JP2010179486A - Conveying device and printer - Google Patents

Abstract

A transport apparatus and a printing apparatus are provided that can transport a transported body at a stable speed.
A roller group 22 having a plurality of rollers 22a, 22b, and 22c, and a conveyance belt 23 that is spanned between the plurality of rollers 22a, 22b, and 22c and conveys a conveyed object P in a slidable contact state. And a support device 24 that supports the transport belt 23. In the conveying belt 23, a conductive layer 64 is formed on the contact surface side with the plurality of rollers 22a, 22b, and 22c. In the roller group 22, at least one of the plurality of rollers 22a, 22b, and 22c is grounded. It has become.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a conveyance device and a printing device.

  In an ink jet printer, recording is performed on a transported body by ejecting ink from the ink jet head to the transported body while transporting the transported body such as paper. As a means for conveying the object to be conveyed, a conveyor belt that is stretched around a plurality of rollers (roller group) is used (for example, see Patent Document 1). As the conveyor belt, for example, one made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is used.

JP 2006-347039 A

By the way, in such a transport belt, in order to improve the ink landing accuracy, a position where the transported body is transported is supported by a platen (support member), and the distance between the transported body and the inkjet head can be kept constant. Conceivable.
However, when a platen is used, static electricity is generated when the conveying belt comes into contact with the platen, and the conveying belt and the platen stick to each other due to the static electricity. Then, the conveyance belt has a large resistance between the platen and the conveyance speed may be reduced. If the transport speed of the transport belt is reduced in this way, the landing accuracy of the ink ejected from the ink jet head is lowered, leading to a reduction in quality such as color unevenness.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transport device and a printing device that can transport a transported object at a stable speed.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the conveying device according to the present invention is in a state of sliding contact with a roller group having a plurality of rollers and a conveying belt that is spanned between the plurality of rollers and that conveys the object to be conveyed. A support member that supports the conveyor belt, wherein the conveyor belt is formed with a conductive layer on a contact surface side with the plurality of rollers, and at least one of the plurality of rollers is grounded in the roller group. It is the state which was made into the state.

  According to the transport apparatus of the present invention, static electricity generated by contact between the transport belt and the support member can be discharged to the outside when the grounded roller and the conductive layer formed on the transport belt come into contact with each other. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a problem that the conveyance speed of the conveyance belt decreases due to an increase in resistance between the conveyance belt and the support member due to the charged conveyance belt and the support member sticking to each other. Accordingly, the transported object can be transported at a stable speed, and therefore, highly reliable printing can be performed by applying to a printing apparatus such as an ink jet apparatus.

In the transport apparatus, the roller group preferably includes a main roller, a driven roller, and a tension roller that applies tension to the transport belt, and the tension roller is preferably grounded.
According to this configuration, the belt is prevented from slackening by applying a predetermined tension to the transport belt. Further, since the tension roller in the grounded state is in good contact with the conductive layer, the static electricity of the transport belt can be reliably discharged to the outside.

Moreover, in the said conveying apparatus, it is preferable that the said supporting member is supporting the part which conveys the said to-be-conveyed body in the said conveying belt.
According to this structure, it can convey in the state which stabilized the height of the to-be-conveyed body. Therefore, by disposing the recording head of the printing apparatus so as to face the support member, the distance between the recording head and the transported body can be kept substantially constant, and high print quality can be obtained.

  According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a printing apparatus including: the above-described transport device; and a recording head that ejects ink droplets onto the transported body transported by the transport device.

  According to the printing apparatus of the present invention, since the above-described transport apparatus is provided, the recording medium can be transported at a stable speed below the recording head. Therefore, highly reliable printing can be performed by providing high print quality.

It is a figure which shows typically the structure of an inkjet printer. It is a figure which shows the structure of a conveying apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method of a conveyance belt. It is a figure for demonstrating a 1st process. It is a figure for demonstrating a 2nd process. It is a figure for demonstrating a 3rd process.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of an ink jet printer as a printing apparatus on which the transport apparatus of the present invention is mounted. Specifically, FIG. 1A is a side view of the ink jet printer 1, and FIG. 1B is a plan view of the ink jet printer 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the ink jet printer 1 includes a recording unit 2, a paper feeding unit 3, and a paper discharging unit 4, and recording paper (conveyed body). A fluid ejecting apparatus that records on a medium such as P. The ink jet printer 1 is arranged so that the recording unit 2 is sandwiched between the paper feed unit 3 and the paper discharge unit 4.

  The recording unit 2 is a unit that performs recording on the recording paper P. The recording unit 2 is provided with a transport device 20 and a recording head 21. The transport device 20 transports the recording paper P while supporting it. The recording head 21 is provided so that ink can be ejected onto the recording paper P, and is connected to an ink supply source (not shown).

  The paper feed unit 3 includes a support member 30 that supports the recording paper P and a paper feed roller 31 that feeds the recording paper P to the recording unit 2. The support member 30 can support a plurality of recording sheets P. The paper feed roller 31 has a main driving roller 31a and a driven roller 31b, and feeds the recording paper P between the main driving roller 31a and the driven roller 31b. The main driving roller 31a is connected to a driving mechanism (not shown).

  The paper discharge unit 4 includes a support member 40 that supports the recording paper P and a paper discharge roller 41 that discharges the recording paper P from the recording unit 2. The support member 40 can support a plurality of recording sheets P, and is formed in a tray shape, for example. The paper discharge roller 41, like the paper supply roller 31, has a main driving roller 41a and a driven roller 41b, and discharges the recording paper P between two rollers. The main driving roller 41a is connected to a driving mechanism (not shown).

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the transport device 20 of the recording unit 2. FIG. 2A is a side view of the transport device 20, and FIG. 2B is a plan view of the transport device 20.
As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the transport device 20 includes a transport roller (roller group) 22, a transport belt 23, a platen (support member) 24, a side plate 25, and a drive mechanism 26. And have.

  The conveyance roller 22 has three types of rollers: a main driving roller 22a, a driven roller 22b, and a tension roller 22c. The main driving roller 22 a is disposed on the leading end side in the conveyance direction of the recording paper P, and is rotated by drive control of the drive mechanism 26. The driven roller 22b is provided on the rear end side in the conveyance direction of the recording paper P, and is disposed at the same height as the main driving roller 22a as shown in FIG. The tension roller 22c is disposed at a lower position than the main driving roller 22a and the driven roller 22b as shown in FIG. 2A, and the main driving roller 22a in a plan view as shown in FIG. 2B. And the driven roller 22b. In the present embodiment, the tension roller 22c is in a grounded state.

  The conveyance belt 23 is provided in an annular shape, and the recording paper P can be placed on the surface thereof. The conveyor belt 23 has, for example, a total circumference of 2 m and a width of 700 mm to 800 mm. The thickness is, for example, 0.125 mm. The transport belt 23 has a conductive layer 64 formed on the inner surface 50b side (that is, the contact surface side with the transport roller 22).

  The inner surface of the conveyor belt 23 is in contact with the main driving roller 22a, the driven roller 22b, and the tension roller 22c, and is stretched while being tensioned by the tension roller 22c. Thereby, the slack of the conveyance belt 23 is prevented. The rotation of the main driving roller 22a is transmitted to the conveyor belt 23 to rotate the conveyor belt 23, and the rotation of the conveyor belt 23 rotates the driven roller 22b and the tension roller 22c.

  A high μ layer 23a having a high friction coefficient is formed on the surface of the transport belt 23, and the recording paper P is transported by a frictional force. Further, the conveying belt 23 is provided with a suction hole 23b for sucking the surface side, and the suction hole 23b is connected to a suction mechanism (not shown). The recording paper P can be sucked and conveyed by the suction holes 23b. A magnetic encoder pattern 23c is also formed on the conveyor belt 23.

  The platen 24 is provided on the inner surface side of the conveyor belt 23, and is disposed between the main driving roller 22a and the driven roller 22b in a plan view as shown in FIG. The platen 24 supports the position where the recording paper P is transported in the transport belt 23, so that the distance between the recording head 21 and the recording paper P is kept constant. The platen 24 is in contact with the inner surface 50b of the conveyor belt 23. That is, the platen 24 supports the transport belt 23 in a slidable contact state.

  The side plate 25 is a plate-like member that supports the three conveyance rollers 22 as shown in FIG. 2A, and is provided so as to protrude from the conveyance surface of the conveyance belt 23 in a side view. As shown in FIG. 2B, the side plate 25 is provided along the side of the platen 24 in the transport direction in plan view. For this reason, the recording paper P is conveyed between the side plates 25 by the rotation of the conveying belt 23 with the protruding portion of the side plate 25 as a guide and passes therethrough.

Here, the manufacturing method of the said conveyance belt 23 is demonstrated.
First, as shown in FIG. 3A, a belt member (base material) 50 serving as a main body of the conveyor belt 23 is wound around a processing main driving roller 62 and a processing driven roller 63. The belt member 50 is configured by welding a sheet-like member made of, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3B, the processing main driving roller 62 and the processing driven roller 63 are rotated by a driving mechanism (not shown), and a conductive material (on one side) of the belt member 50 is formed on the inner surface 50b side. The conductive layer 64 is formed by applying the conductive layer forming material 64a with the dispenser D and drying it. As the conductive material, various materials can be used as long as they include a metal or the like and have conductivity. Here, the inner surface 50 b side of the belt member 50 means a surface on the side in contact with the processing main driving roller 62 and the processing driven roller 63.

  Subsequently, predetermined processing for forming the transport belt 23 is performed in a state where the conductive layer 64 is formed on the inner surface side of the belt member 50 (processing step). In the present embodiment, a plurality of processing processes, for example, three processing processes are performed as the predetermined processing. The first processing process is a process for applying a frictional force to the outer surface 50 a of the belt member 50. The second processing process is a drilling process for forming the suction holes 23b in the belt member 50. The third processing process is a process of forming a magnetic encoder on the side portion of the belt member 50.

Hereinafter, the processing will be specifically described.
First, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the main driving roller 62 for processing and the driven roller 63 for processing are rotated by a driving mechanism (not shown) so that the belt member 50 is rotated and moved. A liquid containing a material having a high friction coefficient is sprayed onto the surface (outer surface) 50 a of the belt member 50 by the coating device 5 such as a head. As a result, a high μ layer 23a having a high friction coefficient is formed on the outer surface 50a of the belt member 50 (first processing). For example, polyurethane is used as the material of the high μ layer 23a.

  After the high μ layer is formed on the outer surface 50a of the belt member 50, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the belt member 50 and the belt member 50 are A through hole is formed in the conductive layer 64 to form a suction hole 23b (second processing).

  The suction hole 23b is for sucking the outer surface 50a side of the belt member 50, for example. In addition, the air blow device 7 is disposed above the processing main driving roller 62 and air is blown against the belt member 50 to remove foreign matter adhering to the suction holes 23b and the belt member 50.

After the suction holes 23b are formed in the belt member 50, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the magnetic material is applied by the coating device 8 such as an ink jet head in a state where the belt member 50 is rotated and moved. Is sprayed onto the belt member 50 (third processing). A magnetic encoder pattern 23 c is formed on the side of the belt member 50.
The conveyor belt 23 can be formed as described above.

Next, the operation of the inkjet printer 1 will be described.
The inkjet printer 1 conveys the recording paper P to the lower side of the recording head 21 by the conveying device 20. At this time, the ink jet printer 1 can detect the distance between the recording head 21 and the recording paper P by reading the pattern 23c of the magnetic encoder formed on the outer surface 50a of the belt body 50 with a sensor (not shown). Therefore, the inkjet printer 1 can eject ink from a plurality of nozzles of the recording head 21 to a predetermined position of the recording paper P.

By the way, since the conveying belt 23 is in a state where the inner surface 50 b side of the belt main body 50 is in contact with the platen 24 when conveying the recording paper P, the conveying belt 23 generates static electricity due to friction with the platen 24. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the recording paper P is conveyed with the tension roller 22c grounded, the conductive layer 64 formed on the inner surface 50b side of the bell and the main body 50 and the tension roller 22c are connected. Static electricity can be discharged to the outside through contact. Here, since the grounded tension roller 22c is in good contact with the conductive layer 64, the static electricity of the conveyor belt 23 can be reliably discharged to the outside.
Therefore, the charged conveyance belt 23 and the platen 24 stick to each other, thereby increasing the resistance between the conveyance belt 23 and the platen 24 and preventing the problem that the conveyance speed of the conveyance belt 23 decreases. Further, since the conveyance belt 23 is supported by the platen 24 at the position where the recording paper P is conveyed, the distance between the recording paper P and the recording head 21 is kept substantially constant.
Therefore, since the recording paper P is transported at a constant speed to a certain position below the recording head 21, the inkjet printer 1 can perform printing with high reliability.

It should be noted that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
In the above embodiment, the case where only the tension roller 22c of the transport roller 22 is grounded has been described. However, in addition to the tension roller 22c, at least one of the main driving roller 22a and the driven roller 22b may be grounded. Thereby, the static electricity generated in the conveyance belt 23 can be discharged more favorably.

P: Recording paper (conveyed body), 1 ... Inkjet printer (printing device), 21 ... Recording head, 22 ... Conveying roller (roller group), 22a ... Main driving roller (roller), 22b ... Followed roller (roller), 22c ... Tension roller (roller), 23 ... Conveying belt, 24 ... Platen (support member), 64 ... Conductive layer

Claims (4)

A group of rollers having a plurality of rollers;
A conveyor belt that is spanned between the plurality of rollers and that conveys the object to be conveyed;
A support member that supports the conveyor belt in a slidable contact state,
The transport belt has a conductive layer formed on the contact surface side with the plurality of rollers,
The conveyance device according to claim 1, wherein the roller group is in a state where at least one of the plurality of rollers is grounded.   2. The transport according to claim 1, wherein the roller group includes a main roller, a driven roller, and a tension roller that applies tension to the transport belt, and the tension roller is grounded. apparatus.   The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the support member supports a portion of the transport belt that transports the transported body.   A printing apparatus comprising: the transport apparatus according to claim 1; and a recording head that ejects ink droplets onto the transported body transported by the transport apparatus.

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