JPS61127545A - Thin film material transport apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To stably transport a thin film material by forming a at least either a drive roller or a pinch roller for clamping a thin film material and transporting same by a rubber magnet and absorbing both rollers to each other by magnetic force. CONSTITUTION:When a stepping motor 42 is driven, a drive roller 11 having small-diameter portions 23 supported on support portions 33 through bearing 31 is rotated through pulleys 44, 41, and with the rotation, a pinch roller 12 having small-diameter portions 27 supported on the support portion 33 through bearings 32 is rotated, thereby to transport a sheet. In this case, the above both rollers 11, 12 are respectively provided with two rubber magnets 22, 26 molded ring-shaped on two designated places of shafts 21, 25. In this arrangement, both rubber magnets 22, 26 of the above rollers 11, 12 are absorbed to each other by magnetic force to always obtain favorable sheet transport force regardless of influences such as assembling accuracy, vibration and so on.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION "Field of Industrial Application" The present invention relates to an apparatus for conveying thin film materials such as paper in printers and the like.

"Prior Art" For example, printers include those that use long sheets of paper and those that use sheets that have been cut to a predetermined size.

Among these, printers that use long paper generally
Continuous printing paper (so-called fan-fold paper) with holes perforated at a constant pitch on both edges is used as the paper, and this is conveyed by the rotation of a sprocket fitted into the holes. In such a printer, the paper is conveyed while reliably following the rotation of the sprocket gutter, so the paper conveyance accuracy is generally high. For this reason, when printing on preprinted paper on which a certain frame or the like is printed in advance, such as a slip, for example, characters, figures, etc. can be printed exactly in the desired locations.

On the other hand, printers that use paper cut to a predetermined size generally have a metal pinch roller in pressure contact with a rubber drive roller, and the paper that enters between these rollers is transported by friction. . However, in such printers, if the paper conveyance system is not assembled with high accuracy, or if the drive system becomes unstable due to vibrations, slippage may occur between the drive roller and the paper. there were. . Furthermore, if the rubber surface of the drive roller deteriorates over time or becomes dirty with paper powder, dirt, etc., slippage is likely to occur between the drive roller and the paper.

``Problems to be Solved by the Invention'' In the conventional printer of the type in which paper is conveyed using a drive roller and a pinch roller, slippage may occur between the drive roller and the paper. If slip occurs, the paper conveyance accuracy will be reduced. As a result, when printing on preprinted paper, for example, characters and figures are not printed properly in the desired locations, resulting in a decrease in image quality. Particularly when used for a long period of time, there has been a problem in that paper conveyance accuracy is significantly reduced and image quality is significantly reduced.

In view of these circumstances, the present invention provides a thin film material conveying device that can transport thin film materials such as paper over a long period of time with higher precision in a type of printer that transports thin film materials such as paper using drive rollers and pinch rollers. Its purpose is to.

``Means for Solving the Problems J'' In the present invention, at least one of the drive roller and the pinch roller is composed of a rubber magnet, and both rollers are attracted to each other by magnetic force, thereby allowing the rollers to be attached to a thin film-like material such as paper. This prevents slippage from occurring.

If either the drive roller or the pinch roller is made of a rubber magnet and the other is made of a metal rod with minute protrusions on the outer circumferential surface, there will be almost no slippage between the drive roller and the pinch roller and the thin film-like material such as paper. can do.

``Embodiment'' To explain the present invention in detail with reference to an embodiment, first, an example of a printer to which the present invention is applied will be briefly explained with reference to FIG. 3.

This printer is equipped with a flat, long platen 1. A main guide bar 2 is provided at a predetermined location above the platen 1 and in parallel therewith. A carriage 4 equipped with a thermal head 3 is rotatably and slidably attached to the main guide rod 2 . The carriage 4 is normally prevented from rotating by an auxiliary guide rod 5.
Ru. The sub-guide rod 5 is arranged to be movable in the vertical direction, and is displaced by a plunger solenoid (not shown). Although not shown, the carriage 4 is configured to receive the driving force of a motor via a wire or the like, and is reciprocated along both guide rods 2.5.

A ribbon-shaped ink donor film 6 is interposed between the thermal head 3 and the platen 1.

Although not shown, the ink donor film 6 is unwound from a supply reel of an ink film cassette loaded in the carriage 4 and wound onto a take-up roll, or provided on one side of the platen 1. It is unwound from a supply reel and wound onto a take-up reel provided on the other side.

In the front stage of the platen 1 (on the right side in Fig. 3), there is a drive roller 11 on the carry-in side and a pinch roller 1 in rolling contact with the drive roller 11.
2 is provided. Drive roller 11 and platen 1
A guide plate 13 is provided between them. A drive roller 14 on the discharge side and a pinch roller 15 in rolling contact with the drive roller 14 are provided downstream of the platen 1. A guide plate 16 is provided between the drive roller 14 and the platen 1.

Now, the sub guide rod 5 is at the lower limit position and the thermal head 3
It is assumed that the spacer is appropriately spaced from the platen 1. In this state, when the paper 17 enters between the drive roller 11 and the pinch roller 12 on the carry-in side, the paper 17 is pushed between both rollers 11.
By rotating the ink donor film 12 in the direction of the arrow, it is conveyed in the direction of the arrow and inserted appropriately between the ink donor film 6 and the platen 1.

After that, when the sub guide rod 5 is moved upward, the thermal head 3
is pressed against the platen 1 with an appropriate pressing force, and the paper 17 and the ink donor film 6 are superimposed on each other between them.

When the carriage 4 is moved forward along the guide bar 2.5 in this state, the thermal head 3 is moved in the same direction. At this time, the heating element of the thermal head 3 selectively generates heat in accordance with the image signal to heat the ink donor film 6. By this heating, the ink on the ink donor film 6 is selectively fluidized or sublimated, and this portion of the ink is transferred to the paper 17, and one line of image information is recorded.

When one line of image information has been recorded, the sub-guide rod 5 is moved down, and the thermal head 3 is appropriately separated from the platen 1. Thereafter, the carriage 4 is moved back together with the thermal head 3 and returned to its original position. At this time, the drive roller 11 is rotated by a predetermined angle in the direction of the arrow, and the paper 17
is transported by a predetermined amount in the direction of the arrow. After this, one line of fire will be recorded. The paper 17 after recording is discharged to a discharge tray (not shown) by rotation of the drive roller 14 and pinch roller 15 on the discharge side in the direction of the arrow.

In this printer, the conveyance accuracy of the paper 17 is mainly influenced by a conveyance device consisting of a drive roller 11 and a pinch roller 12 on the input side.

FIG. 1 shows the main parts of this conveying device.

The drive roller 11 has a structure in which rubber magnets 22 are molded into ring shapes at two predetermined locations on a shaft 21. Small diameter portions 23 are provided at both ends of the shaft 21, and a small diameter portion 24 is further provided at the tip of one of the small diameter portions 23. Like the drive roller 11, the pinch roller 12 is a j!
It has 4 buildings. Small diameter portions 27 are provided at both ends of the shaft 25.
are provided for each.

Both diameter portions 23 of the drive roller 11 and both diameter portions 27 of the pinch roller 12 are supported by a support portion 33 via flanged bearings 31 and 32, respectively.

The support part 33 is an L-shaped support plate half 35 having a groove 34.
, and a flat support plate half 37 having a groove 36.

The support plate half 35 is attached to a frame (not shown) with screws (also not shown). Support plate half 37
is superimposed on the support plate half 35 and attached with screws (not shown). In this state, an oblong hole is formed by the grooves 34, 36 of both support plate halves 35, 37, and the bearing 31, 32 is prevented from moving in the left-right direction, but can move up and down to some extent. is attached to.

The diameter of the flange of the bearings 31 and 32 is the same as that of the rubber magnet 22 of the drive roller 11 and pinch roller 12.
．． It is somewhat smaller than the diameter of 26. Therefore, the rubber magnet 26 of the pinch roller 12 is pressed against the rubber magnet 22 of the drive roller 11 due to its own weight, and both rubber magnets 22 and 26 are attracted to each other by magnetic force.
The contact portion of 2.26 is appropriately elastically deformed and comes into surface contact.

A pulley 41 is attached to the small diameter portion 24 of the drive roller 11 with a screw (not shown). The pulley 41 is connected to a pulley 44 provided on an output shaft 43 of a step motor 42 via a toothed belt (not shown).

In this conveyance device, when the step motor 42 is driven,
The drive roller 11 is rotated in a predetermined direction, and the pinch roller 12 is also rotated in a predetermined direction, thereby conveying the paper 17. Since both the rubber magnets 22, 26 of the drive roller 11 and the pinch roller 12 are attracted to each other by magnetic force, a good conveying force can be obtained regardless of the assembly accuracy. Further, even if affected by vibrations generated in the drive system, the rubber magnets 22, 26 of the drive roller 11 and pinch roller 12 will not separate, and good conveying force can also be obtained. Furthermore, the attraction force due to magnetic force is the rubber magnet 2.
2. Even if the surface of 26 is deteriorated or soiled with paper dust, etc., it will not change in any way.

Therefore, the paper 17 is attached to the drive roller 11 and the pinch roller 1.
2, it is held well for a long period of time and is reliably conveyed at the desired speed without slipping.

In the above embodiment, both the drive roller 11 and the pin roller 12 are made of rubber magnets 22, 26, but as shown in FIG. A structure may be employed in which a metal ring 52 having minute protrusions 51 on the outer circumferential surface is provided. The fine protrusions 51 are sandpaper-like protrusions formed by, for example, fixing sharp metal powder (for example, iron oxide) or glass powder to the surface of the ring 52 by plating or the like. In this way, in addition to the pressing force due to its own weight and the attraction force due to magnetic force, the biting into the paper 17 by the protrusion 51 is taken into account, and the paper 17 is more reliably moved at the desired speed without causing slippage. It will be transported. Note that the drive roller 11 may be composed of a rubber magnet 22, and the pinch roller 12 may be composed of a ring 52 having a protrusion 51.

Further, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the drive roller 1 on the carry-in side.
1 and a pinch roller 12, the drive roller 14 on the output side
Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to a conveyance device consisting of a pinch roller 15 and a scale.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the present invention was applied to a device for conveying paper in a serial type printer, but in a line type printer, the present invention is applied to paper or a long ink donor film whose width is almost the same as the paper. Of course, the present invention can also be applied to devices for conveying.

It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a device for conveying thermal paper in a thermal color printer.

In short, the present invention can be applied to any device in which a thin film-like material such as cut paper or long paper is conveyed using a drive roller and a pinch roller.

Also, the strength of the rubber magnet is, for example, 600 Gauss and 1
By preparing a plurality of different types such as 0.000 Gauss, it is possible to easily create a device having the same structure and the optimum conveying force suitable for each model.

"Effects of the Invention" As explained above, according to the present invention, thin film-like materials such as paper can be transported satisfactorily over a long period of time with almost no slippage, so that deterioration in image quality can be effectively prevented over a long period of time. It can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the main parts of a thin film material conveying device in one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the main parts of another example of the same device, and FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a printer to which the . 11...Drive roller, 12...Pinch roller, 22.26...Rubber magnet, 51...
... protrusion, 52 ... ring.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an apparatus for conveying a thin film material and recording image information, at least one of a drive roller and a pinch roller for pinching and conveying the thin film material is configured with a rubber magnet, A thin film material conveying device characterized in that both rollers are attracted to each other by magnetic force. 2. The thin film material conveying device according to claim 1, wherein one of the rollers is made of a rubber magnet, and the other is made of a metal rod having minute protrusions on its outer peripheral surface. .