US20180282104A1

US20180282104A1 - Cutting mechanism

Info

Publication number: US20180282104A1
Application number: US15/921,153
Authority: US
Inventors: Hideki Matsunaga; Yasushi Yajima
Original assignee: Seiko Epson Corp
Current assignee: Seiko Epson Corp
Priority date: 2017-03-29
Filing date: 2018-03-14
Publication date: 2018-10-04
Also published as: JP2018167332A; JP7069554B2; CN108687831B; CN108687831A

Abstract

There is provided a cutting mechanism including: a cutter blade that is capable of cutting a medium; a cutter unit to which the cutter blade is attached; and a rack gear that supports the cutter unit, in which the cutter blade is configured to cut the medium by the cutter unit moving in a traveling direction along the guide rail, the cutter unit has a second pinion gear and a fourth roller which are in contact with the guide rail to be held to the guide rail, and the second pinion gear and the fourth roller are disposed so as to interpose the cutter blade therebetween in the traveling direction.

Description

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a cutting mechanism included in a recording apparatus such as a printer.

2. Related Art

As an example of a recording apparatus, there is a printer including a cutting mechanism which cuts a medium on which images such as characters and photographs are recorded to a desired size. JP-A-2016-55379 describes a cutting device which cuts a roll paper by a cutter unit having a rotary blade moving along a guide rail as an example of a cutting mechanism.
In the cutting device described in JP-A-2016-55379, for example, there is a possibility that rattling is generated in the cutter unit when the cutter unit moves along the guide rail depending on how the cutter unit and the guide rail are attached to each other. If the cutter unit rattles, there is a fear that the medium cannot be accurately cut.

SUMMARY

An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide a cutting mechanism which can accurately cut a medium.
Hereinafter, means and operation effects of the invention will be described.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a cutting mechanism including: a cutter blade that is capable of cutting a medium; a cutter unit to which the cutter blade is attached; and a guide rail that supports the cutter unit, in which the cutter blade is configured to cut the medium by the cutter unit moving in a traveling direction along the guide rail, the cutter unit has a first holding portion and a second holding portion, which are in contact with the guide rail, to be held to the guide rail, and the first holding portion and the second holding portion are disposed so as to interpose the cutter blade therebetween in the traveling direction.
When the cutter unit is moved in the traveling direction and cuts the medium, a moment is generated in the cutter unit to rotate the cutter unit about the cutting position of the medium as a fulcrum by the cutter blade. According to the configuration, since the first holding portion and the second holding portion are disposed with the cutter blade interposed therebetween, it is possible to reduce rattling of the cutter unit caused by attempting to rotate about the cutting position as a fulcrum. Therefore, the medium can be accurately cut.
In the cutting mechanism, it is preferable that the first holding portion and the second holding portion be disposed so as to interpose the guide rail therebetween.
According to the configuration, since the first holding portion and the second holding portion are disposed so as to interpose the guide rail therebetween, rattling of the cutter unit can be reduced.
In the cutting mechanism, it is preferable that the first holding portion be disposed behind the cutter blade in the traveling direction, and a distance between the first holding portion and the cutter blade in the traveling direction be configured to be longer than a distance between the second holding portion and the cutter blade in the traveling direction.
According to the configuration, since the first holding portion is disposed at a position farther than the second holding portion with respect to the cutter blade in the traveling direction, rattling of the cutter unit can be further reduced.
In the cutting mechanism, it is preferable that the guide rail be configured with a rack gear, the cutter unit have a driving gear disposed so as to mesh with the rack gear, and the driving gear mesh with the rack gear to rotate when the cutter unit moves in the traveling direction, and the cutter blade be configured to rotate as the driving gear rotates when the cutter unit moves in the traveling direction.
According to the configuration, the medium is likely to be cut by the cutter blade being rotated.
In the cutting mechanism, it is preferable that the first holding portion be configured with a pinion gear that is capable of meshing with the rack gear.
According to the configuration, since the pinion gear as the first holding portion meshes with the rack gear, rattling of the cutter unit can be reduced as compared with a case where the first holding portion is a roller, for example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.

FIG. 1 is a side view schematically illustrating an internal structure of an embodiment of a recording apparatus having a cutting mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cutting mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the cutting mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a cutting mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a cutting mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a recording apparatus having a cutting mechanism will be described with reference to the drawings.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the recording apparatus 11 has a rectangular parallelepiped housing 12. The recording apparatus 11 includes a recording unit 20 that records images such as characters and photographs on the medium S and a first support member 31 and a second support member 32 that support the medium S in the housing 12. The recording apparatus 11 includes a transport unit 40 which transports the medium S and a cutting mechanism 50 which cuts the medium S recorded by the recording unit 20 in the housing 12. In other words, the recording unit 20, the first and second support members 31 and 32, the transport unit 40, and the cutting mechanism 50 are accommodated in the housing 12.
In the housing 12, for example, a roll body R on which a medium S as a sheet is wound in a roll form is disposed. The roll body R is disposed behind an inside of the housing 12 which is on the right side in FIG. 1. The roll body R is rotatably supported by a shaft 13 provided so as to extend in a width direction X of the medium S. In this embodiment, as the shaft 13 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1, the medium S is unwound from the roll body R. The unwound medium S is transported by the transport unit 40 and discharged from the inside of the housing 12 to the outside of the housing 12 through a discharge port 15 opening on the front surface 14 of the housing 12. In other words, in this embodiment, the direction from a rear side to a front side of the housing 12, the direction from a right side to a left side in FIG. 2 is the transport direction Y of the medium S transported by the transport unit 40. The front surface 14 of the housing 12 is a surface having a spread in the vertical direction Z and the width direction X.
The recording unit 20 includes a head 21 which ejects liquid such as ink, for example, toward the medium S and a carriage 22 which mounts the head 21. The carriage 22 is supported by a frame 16 which is provided in the housing 12 and a guide shaft 17 which is attached to the frame 16. The guide shaft 17 extends in the width direction X of the medium S. The carriage 22 is movable along the guide shaft 17. In other words, the carriage 22 is movable in the width direction X. By moving the carriage 22 along the guide shaft 17, the head 21 can eject liquid onto the medium S over the entire region in the width direction X.
The first and second support members 31 and 32 are formed of plate-like members. The first support member 31 is disposed on the upstream side of the second support member 32 in the transport direction Y and guides the medium S unwound from the roll body R toward the recording unit 20. The second support member 32 is disposed to face the head 21 of the recording unit 20.
The transport unit 40 transports the medium S unwound from the roll body R toward the discharge port 15 from the inside of the housing 12 so as to be along the first and second support members 31 and 32. The transport unit 40 has a first transport roller pair 41, a second transport roller pair 42, a third transport roller pair 43, and a fourth transport roller pair 44 in order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction Y. The first transport roller pair 41 is disposed on the upstream side of the head 21 in the transport direction Y and is disposed at a position between the first support member 31 and the second support member 32. The second, third, and fourth transport roller pairs 42, 43, and 44 are disposed on the downstream side of the head 21 in the transport direction Y.
The first, second, third, and fourth transport roller pairs 41, 42, 43, and 44 include a driving roller 45 which can be driven and rotated by a motor (not illustrated), a driven roller 46 which can be driven and rotated with respect to the rotation of the driving roller 45. The first, second, third, and fourth transport roller pairs 41, 42, 43, and 44 transport the medium S by rotating in a state of interposing the medium S between the driving roller 45 and the driven roller 46. The driving roller 45 is disposed so as to contact the medium S from below. The driven roller 46 is disposed so as to be in contact with the medium S from above. In other words, the driven roller 46 in the second, third, and fourth transport roller pairs 42, 43, and 44 are in contact with a surface onto which the liquid is ejected with respect to the medium S when the medium S is transported. Therefore, so as to reduce the deterioration of the quality of the image recorded on the medium S, the driven rollers 46 in the second, third, and fourth transport roller pairs 42, 43, and 44 are configured with star wheels or the like which have a small contact area with respect to the medium S. A plurality of first, second, third, and fourth transport roller pairs 41, 42, 43, and 44 are disposed at predetermined intervals in the width direction X, respectively.
The cutting mechanism 50 is disposed between the third transport roller pair 43 and the fourth transport roller pair 44 in the transport direction Y. The medium S cut by the cutting mechanism 50 is transported by the fourth transport roller pair 44 and discharged from the discharge port 15. The recording apparatus 11 according to this embodiment is configured such that the interval in the vertical direction Z at the opening of the discharge port 15 is relatively small to the extent that the user cannot insert the hand into the housing 12 from the discharge port 15.
The recording apparatus 11 in this embodiment is normally used in a state of being installed on a horizontally spreading floor surface. The housing 12 of the recording apparatus 11 is provided in a rectangular parallelepiped shape such that the front surface 14 thereof crosses the floor surface and ideally is orthogonal to the floor surface. At this time, an orthogonal coordinate system including three axes of X axis, Y axis, and Z axis is considered, the floor surface on which the recording apparatus 11 is installed is a plane including the X-axis and the Y-axis, and a coordinate system is set so that the front surface 14 of the housing 12 becomes a plane including an X-axis and a Z-axis. Then, the width direction X coincides with the direction in which the X-axis extends, the transport direction Y coincides with the direction in which the Y-axis extends, and the vertical direction Z coincides with the direction in which the Z-axis extends. The X-axis extending in the width direction X, the Y-axis extending in the transport direction Y, and the Z-axis extending in the vertical direction Z have a relationship of being orthogonal to each other. In other words, in this embodiment, the width direction X, the transport direction Y, and the vertical direction Z respectively indicate three different directions from each other.
Next, the cutting mechanism 50 will be described.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the cutting mechanism 50 has a cutter blade 51 for cutting the medium S, a cutter unit 70 to which the cutter blade 51 is attached, and a guide frame 60 which supports the cutter unit 70. The guide frame 60 extends in the width direction X so as to be longer than the roll body R that can be loaded by the recording apparatus 11. In other words, the longitudinal direction of the guide frame 60 coincides with the width direction X. The cutter unit 70 can reciprocate along the guide frame 60. The cutting mechanism 50 cuts the medium S by the cutter blade 51 as the cutter unit 70 moves along the guide frame 60. For convenience of explanation, in the width direction X, the left side in FIG. 2 is set as the +X side and the right side as the opposite side thereto is set to the −X side. In this embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 2, in the guide frame 60, the end portion on the +X side in the width direction X is set as the home position HP of the cutter unit 70.
The guide frame 60 is formed by bending a sheet metal. The guide frame 60 is formed in a claw-like shape when viewed from the width direction X. The guide frame 60 has a bottom wall 61 and a front wall 62 and a rear wall 63 which bend upward from the bottom wall 61 and extend. The front wall 62 is located on the downstream side of the rear wall 63 in the transport direction Y and extends from the bottom wall 61 so that its length is shorter than the rear wall 63 in the vertical direction Z.
The guide frame 60 has a rack gear 64 extending in the width direction X. The rack gear 64 is attached to a surface of the rear wall 63 of the guide frame 60 which is on the downstream side in the transport direction Y. The rack gear 64 is disposed along an upper edge of the rear wall 63 and is provided so that the length in the width direction X is slightly shorter than the guide frame 60. The rack gear 64 has a tooth 65 over the width direction X at a portion on the lower side thereof. The rack gear 64 has a groove 66 in the width direction X for guiding the movement of the cutter unit 70 in a portion on the upper side thereof.
As illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the cutter unit 70 has a holding body 71 which holds the cutter blade 51 and a moving body 72 which is held on the guide frame 60. The cutter unit 70 illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 is located at the home position HP. The holding body 71 and the moving body 72 are fixed to each other so as to be capable of being handled integrally. The holding body 71 and the moving body 72 are fixed so that the portions thereof are overlapped with each other when viewed from the transport direction Y. Specifically, the holding body 71 and the moving body 72 are disposed so that the lower portion of the holding body 71 and the upper portion of the moving body 72 overlap each other in the vertical direction Z.
The holding body 71 is attached to a surface of the moving body 72 on the downstream side in the transport direction Y. The holding body 71 has a medium path 73 extending in the width direction X at a position above the moving body 72 in the vertical direction Z. The medium path 73 is a path through which the medium S passes through the holding body 71 when the cutter unit 70 moves in the width direction X along the guide frame 60. The portion of the medium path 73 on the −X side in the width direction X is an introduction port 74 for introducing the medium S into the medium path 73. So as to facilitate the introduction of the medium S into the medium path 73, the introduction port 74 is configured so that the opening in the vertical direction Z gradually increases from the +X side to the −X side in the width direction X.
The holding body 71 holds the cutter blade 51 at a position in the medium path 73 in the middle thereof. In other words, when the cutter unit 70 moves in the width direction X, the medium path 73 guides the medium S toward the cutter blade 51. The cutter blade 51 is disposed on the +X side of the introduction port 74 in the width direction X and is positioned adjacent to the introduction port 74. The cutter blade 51 is configured with a disk-shaped driving blade 52 and a driven blade 53. The driving blade 52 and the driven blade 53 are rotatably attached to the holding body 71. The driving blade 52 and the driven blade 53 are provided so as to be lined up in the vertical direction Z and disposed so as to interpose the medium path 73 therebetween. The driving blade 52 is positioned below the driven blade 53 in the vertical direction Z and is positioned on the downstream side of the driven blade 53 in the transport direction Y.
The cutter blade 51 is held by the holding body 71 in a state where the cutting edge which is the upper portion of the driving blade 52 and the cutting edge which is a lower side portion of the driven blade 53 are overlapped with each other when viewed from the transport direction Y. The cutting edge of the driving blade 52 and the cutting edge of the driven blade 53 are in contact with each other at a cutting position Q which is a position closer to the −X side in the width direction X among a portion in which the cutting edges overlap each other. The driving blade 52 in this embodiment is held by the holding body 71 in a posture in which the rotation shaft thereof is inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to the driven blade 53 extending in the transport direction Y. The cutter blade 51 cuts the medium S at the cutting position Q where the cutting edges of the driving blade 52 and the driven blade 53 are in contact with each other as the driving blade 52 and the driven blade 53 are rotated. In other words, when the cutter unit 70 moves from the +X side to the −X side in the width direction X, the cutting mechanism 50 interposes the medium S passing through the medium path 73 between the rotating driving blade 52 and the driven blade 53 and cut the medium S. In this embodiment, a direction from +X side toward −X side in the width direction X is set to as a traveling direction in which the cutter unit 70 is traveled when the cutter blade 51 cuts the medium S. In other words, in the cutter unit 70, +X side in the width direction X becomes a rear side in the traveling direction and −X side in the width direction X becomes a front side in the traveling direction. The cutting mechanism 50 in this embodiment returns to the home position HP by moving from the −X side to the +X side after cutting the medium S by moving from the +X side to the −X side in the width direction X.
The holding body 71 has a lever 75 on the top thereof for connecting the carriage 22 of the recording unit 20 and the cutter unit 70 with each other. The lever 75 is engageable with an engaging portion (not illustrated) provided on the carriage 22, for example, a claw extending from the carriage 22. In other words, by connecting the cutter unit 70 to the carriage 22 via the lever 75, the cutter unit 70 can move in the width direction X according to the movement of the carriage 22. The lever 75 is configured to be switchable between an engaged state in which the lever 75 engages with the engaging portion and an unlocked state in which the lever 75 is not engaged with the engaging portion by an actuator, a motor, or the like. In this embodiment, for example, when the recording unit 20 records on the medium S, the lever 75 is in the unlocked state, and when the cutting mechanism 50 cuts the medium S, the lever 75 is in the engaged state. When the lever 75 is in the unlocked state, the cutter unit 70 is not moved according to the movement of the carriage 22, and when the lever 75 is in the engaged state, the cutter unit 70 moves according to the movement of the carriage 22.
As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the moving body 72 has a first roller 81, a second roller 82, and a third roller 83 disposed to interpose the front wall 62 of the guide frame 60 at the lower portion thereof. The first and second rollers 81 and 82 are disposed on the front wall 62 so that peripheral surfaces thereof are in contact with a surface on the downstream side in the transport direction Y. The third roller 83 is disposed on the front wall 62 so that peripheral surface thereof is in contact with a surface on the upstream side in the transport direction Y. The first roller 81 is located at the end portion which is on the +X side of the moving body 72 and the second roller 82 is located at the end portion at the −X side in the width direction X. The third roller 83 is located between the first roller 81 and the second roller 82 in the width direction X. The first, second, and third rollers 81, 82, and 83 have rotation shafts extending in the vertical direction Z and rotate by friction with the front wall 62 when the moving body 72 is moved in the width direction X. In other words, the first, second, and third rollers 81, 82, and 83 guide the movement of the cutter unit 70 along the front wall 62.
As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the moving body 72 has a fourth roller 84 and a fifth roller 85 disposed on the upper portion thereof so that a portion of the moving body 72 fits in the groove 66 of the rack gear 64. The fourth and fifth rollers 84 and 85 are disposed such that peripheral surfaces thereof are in contact with the bottom surface 67 of the groove 66. The fourth roller 84 is located at the end portion on the −X side in the width direction X in the moving body 72, and the fifth roller 85 is located at the end portion on the +X side in the width direction X. In other words, in the traveling direction of the cutter unit 70, the fourth roller 84 is located in front of the cutter blade 51, and the fifth roller 85 is located behind the cutter blade 51. The cutter unit 70 in this embodiment is configured such that the distance between the fifth roller 85 and the cutter blade 51 in the traveling direction is larger than the distance between the fourth roller 84 and the cutter blade 51 in the traveling direction.
The fourth roller 84 is located above the second roller 82, and the fifth roller 85 is located above the first roller 81. The fourth and fifth rollers 84 and 85 has a rotation shaft thereof extends in the transport direction Y are rotated by friction with the bottom surface 67 of the groove 66 when the moving body 72 moves in the width direction X. In other words, the fourth and fifth rollers 84 and 85 guide the movement of the cutter unit 70 along the groove 66 of the rack gear 64. In other words, the cutter unit 70 moves along the rack gear 64. In summary, the first, second, third, fourth and fifth rollers 81, 82, 83, 84, and 85 guide the movement of the cutter unit 70 along the guide frame 60.
The moving body 72 has a first pinion gear 91 and a second pinion gear 92 that can mesh with teeth 65 of the rack gear 64. In other words, the cutter unit 70 has a plurality of pinion gears. The first and second pinion gears 91 and 92 are rotatably attached to the moving body 72. The first and second pinion gears 91 and 92 have teeth 93 and 94 on the peripheral surface thereof and are disposed at interval in the width direction X. The first pinion gear 91 is disposed on the −X side with respect to the second pinion gear 92 in the width direction X. The first pinion gear 91 is located directly below the cutter blade 51. The second pinion gear 92 is located behind the cutter blade 51 in the traveling direction of the cutter unit 70. In this embodiment, the second pinion gear 92 is disposed such that the distance between the second pinion gear 92 and the cutter blade 51 in the traveling direction of the cutter unit 70 is larger than the distance between the fourth roller 84 and the cutter blade 51. When the cutter unit 70 moves along the guide frame 60, the first and second pinion gears 91 and 92 rotate while meshing with the rack gear 64.
As illustrated in FIG. 5, the cutter unit 70 is attached to the rack gear 64 by the fourth and fifth rollers 84 and 85 and the first and second pinion gears 91 and 92 interposing the rack gear 64 in the vertical direction Z. In other words, in this embodiment, the rack gear 64 functions as a guide rail for supporting the cutter unit 70. In this embodiment, the fourth and fifth rollers 84 and 85 and the first and second pinion gears 91 and 92 function as holding portions which are in contact with the rack gear 64 so that the cutter unit 70 is held by the rack gear 64. It can also be said that the cutter unit 70 is held by the rack gear 64 via the fourth and fifth rollers 84 and 85 and the first and second pinion gears 91 and 92.
The cutter unit 70 has a transmission gear (not illustrated) which transmits the rotation of the first pinion gear 91 to the driving blade 52. In other words, when the cutter unit 70 moves in the width direction X along the guide frame 60, the driving blade 52 is configured to rotate according to the rotation of the first pinion gear 91. In this embodiment, the first pinion gear 91 functions as a driving gear that rotates the driving blade 52. In FIG. 3 of this embodiment, when the cutter unit 70 moves from the +X side to the −X side in the width direction X, that is, when moving in the traveling direction, the driving blade 52 is configured to rotate counterclockwise. The driven blade 53 is driven to rotate by the rotation of the driving blade 52 as the cutting edge thereof is in contact with the cutting edge of the driving blade 52.
Next, the operation of the cutting mechanism 50 included in the recording apparatus 11 configured as described above will be described.
As illustrated in FIG. 5, when the cutting mechanism 50 cuts the medium S, the cutter unit 70 moves in a direction from the +X side to the −X side in the width direction X according to the movement of the carriage 22 connected by the lever 75, that is, in the traveling direction. The cutter unit 70 moves in the traveling direction along the rack gear 64 and thus the medium S is cut by the cutter blade 51. At this time, a force directed from the +X side to the −X side in the width direction X is applied from the carriage 22 of the recording unit 20 to the lever 75 located on the upper portion of the holding body 71 in the cutter unit 70. Therefore, when the medium S is cut, in the cutter unit 70, the lever 75 is set as a force point and the cutting position Q where the cutter blade 51 and the medium S is in contact with each other is set to as a fulcrum and there is a case where a moment is generated around the fulcrum. When a moment is generated around the cutting position Q, the cutter unit 70 tries to rotate about the cutting position Q as a fulcrum in traveling direction thereof. Accordingly, there is a fear that rattling is generated in the cutter unit 70 with respect to the rack gear 64. In this regard, the cutting mechanism 50 according to this embodiment includes the first holding portion and the second holding portion for reducing rattling of the cutter unit 70.
In a case where the cutter unit 70 moves in the traveling direction in order to cut the medium S, the cutter unit 70 tries to rotate in a direction counterclockwise in FIG. 5 with the cutting position Q as a fulcrum. In other words, the cutter unit 70 tries to rotate so that the rear portion in the traveling direction moves upward so that the front portion in the traveling direction moves downward. At this time, the second pinion gear 92 is strongly pressed against the rack gear 64 from below, and the fourth roller 84 is strongly pressed against the rack gear 64 from above. In other words, the second pinion gear 92 and the fourth roller 84 hold the cutter unit 70 in the rack gear 64 so as to suppress the rotation of the cutter unit 70. Therefore, in this embodiment, the second pinion gear 92 functions as a first holding portion and the fourth roller 84 functions as a second holding portion. In summary, rattling of the cutter unit 70 is reduced by the first holding portion and the second holding portion disposed so as to interpose the cutter blade 51 in the traveling direction.
According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) When the cutter unit 70 moves in the traveling direction to cut the medium S, a moment for rotating the cutter unit 70 about the cutting position Q of the medium S by the cutter blade 51 as a fulcrum is generated in the cutter unit 70. In this respect, in the cutting mechanism 50, the second pinion gear (first holding portion) 92 and the fourth roller (second holding portion) 84 are disposed with the cutter blade 51 therebetween. Therefore, rattling of the cutter unit 70 generated by attempting to rotate about the cutting position Q as a fulcrum can be reduced. Therefore, the medium S can be accurately cut.
(2) Since the second pinion gear (first holding portion) 92 and the fourth roller (second holding portion) 84 are disposed so as to interpose the rack gear (guide rail) 64, rattling of the cutter unit 70 can be reduced.
(3) In the traveling direction of the cutter unit 70, the second pinion gear (first holding portion) 92 is disposed at a position further separated from the cutter blade 51 than the fourth roller (second holding portion) 84. Therefore, rattling of the cutter unit 70 can be further reduced. In other words, by increasing the distance between the cutting position Q and the fourth roller (second holding portion) 84 in the traveling direction, the cutting mechanism 50 effectively reduces the rotation of the cutter unit 70 about the cutting position Q as a fulcrum.
(4) The cutter blade 51 is configured to rotate as the first pinion gear (driving gear) 91 is rotated when the cutter unit 70 moves in the traveling direction. Therefore, by rotating the cutter blade 51, the medium S can be likely to be cut.
(5) Since the first pinion gear 91 as the first holding portion meshes with the rack gear 64, rattling of the cutter unit 70 can be reduced as compared with, for example, a case where the first holding portion is a roller.
(6) The first holding portion is provided as a pinion gear (second pinion gear 92). Further, a plurality of pinion gears including the first pinion gear 91 and the second pinion gear 92 mesh with the rack gear 64. Accordingly, when the cutter unit 70 moves along the rack gear 64, it is possible to reduce the possibility of tooth jumping of the first pinion gear 91 with respect to the rack gear 64. By reducing the tooth jumping of the first pinion gear 91, since the cutter blade 51 rotates at a fixed cycle, the medium S can be accurately cut.
(7) The cutting mechanism 50 has a first pinion gear 91 and a fifth roller 85. Therefore, even in a case where the cutter unit 70 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. 5 about the cutting position Q as a fulcrum, the rattling can be reduced.
The embodiment described above may be modified as follows. In addition, the following modification examples may be combined as appropriate.
The first holding portion may be, for example, a roller. In this case, it is preferable that the rack gear 64 have a groove instead of the tooth 65.
The guide rail is not limited to the rack gear 64, but may be a simple rail. In this case, it is preferable that the first pinion gear 91 and the second pinion gear 92 be rollers. The cutter blade 51 is not limited to a rotating configuration, and the cutter blade 51 may be a fixed blade. In this case, it is not necessary for the first pinion gear 91 to transmit the driving force for rotation to the cutter blade 51. In other words, the driving gear may not be provided.
The driving blade 52 may be configured to rotate by a motor or the like. In this case, it is not necessary for the first pinion gear 91 to transmit the driving force for rotation to the cutter blade 51. In other words, the driving gear may not be provided.
In the transport direction Y, the distance between the second pinion gear 92 functioning as the first holding portion and the cutter blade 51 may be equal to that between the fourth roller 84 functioning as the second holding portion and the cutter blade 51 or the distance therebetween may be small than that.
The fifth roller 85 may not be provided.
The cutter unit 70 may be configured to move by a separate driving source such as a motor. Even in such a case, there is a less fear that rattling occurs in the cutter unit 70.
The recording apparatus 11 may be a fluid ejecting apparatus that performs recording by ejecting or discharging another fluid other than ink (including a liquid, a liquid body in which particles of the functional material are dispersed or mixed in a liquid, a fluid body such as a gel, a solid that can be injected by flowing as a fluid). For example, the recording apparatus 11 may be a fluid ejecting apparatus that performs recording by ejecting a liquid body containing dispersed or dissolved materials such as electrode material and color material (pixel material) used for production or the like of liquid crystal display, electroluminescence (EL) display, or surface emitting display. In addition, the recording apparatus 11 may be a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a fluid body such as a gel (for example, a physical gel), a powdery particle ejecting apparatus (such as toner jet type recording apparatus) that ejects a solid, such as a powder (granular material) may be used. The present invention can be applied to any one of the fluid ejecting apparatuses. In the present specification, the term “fluid” means, for example, a liquid (including inorganic solvent, organic solvent, solution, liquid resin, liquid metal (metal melt), or the like), a liquid body, a fluid body, a granular body (including granular body and powder body) and the like.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-064539, filed Mar. 29, 2017. The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-064539 is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A cutting mechanism comprising:

a cutter blade that is capable of cutting a medium;

a cutter unit to which the cutter blade is attached; and

a guide rail that supports the cutter unit,

wherein the cutter blade is configured to cut the medium by the cutter unit moving in a traveling direction along the guide rail,

wherein the cutter unit has a first holding portion and a second holding portion, which are in contact with the guide rail, to be held to the guide rail, and

wherein the first holding portion and the second holding portion are disposed so as to interpose the cutter blade therebetween in the traveling direction.

2. The cutting mechanism according to claim 1,

wherein the first holding portion and the second holding portion are disposed so as to interpose the guide rail therebetween.

3. The cutting mechanism according to claim 1,

wherein the first holding portion is disposed behind the cutter blade in the traveling direction, and

wherein a distance between the first holding portion and the cutter blade in the traveling direction is configured to be longer than a distance between the second holding portion and the cutter blade in the traveling direction.

4. The cutting mechanism according to claim 1,

wherein the guide rail is configured with a rack gear,

wherein the cutter unit has a driving gear disposed so as to mesh with the rack gear,

wherein the driving gear meshes with the rack gear to rotate when the cutter unit moves in the traveling direction, and

wherein the cutter blade is configured to rotate as the driving gear rotates when the cutter unit moves in the traveling direction.

5. The cutting mechanism according to claim 4,

wherein the first holding portion is configured with a pinion gear that is capable of meshing with the rack gear.