JPS63165247A - Conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To bring a sheet of paper into close contact with a supporting body by bending said sheet of paper toward a reading/recording means side by means of guide plates which are provided in front and rear of said supporting body for carrying out the reading/recording of information over said sheet of paper which is introduced on said supporting body through a conveying roller. CONSTITUTION:A sheet of paper P is conveyed in the arrow direction by means of a conveying roller 113 and an idler 213, to read or record information on a platen 203 by means of a head 101. Then, the sheet P is discharged by means of a discharge roller 115 and an idler 215. Restraining guides 201A, 201B for curving the sheet of paper toward the recording head 101 side are provided at least one side (figure shows both sides) of the platen 203. Thereby, the sheet of paper P can be brought into close contact with the platen 203, enabling accurate reading or recording.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a conveyance device for conveying paper sheets such as paper, film, cloth, etc., and more specifically, to conveyance of a recording medium in a recording device and a document conveyance in a reading device. The present invention relates to a suitable conveyance device.

(Prior Art) For example, constant efforts are being made to improve the recording quality, speed, and reliability of recording devices, and in particular, when trying to make them smaller and faster, it is important to keep information on the recording medium. Various research and development efforts have also been conducted on how to maintain accurate timing and posture in order to convey the recording medium using the means for inputting the recording head (recording head).

In particular, in order to promote miniaturization of recording devices and increase in recording speed, there has been a need for a conveying device that can maintain sufficiently high quality recording and prevent occurrence of jams.

Similarly, in the case of recording apparatuses, there is a need for a conveyance device that can convey documents at high speed, accurately, and without occurrence of jams or the like.

In addition, in the case of non-contact reading and recording, reading and recording are normally performed for the first time when both the conveyance roller and the ejection roller are covered, but due to floating, etc., in this case it is not possible to record or read over the entire area. In order to solve this problem, it is an object of the present invention to provide a conveying device suitable for a recording device, a reading device, etc., in which a recording medium, a document, etc. is located at a recording position on a platen or a document supporter.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a reading or recording means that includes a conveyance roller and a discharge roller for conveying paper sheets, and the sheet is guided onto a support by the conveyance roller. In a conveying device in which information is read or recorded by a reading or recording means on a rolled paper sheet and the paper sheet is discharged by a discharge roller, at least one of the front and rear of the support is provided with:
A feature is that a curved guide plate having a center of curvature is provided on the side of the reading or recording means, and the paper sheet is conveyed along the guide plate.

[Function] According to the present invention, when a paper sheet such as a recording medium or a manuscript is guided along a guide plate to a conveyance roller, or when a paper sheet such as a recording medium or a document is
When the sheet of paper is ejected from the paper sheet (platen, document support) along a guide plate provided at the rear of the support by an ejection roller, the restoring force generated in the curved sheet causes the sheet of paper to orient itself toward the support. Since the sheet is biased by the support, the paper sheet being conveyed can be kept in close contact with the support at all times, so the distance from the reading means and recording head, etc. can be maintained accurately, allowing for highly accurate reading and recording. Not only can this be done, but it can also contribute to preventing jams.

〔Example〕

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, based on drawing, the case where the Example of this invention is applied to an inkjet recording device is mentioned as an example, and it is demonstrated in detail and concretely.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the external configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the state in which the exterior cover is removed for convenience.

Here, 1 is a main body unit, which has an upper unit la and a lower unit lb, and the upper unit la may be rotatable in the vertical direction with respect to the lower unit lb, for example, with a hinge as the center of rotation. Here, the upper unit la includes a recording head 101, an electric circuit section 103, a fan 150, and an upper discharge roller 115a, which will be described in detail later.

An upper conveyance roller 113a, a paper guide 201, and a paper feed roller 111 are provided. On the other hand, the lower unit lb is provided with a platen 203, an ink absorber 235, an ink tank 231, a paper cassette 221, an ejection tray 9^, and idlers 213 and 215. Further, 5 is a cover disposed to cover the upper side of the main unit unit 1, and this cover 5 has various command switches 7a, 7b such as an online switch with the host device H, a display 7C for displaying the mode, etc. An operating section 7 is provided. Reference numeral 9 denotes an ejection port provided on one side of the apparatus, and recorded recording media are loaded onto the ejection tray 9A through this ejection port 9.

2 and 3 are a perspective view and a side cross-sectional view of the device shown in the first drawing, respectively, showing a state in which the cover 5 of the device shown in the first drawing is removed, in order to explain an example of the internal configuration of the device shown in the first drawing. FIG. In these figures, 101 is an inkjet recording head placed near the discharge port 9, and the nozzles 1 (101) are arranged in a range corresponding to the entire width of the recordable width of this apparatus (for example, A4 size recording paper) at a density of 16 trees per 1 mm, for example.
It has a so-called full multi-type morphology in which lla are arranged. In addition, an electromechanical transducer (not shown) or an electrothermal transducer (not shown) or the like is arranged at an appropriate position in the ink liquid flow path such as this nozzle, and the host device H Ejection energy is applied to the ink in accordance with the supply of a drive signal from the ejection port 101b, thereby ejecting the ink from the ejection port 101b. In this example, this recording head 1
01 is provided so that the discharge port 101b of each nozzle 1o1a opens downward in the vertical direction.

103 is a driver circuit that drives the recording head 101 via the flexible cable 102, as well as a power supply circuit, a control circuit, and an interface circuit for various circuits inside the device and a host device IH outside the device, etc., on the substrate 1 (13A). In this embodiment, this main electric circuit section 103 is provided in the same upper unit 1a as the recording head 101, so that ink ejection during recording,
Alternatively, even if unexpected ink leakage occurs, the influence of the ink will not be transmitted to the electric circuit section 103. That is, even if ink leaks from the ejection port 101b, the flow path is formed on the lower unit 1b side, so in this embodiment, the electric circuit section 103 is located above the flow path.
This means that the ink does not affect the main electrical circuit section 103 of the apparatus.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, this electric circuit section 103 is arranged at a position higher than the arrangement position of each ejection port 101b of the recording head 101. This further prevents the influence of the ink from reaching the electric circuit section 103. However, the above-described arrangement of the electric circuit section 103 and the discharge port 101b is not necessarily necessary.

Furthermore, 111 is a paper feed roller formed by cutting out a part of an arc, and supplies the recording medium S from a cassette 221 that accommodates the recording medium S, such as paper, film, or cloth, toward the recording position by the recording head 101. It is a roller for.

Reference numerals 113 and 115 designate a discharge roller disposed upstream and downstream on the recording medium transport path P, and a discharge roller disposed downstream near the discharge port 9 with respect to the recording position of the recording head 101, respectively. It is rotationally driven via a belt 119. Accordingly, in response to this rotational drive, the conveyance roller 113 and the discharge roller 11
5 cooperates with idlers 213 and 215 placed opposite each other, and conveys the recording medium S to the recording position with the recording medium S sandwiched between them, or transports the recording medium S from the recording position to the ejection tray 9A. The recording medium S is ejected.

201 is a paper guide provided on the conveyance path P of the recording medium S and regulates the conveyance path P, and 203 is the recording head 10.
It is a platen that is provided on the lower unit lb side facing the ejection port 101b of No. 1, and that maintains the recording medium S at the recording position, that is, regulates the recording surface when recording on the recording medium S with the recording head 101. .

The recording media S loaded in the paper cassette 221 described above are separated one by one by the paper feed roller 111 in cooperation with a separating means (not shown) and transported toward the recording position. 225
is the bottom plate of the apparatus, and in this example, the bottom plate 225 is also used as a partition wall to prevent ink from leaking out of the apparatus even if unexpected ink leaks from the recording head 101 or the like. It is.

An ink tank 231 serves as an ink supply source for the recording head 101, and is arranged below the platen 203.
Ink is supplied through 3. Further, 235 is an ink absorber made of a water-absorbing porous material, and in this example, it is arranged above the ink tank 231 below the platen 203. Note that this ink absorber 235 is configured to appropriately replace the position of the platen 203 so that it can face or come into contact with the ejection ports 101b of the print head 101, and is used for ejection recovery processing and capping processing of the print head 101. You may also do so. As a result, ink dropped from the recording pad 101 is appropriately collected.

Furthermore, 150 is a fan that cools each part by taking in air from outside the device, and in this example, by arranging this fan on the side of the device opposite to the exhaust port 9, the fan 150 cools each part by taking in air from outside the device. Airflow from the intake port 5a to the discharge port 9 (
(indicated by arrow a in Fig. 1).

As mentioned above, in this example, the recording head 101 is provided near the discharge port 9, so that satellites that may be generated as a side effect when ink droplets are ejected from the recording head 101 and ink droplets on the surface of the recording medium S are removed. Ink mist, dust, paper powder from the recording medium, etc. that may be generated due to scattering are immediately carried out of the device from the discharge port 9 by air currents, and may adhere to and contaminate various parts of the device, or may cause damage to electrical circuits. 103 can be prevented from occurring. That is, in this example, the cooling fan 150 for cooling the electric circuit is also used as a blowing means in the apparatus for removing ink mist.

In this example, the paper guide 201A for guiding the recording medium to the recording position on the platen 203 has the form shown in FIG. Here, the paper guide (hereinafter referred to as a regulation guide) 201A has a quadratic curved surface having a center of curvature on the recording head 101 side, that is, on the upper surface side where the recording medium is guided,
In addition, there is no level difference between the end of the platen 203 that contacts the platen 203 and the platen 203. Note that both the conveyance roller 113 and the idler 213 are split-type rollers in which a plurality of rollers are coaxially arranged, and therefore, the end of the regulation guide 201A is cut only in the part where the rollers are located, so that the end of the platen 203 is not cut. extended to the position.

Furthermore, when selecting the radius of curvature of the regulation guide 201A, the stiffness of the paper quality of the recording medium is taken into consideration. Also, the recording medium is part 2 as shown by the arrow.
It goes without saying that it is guided to the regulation guide 201A from a substantially tangential direction of the next curved surface. Thus Regulation Guide 2
The recording medium guided between the conveyance roller 113 and the idler 213 by 01A is guided onto the platen 203,
Here, recording is performed using droplets discharged by the recording head 101, and the recording medium after recording is held by the discharge roller 115 and the idler 215, and is held by the paper guide 20 on the discharge side.
1 and is discharged onto the discharge tray 9A shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Therefore, if we pay attention to the recording medium conveyed in this way, the recording medium has its own strength as a sheet, in other words, it has a restoring force to restore it to its original form, and the regulation guide 201A When the recording medium is guided between the conveyance roller 113 and the idler 215 while being curved by its own weight, and then sent onto the platen 203, the leading edge of the recording medium is restored downward due to the above-mentioned stiffness. force is generated. However, the restoring force of the lever continues not only at the tip but also over the entire length of the recording medium that is continuously delivered onto the platen 203 via the non-snapping portion between the ejection roller 115 in the form of a split roller and the idler 215. Therefore, the recording medium can be kept in close contact with the platen 203, and the floating of the recording medium is suppressed, so that the head nozzle 1o1a can be accurately aligned.
(proper recording can be obtained and the effect of preventing jamming can be obtained).

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the invention. In this example, the paper guide for ejecting from the position immediately after the recorded recording medium is ejected from the platen 203 to the position after being ejected by the ejection roller 115 is set as a regulating guide 201B having a quadratic curved surface similar to that shown in FIG. That is. In this case, the selection of the radius of curvature, its placement position, and center of curvature shall be in accordance with FIG. 4.

When the regulation guide 201B is provided in the conveyance system in this way,
If we pay attention to the recording medium being transported, the regulation guide 201
B causes a curve to be applied to the recorded portion of the recording medium, and in this case as well, since the ejection roller 115 and the idler 215 that are in contact with it are composed of split rollers, the portion that is not pressed by the rollers is curved. A restoring force similar to that shown in FIG. 4 acts on the portion of the recording medium that is being recorded. Therefore, this restoring force allows the recording medium to be kept in close contact with the platen 203 φ until recording is completed and the recording medium is ejected.

FIG. 6 shows yet another embodiment of the invention. In this example, regulation guides 201A and 201 are provided at positions immediately before delivery to the platen 203 and immediately after discharge from the platen 203, respectively.
B is arranged. That is, by configuring in this way, it is possible to achieve both the effects described in the example of FIG. 4 and the effects described in the example of FIG. It is possible to reliably convey the sheet in close contact with the platen 203 up to this point.

Although the above description has been made with reference to a case in which the present invention is applied to a small inkjet recording apparatus with a significantly shortened conveyance system as a preferred example, the application of the present invention is not limited to this type of droplet discharge type recording head. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied not only to recording heads but also to reading heads that read from a document being transported in a similar transport system.

Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, both the cooperating roller and the idler are in the form of split rollers, but depending on the material of the paper sheet to be conveyed, either one or both of them may not be in the form of a split roller. good.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, a curved guide plate having a center of curvature on the recording head or reading head side is provided on at least one of the front and rear sides of the flat support, and this guide Since the sheet of paper such as a recording medium is conveyed along the board, the sheet of paper regulated by the guide plate curves and its own restoring force directs the sheet of paper toward the support. By creating a tendency to bias the sheet and suppressing the lifting of the sheet, accurate recording or reading is possible, and it also prevents the sheet from coming into contact with the recording head or reading head and preventing the occurrence of jams. can contribute.

Furthermore, by providing the above-mentioned guide plates before and after the support, the above-mentioned state of close contact between the two can be maintained throughout the period during which the paper sheets are held on the support. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 with a cover partially removed; The figure is a side sectional view of the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the conveying device of the present invention, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are the configurations of other embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing each. 101... Recording head, 101a
...Fist nozzle, 113 ... Conveyance roller, 115
... Ejection roller, 201 ... Paper guide, 201A, 201B ... Regulation guide, 215
...Idler. Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A conveyance roller and a discharge roller for conveying paper sheets are provided before and after the reading or recording means, and the reading or recording means In the conveying device in which information is read or recorded by the device and is discharged by the discharge roller, a guide plate having a curved surface having a center of curvature on the side of the reading or recording means is provided on at least one of the front and rear sides of the support. 1. A conveying device, comprising: a guide plate, and conveys the paper sheet along the guide plate. 2) The conveyance device according to claim 1, wherein the conveyance roller and the discharge roller are split rollers having a plurality of coaxial rollers.