JP3031556B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a recording apparatus capable of discharging a recording sheet without buckling.

<Prior Art> Today, with the development of information processing systems, various recording devices are used in offices and the like. With such recording devices, with the recent decrease in office area,
It is desired to reduce the size of the device and the installation space.

For this purpose, in the recording apparatus, as shown in FIG. 8, the recording sheet 50 is conveyed around the conveying roller 51 by a U-turn, and a predetermined recording is performed by the recording means 52.
To discharge to the discharge stacker 54 located above.

As described above, by arranging the transport roller 51, the recording means 52, and the discharge unit 54 vertically, the installation space of the recording apparatus can be reduced.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, in the configuration in which the recording sheet 50 is discharged upward as described above, when a long sheet or a sheet having a weak stiffness is conveyed in the sheet conveyance direction, as shown in FIG. When the sheet is discharged, the recording sheet 50 buckles, and it becomes difficult for the trailing end of the sheet to ride on the discharge roller 53. Therefore the recording sheet
50 sheets are difficult to be discharged or discharged recording sheets
There were problems such as poor alignment of 50.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and to provide a recording apparatus capable of preventing buckling of a recording sheet at the time of discharging and discharging the recording sheet with good alignment.

<Means for Solving the Problems> A representative means according to the present invention for solving the above problems is a conveying means for conveying a recording sheet, and an image recording on a recording sheet conveyed by the conveying means. And a discharge rotator for discharging the recording sheet recorded by the recording means obliquely upward, and a discharge tray unit for storing the discharged recording sheet. The tray portion has a lower plate portion that receives the lower end of the recording sheet, and an upright portion that receives the surface of the recording sheet, and the upright portion forms a convex portion having an arc shape protruding toward the discharge rotating body,
In a state where the recording sheet discharged from the opposite side of the rising portion with respect to the discharge rotating body is supported by the convex portion and rises, the recording sheet lower end rotates on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating rotating member, and It is configured to move to the side.

<Operation> In the above-described means, the recording sheet discharged by the discharge rotator is supported by the protrusions to maintain an upright state, and the lower end of the recording sheet rides on the outer peripheral surface of the discharge rotator rotating,
It moves to the upright part side. For this reason, the recording sheet is discharged with good alignment without buckling, with the lower end of the sheet riding over the discharge rotating body without fail.

<Embodiment> Next, an embodiment of the present invention in which the above means is applied to a serial type ink jet recording system will be described.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the recording apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a schematic side view.

(Overall Configuration) First, the overall configuration of the apparatus will be described. A recording sheet 1 serving as a recording medium is transported by a sheet transport unit 2. At this time, the recording sheet 1 is configured so as to be pressed by the conveying roller 2 a by the sheet pressing member 3 so as not to float from the platen 4.

The driving force of the carriage motor 9 is transmitted to the carriage 5 via the transmission means 10, and is configured to reciprocate along the guide rail 6. Therefore, when the recording sheet 1 is conveyed, the carriage 5 is reciprocated and the recording head 7 is driven to record an image on the recording sheet 1.

The recording sheet 1 on which the predetermined recording has been performed by the recording means as described above is configured to be discharged upward by the discharge means 8. The discharge means 8 includes the recording sheet 1
Is provided with a protrusion for preventing buckling.

Next, the configurations of the sheet conveying means, the recording means, and the discharging means of the recording apparatus will be sequentially and specifically described.

(Sheet Conveying Means) The sheet conveying means 2 is for conveying the recording sheet 1 to the recording means 7, and in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. Auto ・ Sheet
(Feeder) 11 or a recording sheet manually fed from the manual feed slot 12.

The sheet conveying means 2 in the present embodiment includes a conveying roller 2a.
Are as configured to convey the recording sheet 1 by the rotationally driven in the arrow a direction of FIG. 2, a pinch roller 2b ₁ and the rear pinch rollers 2b ₂ before rotated thereto.

The transport roller 2a has both ends on the left and right side walls of the apparatus frame.
The roller shaft 2c is rotatably supported by 13a and 13b, and is attached to the roller shaft 2c by dividing into a plurality.

And wherein the roller shaft 2c as shown in FIG. 1, the conveyance gear 2d ₁ is attached, the gear 2d ₁ is an idler gear 2d
_2, and the idler gear 2d ₂ is a first transmission gear 2d
₃ is in mesh. Wherein the first axis of the transmission gear 2d ₃ is attached a second transmission gear 2d _4, is composed as to selectively connect the conveyance motor 2e by a clutch mechanism which they not shown.

Therefore, the driving force of the transport motor 2e is transferred to the first transmission gear.
When transmitted to 2d _3, the rotational force is transmitted to the conveying roller shaft 2c via the gear, in which the transport rollers 2a are rotated.

The pinch rollers 2b ₁ and 2b ₂ are pressed against the surface of the transport roller 2a by a spring or the like (not shown), respectively.
It is installed so that it can rotate following the rotation of. Accordingly, the recording sheet 1 is conveyed force by being nipped by the conveying rollers 2a and the rotating pinch rollers 2b _1, 2b ₂ is applied.

Below the transport roller 2a, a paper pan 2f curved along the peripheral surface of the transport roller 2a as shown in FIG.
Is attached. The paper pan 2f extends to the manual feed slot 12, and is configured to serve as a lower guide of the manually fed recording sheet 1.

Further, upper guide plates 2g, 2h are attached above the paper pan 2f at a predetermined interval, and constitute a conveying path of the recording sheet 1.

In the above configuration, when the transport motor 2e is driven to rotate the transport roller 2a in the direction of the arrow a in FIG. 2, the recording sheet 1 fed from the ASF 11 is separated by the front pinch roller 2b ₁ and the transport roller 2a. is nipped, the conveying roller 2a is conveyed in U along the periphery turn, is conveyed to the recording position located above is nipped by the rear pinch rollers 2b ₂ and the transport rollers 2a further.

On the other hand, the recording sheet 1 fed from the manual feed port 12 is nipped by the conveying rollers 2a and the rear pinch rollers 2b _2, is intended to be conveyed to the recording position.

Here, the recording sheet 1 is automatically fed to the conveying means 2.
ASF11 will be briefly described.

This is detachable from the recording apparatus, and as shown in FIG. 2, the recording sheet 1 accommodated in the cassette 11a.
When the uppermost sheet 1 is pressed by the separation roller 11c by the pressing spring 11b and the separation roller 11c rotates,
One of the uppermost layers is separated and fed, and comes into contact with a nip portion between a registration roller 11d located downstream thereof and an upper roller 11e pressed against the registration roller 11d. When the registration roller 11d rotates in the direction of the arrow b in FIG.
Nipped by 11d and the upper roller 11e that rotates following this,
The sheet is fed to the sheet conveying means 2.

The configuration for transmitting the driving force to the registration roller 11d is as follows.
As shown in the figure, a registration gear 11g is attached to a roller shaft 11f to which a registration roller 11d is attached, and the registration gear 11g is connected to an idler gear 2d ₂ via an idler gear 11g _1.
Is engaged.

On the other hand, in the configuration for transmitting the driving force to the separation roller 11c, a separation gear 11i is mounted on a roller shaft 11h on which the separation roller 11c is mounted, and idler gears 11j and 11k are sequentially meshed with the gear 11i. Furthermore the gear 11k and the gear 11l attached to the same shaft is meshed with the second transmission gear 2d _4.

Therefore, when the driving force is transmitted through the gear train by driving the transport motor 2e, the separation roller 11c or the registration roller 11d is driven to rotate.

The recording sheet 1 conveyed by the sheet conveying means 2 is pressed by the sheet pressing member 3 so as not to float from the platen 4. This sheet holding member 3
As shown in FIG. 1, is constituted by a single plate-like member wider than the moving range of the carriage 5 so as to press the entire width of the recording sheet 1, and this is formed by pressing means such as a spring (not shown). It is in pressure contact with the transport roller 2a.

The leading end of the sheet pressing member 3 is located below the recording position of the recording means 7 and the conveyed recording sheet 1
Is pressed against the transport roller 2a by the member 3. As a result, the recording sheet 1 at the recording position does not rise from the platen 4.

(Recording Unit) The recording unit is the recording sheet 1 conveyed by the conveying unit 2.
The image is recorded in the image. The recording means in this embodiment has a recording head 7 mounted on a carriage 5 and is configured to perform recording by serial scanning.

The carriage 5 is slidably attached to a guide rail 6 having both ends fixed to left and right side walls 13a and 13b and serving as a guide member having a circular cross section. The carriage 5 is mounted so as to be rotatable around the guide rail 6, and as shown in FIG. 3, is mounted so that the front of the carriage 5, that is, the side facing the recording sheet 1 is lowered forward. As a result, the carriage 1 and the recording head 7 mounted on the carriage 1 receive a force in the direction of the arrow c in FIG. I have.

Thereby, the interval between the recording head 7 mounted on the carriage 5 and the recording sheet 1 is always kept constant.

As shown in FIG. 1, a driving pulley 10a is attached to one end of the moving range of the carriage 5, and a driven pulley 10b is attached to the other end thereof.
Is connected to a carriage motor 9. An endless timing belt 10c is stretched between the pulleys 10a and 10b in parallel with the guide rail 6, and a part of the timing belt 10c is connected to a rear portion of the carriage 5.

Therefore, the carriage 5 reciprocates along the guide rail 6 by the forward and reverse driving of the carriage motor 9.

A recording head 7 is mounted on the carriage 5 and is configured to record an ink image on the recording sheet 1 conveyed by the conveying unit 2.

There is an ink jet head as a recording head suitably used in this apparatus. In the ink jet recording system, an orifice (liquid ejection port) for ejecting and ejecting a recording ink liquid as flying droplets, a liquid flow path communicating with the orifice, and a part of the liquid flow path are provided. Discharge energy generating means for applying discharge energy for forming flying liquid droplets in the ink liquid inside. Then, the ejection energy generating means is driven in accordance with the image signal to eject ink droplets and record an image.

As the ejection energy generating means, for example, a method using a pressure energy generating means such as an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element, an electromagnetic energy generating means for irradiating an ink such as a laser or the like with an ink liquid to generate flying droplets And a method using thermal energy generating means such as an electrothermal converter. Among them, the method using a thermal energy generating means such as an electrothermal converter is preferable because the orifices can be arranged at high density and the recording head can be made compact.

In this embodiment, an ink jet recording system is used as a recording unit.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the recording head 7 constituting the recording means, and FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (g) are explanatory diagrams of the principle of ink jet recording.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 7a denotes a heater board, on which an electrothermal transducer (discharge heater) 7b and an electrode 7c made of aluminum or the like for supplying electric power are formed on a serial substrate. . A top plate 7e having a partition for partitioning a liquid path (nozzle) 7d of the recording liquid is bonded to the heater board 7a. As shown in FIG. 1, an ink cartridge 7f for supplying ink to the recording head 7 is replaceably mounted on the left side of the apparatus.

The ink supplied from the ink cartridge 7f via a conduit (not shown) is supplied to a supply port 7e ₁ provided in a top plate 7e.
The common liquid chamber 7g in the recording head 7 is further filled, and is guided into each nozzle 7d from the common liquid chamber 7g. These nozzles 7d
Formed at a predetermined pitch in the ink discharge ports (orifices) 7d ₁ is formed, and (vertical direction of FIG. 1) the orifice 7d ₁ is the opposite to the recording sheet 1 in recording heads 7 and the sheet conveyance direction in Have been.

Here, the ink flying principle in the ink jet recording system will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b).

In the steady state, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), the surface tension and the external pressure of the ink 14 filled in the nozzle 7d are balanced at the orifice surface. When the ink 14 is caused to fly in this state, electricity is supplied to the electrothermal converter 7b in the nozzle 7d, and the ink in the nozzle 7d exceeds the nucleate boiling and causes a rapid temperature rise. Then, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), the ink adjacent to the electrothermal transducer 7b is heated to generate fine bubbles, and the ink in the heated part is vaporized to cause film boiling, 6 As shown in FIG. 6 (c), the bubbles 15 grow rapidly.

When the bubble 15 grows to the maximum as shown in FIG. 6 (d), the ink droplet is pushed out from the orifice surface in the nozzle 7d. When the energization of the electrothermal converter 7b is completed,
As shown in FIG. 8 (e), the grown bubble 15 is
It is cooled by the ink 14 inside and contracts. The ink droplet flies from the orifice due to the growth and contraction of the bubble. Further, as shown in FIG. 6 (f), the ink comes into contact with the surface of the electrothermal transducer 7b and is rapidly cooled, so that the bubbles 15 disappear or shrink to a volume that can be almost ignored. When the bubble 15 contracts, as shown in FIG.
Ink is supplied from the common liquid chamber 7g into the inside of 7d by capillary action, and is prepared for the next energization.

Therefore, the ink image is recorded on the recording sheet 1 by energizing the electrothermal converter 7b in accordance with the image signal in synchronization with the movement of the carriage 5.

As shown in FIG. 1, capping means 16 is provided at the left end of the moving range of the carriage 5. The capping means 16 is used when the recording head 7 is not used.
Has a function of preventing the ink near the orifice surface of the recording head 7 from drying and solidifying due to the drying.

Further, a pump (not shown) is connected to the capping means 16 so as to drive the pump for ink ejection failure or removal or to prevent them, and to perform a recovery process by sucking ink from the orifice surface by the suction force. It has become.

(Ejecting Means) The ejecting means 8 is for ejecting the recording sheet 1 recorded by the recording means 7, and ejects the recording sheet 1 upward by an ejection rotating body, and sends the sheet 1 to an ejecting unit. It is configured to accommodate.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the recording sheet 1 is discharged by a discharge roller 8a serving as a discharge rotating body and a spur 8b contacting the discharge roller 8a.
Of the ends of the roller shaft 8c attached discharge gear 8d, the discharge gear 8d is idler 2d ₂ meshes.

Accordingly, when the transport motor 2e is driven, the driving force is transmitted to the discharge roller 8a, the roller 8a rotates, and the recording sheet 1 is discharged upward by the cooperation of the discharge roller 8a and the spur 8b. .

Further, a discharge stacker 8e serving as a discharge tray portion is provided on the rotation direction back of the discharge roller 8a. The ejection stacker 8e and lower plate 8e ₁ and upright plate 8e ₂ is constituted by bending the hook-like. Then the lower plate 8e ₁ is disposed so as to be located below a little than the upper end of the discharge roller 8a, the lower end of the discharged recording sheet 1 is supported on the lower plate 8e _1, the sheet back surface is upright plate 8e ₂ Recording sheet 1 supported and discharged by
Is configured to stand up.

Wherein as the upper end of the upright plate 8e ₂ shown in FIG. 2, the tray 8e ₃ is pivotably mounted about an axis 8e _4. When the recording sheet 1 is set on the ASF 11, the tray can be easily set by tilting the tray in the direction of arrow d in FIG.

Further, the part of the upright plate 8e ₂ is projected to the discharge roller 8a side as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (protrusion amount t ₁₎ protrusion
8f is formed. The protrusion 8f is connected to the discharge roller 8a.
It is located above and formed as a ridge extending in the width direction of the recording sheet 1, that is, a ridge having an arc shape as shown in FIG.

When protrusion 8f the upright plate 8e ₂ as the is formed, so that the recording sheet 1 is discharged by the rotation of the discharge roller 8a is shown in Figure 6, the discharge roller 8a sheet downward by the protrusion 8f Protruded to the side. As a result, the rear end of the recording sheet 1 rides on the discharge roller 8a, and is discharged to the discharge stacker 8e with good alignment without buckling.

Here, the protrusion amount t for preventing the buckling is 2
It is preferably about 10 mm.

[Other embodiments]

 Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

(Sheet conveying means) In the embodiment described above, the conveying rollers 2a and the pinch rollers 2b _1, has been configured to impart conveyance force 2b ₂ to the recording sheet 1, the sheet conveying means 2 is not necessarily roller driving The recording sheet 1 may not be constituted by a sheet-like member, and the conveying force may be applied to the recording sheet 1 by, for example, a rotating belt having a rotatable endless belt.

(Recording Means) As a configuration of the recording means, in addition to the combination of the above-described discharge port, liquid path, and electrothermal converter, U.S. Pat. 59-1 Kaisho
Those disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 23670 can also be employed.

The above-described recording means has shown an example in which ink is supplied from the ink cartridge 7f mounted on the recording apparatus to the recording head.However, an ink storage chamber is provided in the recording head, and the ink in the ink storage chamber is depleted. In this case, a disposable recording head may be used in which the recording head is replaced.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the serial recording method is exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited to the serial recording method, and can be applied to a line recording method.

Here, a line type ink jet recording system capable of full color recording will be briefly described.

In FIG. 7, the recording sheet 1 is driven and rotated by an upstream transport roller 17a and pinch rollers 17b and 17c which are driven to rotate in contact with the upstream transport roller 17a; It is configured to be conveyable in the direction of the arrow x by the rotating pinch roller 18b.

The recording sheet 1 is located between the upstream and downstream transport rollers 17a and 18a.
, Four recording heads 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d
Are arranged in order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction. The recording heads 19a to 19d are line type ink jet recording heads capable of recording over the entire width of the recording sheet 1, and are configured such that ink is supplied from an ink cartridge (not shown) to each of the recording heads 19a to 19d. ing. The recording head 19a has black ink, the recording head 19b has yellow ink, and the recording head 19c
Magenta ink is supplied to the recording head 19d, and the recording head 19d is supplied with cyan ink.The recording heads 19a to 19d are driven based on a color signal corresponding to the supplied ink color, and eject ink droplets from nozzles. It is configured.

Accordingly, full-color printing can be performed on the recording sheet 1 by conveying the recording sheet 1 in the direction of the arrow x and driving the recording heads 19a to 19d in synchronization with the conveyance.

In FIG. 7, when there is a non-recording nozzle or a non-use nozzle below the recording head 19a, the ink discharge ink is recovered by removing the thickened ink or the fixed ink of the ink discharge port. A recovery system 20 for performing processing is provided.

When the recovery system 20 performs the recovery processing, the recording sheet 1
Alternatively, the recording heads 19a to 19d can be opposed to the respective nozzles. Since the recording heads 19a to 19d perform preliminary heating at appropriate timing, the number of activations of the ejection recovery processing is reduced.

Further, the present invention does not need to be limited to the above-described ink jet recording method as a recording means. For example, a so-called thermal transfer recording method in which an ink sheet coated with a heat-meltable ink is heated in accordance with an image signal and the melted ink is transferred to the recording sheet 1, a so-called heating of the recording sheet 1 which develops color by heat in accordance with an image signal. Various recording methods, such as a thermal recording method and a so-called wire dot recording method in which an ink ribbon is hit with a wire in accordance with an image signal to perform recording, can be employed. Therefore, the recording head is not limited to the above-described ink jet head, and for example, a thermal head, a wire dot head, a daisy wheel head, or the like can be used.

The recording device may be used as an image output terminal of an information processing device such as a computer.
The present invention can be applied to a copying machine combined with a reader or the like, and further to a facsimile machine having a transmission / reception function.

<Effect of the Invention> As described above, according to the present invention, a convex portion having an arc shape protruding toward the discharge rotating body is formed on the rising portion of the discharge tray portion, and the discharging is performed from the opposite side of the rising portion with respect to the discharging rotating body. In a state where the formed recording sheet is supported by the protrusions and stands upright, the lower end of the recording sheet rides on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating rotating body and moves to the upright side, so that the recording sheet may buckle. Therefore, the lower end of the sheet surely gets over the discharge rotating body and is discharged with good alignment.

Further, no special parts are required to prevent the buckling of the recording sheet as described above, so that the manufacturing cost does not increase.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a serial type ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view, and FIG. 3 shows a state where a carriage is urged toward a sheet pressing member. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a recording head, FIGS. 5A to 5G are diagrams illustrating the principle of ink jet recording, FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the discharge state of a recording sheet, and FIG. Configuration explanatory view of line type inkjet recording, FIG.
FIG. 9 and FIG. 9 are explanatory diagrams of the prior art. 1 is a recording sheet, 2 is a sheet conveying means, 2a is a conveying roller, 2b ₁ and 2b ₂ are pinch rollers, 2c is a roller shaft, 2d ₁ is a conveying gear, 2d ₂ is an idler gear, 2d ₃ is a first transmission gear, 2d ₄ is the second transmission gear, 2e is the transport motor, 2f is the paper pan,
2g and 2h are upper guide plates, 3 is a sheet pressing member, 4 is a platen, 5 is a carriage, 5a is a contact portion, 6 is a guide rail, 7 is a recording head, 7a is a heater board, 7b is an electrothermal converter, 7c is an electrode, 7d is a nozzle, 7d ₁ is an orifice, 7e is a top plate, 7e ₁ is a supply port, 7f is an ink cartridge, 7g is a common liquid chamber, 8 is a discharge means, 8a is a discharge roller, 8b is a spur, 8c
Is a roller shaft, 8d is a discharge gear, 8e is a discharge stacker, 8e ₁ is a lower plate, 8e ₂ is an upright plate, 8e ₃ is a tray, 8e ₄ is a shaft, 8f is a protrusion, 9 is a carriage motor, and 10 is a transmission means. , 10a is a driving pulley, 10b is a driven pulley, 10c is a timing belt,
11 is ASF, 11a is a cassette, 11b is a pressing spring, 11c is a separation roller, 11d is a registration roller, 11e is an upper roller, 11
f is the roller _{shaft, 11g, 11g 1, 11h,} 11i, 11j, 11k, 11l are gear, 12 manual feed port, 13a is a frame left side wall, 13b is a frame right side wall, 14 ink, 15 bubbles, 16 capping Means, 17a is an upstream side transport roller, 17b, 17c are pinch rollers,
18a is a downstream transport roller, 18b is a pinch roller, 19a to 19d
Denotes a recording head, and 20 denotes recovery means.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 13/00-13/32 B65H 31/00-31/40

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] A conveying unit for conveying the recording sheet; a recording unit for recording an image on the recording sheet conveyed by the conveying unit; and a recording sheet recorded by the recording unit is discharged obliquely upward. A discharge rotator, and a discharge tray unit for storing the discharged recording sheet. The discharge tray unit includes a lower plate portion that receives a lower end of the recording sheet, and a surface of the recording sheet. And a raised portion having an arc shape protruding toward the discharge rotator side, wherein the recording sheet discharged from the opposite side of the erected portion with respect to the discharge rotator has the above-described configuration. A recording apparatus characterized in that, in a state where the recording sheet stands upright while being supported by the convex portion, the recording sheet lower end rides on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating rotating body and moves toward the upright portion. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recording apparatus uses an ink jet recording method in which recording means discharges ink in accordance with a signal to perform recording. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recording apparatus uses an ink jet recording system in which recording means discharges ink using thermal energy to perform recording. 4. A recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said recording means performs recording by discharging ink from a discharge port by growth of bubbles generated by heating by an electrothermal transducer.