JP2006044855A - Carrying mechanism and recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To carry a material to be recorded with high accuracy and to reduce a manufacturing cost. <P>SOLUTION: This carrying mechanism for carrying a sheet material P recorded by a recording part, is provided with delivery rollers 40, 41 provided downstream in the conveying direction of the sheet material P with respect to the recording part to carry the sheet material P, and a plurality of spurs 421 rotated following the delivery rollers 40, 41 and provided with tips abutting on the sheet material P, on the outer peripheral parts. The plurality of spurs 421 are arranged in parallel in a rotation axis direction and engaged with each other to synchronously rotate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport mechanism for transporting a recording material when recording on a recording material such as recording paper or film, and a recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink onto the recording material. .

  An ink jet recording apparatus feeds a recording sheet from an automatic sheet feeding apparatus in which a plurality of recording sheets are stacked on a tray, and is on a carriage supported so as to be able to reciprocate a recording area on the fed recording sheet. The recording head mounted on the printer ejects liquid ink onto the recording paper to record an image, and after recording the image for one line, the recording paper is fed by a predetermined amount, and this operation is performed to record the image data. An image is formed by repeating until all the processes are completed.

  A spur that sandwiches and conveys the paper discharge roller and the recording paper downstream of the recording head is a circular metal sheet member having a plurality of tooth tips arranged at equal pitches, and the metal sheet member can be rotated. And a molded member that is integrally formed. The spur has a sharp tip shape that prevents ink from being transferred from the recorded material. The spur is linked to the movement of the recording paper with the spring shaft inserted in the center of the spur as the center of rotation. Then, the recording paper is conveyed by rotating.

  The conveyance force by the pair of spurs and the paper discharge roller particularly affects the conveyance accuracy when the trailing edge of the recording paper comes out of the LF roller. Therefore, in order to ensure high conveyance accuracy, it is desirable to increase the pressing force by the spring shaft that presses the spur against the paper discharge roller. However, as the pressing force by the spring shaft is increased, the spur tip shape is pressed deeply against the surface of the recording paper, so that a hole-like mark is generated on the surface of the recording paper, There was a problem that the surface layer was turned up by a spur and the surface of the recording paper after recording was damaged.

Therefore, instead of the conventional conveying method in which one spur is supported by one spring shaft, another conventional conveying method in which two spurs are supported by one spring shaft has been proposed (Patent Document). 1). According to this transport method, even if the pressure on the paper discharge roller facing the spur is increased by increasing the pressing force by the spring shaft, two spurs can be used per spur. It becomes possible to disperse the pressing force, to obtain a higher transport force, and to suppress damage on the surface of the recording paper.
JP-A-10-114442

  However, the conventional transport method described above has the following problems.

  Since the two spurs are supported so as to be independently rotatable, the timing at which the leading edge of the recording paper starts to contact the spur, and the rotation of the left and right spurs during recording due to the floating or cockling of the recording paper When the angle shifts, the phase difference of the tooth tip occurs, the pressing force acting on the tooth tip of each spur is not evenly distributed, and the pressing force of one spur becomes larger than the other spur There is. As a result, there is a problem that scratches (turns) due to spur teeth are generated on the recording paper.

  As a countermeasure, there has been proposed a method of insert molding so that two metal sheet members are supported by one mold member. However, such insert molding has the disadvantage that the structure of the molding die is complicated and the manufacturing cost is increased.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a transport mechanism capable of reducing the manufacturing cost and transporting a recording material with high accuracy, and a recording apparatus including the transport mechanism.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a transport mechanism according to the present invention is a transport mechanism that transports a recording material recorded by a recording unit, and is provided downstream of the recording unit in the transport direction of the recording material. And a plurality of driven rollers provided with protrusions on the outer peripheral portion that rotate following the conveyance roller and abut against the recording material. The plurality of driven rollers are arranged in parallel in the rotation axis direction and are engaged with each other so as to rotate synchronously.

  According to the transport mechanism according to the present invention configured as described above, a plurality of driven rollers are integrated by being engaged with each other so as to be synchronously rotated and arranged in parallel in the rotation axis direction. By rotating the roller integrally around the rotation axis, it is possible to prevent the phase difference between the projections of each driven roller during recording by the recording unit, and the pressing force acting on the projections of each driven roller is evenly distributed. The For this reason, even when the pressing force for pressing the driven roller against the recording material is increased, good conveyance accuracy is ensured without damaging the recording material by the protrusions. Further, according to this transport mechanism, the structure of the molding die can be simplified as compared with the insert molding, so that the manufacturing cost is reduced.

  As described above, according to the present invention, by providing a plurality of driven rollers that are arranged in parallel in the rotation axis direction and are engaged with each other so as to rotate synchronously, the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the recording material can be highly accurate. Can be conveyed.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
This embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mechanism portion of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIGS. These are the figures for demonstrating in detail the structure of the spur coupling body of this embodiment.

  The ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a recording apparatus 1, a paper feeding apparatus 2, a paper feeding section 3, a carriage section 5, a paper discharge section 4, a U-turn / automatic double-sided conveyance section 8, a cleaning section 6, a recording head, and an exterior section. 9. Hereinafter, the outline of each part will be described in order.

(A) Paper Feed Unit The paper feed unit 2 has a pressure plate 21 on which the sheet material P is stacked, a paper feed roller 28 that feeds the sheet material P, a separation roller 241 that separates the sheet material P, and the sheet material P at the stacking position. A return lever or the like for returning is attached to the base.

  A paper feed tray 26 for holding the stacked sheet material P is attached to the base or the exterior. The paper feed tray 26 is a multistage type that is pulled out during use.

  The paper feed roller 28 is formed in a bar shape with a circular arc in cross section. One sheet feeding roller rubber is provided on the sheet reference side, and the sheet material P is fed by the sheet feeding roller rubber. The driving force of the paper feeding roller 28 is transmitted from a motor shared with the cleaning unit 6 provided in the paper feeding unit 2 by a drive transmission gear and a planetary gear.

  A movable side guide 23 for restricting the stacking position of the sheet material P is provided on the pressure plate 21 so as to be movable. The pressure plate 21 can rotate around a rotation shaft coupled to the base, and is urged against the paper feed roller 28 by a pressure plate spring. The pressure plate 21 facing the paper feed roller 28 is provided with a separation sheet made of a material having a relatively large friction coefficient, such as artificial leather, in order to prevent double feeding of the sheet material P near the lowest stacking position. The pressure plate 21 is configured to be in contact with and separated from the paper feed roller 28 by a pressure plate cam.

  Further, a separation roller holder to which a separation roller 241 for separating the sheet material P one by one is attached to the base is rotatable about a rotation shaft provided on the base, and is attached to the paper feeding roller 28 by a separation roller spring. Be forced. A clutch spring is attached to the separation roller 241 so that a portion to which the separation roller 241 is attached rotates when a predetermined load or more is applied. The separation roller 241 is configured to be in contact with and separated from the paper feed roller 28 by a separation roller release shaft and a control cam. The positions of the pressure plate 21, the return lever, and the separation roller 241 are detected by an ASF (auto sheet feeder) sensor.

  A return lever for returning the sheet material P to the stacking position is rotatably attached to the base and is urged by a return lever spring in the release direction. When the sheet material P is returned, it is configured to rotate by a control cam.

  In a normal standby state, the pressure plate 28 is released by the pressure plate cam, the separation roller 241 is released by the control cam, the return lever returns the sheet material P, and closes the stacking port so that the sheet material P does not enter the back during loading. It is provided at such a loading position. When paper feeding starts from this state, first, the separation roller 241 contacts the paper feeding roller 28 by driving the motor. Then, the return lever is released, and the pressure plate 21 comes into contact with the paper feed roller 28. In this state, feeding of the sheet material P is started. The sheet material P is limited by the preceding separation unit provided in the base, and only a predetermined number of the sheet material P is sent to the nip portion constituted by the sheet feeding roller 28 and the separation roller 241. The fed sheet material P is separated at the nip portion, and only the uppermost sheet material P is conveyed.

  When the sheet material P reaches a later-described conveying roller 36 and pinch roller 37, the pressure plate 21 is released by the pressure plate cam, and the separation roller 28 is released by the control cam. The return lever is returned to the loading position by the control cam. At this time, the sheet material P that has reached the nip portion constituted by the paper feed roller 28 and the separation roller 241 can be returned to the stacking position.

(B) Paper feeding part The paper feeding part 3 is attached to the chassis 11 made of a bent metal sheet. The paper feeding unit 3 includes a conveyance roller 36 that conveys the sheet material P and a PE (paper edge) sensor. The transport roller 36 is formed by coating the outer peripheral surface of the metal shaft with ceramic fine particles, receives the metal portions of both shafts with bearings, and is attached to the chassis 11. The transport roller 36 is provided with a transport roller tension spring between the bearing and the transport roller 36 in order to apply a load at the time of rotation and perform stable transport. Is giving the load.

  The transport roller 36 is provided with a plurality of driven pinch rollers 37 in contact therewith. The pinch roller 37 is held by a pinch roller holder and is urged by a pinch roller spring so that the pinch roller 37 is pressed against the conveying roller 36 to generate a conveying force for the sheet material P. The rotation shaft of the pinch roller holder is rotatably supported by the bearing of the chassis 11. Further, a paper guide flapper 33 and a platen 34 for guiding the sheet material P are disposed at the entrance of the sheet feeding unit 3 to which the sheet material P is conveyed. The pinch roller holder is provided with a PE sensor lever for transmitting the detection of the leading edge and trailing edge of the sheet P to the PE sensor. The platen 34 is attached to the chassis 11 and positioned. The paper guide flapper 33 is fitted with the conveying roller 36, can rotate around a sliding bearing portion, and is positioned by contacting the chassis 11.

  In the above configuration, the sheet material P sent to the paper feeding unit 3 is guided by the pinch roller holder and the paper guide flapper 33 and sent to the roller pair of the transport roller 36 and the pinch roller 37. At this time, the PE sensor lever 35 determines the recording position of the sheet material P by detecting the leading edge of the conveyed sheet material P. Further, the sheet material P is conveyed along the platen 34 by the pair of rollers 36 and 37 being rotated by the conveyance motor 35. On the platen 34, a rib serving as a conveyance reference surface is formed. The gap between the sheet material P and the recording head is managed, and the corrugation of the sheet material P is controlled together with the paper discharge unit 4 described later. By doing so, it is configured to suppress an increase in undulation.

  As for the driving force of the conveying roller 36, the rotational force of the conveying motor 35, which is a DC motor, is transmitted to a pulley provided on the rotating shaft of the conveying roller 36 via a timing belt. In addition, a code wheel on which markings are formed at a pitch of 150 to 300 lpi is provided on the rotating shaft of the transport roller 36 in order to detect the transport amount by the transport roller 36, and an encoder sensor that reads the marking is a code wheel. It is attached to the chassis 11 at a position adjacent to.

  A recording head constituting a recording unit that records an image based on image information is provided on the downstream side of the conveying roller 36 in the conveying direction of the sheet material P. As the recording head, an ink jet recording head equipped with a replaceable ink tank for each color ink tank is used. This recording head can apply heat to the ink by a heater or the like. Then, the film of the ink is boiled by this heat, and the ink is ejected from the nozzles of the recording head by the pressure change caused by the growth or contraction of the bubbles due to the film boiling, and an image is formed on the sheet material P.

(C) Carriage unit The carriage unit 5 includes a carriage 50 to which a recording head is attached. The carriage 50 holds the guide shaft 52 for reciprocating scanning in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the sheet material P, and the rear end of the carriage 50 to maintain a gap between the recording head and the sheet material P. It is supported by a guide rail. The guide shaft 52 is attached to the chassis 11. The guide rail is formed integrally with the chassis 11.

  The carriage 50 is driven via a timing belt 541 by a carriage motor 54 attached to the chassis 11. The timing belt 541 is stretched and supported by an idle pulley. The timing belt 541 is coupled to the carriage 50 via a damper made of rubber or the like, and reduces image unevenness by attenuating vibration of the carriage motor 54 or the like. A code strip on which markings are formed at a pitch of 150 to 300 lpi for detecting the position of the carriage 50 is provided in parallel with the timing belt 541. Further, an encoder sensor for reading the code strip is provided on the carriage substrate mounted on the carriage 50. The carriage substrate is also provided with contacts for electrical connection with the recording head. The carriage 50 is provided with a flexible substrate 57 for transmitting a head signal from the circuit board to the recording head.

  In order to fix the recording head to the carriage 50, the carriage 50 is provided with an abutting portion for pressing and positioning the recording head, and a head pressing means for fixing. The head pressing means is mounted on the head set lever 51, and is configured to act on the recording head when the head set lever 51 is set around the rotation fulcrum.

  Further, eccentric cams are provided at both ends of the guide shaft 52, and the guide shaft 52 is made to have a thickness of the sheet material P by transmitting a driving force to the eccentric cam via the gear train by the main cam of the cleaning unit 6. It can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction parallel to the direction. As a result, the carriage 50 can be moved up and down to form an optimum gap for the sheet material P having a different thickness.

  Further, the carriage 50 is provided with an automatic registration adjustment sensor for automatically correcting the landing deviation of the ink discharged from the recording head on the sheet material P. This automatic registration adjustment sensor is a reflection-type optical sensor, which receives light reflected from a light-emitting element and reflects a predetermined recording pattern on the sheet material P, thereby obtaining an optimum registration adjustment value.

  In the configuration described above, when an image is formed on the sheet material P, the pair of rollers 36 and 37 convey the sheet material P to the row position (position in the conveyance direction of the sheet material P) where the image is formed, and the carriage motor 54 The carriage 50 is moved to a row position for image formation (a position perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the sheet material P), and the recording head is opposed to the image formation position. Thereafter, as described above, an image is formed by the recording head ejecting ink toward the sheet material P based on a signal from the circuit board.

(D) Paper Discharge Unit The paper discharge unit 4 includes two paper discharge rollers 40 and 41, and a plurality of rollers provided rotatably in contact with the paper discharge rollers 40 and 41 with a predetermined pressing force. A spur combination (driven roller) 42 and a gear train for transmitting the driving force of the conveying roller 36 to the paper discharge rollers 40 and 41 are configured.

  The paper discharge rollers 40 and 41 are attached to the platen 34 and are respectively arranged on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the sheet material P with respect to the recording head. The paper discharge roller 40 is configured by providing a plurality of rubber portions on the outer peripheral surface of the metal shaft. The paper discharge roller 40 is rotationally driven by the driving force from the transport roller 36 being transmitted through the idler gear. The paper discharge roller 41 is disposed downstream of the paper discharge roller 40 in the conveying direction of the sheet material P, and is configured by attaching a plurality of elastic bodies made of elastomer to a resin shaft. . The driving force of the paper discharge roller 41 is transmitted from the paper discharge roller 40 via an idler gear.

  As will be described in detail later, the spur assembly 42 is formed by integrally fitting two spurs 421 and rotatably supported by the spur holder 43 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Each spur 421 is integrally formed with a mold member 48, for example, a metal sheet member 47 formed in a thin plate shape with a metal material such as stainless steel and provided with tooth tips on the outer periphery. In the spur combined body 42, the molded members 48 that are integrally fitted are supported by the spur holder 43 via a spring shaft 44 formed of a shaft-shaped coil spring, and the discharge roller 40 is generated by the elastic force of the spring shaft 44. , 41 is pressed against.

  A plurality of spur combinations 42 are provided at positions corresponding to the rubber portions and elastic bodies of the discharge rollers 40 and 41, and a spur combination group mainly serving to generate a conveying force of the sheet material P, and The spur combined body group is provided between the spur combined body groups and the rubber portions of the paper discharge rollers 40 and 41, and the spur combined body group which is provided at a position where there is no elastic body and mainly serves to suppress lifting when the sheet material P is recorded. ing.

  In the conveyance path between the paper discharge roller 40 and the paper discharge roller 41, both ends of the sheet material P are lifted, the sheet material P is held at the tip of the paper discharge rollers 40 and 41, and the sheet material P is placed on the previous sheet material P. A paper edge support is provided for preventing damage caused by rubbing the recording surface (printing surface). A resin member having a roller at the tip is urged by a paper end support spring, and the roller is pressed against the sheet material P with a predetermined pressure, so that both ends of the sheet material P can be lifted and squeezed to be held. It is configured.

  With the above-described configuration, the sheet material P on which an image is formed by the carriage unit 5 is conveyed while being sandwiched between the nip portion between the paper discharge roller 41 and the spur 42 and discharged to the paper discharge tray 46. The paper discharge tray 46 is configured to be housed in the front cover 95, and is pulled out and used during use. As shown in FIG. 1, the discharge tray 46 increases in height toward the front end in the paper discharge direction, and further increases in height at both ends, improving the stackability of the discharged sheet material P, and the printing surface. It is possible to prevent rubbing.

(E) U-turn / automatic double-sided conveyance unit The sheet material P is stored in a cassette 81 provided on the bottom side of the recording apparatus 1. In order to separate and feed the sheet material P, a pressure plate 822 on which the sheet material P is stacked and brought into contact with the sheet feed roller 821 is provided in the cassette 81. The recording apparatus 1 includes a sheet feeding roller 821 that feeds the sheet material P, a separation roller that separates the sheet material P, a return lever for returning the sheet material P to the stacking position, a pressurizing / controlling unit for the pressure plate 822, and the like. It is attached to the U-turn base.

  The cassette 81 is configured to be shrinkable in two stages, and can be selectively used according to the size of the sheet material P. When small size paper is used or when the cassette 81 is not used, the cassette 81 can be contracted and stored in the exterior portion 9.

  The paper feed roller 821 has a bar shape with a circular arc in cross section. One paper feed roller rubber is provided on the paper reference side, and the sheet material P is fed by this paper feed roller rubber. Driving to the paper feed roller 821 is transmitted from a U-turn / automatic double-side motor provided in the U-turn / automatic double-sided conveyance unit 5 by a drive transmission gear, a planetary gear, and the like.

  A movable side guide is movably provided on the pressure plate 822 and regulates the stacking position of the sheet material P. The pressure plate 822 is rotatable about a rotation shaft coupled to the cassette 81, and is urged against the paper feed roller 821 by a pressure / control means including a pressure plate spring provided on the U-turn base. A separation sheet made of a material having a large coefficient of friction such as artificial leather for preventing double feeding of the sheet material P near the bottommost stack is provided at a portion of the pressure plate 822 facing the paper feed roller 821. The pressure plate 822 is configured to abut against and separate from the paper feed roller 821 by a pressure plate cam.

  Further, the U-turn base is provided with a separation roller holder, to which a separation roller for separating the sheet material P one by one is attached, and is rotatable about a rotation shaft provided on the separation base. The paper roller 821 is biased. The separation roller is attached to a clutch spring, and is configured such that a portion to which the separation roller is attached is rotated when a predetermined load or more is applied. The separation roller is configured to abut against and separate from the paper feed roller 821 by a separation roller release shaft and a control cam. The positions of the pressure plate 822, the return lever, and the separation roller are detected by a U-turn sensor.

  A return lever for returning the sheet material P to the stacking position is rotatably attached to the U-turn base, and is biased by a return lever spring in the release direction. When returning the sheet material P, it is configured to be rotated by a control cam.

  In a normal standby state, the pressure plate 822 is released by the pressure plate cam, the separation roller is released by the control cam, the return lever returns the sheet material P, and closes the stacking port so that the sheet material P does not enter the back during loading. It is provided at such a loading position. When paper feeding starts from this state, the separation roller is first brought into contact with the paper feeding roller 821 by driving the motor. Then, the return lever is released and the pressure plate 822 is brought into contact with the paper feed roller 821. In this state, feeding of the sheet material P is started. The sheet material P is limited by the pre-stage restricting means provided on the base, and only a predetermined number of the sheet material P is sent out to the nip portion constituted by the sheet feed roller 821 and the separation roller. The fed sheet material P is separated at the nip portion, and only the uppermost sheet material P is conveyed.

  When the separated and conveyed sheet material P reaches a U-turn intermediate roller (1) 86 and a U-turn pinch roller 861, which will be described later, the pressure plate 822 is released by the pressure plate cam, and the separation roller is released by the control cam. The return lever is returned to the loading position by the control cam. At this time, the sheet material P that has reached the nip formed by the sheet feeding roller 821 and the separation roller can be returned to the stacking position.

  Two transport rollers, a U-turn intermediate roller (1) 86 and a U-turn intermediate roller (2) 87, are provided on the downstream side of the paper feed portion in order to transport the fed and transported sheet material P. It has been. Each of these intermediate rollers 86 and 87 is configured by attaching EPDM (ethylene-propylene trimer) having a rubber hardness of 40 to 80 ° to 4 to 6 positions of the metal core of the metal shaft. U-turn pinch rollers 861 and 871 for sandwiching the sheet material P are attached to the spring shaft at positions corresponding to the rubber portions, and are attached to the U-turn intermediate roller (1) 86 and the U-turn intermediate roller (2) 87. It is energized. Further, an inner guide 881 that forms the inside of the transport path and an outer guide 882 that forms the outside of the transport path are provided.

  The junction point of the paper path with the paper feeding unit 2 is configured by a flapper so that the mutual path merges smoothly. When the leading edge of the sheet material P is fed to the conveying roller 36 and the pinch roller 37 described above, the sheet material P is brought into contact with the nip portion of the stopped pair of rollers, and the registration operation is performed.

  The sheet material P recorded while being transported by the transport roller 36 and the pinch roller 37 passes through the transport roller 36 and the pinch roller 37. During automatic double-sided recording, the rear end of the sheet material P is again sandwiched between the conveyance roller 36 and the pinch roller 37 and conveyed. At this time, the pinch roller 37 can be smoothly conveyed because the sheet material P is fed into the raised portion by the lifting mechanism.

  The sheet material P sent in again is sandwiched between the double-sided roller 891 and the double-sided pinch roller and conveyed. Then, the sheet material P is guided and conveyed by the double-sided guide. The double-sided paper conveyance path is configured to merge with the above-described paper path during U-turn conveyance when a predetermined amount has passed. Therefore, the configuration and operation of the subsequent paper path are the same as described above.

(F) Cleaning unit The cleaning unit 6 includes a pump 60 for cleaning the recording head, a cap 61 for suppressing drying of the nozzles of the recording head, a blade for cleaning the face surface around the nozzles of the recording head, and the like. It is configured.

  The main driving force of the cleaning unit 6 is transmitted from the above-described recovery motor. The recovery motor is provided with a one-way clutch so as to operate the pump 60 by rotating in one direction and to operate the blade and the lifting / lowering operation of the cap 61 by rotating in the other direction.

  The pump 60 is configured to generate a negative pressure by squeezing the two tubes 67 with a pump roller, and a portion from the cap 61 to the pump 60 is connected via a valve or the like. By operating the pump 60 with the cap 61 in close contact with the recording head, unnecessary ink or the like is sucked and removed from the recording head. A cap absorber is provided at the cap 61 portion in order to reduce ink remaining on the face surface of the recording head after suction. Therefore, the ink remaining in the cap 61 is sucked in a state where the cap 61 is opened so that the ink remains remaining and does not cause a harmful effect. The waste ink sucked by the pump 60 is absorbed and held by a waste ink absorber provided in the lower case 99 described later.

  A series of operations such as the blade operation and the cap 61 ascending / descending operation are controlled by a main cam provided with a plurality of cams on the rotating shaft. The cams and arms of the respective parts act on the main cam to perform a predetermined operation. The position of the main cam is detected by a position detection sensor such as a photo interrupter. When the cap 61 is lowered, the blade moves in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the carriage 5 to clean the face surface of the recording head. A plurality of blades are provided, including one that cleans the vicinity of the nozzles of the recording head and one that cleans the entire face surface. When the blade moves to the innermost position, the blade abuts against the blade cleaner, thereby removing ink or the like attached to the blade itself.

  The driving force transmission / control of the opening / closing operation of the valve is performed by the paper discharge roller 40. By selecting the valves, it is possible to cope with collective suction for all colors and individual suction for each color as necessary. The position of the valve is detected by a valve position detection sensor.

(G) Exterior Unit Each unit described above is incorporated in the chassis 11, constitutes a mechanism part of the recording apparatus 1, and an exterior is attached so as to cover the periphery of the mechanism part. The exterior mainly includes a lower case 99, an upper case 98, an access cover 97, a connector cover, a front cover 95, and a side cover 93.

  The front cover 93 is configured to be able to store the paper discharge tray 46 and is configured to close the paper discharge port when not in use. The open / closed state of the front cover 95 is configured to be detected by a sensor (not shown).

  An access cover 97 is rotatably provided on the upper case 98. An opening is provided in a part of the upper surface of the upper case 98, and the ink tank 71 and the recording head can be exchanged at the position of the opening. Further, a door switch lever for detecting opening / closing of the access cover 97, an LED guide 982 for transmitting / displaying LED light, a key switch 983 for operating a switch element of the circuit board, and the like are provided in the upper case 98. . Further, the paper feed tray 26 is rotatably attached to the upper case 98. When the sheet feeding unit 2 is not used, the sheet feeding tray 26 is accommodated so that it also serves as a cover for the sheet feeding unit 2.

  Further, the upper case 98 and the lower case 99 are attached with elastic fitting claws. A portion provided with a connector portion therebetween is covered with a connector cover. The side cover 93 is attached so as to cover the upper case 98 and the lower case 99 from the left side surface and the right side surface of the recording apparatus 1.

  Next, the spur assembly which is the main part of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  4 and 5 show a spur combination of this embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the spur combination body 42 included in the paper discharge unit 4 is configured by integrally fitting two spurs 421 in the axial direction of the paper discharge rollers 40 and 41. A plurality are arranged along.

  Each spur 421 includes a metal sheet member 47 that is in contact with the sheet material P and a mold member 48 that supports the metal sheet member 47.

  The metal sheet member 47 has sharp tooth tips arranged at an equal pitch over the outer peripheral portion, and the tooth tip shape is formed by processing such as etching or pressing. In FIG. 4, only a part of the outer peripheral portion is shown in order to simplify the shape of the tooth tip of the metal sheet member 47, but in reality, the tooth tip circle has a desired diameter over the entire circumference of 360 degrees. It arrange | positions so that it may become (phi) D.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the mold member 48 is formed integrally with the metal sheet member 47, and a shaft hole portion 48a concentric with the tooth tip circle of the metal sheet member 47 is formed. ing.

  A spring shaft 44, which will be described later, is inserted into the shaft hole portion 48a, the spur combined body 42 rotates around the axis of the spring shaft 44, and the spring shaft 44 bends according to the thickness of the sheet material P being conveyed. Accordingly, the spur combined body 42 is moved in the thickness direction of the sheet material P.

  The mold member 48 is provided with two columnar convex portions 101a and 101b on one side surface at positions sandwiching the shaft hole portion 48a. Similarly, on one side surface of the mold member 48, two elongated hole-like recesses 102a and 102b respectively fitted to the respective protrusions 101a and 101b are provided at positions where the shaft hole 48a is sandwiched therebetween. .

  The convex portions 101a and 101b and the concave portions 102a and 102b are provided on one side surface of the mold member 48 on a straight line passing through the center of the shaft hole portion 48a, and have a diameter dimension in a fitting relationship with each other. And is formed in the long hole dimension. In addition, a C-surface shape for facilitating insertion into the recesses 102a and 102b is chamfered and formed at the corners of the tips of the projections 101a and 101b. Although not shown, the C-surface shape may be chamfered similarly at the opening edges of the recesses 102a and 102b.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the convex portions 101a and 101b and the concave portions 102a and 102b are arranged so that the phase difference θ between the straight lines connecting the centers and the rotation centers is 90 degrees. As shown in Fig. 2, the spurs of the two spurs 421, 421 'are in the same phase by assembling together with the side surfaces of the two spurs 421, 421' facing each other and shifted about 90 degrees around the axis. It becomes possible to arrange. Of course, if the tooth tips of the two spurs 421 and 421 ′ have the same phase, the convex portions 101a and 101b and the concave portions 102a and 102b have a phase difference θ between the lines connecting the centers and the rotation centers. It may be other than 90 degrees.

  At this time, the integrated spurs 421 and 421 ′ are fitted with the convex portions 101 a and 101 b and the concave portions 102 a and 102 b, respectively, and can rotate integrally around the shaft holes 48 a and 48 a ′. Is possible.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the spur combination body 42, the spurs 421 and 421 ′ are integrally rotated, and the sheet material P is nipped together with the discharge rollers 40 and 41 to convey the sheet material P. Move in the direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the spur combined body 42 is disposed such that the rotation center is offset to the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the sheet material P with respect to the rotation center of the discharge rollers 40 and 41. The lift of the sheet material P is suppressed.

  In the spur combination body 42, spurs 421 and 421 ′ are supported by the spur holder 43 through a spring shaft 44 inserted into the shaft hole portion 48 a. The spur holder 43 supports both ends of the spring shaft 44, and a pair of regulation walls 43a and 43b for regulating movement of the spur combined body 42 in the direction of the spring shaft 44 (thrust direction) are opposed to each other. Is provided. The spur holder 43 is provided with a set of regulation walls 43a and 43b at a plurality of locations corresponding to the plurality of spur assemblies 42, respectively.

  Therefore, the spur holder 43 elastically deforms the spring shaft 44 according to the thickness of the sheet material P when the sheet material P is inserted into the nip portion formed by the spurs 421, 421 ′ and the paper discharge rollers 40, 41. The spurs 421 and 421 ′ generate a pressing force against the sheet material P, and the movement of the spurs 421 and 421 ′ in the axial direction (thrust direction) of the spurs 421 and 421 ′ is restricted by the restriction walls 43a and 43b.

  For this reason, the spurs 421 and 421 ′ rotate while the respective side surfaces of the mold members 48 are rubbed against the end surfaces of the regulation walls 43 a and 43 b of the spur holder 43. By the way, in the conventional configuration, when two spurs that are not integrated are similarly supported by a single spring shaft on the spur holder, there are protrusions or the like remaining on the gate trace during injection molding for molding the spur mold member. In order to avoid being caught by the end face of the regulation wall of the spur holder 43, the gate mouths of the respective spurs are arranged facing each other. However, by arranging the spurs in this way, it is avoided that the gate traces of each spur are rubbed against the wall end portion of the spur holder 43, but the gate traces of each spur are rubbed against each other. When the gate traces are in sliding contact with each other in this manner, there is a possibility that the rotation operation is hindered with respect to the rotation of each spur when each spur is rotating.

  Therefore, in the shape of the integrated spurs 421 and 421 ′ as in the present embodiment, the gate traces at the time of injection molding are the tip surfaces of the convex portions 101a and 101b that form fitting means for integrating, or the concave portions. By providing them on the bottom surfaces of 102a and 102b, the gate footprint is arranged at a position where there is no gate trace on the outer peripheral surface of the integrated spur combined body and the rotation operation of the spurs 241 and 241 'is not always obstructed. It becomes possible.

FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing the relationship between the spurs 421 and 421 ′ and the spur holder 43 that restricts movement in the thrust direction. As shown in FIG. 7, the axial thickness of the mold member 48 of the spur 421 is t, and the fitting length (fitting) of the straight portion from the side surface of the mold member 48 to the C-plane shape of the tips of the convex portions 101a and 101b (Quantity) is h, and the amount of regulation (in other words, the distance between the opposing walls 43a and 43b of the spur holder 43) that regulates the movement of the spur assembly 42 in the thrust direction is L,
h> L− (2 × t) Formula 1
Each dimension is set to satisfy.

  By forming the dimensions so as to satisfy Formula 1, the sheet material P or the like is moved by a force acting in a direction away from the thrust direction during the rotation of the spurs 421 and 421 ′. However, the convex portions 101a and 101b are not detached from the concave portions 102a and 102b, and the fitting state between the convex portions 101a and 101b and the concave portions 102a and 102b is favorably maintained, and the spurs 421 and 421 ′ are integrally formed. It is possible to rotate well.

  According to the above configuration, two spurs 421 and 421 ′ having the same shape are toothed using the spur 421 having the metal sheet member 47 having the tooth tip and the mold member 48 that supports the metal sheet member 47. It is possible to form the spur coupling body 42 that is positioned and integrated so that the previous phase becomes the same phase. Thus, by providing the spur combined body 42 in which the tooth tips of the spurs 421 and 421 ′ are in phase and integrated, the pressing force by the spring shaft 44 that presses the spur 421 against the sheet material P is increased. Even in this case, since the pressing force acting on the tooth tips of the spurs 421 and 421 ′ is evenly distributed, the sheet material P is conveyed with high accuracy without causing scratches on the surface of the sheet material P. be able to.

  Further, by providing the spur combination body 42 in which the two spurs 421 and 421 ′ having the same shape are fitted and integrated, in the manufacturing process, compared to the case where two spurs having different shapes are integrated. Is easy to manage. In addition, the manufacturing cost of the spur assembly 42 can be reduced as compared with a configuration in which two metal sheet members are supported by one mold member by integral molding.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of an inkjet recording device. It is sectional drawing which shows an inkjet recording device. It is a side view which shows a spur coupling body. It is a front view which shows a spur coupling body. It is a figure for demonstrating a spur. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating a spur. It is a figure for demonstrating the state which fits each spur. It is a figure for demonstrating the state by which the fitting state is maintained even when each spur of a spur coupling body moves to a thrust direction.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording device 4 Paper discharge part 40, 41 Paper discharge roller 42 Spur coupling body 421 Spur 43 Spur holder 43a, 43b Restriction wall 44 Spring shaft 47 Metal sheet member 48 Mold member 48a Shaft hole part 101a, 101b Protrusion part 102a, 102b Concave part P sheet material

Claims (10)

A transport mechanism for transporting a recording material recorded by a recording unit,
A transport roller that is provided downstream of the recording unit in the transport direction of the recording material and transports the recording material;
A plurality of driven rollers which are rotated by following the conveying roller and have protrusions that contact the recording material provided on the outer periphery;
The plurality of driven rollers are arranged in parallel in the rotation axis direction and are engaged with each other so as to rotate synchronously. The driven roller is a spur having a circular metal sheet member having a tooth tip formed on an outer peripheral portion, and a mold member supporting the metal sheet member;
The transport mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the mold member includes a fitting unit that integrally fits the plurality of spurs so that phases of the tooth tips of the plurality of metal sheet materials have the same phase.   The transport mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the spur assembly formed by integrally fitting the plurality of spurs is rotatably supported by the rotating shaft having elasticity.   The transport mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the rotation shaft is a coil spring.   The transport mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the fitting means includes a concave portion and a convex portion that are fitted to each other, and the concave portion and the convex portion are respectively provided on one side surface of the spur.   The transport mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of spurs have the same outer shape. A regulation unit that regulates movement of the spur assembly formed by integrally fitting the two spurs in the rotation axis direction, and a support unit that rotatably supports the spur assembly;
A restriction amount for restricting the movement of the spur assembly in the rotation axis direction by the restriction portion is L, a thickness of the mold member in the rotation axis direction is t, and a fitting amount h in the rotation axis direction in the fitting means. given that,
h> L-2t
The transport mechanism according to claim 5, wherein:   In the spur assembly, the gate mark at the time of injection molding of the mold member is located at a position other than the outer peripheral surface of the spur assembly, with the two spurs being integrally fitted by the fitting means. Item 8. The transport mechanism according to Item 7.   The transport mechanism according to claim 8, wherein the gate mark is located on a front end surface of the convex portion or a bottom surface of the concave portion.   A recording apparatus comprising the transport mechanism according to claim 1 and performing recording by discharging ink onto a recording material.

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