JP2022162690A - Conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

A conveying device capable of reducing separation and scattering of dust from a neutralizing brush is provided.
A transport belt (21) transports a sheet (P) while rotating. The neutralizing brush 6 neutralizes the paper P conveyed by the conveying belt 21 . When the conveying unit 3 is moved from the jam clearing position to the conveying position, the control unit 8 controls the conveying belt 21 to rotate in the same direction as when the paper P is conveyed and to come into contact with the neutralizing brush 6 .
[Selection drawing] Fig. 1

Description

The present invention relates to a conveying device.

2. Description of the Related Art A printing apparatus is known that ejects ink from an inkjet head to print on a sheet of paper while the sheet of paper is conveyed by being attracted to a charged conveying belt.

Further, in such a printing apparatus, it is known to provide a neutralizing brush for neutralizing the printing surface of the paper in order to ensure the adsorption force of the transport section (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-100001).

JP 2017-109811 A

In the printing apparatus as described above, when a paper jam occurs, the conveying unit is lowered from the conveying position where the paper is conveyed to the jam clearing position where jam clearing is performed. Here, in a state where the transport section is arranged at the transport position, the bristles of the static elimination brush are in contact with the transport belt. In a state in which the conveying section is arranged at the jam clearing position, the neutralizing brush is separated from the conveying belt.

After the jam is cleared, when the conveying unit rises from the jam release position to the conveying position and the neutralizing brush contacts the conveying belt, the neutralizing brush is pushed by the conveying belt and the posture of the neutralizing brush varies. If the paper conveying operation is started and the conveying belt is vigorously rotated, the posture of the neutralizing brush changes abruptly, so dust such as paper dust accumulated on the neutralizing brush tends to separate from the neutralizing brush and scatter. If the dust that is separated from the static elimination brush and is scattered is attached to the nozzle surface of the inkjet head, the print quality will be deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a conveying apparatus capable of reducing separation and scattering of dust from a static elimination brush.

In order to achieve the above object, the transport apparatus of the present invention includes a transport mechanism that transports an object to be transported while rotating; When the static elimination brush is moved from the state in which the static elimination brush is separated from the static elimination brush to the state in which the static elimination brush abuts the transport mechanism in order to eliminate the static electricity of the transported object, the transport mechanism rotates in the same direction as when the transported object is transported. and a control unit for controlling contact with the static elimination brush.

According to the conveying apparatus of the present invention, separation and scattering of dust from the static elimination brush can be reduced.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating a transport position and a jam release position of a transport unit of the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a posture in which the bristles of the static elimination brush are aligned toward the downstream; It is a figure which shows the state in which the attitude|position of a static elimination brush varies. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing how dust is separated from the static elimination brush and scattered.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same or equivalent reference numerals are given to the same or equivalent parts and components throughout each drawing.

The embodiments shown below are examples of devices and the like for embodying the technical idea of this invention. are not specific to the following: The technical idea of this invention can be modified in various ways within the scope of claims.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printing apparatus provided with a conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the printing apparatus shown in FIG. In the following description, the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1 is defined as the front-rear direction. Further, the up, down, left, and right directions of the paper surface in FIG. 1 are defined as up, down, left, and right directions. In FIG. 1, the direction from left to right is the transport direction of paper (corresponding to the object to be transported) P, which is a print medium. Upstream and downstream in the following description mean upstream and downstream in the direction in which the paper P is transported.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a paper feeding unit 2, a transport unit 3, an elevation driving unit 4, a pressing roller 5, a static elimination brush 6, and a printing unit. 7 and a control unit 8 .

The paper feed unit 2 feeds the paper P to the transport unit 3 . The paper feed unit 2 includes a paper feed table 11 , paper feed rollers 12 , and registration rollers 13 .

The paper feed table 11 is for stacking paper P used for printing.

The paper feed roller 12 picks up the paper P one by one from the paper feed tray 11 and conveys it, and stops the paper P by striking against the registration roller 13 . The paper feed roller 12 is driven by a motor (not shown).

The registration rollers 13 temporarily stop the paper P conveyed by the paper feed rollers 12 and then convey it toward the conveying section 3 . The registration rollers 13 are driven by a motor (not shown).

The transport unit 3 transports the sheet P transported by the registration rollers 13 while attracting and holding the sheet P by electrostatic adsorption.

The transport unit 3 is movable between a transport position and a jam release position by an elevation drive unit 4 . The transport position of the transport unit 3 is the position of the transport unit 3 when transporting the paper P to be printed. The transport position of the transport unit 3 is the position of the transport unit 3 shown in FIG. 1 and the position of the transport unit 3 indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. The jam clearing position of the conveying section 3 is the position of the conveying section 3 when the user removes the paper P staying in the printing apparatus 1 by jam clearing work. The jam clearing position of the conveying section 3 is the position of the conveying section 3 indicated by the solid line in FIG. 3 and is below the conveying position.

The transport unit 3 includes a transport belt (corresponding to a transport mechanism) 21, a pair of support rollers 22A and 22B, a tension roller 23, a tension applying spring 24, a transport motor 25, a charging roller 26, and a charging power supply 27. , and a cleaning blade 28 .

The transport belt 21 adsorbs and holds the paper P and transports it. The conveying belt 21 is an endless belt stretched between support rollers 22A and 22B. The conveying belt 21 attracts and holds the paper P on the conveying surface 21 a by electrostatic attraction force generated by being charged by the charging roller 26 . The conveying surface 21a is the upper surface of the conveying belt 21 stretched between the support rollers 22A and 22B, and is formed in a horizontal plane. During printing, the transport belt 21 rotates (endlessly moves) clockwise in FIG. 1 and transports the sheet P sucked and held on the transport surface 21a rightward.

The support rollers 22A and 22B support the conveyor belt 21. As shown in FIG. The support rollers 22A and 22B are spaced apart from each other in the horizontal direction and arranged at the same height. The support roller 22</b>A rotates the transport belt 21 by being rotationally driven by the transport motor 25 . The support roller 22B rotates following the rotating conveyor belt 21 . Note that the support roller 22B may be rotationally driven by the transport motor 25 and the support roller 22A may be driven to rotate by the transport belt 21 .

The tension roller 23 is a member that applies tension to the conveying belt 21 . By applying tension to the conveying belt 21 by the tension roller 23, a planar conveying surface 21a is formed between the support rollers 22A and 22B. The tension roller 23 rotates following the rotating conveyor belt 21 . The tension roller 23 is arranged at a position lower than the support rollers 22A, 22B between the support rollers 22A, 22B.

The tension applying spring 24 applies tension to the conveying belt 21 via the tension roller 23 by pushing down the tension roller 23 .

The transport motor 25 rotationally drives the support roller 22A. In addition, the structure which the conveyance motor 25 rotates the support roller 22B may be sufficient.

The charging roller 26 charges the conveyor belt 21 by applying electric charges to the conveyor belt 21 . The charging roller 26 is arranged at a position in contact with the conveying belt 21 and rotates following the conveying belt 21 .

The charging power source 27 applies a voltage to the charging roller 26 for charging the conveying belt 21 .

The cleaning blade 28 cleans the conveyor belt 21 .

The elevation driving unit 4 raises and lowers the conveying unit 3 between the conveying position and the jam clearing position. The elevation drive unit 4 has a motor and the like.

The pressing roller 5 is a roller that presses the paper P against the conveying belt 21 . The pressing roller 5 is arranged at a position above the support roller 22B and in contact with the conveying belt 21 when the conveying section 3 is arranged at the conveying position. The pressing roller 5 rotates following the conveyor belt 21 . Even if the conveying section 3 descends from the conveying position, the pressing roller 5 does not descend. Therefore, the pressing roller 5 and the conveying belt 21 are separated from each other when the conveying unit 3 is arranged at the jam clearing position.

The neutralizing brush 6 neutralizes the paper P conveyed by the conveying belt 21 . The static elimination brush 6 is arranged upstream of the printing section 7 . When the transport unit 3 is arranged at the transport position, the bristles of the static elimination brush 6 are in contact with the transport belt 21 . When the conveying unit 3 is arranged at the jam clearing position, the neutralizing brush 6 and the conveying belt are separated from each other.

The printing unit 7 ejects ink onto the paper P conveyed by the conveying unit 3 to print an image. The printing unit 7 has a plurality of inkjet heads 31 .

The inkjet head 31 has a plurality of nozzles arranged along the front-rear direction, and ejects ink from the nozzles. The nozzles are open on a nozzle surface 31 a that is the lower surface of the inkjet head 31 . The plurality of inkjet heads 31 are arranged in parallel along the transport direction of the paper P (left-right direction).

The control section 8 controls the operation of each section of the printing apparatus 1 . The control unit 8 includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, hard disk, and the like.

When the conveying unit 3 is moved from the jam clearing position to the conveying position after the jam is cleared, the control unit 8 controls the conveying belt 21 to rotate (endlessly move) in the same direction as when the paper P is conveyed and to come into contact with the neutralization brush 6 . Control.

Next, operations of the printer 1 will be described.

When printing, the paper feed roller 12 sequentially picks up the paper P from the paper feed table 11 and sends it out to the registration rollers 13 . The paper P picked up from the paper feed table 11 is conveyed to the conveying section 3 by the registration rollers 13 after being hit by the registration rollers 13 and temporarily stopped. The paper P reaching the conveying surface 21a of the conveying belt 21 of the conveying unit 3 is pressed against the conveying belt 21 by the pressing roller 5, and attracted onto the conveying surface 21a by the electrostatic force of the conveying belt 21 charged by the charging roller 26. transported while being

At this time, on the upstream side of the inkjet head 31 , static elimination is performed on the printing surface of the paper P by the static elimination brush 6 . The paper P is printed with ink ejected from the inkjet head 31 after passing through the static elimination brush 6 . Here, the transport unit 3 is arranged at the transport position, and transports the paper P at a predetermined print transport speed.

The printed paper P is transported by transport rollers (not shown) or the like on the downstream side of the transport unit 3, and is sequentially discharged to a paper discharge tray (not shown).

If a paper jam occurs during the printing operation as described above, the control section 8 stops the paper feed section 2 and the transport section 3 . Next, the control unit 8 moves (lowers) the transport unit 3 from the transport position to the jam release position. After that, the user performs a jam clearing operation to remove the paper P remaining in the printing apparatus 1 .

After clearing the jam, the control unit 8 rotates the conveying belt 21 and moves (raises) the conveying unit 3 from the jam clearing position to the conveying position. As a result, the conveying belt 21 contacts the static elimination brush 6 while rotating (endlessly moving). At this time, the control unit 8 controls the conveying belt 21 to rotate in the same direction as when the paper P is conveyed at a lower speed than when the paper P is conveyed, and to come into contact with the neutralization brush 6 .

As a result, the neutralizing brush 6 is pushed by the conveying belt 21 while receiving a force in the downstream direction. Therefore, when the conveying unit 3 is arranged at the conveying position, as shown in FIG. It becomes a posture of facing and aligned.

After the transport unit 3 has completely moved from the jam clearing position to the transport position, the control unit 8 stops the rotation of the transport belt 21 . After that, when the printing operation is restarted, the control unit 8 controls the conveying belt 21 to rotate at the rotational speed at which the paper P is conveyed.

Here, unlike the present embodiment, when the conveying unit 3 is moved from the jam release position to the conveying position while the conveying belt 21 is stopped, the neutralizing brush 6 contacts the conveying belt 21 and the conveying belt By being pushed by 21, as shown in FIG. 5, the posture of the static elimination brush 6 varies.

In this state, when the conveying belt 21 is started to rotate in order to restart the printing operation, the posture of the static elimination brush 6 changes suddenly, so that dust such as paper dust accumulated on the static elimination brush 6 is removed as shown in FIG. 41 tends to separate from the neutralization brush 6 and scatter. If the dust 41 separated from the neutralization brush 6 and adheres to the nozzle surface 31a of the inkjet head 31, the print image quality is deteriorated.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as described above, when the conveying unit 3 is arranged at the conveying position, the static elimination brush 6 assumes a posture in which the bristles are aligned with the bristles facing downstream. Therefore, even if the conveying belt 21 is started to rotate in order to restart the printing operation, the attitude of the neutralization brush 6 does not change.

As described above, in the printing apparatus 1 , when the transport unit 3 is moved from the jam release position to the transport position, the control unit 8 causes the transport belt 21 to rotate in the same direction as when the paper P is transported, while the neutralizing brush 6 is rotated. is controlled to abut on the As a result, when the conveying unit 3 is arranged at the conveying position, the bristles of the static elimination brush 6 are aligned with the bristles facing downstream. Therefore, even if the conveying belt 21 is started to rotate in order to restart the printing operation, the attitude of the neutralization brush 6 does not change.

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the transport belt 21 (transport unit 3) moves up and down relative to the stationary static elimination brush 6 has been described. Any configuration may be employed as long as one of the static elimination brushes 6 and the conveying belt 21 can be brought into contact with each other by moving. Further, the transport mechanism is not limited to the transport belt 21 that transports the paper P, and may be any mechanism that transports the object to be transported while rotating. When the transport mechanism and the static elimination brush are separated from each other to a state where the static elimination brush contacts the transport mechanism in order to eliminate static electricity from the transported object, the transport mechanism rotates in the same direction as when transporting the object. It is sufficient if it is controlled so as to come into contact with the static elimination brush.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the gist of the present invention. Also, various inventions can be formed by appropriate combinations of the plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments.

[Note]
This application discloses the following inventions.

(Appendix 1)
a conveying mechanism that conveys an object to be conveyed while rotating;
a neutralization brush that neutralizes the static electricity of the object conveyed by the conveying mechanism;
When the transfer mechanism and the static elimination brush are separated from each other, the static elimination brush is brought into contact with the transport mechanism in order to eliminate static electricity from the transported object. A conveying device comprising: a control unit that controls to contact the static elimination brush while rotating in a direction.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 printing device 2 paper feeding section 3 conveying section 4 lifting drive section 5 pressing roller 6 neutralizing brush 7 printing section 8 control section 21 conveying belt 21a conveying surface 22A, 22B support roller 23 tension roller 24 tension applying spring 25 conveying motor 26 charging roller 27 charging power supply 28 cleaning blade

Claims (1)

a conveying mechanism that conveys an object to be conveyed while rotating;
a neutralization brush that neutralizes the static electricity of the object conveyed by the conveying mechanism;
When the transfer mechanism and the static elimination brush are separated from each other, the static elimination brush is brought into contact with the transport mechanism in order to eliminate static electricity from the transported object. A conveying device comprising: a control unit that controls to contact the static elimination brush while rotating in a direction.

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