JP5442361B2 - Media transport mechanism - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a medium transport mechanism for transporting a long or sheet-shaped transport target medium while being sandwiched between a feed roller and a pinch roller.

  As an example of an apparatus equipped with the medium transport mechanism, the medium (medium) to be printed is transported back and forth by the medium transport mechanism so as to be positioned on the platen, and the printer head facing the platen is moved left and right while moving the ink. There is known a printer device that discharges ink to print on a medium. In this printer device, the feed roller is driven to rotate in a state in which the media is sandwiched between a feed roller that extends to the left and right and is disposed near the platen, and a pinch roller that is arranged on the left and right along the feed roller. The medium is transported forward and backward by a predetermined distance. For example, in FIGS. 1 and 2 of Patent Document 1, a recording paper 14 is sandwiched between a paper feed roller 5 and a pinch roller 8 that is rotatably supported by a pinch roller holder 7 and arranged in a line. A configuration is disclosed in which the recording paper 14 is conveyed by rotating 5.

  FIG. 12 shows a part of a conventional printer device 500. 12A shows a side view of the medium transport mechanism 540, and FIG. 12B shows a plan view of the medium transport mechanism 540. The medium transport mechanism 540 includes a feed roller 550 that extends in the left-right direction and is driven to rotate, and a plurality of pinch roller assemblies 560. The pinch roller assembly 560 is configured such that a pinch roller 562 is rotatably attached to a front end portion of a pinch roller support member 561 that is swingably attached to a guide member 510 that extends to the left and right. A flat platen 530 is provided in front of the feed roller 550, and the platen 530 and the lower surface of the printer head 520 face each other.

  With this configuration, by controlling the rotation of the feed roller 550 with the media M sandwiched between the pinch roller 562 and the feed roller 550, the media M is conveyed back and forth in accordance with the rotation direction and rotation angle of the feed roller 550. It can be done. Then, ink is ejected from the printer head 520 and printing is performed on the medium M conveyed on the platen 530. As can be seen from the fact that printing is performed in this way, it is important for ensuring the print quality that the medium M is conveyed forward and straight and accurately by a predetermined distance. When the rotation axis of the feed roller 550 is parallel to the rotation axis of the pinch roller 562a as in the pinch roller 562a shown in FIG. 12B, the medium M can be conveyed straight forward. It is desirable to press the pinch roller 562 against the feed roller 550 in this direction.

JP 2002-331718 A

  Recently, there has been a demand for printing on a wide medium M having a left and right width of, for example, about 3 m, and a large printer device corresponding to the wide medium M has been developed. By the way, when the printer device is manufactured, the guide member 510 is generally formed by an extrusion process. However, when the guide member 510 having a length of about 3 m is formed by this processing method, it is difficult to be straight, depending on the length. Twist and bend easily. When the pinch roller assembly 560 is attached to the guide member 510 in which the torsion or the like has occurred, the rotation axis of the pinch roller 562b and the rotation axis of the feed roller 550 are not parallel to each other and are inclined as in the pinch roller 562b, for example. (See FIG. 12B). When the pinch roller 562b is pressed against the feed roller 550, a force acts on the medium M sandwiched between the pinch roller 562b and the feed roller 550 so as to be transported diagonally forward to the right.

  Further, like the pinch roller 562c, the rotation axis of the pinch roller 562c and the rotation axis of the feed roller 550 may be inclined due to an attachment error when the pinch roller assembly 560 is attached to the guide member 510. When the pinch roller 562c is pressed against the feed roller 550, a force is applied to the medium M sandwiched between the pinch roller 562c and the feed roller 550 so as to be conveyed obliquely left frontward. As described above, when a partially non-uniform force is applied to the medium M, the medium M may be wrinkled or the medium M may be lifted by the wrinkle, and the conveyance accuracy may be reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can convey a medium with high accuracy by positioning the rotation axis of the pinch roller in parallel with the rotation axis of the feed roller while having a relatively simple configuration. It is an object to provide a medium transport mechanism.

  In order to achieve the above object, a medium transport mechanism according to the present invention includes a main body (for example, the central body 12 and the upper body 15 in the embodiment) and a cylindrical shape that is rotatably supported by the main body. A feed roller that supports a sheet-like conveyance target medium (for example, the medium M in the embodiment) placed on a cylindrical surface, a cylindrical pinch roller, and the pinch roller around the central axis of the cylinder A roller support member (for example, the swing plate 61 and the roller holder 70 in the embodiment) that is rotatably supported, and the roller support member includes a pinch roller assembly that is swingably attached to the main body, and is conveyed. With the target medium placed on the feed roller, the roller support member is swung to push the pinch roller against the feed roller, The conveyance target medium is sandwiched between a roller and the pinch roller, and the feed roller is rotationally driven to convey the conveyance target medium in a predetermined conveyance direction. The roller support member includes the main body. A base part (for example, a rocking plate 61 in the embodiment) that is swingably attached to the part, and a roller holder part (for example, a rocking plate roller holder 70 in the embodiment) that rotatably supports the pinch roller. A connecting means provided at a connection portion between the base portion and the roller holder portion, and attaching the roller holder portion to the base portion so that the orientation of the cylindrical central axis of the pinch roller can be adjusted. The

  The plurality of pinch rollers are rotatably supported by the roller holder portion in a state where the cylindrical central axes of the plurality of pinch rollers are parallel to each other and shifted in the predetermined transport direction. Is preferred.

  The diameter of the feed roller is preferably larger than the diameter of the pinch roller.

  In the above-described medium transport mechanism, the connecting means includes a base-side connecting hole formed in the base portion and a holder-side connecting hole formed in the roller holder portion (for example, the mounting elongated hole 73 in the embodiment). ) And a mounting member (for example, the fixing bolt 73a in the embodiment) that is inserted into the base side connection hole and the holder side connection hole and attaches the roller holder part to the base part. At least one of the hole and the holder side connecting hole is preferably formed to extend in the predetermined transport direction.

  In the medium transport mechanism according to the present invention, a roller support member attached so as to be swingable with respect to the main body includes a base, a roller holder that rotatably supports the pinch roller, and a roller holder for the base. The portion is configured to include a connecting means for attaching the direction of the cylindrical central axis of the pinch roller so as to be adjustable. With this configuration, for example, even if the base portion is attached to the main body portion where twisting or the like has occurred, and the base portion is inclined with respect to the feed roller, the inclined portion is absorbed and the cylindrical center of the pinch roller is absorbed. It can be adjusted by the connecting means so that the direction of the shaft and the direction of the cylindrical central axis of the feed roller are parallel to each other. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a partially non-uniform force from acting on the medium, and the medium can be accurately conveyed.

  The roller holder portion preferably has a configuration in which a plurality of pinch rollers are supported in a state where the respective cylindrical central axes are positioned parallel to each other and shifted in a predetermined transport direction. For example, in the method of adjusting the direction of the cylindrical central axis of the pinch roller by pressing the pinch roller against the feed roller and rotating the feed roller, each of the plurality of pinch rollers positioned in a predetermined conveying direction is configured as described above. Can be adjusted with relative ease and accuracy in a direction in which is stably pressed against the feed roller. In this way, the direction of the cylindrical central axis of the pinch roller when each pinch roller is stably pressed against the feed roller is parallel to the direction of the cylindrical central axis of the feed roller. The direction of the cylindrical central axis of the roller and the direction of the cylindrical central axis of the feed roller can be adjusted reliably and accurately so as to be parallel.

  The diameter of the feed roller is preferably larger than the diameter of the pinch roller. For example, in a configuration in which a plurality of pinch rollers that are displaced in the predetermined transport direction are pressed against the feed roller, according to the configuration described above, when the media is sandwiched between the feed roller and the pinch roller, the media is fed. It can be deformed along the surface of the roller and reliably pressed, and slip can be prevented from occurring between the feed roller and the medium. Therefore, it is possible to further improve the media conveyance accuracy.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that at least one of the base side connection hole and the holder side connection hole is formed to extend in a predetermined transport direction. In this case, the mounting position of the roller holder portion with respect to the base portion can be adjusted with a simple and inexpensive configuration by simply forming a long hole extending in the predetermined transport direction and inserting the mounting member therein. Manufacturing costs can be reduced.

1 is a front view of a printer apparatus to which a medium transport mechanism according to the present invention is applied. It is the perspective view which showed the head unit periphery of the said printer apparatus. It is a side view of the printer apparatus. It is a perspective view of a pinch roller assembly. (A) shows a state in which the pinch roller is pressed against the feed roller, and (b) shows a state in which the pinch roller is separated from the feed roller. It is a top view of a pinch roller assembly. (A)-(d) is the schematic diagram which showed the pattern which makes a roller holder fixed or free with respect to a rocking | fluctuation board. (A) shows a configuration in which the pinch roller is pressed against the front portion of the feed roller, and (b) shows a configuration position where the pinch roller is pressed against the rear portion of the feed roller. It is a top view which shows the roller holder which concerns on another Example. It is a side view which shows the pinch roller assembly which concerns on another Example. It is a top view which shows the pinch roller assembly which concerns on another Example. 1 shows a conventional printer device, where (a) shows a side view of the medium transport mechanism and (b) shows a plan view of the medium transport mechanism.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, an overall configuration of a printer apparatus 10 to which a medium transport mechanism according to the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. The printer apparatus 10 described below exemplifies a relatively large apparatus that can print on a medium M having a left-right width of about 3 m, for example. For convenience of explanation, the front and rear, left and right, and up and down directions of the printer apparatus 10 are indicated by arrow directions in each drawing, and the description will be made using these directions.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer device 10 is provided on a left side of the support body 11 having left and right support legs 11 a and 11 b, a center body part 12 supported by the support legs 11, and the center body part 12. A left body portion 13, a right body portion 14 provided on the right side of the central body portion 12, an upper body portion 15 that connects the left and right body portions 13, 14, and is spaced parallel to the upper side of the central body portion 12. It is configured with. On the front side of the left body portion 13, an operation portion 13 a composed of operation switches, display devices, and the like is provided. In addition, a controller 13b that performs operation control by outputting an operation signal to each component of the printer device 10 is provided inside the left body unit 13.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a guide rail 15a extending left and right is provided on the front surface side of the upper body portion 15, and a head unit 20 is attached to the guide rail 15a so as to be capable of reciprocating left and right. The head unit 20 includes a carriage 21 and a printer head 22. The rear surface of the carriage 21 is fitted with the guide rail 15 a, and can be reciprocated left and right along the guide rail 15 a, and is a mounting base for the printer head 22. The printer head 22 is configured for each color of magenta, yellow, cyan, and black, for example. A plurality of ejection nozzles (not shown) for ejecting ink downward are formed on the lower surface of the printer head 22.

  A plurality of pinch roller assemblies 50 are attached to the lower portion of the upper body portion 15 side by side, and the configuration of the pinch roller assemblies 50 will be described later. Below the upper body portion 15, for example, a feed roller 31 formed in a columnar shape that is extremely bent or twisted using a metal material is rotatable to the central body portion 12 with its central axis facing left and right. Is attached. The feed roller 31 is rotationally driven by a drive motor 32 mounted on the central body portion 12. A rear guide portion 33 is attached to the rear of the feed roller 31. The rear guide portion 33 curves gently toward the lower rear side and extends to the left and right. On the other hand, a flat platen 34 facing the lower surface of the printer head 22 with a predetermined interval is disposed in front of the feed roller 31. In addition, a front guide portion 35 that is gently curved toward the front lower side and extended to the left and right is attached to the front of the platen 34.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the lower part of the rear side of the printer apparatus 10, a feeding unit 23 in which a medium M that is not printed (no ink from the printer head 22 is attached) is wound in a roll shape, and A tension bar 25 is fixed to one end, and a rear tension arm 24 having the other end swingably attached to the support leg 11 is provided. On the other hand, on the lower front side of the printer apparatus 10, a winding unit 28 in which a printed medium M (to which ink from the printer head 22 is attached) is wound in a roll shape, and a tension bar 27 at one end are provided. A front tension arm 26 that is fixed and has the other end pivotably attached to the support leg 11 is provided. The tension bar 25 (27) may be rotatably attached to the rear tension arm 24 (front tension arm 26).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the printer device 10 transports the medium M fed from the feeding unit 23 onto the platen 34, attaches the ink ejected from the printer head 22, performs printing, and printing is performed. The medium M is wound up by the winding unit 28. In the printer 10, the medium M is conveyed by the rotation angle by rotating the feed roller 31. Therefore, in order to perform high-quality printing with ensured positional accuracy, the rotation angle of the feed roller 31 is set. It is important to accurately reflect the transport amount of the medium M. The pinch roller assembly 50 is provided by paying attention to this point. The configuration of the pinch roller assembly 50 will be described in detail below. The center body portion 12, the upper body portion 15, the feed roller 31, and the pinch roller assembly 50 constitute a medium transport mechanism in the claims.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the pinch roller assembly 50 is formed, for example, by bending a metal plate material into a substantially box shape, and using a housing 51 that opens forward and downward, for example, a metal plate material. The formed rocking plate 61 and a roller holder 70 attached to the front end portion of the rocking plate 61 are configured. The swing plate 61 and the roller holder 70 correspond to the base portion and the roller holder portion in the claims.

  The housing 51 is fixed to the lower portion of the upper body portion 15, and spring mounting portions 52, 52 are formed on the left and right ends on the front side. A cam member 54 having a protrusion 54a is rotatably accommodated inside the casing 51. A rotating shaft 55 extending in the left and right direction is inserted into the cam member 54, and the protruding portion 54a is pressed against the swinging plate 61 by rotating the rotating shaft 55 within a certain angle range ( It is possible to switch between the state (see FIG. 5B) and the state in which the protrusion 54a is separated from the swing plate 61 (see FIG. 5A).

  The swing plate 61 is formed to extend in the front-rear direction, and spring mounting portions 62, 62 are formed at the left and right ends. A tension spring 53 is attached so as to connect the spring attachment portion 52 of the casing 51 and the spring attachment portion 62 of the swing plate 61, and the swing plate 61 is attached to the casing 51 by the tension spring 53. A pulling force is always applied. Further, the front left and right end portions of the swing plate 61 are bent upward, and swing shafts 80 are inserted to the left and right with respect to the bent portion and the casing 51.

  The roller holder 70 includes a holder main body 71 formed using, for example, a plate-shaped metal material, and a pinch roller 72 rotatably supported by the holder main body 71. In the rear part of the holder main body 71, three elongated mounting holes 73 extending in the front-rear direction are formed. A cylindrical pinch roller 72 having an outer peripheral surface covered with, for example, a rubber material that can be elastically deformed is rotatably supported at the front end portion of the roller holder 70. FIG. 4 illustrates a configuration in which three front pinch rollers 72F are disposed on the front side and three rear pinch rollers 72B are disposed on the rear side. In addition, fine fine protrusions 31a are formed on the surface of the feed roller 31 on which the pinch roller 72 is pressed. This improves the frictional force between the feed roller 31 and the medium M, thereby improving the conveyance accuracy. It has been.

  The front-side pinch roller 72F and the rear-side pinch roller 72B are supported by the roller holder 70 with their center axes (rotating shafts) directed to the left and right. An attachment hole (not shown) is formed at a position corresponding to the attachment long hole 73 in the swing plate 61. A fixing bolt 73a is inserted into the mounting elongated hole 73 and the mounting hole and fastened (see FIG. 5), and the roller holder 70 is fixed to the swing plate 61. The fixing bolt 73a, the mounting elongated hole 73, and the mounting hole constitute the connecting means in the claims. Further, in FIG. 4, a state in which the fixing bolt 73 a is omitted is illustrated for easy understanding.

  So far, the overall configuration of the printer apparatus 10 has been described. Hereinafter, the basic operation of the pinch roller assembly 50 that plays an important role in accurately transporting the medium M will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, when the medium M is set on the platen 34 before printing is started, the rear portion of the swing plate 61 is pressed by the projection 54a as shown in FIG. The swinging plate 61 and the roller holder 70 are swung so that the pinch roller 72 is separated upward from the feed roller 31. In this state, the printing operator feeds the medium M of the feeding unit 23 and places it on the rear guide unit 33, the feed roller 31, and the platen 34, for example. Then, the rotating shaft 55 is rotated to release the pressing of the swinging plate 61 by the protrusion 54 a, and the rear portion of the swinging plate 61 is swung upward about the swinging shaft 80 by the tension spring 53. At this time, the roller holder 70 is swung downward, the pinch roller 72 is pressed against the feed roller 31 by the urging force of the tension spring 53, and the medium M is sandwiched between the pinch roller 72 and the feed roller 31. It becomes. By performing drive control of the drive motor 32 in this state, the rotation angle of the feed roller 31 is faithfully reflected in the transport amount of the medium M, and high-precision feed control is possible.

  The basic operation of the pinch roller assembly 50 has been described above. As can be seen from this basic operation, the swinging plate 61 and the roller holder 70 are swung up and down, so that the swinging plate 61a is attached to the upper body portion 15 like the pinch roller assembly 50a shown in FIG. A configuration in which the roller holder 70a is attached straight to the swing plate 61a is desirable. By the way, in order to print on the medium M having a lateral width of, for example, about 3 m, it is necessary to form the upper body portion 15 according to the width of the medium M. Generally, the upper body portion 15 is formed by extrusion processing. However, when the upper body portion 15 having a length of about 3 m is formed by this processing method, the upper body portion 15 is not easily straightened, and twisting and bending are likely to occur.

  When the pinch roller assembly 50 is attached to the upper body portion 15 in which the above-described twist or the like has occurred, the swing plate 61b does not extend straight back and forth like the pinch roller assembly 50b shown in FIG. In some cases, the roller holder 70 b is attached to the swing plate 61 b and the central axis of the pinch roller 72 is not parallel to the central axis of the feed roller 31. Further, due to an attachment error when the pinch roller assembly 50 is attached to the upper body portion 15, the swinging plate 61c does not extend straight back and forth like the pinch roller assembly 50c shown in FIG. 6, for example. The roller holder 70c is attached to the moving plate 61c, and the central axis of the pinch roller 72 may not be parallel to the central axis of the feed roller 31.

Thus, when the media M is conveyed by pressing the pinch roller 72 against the feed roller 31 while the central axis of the pinch roller 72 is not parallel to the central axis of the feed roller 31,
A partially non-uniform force acts on the medium M, and the medium M may be wrinkled or the medium M may be lifted by the wrinkle. Accordingly, the printer apparatus 10 to which the present invention is applied has a configuration that can prevent the non-uniform force from acting on the medium M and improve the conveyance accuracy, and the configuration will be described below.

  For example, when the printer apparatus 10 is assembled, the pinch roller 72 is pressed against the feed roller 31 with the fixing bolt 73 a slightly loosened so that the roller holder 70 slides back and forth and right and left with respect to the swing plate 61. The feed roller 31 is rotated several times while the pinch roller 72 is pressed against the feed roller 31. By doing so, a stable orientation in which the outer peripheral surface of the pinch roller 72 is uniformly pressed against the feed roller 31 (a good sitting direction in which the central axis of the pinch roller 72 is parallel to the central axis of the feed roller 31). Thus, the roller holder 70 is automatically slid relative to the swing plate 61. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the roller holder 70 is automatically slid relative to the swing plate 61.

  As can be seen from FIG. 6, the swing plates 61b and 61c are not attached so as to be straight forward and backward, but in such a case, the roller holders 70b and 70c are slid to move the center of the pinch roller 72. The axis can be parallel to the central axis of the feed roller 31. After the sliding movement as described above, the assembly operator fastens the fixing bolts 73a of all the pinch roller assemblies 50 and fixes the roller holder 70 to the swing plate 61. By assembling the printer device 10 as described above, when printing is performed using the printer device 10, non-uniform force does not act on the media M during transport, and the media M is accurately straight ahead. Can be transported.

  FIG. 7A illustrates a method of fixing the roller holder 70 to the swing plate 61 for all the pinch roller assemblies 50 after sliding the roller holder 70 described above. In FIG. 7A, the roller holder 70 is hatched to be distinguished from a free roller holder 70 which will be described later. Instead of the method shown in FIG. 7A, the methods shown in FIGS. 7B to 7D described below can be employed.

  FIG. 7B shows that the pinch roller 72 is fed to the feed roller 31 in a state where the roller holder 70 is held slidably (freely) by the swing plate 61 without fixing the roller holder 70 to the swing plate 61. 2 shows a configuration in which the medium M is conveyed by being pressed against the head. With this configuration, for example, even when the medium M is transported for a long period of time and the mounting state of the swing plate 61 changes so as to be shifted from side to side, the roller holder 70 automatically slides and the shift is corrected. Absorbable.

  FIG. 7C shows a state in which the roller holder 70 is fixed to the swing plate 61 only in the left and right pinch roller assemblies 50 during the assembly shown in FIG. 7A, and the roller holders 70 are swung in the other pinch roller assemblies 50. The structure hold | maintained at the moving plate 61 so that sliding movement is possible is shown. FIG. 7D is a configuration obtained by slightly modifying FIG. 7C, and includes a pinch roller assembly 50 in which the roller holder 70 is fixed to the swing plate 61, and the roller holder 70 slides on the swing plate 61. This is an example in which the pinch roller assemblies 50 held movably are alternately positioned. 7C and 7D, since it is not necessary to fasten the fixing bolt 73a for the pinch roller assembly 50, the number of assembling steps can be reduced. A method of determining whether the roller holder 70 is fixed to the swing plate 61 or free is also possible depending on the elasticity of the medium M to be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the configuration in which the pinch roller 72 is pressed against the upper portion of the feed roller 31 is illustrated, but the configuration is not limited thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), it may be configured to be pressed against the upper front portion of the feed roller 31, or may be configured to be pressed against the upper rear portion of the feed roller 31 as shown in FIG. 8 (b). In particular, when a medium M that is easily deformed (without stiffness) is used, the medium M can be deformed along the surface of the feed roller 31, so that even such a configuration can be accurately conveyed.

  In the above-described embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the configuration in which the three elongated mounting holes 73 extending in the front-rear direction are formed in the holder main body 71, but the present invention is limited to this configuration. is not. For example, you may form like the roller holder 90 which comprises the pinch roller assembly 50 'shown in FIG. The roller holder 90 is formed with one mounting elongated hole 93 extending in the front-rear direction in the holder main body 91, and a fixing bolt 93a is inserted into the mounting elongated hole 93 so that the swing plate 61 and the roller holder 90 is fixed. With this configuration, the roller holder 90 can be slid back and forth with respect to the swing plate 61 and can be rotated around the fixing bolt 93a. Therefore, the orientation of the pinch roller 72 can be adjusted so that the central axis of the pinch roller 72 is parallel to the central axis of the feed roller 31 while simplifying the configuration of the holder body 91.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a configuration in which a total of six pinch rollers 72 are supported by the roller holder 70 at the front and rear three is shown, but the configuration is not limited to this. For example, as in a roller holder 90 shown in FIG. 9, a configuration in which two pinch rollers 72 are supported on the front side and one on the rear side may be supported. Furthermore, instead of the configuration for supporting the pinch rollers 72 in a state where the front and rear rows are arranged in two rows, a configuration in which a plurality of pinch rollers 72 are arranged in a single row on the left and right may be used.

  Moreover, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the three elongated mounting holes 73 extending in the front-rear direction are formed in the holder main body 71 and the mounting holes are formed in the swing plate 61 is illustrated. It is not limited. For example, the holder main body 71 may have a mounting hole formed therein, and the swing plate 61 may have a long mounting hole. Further, a long mounting hole may be formed in the swing plate 61 and the holder main body 71. It is also possible to have a configuration.

  In the above-described embodiments, the printer apparatus that performs printing on the medium has been described as the apparatus including the medium transport mechanism according to the present invention. By the way, the medium transport mechanism according to the present invention, in addition to the printer device, performs a cutting process on the medium by combining, for example, an operation of transporting the medium back and forth and an operation of moving the cutting head for performing the cutting process left and right. It can also be applied to a cutting device.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the long medium M wound up in a roll shape is fed out and printed is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the present invention can be applied to a case where a sheet-like medium is conveyed and printed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the printer apparatus 10 configured using the medium transport mechanism according to the present invention has been described as an example. However, in addition to this, the cutting process is performed while transporting the medium M to be cut back and forth. The present invention can also be applied to a cutting device that performs the process. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to a printing and cutting apparatus that can perform both printing and cutting operations.

  Instead of the pinch roller assembly 50 described above, for example, a pinch roller assembly 100 shown in FIG. 10 may be configured. The pinch roller assembly 100 has the same configuration as the pinch roller assembly 50 except that the method of attaching the roller holder 70 to the swing plate 61 is different. That is, in the pinch roller assembly 100, the roller holder 70 is attached to the swing plate 61 with the compression spring 101 that is compressible in the axial direction of the fixing bolt 73 a interposed between the fixing bolt 73 a and the fixing nut 102. It is attached. Therefore, by adjusting the fastening degree of the fixing nut 102, the fixing degree of the roller holder 70 with respect to the swing plate 61 can be adjusted.

  For this reason, among the plurality of pinch roller assemblies 100, for example, the pinch roller assembly 100 attached in the vicinity of the left and right center of the upper body portion 15 that is relatively parallel to the feed roller 31, the central axis of the pinch roller 72 is The roller holder 70 is firmly fixed to the swing plate 61 in a direction parallel to the central axis of the feed roller 31. On the other hand, the pinch roller assembly 100 attached to the vicinity of the left and right end portions of the upper body portion 15 that is not easily parallel to the feed roller 31 due to the bending of the upper body portion 15 or the like is relative to the swing plate 61. The roller holder 70 is loosely attached. By doing so, when the feed roller 31 and the pinch roller 72 are not parallel, the pinch roller 72 is automatically pressed parallel to the feed roller 31 by being pressed against the feed roller 31. Can do. A disc spring may be used instead of the compression spring 101.

  Further, instead of the pinch roller assembly 50 described above, for example, a pinch roller assembly 110 shown in FIG. 11 may be configured. The pinch roller assembly 110 has the same configuration as the pinch roller assembly 50 except that the method of attaching the roller holder 70 to the swing plate 61 is different. That is, in the pinch roller assembly 110, a slide shaft 111 extending to the left and right is fixed to the swing plate 61, and a roller holder 70 is attached to the slide shaft 111 so as to be movable to the left and right. A long mounting hole 112 is formed at the front end of the swing plate 61 so as to extend left and right. A fixing bolt 73a is inserted into the long mounting hole 112 and the long mounting hole 73 and fastened. Therefore, by loosening the fixing bolt 73a, the roller holder 70 can be moved to the left and right with respect to the swing plate 61, and the pressing position of the pinch roller 72 against the feed roller 31 can be adjusted. Also in this case, the fixing condition can be adjusted by interposing a compression spring 101 compressible in the axial direction of the fixing bolt 73a or a disc spring.

M media (medium to be transported)
12 Central body (main body)
15 Upper body part (main part)
31 Feed roller 50 Pinch roller assembly 61 Oscillating plate (roller support, base)
70 Roller holder (roller support, roller holder)
72 Pinch roller 73 Long hole for mounting (connecting means, holder side connecting hole)
73a Fixing bolt (connection means, mounting member)

Claims (4)

The main body,
A feed roller that is formed in a cylindrical shape and is rotatably supported by the main body, and supports a sheet-like conveyance target medium placed on the cylindrical surface;
A casing, a cylindrical pinch roller , a roller support member that supports the pinch roller so as to be rotatable about its cylindrical central axis , and a swing that supports the roller support member so as to be swingable with respect to the casing A plurality of pinch roller assemblies comprising a shaft , wherein the roller support member is swingably attached to the main body ,
A medium transport mechanism having a protrusion for pressing the roller support member and a rotation shaft rotatably supported by the housing of the plurality of pinch roller assemblies ;
The roller support member has a pressing portion pressed by the protrusion on the side opposite to the pinch roller side with respect to the swing shaft,
In the state where the medium to be transported is placed on the feed roller , the medium transport mechanism rotates the rotation shaft to separate the protrusion from the pressing portion, thereby centering the swing shaft. The roller support member is swung by an urging force, the pinch roller is pressed against the feed roller, the medium to be conveyed is sandwiched between the feed roller and the pinch roller, and the feed roller is driven to rotate. Configured to transport the medium to be transported in a predetermined transport direction,
The medium transport mechanism rotates the rotation shaft and presses the pressing portion with the protrusion, thereby swinging the roller support member around the swing shaft against the biasing force, The pinch roller pressed against the feed roller is configured to be separated from the feed roller,
The roller support member is
A base portion swingably attached to the main body portion;
A roller holder portion for rotatably supporting the pinch roller;
A connecting means provided at a connecting portion between the base portion and the roller holder portion, and attaching the roller holder portion to the base portion so that an orientation and a position of a cylindrical central axis of the pinch roller relative to the feed roller can be adjusted; It is configured to include a,
The roller support member is swingable with respect to the main body portion when the base portion is swingable with respect to the main body portion,
The medium transport mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the base portion is swingable with respect to the main body portion by swinging about the swing shaft .   A plurality of the pinch rollers are rotatably supported by the roller holder portion in a state where the cylindrical central axes of the plurality of pinch rollers are positioned in parallel with each other and shifted in the predetermined conveying direction. The medium transport mechanism according to claim 1.   The medium conveying mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a diameter of the feed roller is larger than a diameter of the pinch roller. The connecting means is
A base side connection hole formed in the base portion;
A holder side connection hole formed in the roller holder portion;
An insertion member that is inserted into the base side connection hole and the holder side connection hole and attaches a roller holder part to the base part,
The medium transport mechanism according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the base side connection hole and the holder side connection hole is formed to extend in the predetermined transport direction.

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