole 82b is formed which is substantially perpendicular to the transport path of the roll paper 7 from the outer periphery of the pin 83 to the fixed amount feeding roller 85. A pin 93a formed on the pin 93 is fitted. The press contact plate 89 includes the support portion 93 and the support portion 93.
Plate portion 95 which is swingably connected to pin 95 via pins 95a.
And a compression coil spring 97 that urges the plate portion 95 in a direction separating from the support portion 93. As shown in FIG. 6, guide pins 82c are provided on the left and right side surfaces of the main body 82 so as to project therefrom.

A nip roller 98 is provided inside the lid 81.
It is provided through an oval hole 81a formed in the lid 81. When the nip roller 98 is mounted on the printer main body, the nip roller 98 receives a pressing force of a plate spring 99 provided on an upper frame 501 of the printer main body, and receives a fixed feed roller 85.
To press the roll paper 7 therebetween. Further, above the lid 81 (above in FIGS. 6 and 7), an opening 81 b for projecting the roll paper 7 to the outside and the remaining amount display section 511 indicate the amount of the roll paper 7 on the take-up shaft 87 side. An opening 81c for detection and an opening 82d for detecting the presence or absence of the roll paper 7 on the pin 83 side by a sensor 110 described later are formed below the main body 82, respectively. A cutout 81d for allowing the leaf spring 99 to pass therethrough is also formed around the opening 81b.

Next, FIG. 8 is a front view showing the configuration of the maintenance unit 100 when the cassette 80 is mounted, FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line DD, and FIG. 10 is a left side view. In FIG. 8, the press contact plate 89 is omitted, and FIG.
At 0, the side frame 102 is drawn by virtual lines.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the maintenance unit 100 includes a pair of side frames 102 and 103. Each side frame 102 and 103 has a pin 82c.
And guides 104 and 105 for individually guiding the winding shaft 87 (FIG. 9). Guides 104, 10
When the cassette 80 is mounted along the axis 5, the movable parts 111 and 113 of the sensor 110 disposed below the
It swings around 11a and 113a. When the cassette 80 is completely mounted, the movable unit 1 on the carriage 3 side
11 comes into contact with the roll paper 7 held by the pins 83 in the cassette 80. This sensor 110 is a movable unit 1
The presence or absence of the roll paper 7 is detected based on the swing state of the roll paper 11.

The pins 93a of the pressure contact plates 89 projecting from both sides of the cassette 80 swing around the front end of the maintenance unit 100 (on the carriage 3; hereinafter, the front and rear sides are similarly defined for the cassette 80). Engaging with the tips of a pair of arms 115. Maintenance unit 100
Further, a lever 117 that swings in contact with the carriage 3 is provided further forward of the carriage 3, and the pressing plate 89 protrudes as follows according to the swing of the lever 117.

The lever 117 is connected to the maintenance unit 1
When the carriage 3 moves to the above-described maintenance area, the carriage 3 is pushed by the carriage 3 so as to be pivotable about a shaft 121 (FIG. 8) protruding forward of the position 00 and is indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Rocks clockwise until Lever 11
7, a bevel gear 117a around the shaft 121 is integrally formed, and the bevel gear 117a meshes with a bevel gear 123a integrally formed on the pressing piece 123. Pressing piece 123
A shaft 125 protruding in parallel with the shaft 121;
The lever 117 swings counterclockwise in FIG. 9 (clockwise in FIG. 10) along with the swing of the lever 117. In order to clearly show the configuration of the pressing piece 123, the shaft 121 is shown in FIG.
1, 125 and the lever 117 are not shown.

At the front ends of the pair of arms 115, an iron plate 1
The tip of the pressing piece 123 presses the iron plate 129 with the swing. As shown in FIGS. 9, 10, and 15, each arm 115 has an upper arm 131 that swings around a shaft 115a and a small-diameter portion of a key-shaped hole 131b provided substantially in the middle of the upper arm 131. Lower arm 13 swingable around a stepped caulking pin 133b to be fitted
The front end of the upper arm 131 is fixed to the left and right edges of the iron plate 129, or both are integrally formed by a single metal plate. A tension coil spring 135 is provided between the front end of the lower arm 133 and the lower end of the iron plate 129.
Has been erected. The distal end (rear end) of the lower arm 133 is urged upward by the extension coil spring 135, and the lower end of the lower arm 133 is normally opposed to the projecting piece 131c that is bent at the lower edge of the front end of the upper arm 131. The state where the edges are in contact, that is, the upper arm 131 and the lower arm 1
A gap 115b is formed between the rear ends of the pins 33 such that the pin 93a is just fitted. Note that the tension coil spring 135 also has an action of preventing the stepped caulking pin 133b of the lower arm 133 from moving from the small-diameter portion side to the large-diameter portion side of the key-shaped hole 131b of the upper arm 131, and fits them together. maintain.

When the iron plate 129 is pressed by the pressing piece 123 as described above, the entire arm 115 is
Swinging clockwise in FIG. 10 around 15a,
The pressing plate 89 is projected together with the roll paper 7. When the pressure contact plate 89 comes into contact with the nozzle head 31 or the like with the roll paper 7 interposed therebetween, the lower arm 133 is set with the stepped caulking pin 133.
b against the urging force of the extension coil spring 135 around FIG.
By swinging counterclockwise at 0 (clockwise in FIG. 9), the impact at the time of contact can be reduced. Moreover, even if each member has some error or variation in production or assembly, or even if the distance of the nozzle surface 36 from the platen is changed in accordance with the type of printing paper in order to improve the printing quality. The pressing plate 89 can be uniformly pressed against the nozzle surface 36. Further, the pressing piece 1
When the pressing force from 23 does not act, the arm 115 is held at the lowered position by the action of the leaf spring 137 (FIG. 9).

Next, a gear mechanism for driving the maintenance unit 100 will be described with reference to FIG. Gear 141 provided at the front end of maintenance unit 100
Is configured coaxially with a transport roller (not shown) for transporting the recording paper, and is rotated by receiving the driving force of the transport roller.
A gear 142 that meshes with the gear 141 is provided with a lever 142a that is bent in a dogleg shape so as to be coaxially swingable. A gear 143 meshing with the gear 142 is provided at one end of the lever 142a, and constitutes a so-called planetary gear mechanism. The other end of the lever 142a is connected to the upper arm 13
1 can be brought into contact with the contact piece 131a provided on the lower side.

The gear 141 rotates clockwise when the recording paper is transported, so that the gear 142 rotates counterclockwise and the gear 143 rotates clockwise. by this,
The lever 142a swings counterclockwise, and the gear 143
The two large and small gears do not mesh with the adjacent gear 144. FIG. 10 shows the gear 14 in this state.
The movements of the levers 1 to 143 and the lever 142a are indicated by arrows.
Further, when the lever 142a swings to the position shown in FIG. 10, it is locked by a stopper (not shown) and does not swing any further. Therefore, while the recording paper is being conveyed and the head 1 is forming an image, the maintenance unit 10
No driving force is transmitted to zero.

When the conveyance roller rotates in the reverse direction and the counterclockwise rotation is transmitted to the gear 141, the lever 142a swings clockwise. However, when the arm 115 swings downward as shown by the solid line in FIG. 10, the other end of the lever 142 a contacts the contact piece 131 a of the upper arm 131, so that the gear 143 does not mesh with the gear 144. When the carriage 3 is moved to the maintenance area and the upper arm 131 is pushed up to the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 10, when the transport roller is reversed, the lever 142a swings to the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. , The gear 143 meshes with the large diameter portion of the gear 144. That is, the driving force is transmitted to the mechanism after the gear 144 only when the carriage 3 moves to the maintenance area and the transport roller rotates in the reverse direction.

The small diameter portion of the gear 144 meshes with the gear 146 via the large diameter gear 145. The gear 146 also has a configuration in which two large and small gears are integrated.
5 meshes with the large diameter portion of the gear 146. The small-diameter portion (not shown) of the gear 146 meshes with the gear 91 exposed on the left side surface of the cassette 80 when the cassette 80 is completely mounted. The large-diameter portion of the gear 144 meshes with the gear 149 via the gears 147 and 148. As shown in FIG. 11, the gear 149 has a configuration in which two large and small gears are integrated, and the small diameter portion meshes with the large diameter gear 150. When the cassette 80 is completely mounted, the gear 150 meshes with the gear 92 of the cassette 80 (FIG. 10). For this reason, when the driving force is transmitted to the gear 144, the fixed feed roller 85 and the take-up shaft 87 of the cassette 80 integrated with the gears 91 and 92 are rotated, and the roll paper 7 can be transported.

Further, the large diameter portion of the gear 149 is
5 is engaged with a gear 157 which rotates integrally with the gear 5. As shown in FIG. 11, the groove cam 155 has an eccentric substantially annular shape.
The groove 158, 159 has
59 drives the pump 160. That is, the pump 160 includes a piston 161 that slides by engaging the pin 161 a in the groove 158, and a pin 16 in the groove 159.
And a piston 163 that slides by engaging the piston 3a. An intake port 165a and an exhaust port 165b are formed in the cylinder 165 in which the pistons 161 and 163 are fitted.

Therefore, when the groove cam 155 rotates, the pistons 161 and 163 slide in different phases, and the volume of the space formed between them increases and decreases. At this time,
Since either the intake port 165a or the exhaust port 165b is closed by the piston 161 or 163, compressed air can be sent from the exhaust port 165b to the air chamber 20 of the head 1 via the pipe 57 (FIG. 4). . Therefore, after arranging the carriage 3 in the maintenance area,
If the transport rollers are reversed, the above-described purging can be performed while transporting the roll paper 7.

Next, the configuration of the remaining amount display unit 511 as a roll detection device will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIGS. 12 to 14, the configurations of the carriage 3, the maintenance unit 100, and the like are omitted. As shown in FIG. 12, a hollow supporting portion 513 having a rectangular cross section is protruded from a lower surface of a sheet feeding cassette 505 detachably mounted on the printer main body, and a hollow portion of the supporting portion 513 is provided with a roll. First swing unit 520 swinging in contact with paper 7
And a second swinging part 530 partially exposed on the surface of the sheet feeding cassette 505.

13 and 14 are cross-sectional views showing the configuration of the remaining amount display section 511. FIGS. 13 and 14 are cross-sectional views taken along line FF of FIG. 14 and EE of FIG.
It is a sectional view. As shown in FIG. 13, the first swinging portion 520 is configured to be swingable around a shaft 521 supported at both ends by the support portion 513, and has a shape bent downward in a hook shape. The tip 523 of the first swinging part 520 is chamfered in an arc shape. And this tip 523
Is inserted into the cassette 80 through the opening 81c, and comes into contact with the roll paper 7 wound around the outer periphery of the winding shaft 87.
Further, the first swing portion 520 is urged clockwise in FIG. 13 by the torsion coil spring 525, and the leading end 523 is always in contact with the roll paper 7. For this reason, the remaining amount of the unused roll paper 7 decreases, and as the used roll paper 7 wound around the winding shaft 87 increases, the first swing unit Reference numeral 520 swings counterclockwise in FIG.

The second swinging portion 530 has support ends 513 at both ends.
The first swing portion 520 has a long hole 533 that is configured to be swingable about a shaft 531 supported by the first swing portion 520 and into which a pin 527 provided is fitted. Also, this elongated hole 533 is
It is formed elongated in a direction perpendicular to the axis 531. Therefore, when the first swing part 520 swings counterclockwise, the second swing part 530 swings clockwise. On the other hand, the paper feed cassette 505 has a shaft 5 at a position slightly depressed from the surface.
An arc surface 540 centered at 31 is formed. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the second swing portion 530 is disposed along the right inner wall surface of the support portion 513, and a pointer 535 formed at the upper end thereof protrudes above the arc surface 540. For this reason, the pointer 535 is disposed at the lower end of the arc surface 540 when the roll paper 7 is hardly wound on the winding shaft 87, and is placed on the arc surface 540 as the winding shaft 87 winds the roll paper 7. Is moved upward (clockwise in FIG. 13), and when the roll paper 7 is almost wound up, the arc surface 540
It is arranged at the upper end of.

The user of the ink jet printer 500 normally operates the remaining amount display section 51 from the direction of arrow A in FIG.
Look at 1. When viewed from this direction, the entire surface of the arc surface 540 substantially overlaps the outer frame 511a (see FIG. 1) of the remaining amount display portion 511 formed on the surface of the sheet cassette 505. For this reason, when the roll paper 7 is not used at all, the user places the pointer 535 on the lower end of the outer frame 511a in FIG.
When all the roll paper 7 is used, the pointer 535 is
It can be seen that they are respectively arranged at the upper end of 11a.

As described above, the remaining amount display unit 511 determines the remaining amount of the roll paper 7 by checking the position of the pointer 535 in the outer frame 511a.
Can always be detected from outside. Therefore, the remaining amount of the roll paper 7 can be always detected without opening the upper frame 501, and the operability of the inkjet printer 500 can be improved. Moreover, the pointer 535
Is mechanically connected to the first swing unit 520 via the elongated hole 533 of the second swing unit 530, and is continuously displaced in accordance with the swing of the first swing unit 520. For this reason, the configuration is simplified, the continuous detection of the remaining amount becomes possible, and the operability of the inkjet printer 500 can be further improved, and the manufacturing cost can be further reduced.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 12, in the ink jet printer 500, when the sheet feeding cassette 505 is removed, the cassette 80 can be replaced. That is, the lid that is opened when the cassette 80 is replaced is also used as the paper cassette 505 that can be originally detached even in a general printer. For this reason, the configuration is further simplified. Moreover, if the sheet cassette 505 is removed, the remaining amount display unit 511 will not be provided near the maintenance unit 100. Therefore, the remaining amount display section 511 does not interfere when the cassette 80 is replaced. Also, the paper cassette 5
As shown in FIGS. 12 to 14, the paper feed cassette 05 is mounted so that the bottom of the hollow support portion 513 faces the rear upper surface (the upper surface around the opening 81c) of the maintenance cassette 80. 505 can also be used as a member for preventing the maintenance cassette 80 from rising, and there is also an effect that a special member for holding the cassette 80 at a regular mounting position is not required. Therefore, in the above embodiment, the operability of the inkjet printer 500 can be further improved, and the manufacturing cost can be further reduced.

In the above embodiment, the first swing portion 520 corresponds to a swing member, the outer frame 511a and the pointer 535 correspond to display means, and the paper feed cassette 505 corresponds to a lid. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the first swing portion 520 is brought into contact with the used roll paper 7, but the swing member may be brought into contact with the unused roll paper 7. In addition, as a band, in addition to the roll paper 7,
A nonwoven fabric or the like may be used, and may be used for maintenance other than receiving ink and wiping the nozzle surface.

Further, the present invention can be applied to an apparatus other than an ink jet printer as long as the apparatus is equipped with a band wound in a roll shape and transports and uses the mounted band. it can. However, the inkjet printer 5
In 00, it is not desirable to continue using the roll paper 7 with the remaining amount being 0. For this reason, the roll paper 7
When the remaining amount becomes 0, it is necessary to exchange the new one as soon as possible. In the above embodiment, since the present invention is applied to the detection of the roll paper 7 in the ink jet printer 500, the effect of the present invention appears more remarkably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating the appearance of an ink jet printer to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the inkjet printer.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration of a head of the inkjet printer.

FIG. 4 is a top view illustrating a configuration of an ink tank of the head.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line BB and line CC showing the configuration of the ink tank.

FIG. 6 is a left side view illustrating a configuration of a cassette for maintenance of the head.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the configuration of the cassette.

FIG. 8 is a front view illustrating a configuration of a maintenance unit when the cassette is mounted.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the maintenance unit, D-
It is D sectional drawing.

FIG. 10 is a left side view illustrating the configuration of the maintenance unit.

FIG. 11 is a right side view illustrating a configuration near the pump of the maintenance unit.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating a configuration around a remaining amount display unit of the inkjet printer.

FIG. 13 is an FF step cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of the remaining amount display unit.

FIG. 14 is an EE cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of the remaining amount display unit.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration of an arm.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a flow path of a nozzle head.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Head 3 ... Carriage 5 ... Guide shaft 7
... Roll paper 10 ... Ink tank 20 ... Air chamber 20b ... Through hole 31 ... Nozzle head 35 ... Outbound path 37 ... Return path 55 ... Cap 57
... pipe 70 ... control panel stage 80 ... cassette 100 ...
Maintenance unit 500: ink jet printer 501: upper frame 503: body cover 505: paper feed cassette 51
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Remaining amount display part 511a ... Outer frame 520 ... First swing part 527 ... Pin 530 ... Second swing part 533 ... Elongated hole 535 ... Pointer

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A belt wound in a roll shape is attached,
A roll detection device that is provided in a device that sequentially transports and uses the mounted band, and detects the remaining amount of the band, wherein the used or unused band in a wound state is A roll, comprising: a swing member that swings according to a change in radius; and display means provided on a surface of the device, and a display state changes according to swing of the swing member. Detection device. 2. The roll detecting device according to claim 1, wherein said swing member and said display means are provided on a lid which is opened when said belt is mounted. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is an ink jet printer, and the band is used for receiving ink forcibly ejected from a head or wiping a nozzle surface of the head. Item 3. The roll detection device according to item 1 or 2. 4. The ink jet printer according to claim 3, wherein the swinging member and the display means are provided on a paper cassette of the ink jet printer, and the belt can be mounted by removing the paper cassette. The roll detecting device according to the above.