JP4449268B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printer that performs printing on a sheet such as paper.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For printing large-sized prints such as posters, large-sized printers (for example, large-format ink jet printers) are used. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, such a large-sized printer includes a printing apparatus main body 101 that performs printing and a gantry 102 that holds the printing apparatus main body 101 at a predetermined height. In other words, the recording paper 104 printed by the printing apparatus main body 101 is discharged while hanging downward from the carry-out port 103.
Conventional inkjet printers are sometimes provided with a cloth guide member that receives the discharged recording paper 104 and prevents the recording paper from being damaged. For example, in the case of the ink jet printer shown in FIG. 6, one end of the guide member 105 is installed behind the carry-out port 103 (on the right side in the drawing), and the back of the other end is in contact with the floor. The whole is hanging down in a slack state. Further, in the case of the ink jet printer shown in FIG. 7, a support piece 106 extending from the front portion of the gantry 102 toward the front (left side in the figure) is installed on the gantry 102, and the tip of the support piece 106 is arranged. A guide member 107 is attached so as to be spanned between the rear portion and the rear portion of the gantry portion 102.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in general, the recording paper absorbs ink, so that the rigidity is weakened and the straightness at the time of conveyance is deteriorated. For example, in the case of the ink jet printer shown in FIG. Is simply bent, the upstream side is almost vertical and the downstream side is curved and easily deforms, so there is little function to guide the recording paper 104 in the desired direction, and the leading edge of the recording paper 104 is rounded. In some cases, the printed surface is reversed so that the printed surface faces downward, or the printed surface is bent by its own weight. In particular, if the recording paper 104 is reversed without being dried, the printing surface may become dirty, and the periphery of the main body and the guide members 105 and 107 may also become dirty. In addition, if the recording paper 104 is bent at the carry-out port 103, the recording paper 104 rises in the vicinity of the recording head in the printing apparatus main body 101, and the recording paper 104 and the recording head may come into contact with each other. When the recording paper 104 and the recording head come into contact with each other, the ink meniscus in the ink nozzle provided in the recording head breaks, and the ink does not eject or the ejection direction differs from the initial direction. There is a risk that printing will become unclear due to lack of problems.
In addition, even when the recording paper 104 is discharged smoothly, the recording paper 104 may protrude beyond the leading end of the guide member 105, thereby causing the recording paper 104 to become dirty.
[0004]
Further, in the case of the ink jet printer shown in FIG. 7, it is assumed that the recording paper 104 is reversed so that the printing surface faces downward. For this reason, as in the case of the ink jet printer shown in FIG. There is a possibility that the recording paper 104 may be bent or the printing surface may be stained.
[0005]
An object of the present invention is to smooth the conveyance of the recording paper, thereby reducing the conveyance failure caused by the reversal or bending of the printed recording paper, the contamination of the recording medium, and the contact of the recording medium with the recording head An object of the present invention is to provide a printer that can suppress the occurrence of the above.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention described in claim 1
In a printer that prints on sheets such as paper,
Surrounding the printing unit including the printing position, and having a case having a carry-out port for the printed sheet,
The conveyance direction of the sheet from the printing position to the carry-out port is substantially straight,
A guide member that is arranged obliquely downward with respect to the case and guides the back surface of the sheet carried out from the carry-out port so as to support from the front end side, and obliquely downward from the lower end portion of the guide member. A guide means provided with a lower guide member inclined to the floor surface ,
The guide member has rigidity and is disposed at a position for receiving the leading end side of the unloaded sheet on a receiving surface that is inclined within ± 15 degrees with respect to an extension line in the conveyance direction, and the inclination of the lower guide member The corner is gentler than the inclination angle of the guide member .
[0007]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the guide member has rigidity and receives the leading end side of the unloaded sheet at the receiving surface that is inclined within ± 15 degrees with respect to the extension line in the conveyance direction, the sheet Even when the ink absorbs the ink and weakens its rigidity and the straightness during conveyance is lowered, the sheet can be smoothly conveyed without being bent, and the sheet can be prevented from being inverted due to the curling. Accordingly, it is possible to discharge the sheet without contaminating the periphery of the main body, the guide means, the sheet, and the like.
[0008]
In particular, in this case, since the angle between the extension line in the transport direction and the receiving surface of the guide member is set within ± 15 degrees, the sheet does not bend from the printing position to the guide member outside the case during printing. The paper is ejected. That is, it is possible to prevent the sheet from rising near the recording head that occurs when the sheet is bent at the carry-out port, and therefore, it is possible to prevent printing defects due to contact between the sheet and the recording head.
[0009]
The above-mentioned “substantially straight” means not only showing a complete straight line but also allowing slight bending such as slight bending of the sheet.
“Rigidity” means that the guide member has a hardness that maintains, for example, a planar shape without being bent by its own weight or the weight of the sheet.
Further, “spreading” as used herein means that the leading edge of the sheet is caught on the floor surface or a step, which causes the sheet to be reversed or bent.
[0011]
Further , since the inclination angle of the lower guide member is gentler than the inclination angle of the guide member, the incident angle of the sheet with respect to the floor surface can be reduced. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the sheet from being curled when the leading edge of the sheet hits the floor surface, and to prevent the sheet from being reversed or bent due to the curling.
[0012]
The invention according to claim 2 is the printer according to claim 1 ,
The guide means is foldable.
[0013]
According to the second aspect of the invention, since the guide means is foldable, the guide means can be folded and stored compactly when printing is not performed, and the guide means can be replaced when the recording head or the sheet is replaced. The work can be performed without being obstructed by. In particular, when the printer includes a gantry, the guide means can be stored inside the gantry. Further, as described above, the inclination angle of the lower guide member can be made gentler than the inclination angle of the guide member by using a folding fold.
[0014]
The invention described in claim 3
The printer according to claim 1 or 2 ,
A stopper member for stopping the unloaded sheet on the guide means is provided at the end of the guide means.
[0015]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the stopper is provided at the end of the guide means to stop the conveyed sheet on the guide means. Can be prevented from jumping out. Therefore, the sheet is not soiled by contact with the floor, and the sheet is not scattered on the floor, so that the appearance is improved.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0017]
The printer of the present embodiment is a large-sized inkjet printer 1 used for large-format printing such as a poster. As shown in FIG. 1, a printing apparatus main body 2 that performs printing, and the printing apparatus main body 2 are arranged on the floor surface. A gantry unit 8 held above and a guide unit 14 for guiding the recording paper 3 discharged from the printing apparatus main body 2 to the vicinity of the floor are provided.
[0018]
The printing apparatus main body 2 includes a roll-shaped recording paper (sheet) 3 that is rotatably supported, a recording head 4 that performs printing on the recording paper 3, and a cutter 6 that cuts the recording paper 3 when printing is completed. A case 2 </ b> A is provided which surrounds these parts and has a carry-out port 5 for the printed recording paper 3. A hook-like locking piece 7 that supports the guide means 14 so as to be rotatable extends behind the carry-out port 5 (on the right side in the figure). This printing apparatus main body 2 has a conveyance path of the recording paper 3 from the time of printing to discharge, that is, from the printing position (position where the ink ejected from the recording head 4 adheres to the recording paper 3) to the carry-out port 5. The recording paper 3 is transported in a substantially straight line.
Here, in the present embodiment, the roll-shaped recording paper 3 is described as an example of the recording medium. However, the recording medium may be a sheet of recording paper. Furthermore, the recording medium is not limited to paper, and various recording media such as a transparent recording medium such as PET and other recording media having a resin layer can be used.
[0019]
The gantry 8 includes a gantry body 9 that can accommodate the guide means 14 therein, a caster 10 installed at the lower part of the gantry body 9, and a front (left side in the figure) from the left and right front portions of the gantry body 9. And a support piece 11 extending in the direction.
A concave portion 12 is provided at the tip of the support piece 11, and a rod-like holding member 13 longer than the width of the guide means 14 is detachably spanned over the concave portion 12.
[0020]
The guide means 14 is disposed obliquely downward with respect to the case 2A and guides the guide member 16 so as to support the back surface of the recording paper 3 carried out of the case 2A from the front end side, and A lower guide member 15 that is continuously inclined from the lower end of the guide member 16 obliquely downward and reaches the floor surface is provided. The guide means 14 is configured such that the upper end portion of the guide member 16 is detachably held by the locking piece 7 of the printing apparatus main body 2, and has an inclination angle with respect to the floor surface of the lower guide member 15 by the holding member 13 of the support piece 11. The guide member 16 is held so as to be gentler than the inclination angle of the guide member 16 with respect to the floor surface. With this configuration, the incident angle with respect to the floor surface of the recording paper 3 can be reduced. For this reason, the leading edge of the recording paper 3 is difficult to roll on the floor surface during conveyance, and the reversal or bending of the recording paper 3 caused by the rolling can be prevented.
[0021]
The guide member 16 has rigidity and is arranged along the transport direction from the carry-out port 5 of the case 2A, and the portion that receives the leading end side of the unloaded recording paper 3 is the same as the extension line E in the transport direction or It is arranged so as to be below. The upper surface of the guide member 16 serves as a receiving surface 16 a that receives the leading end side of the unloaded recording paper 3. At this time, the receiving surface 16a has an angle D within ± 15 degrees with respect to the extension line E (in the case of plus, it is inclined in a direction perpendicular to the extension line E, and in the case of minus, it is in the horizontal direction from the extension line E). The recording paper 3 can be prevented from being bent during conveyance. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the receiving surface 16a is set at an angle inclined horizontally by about 7 degrees from the extension line E in a state of intersecting the extension line E.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 2A, the guiding means 14 is formed by separating a plurality of rigid resin plate members 18 into a rectangular cloth portion 17 so that the guiding member 16 and the lower guiding member 15 are separated from each other. The guide member 16 and the lower guide member 15 are hard to bend with respect to the transport direction and have a hardness that maintains a substantially planar shape by installing them in a matrix with a space therebetween. Further, a cover portion 19 that covers the floor is formed at the tip of the fabric portion 17.
Further, since the plate members 18 are arranged at intervals as described above, the plate member 18 can be folded and the guide means 14 can be bent between the guide member 16 and the lower guide member 15. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3, it can be accommodated in the gantry 8 by rotating around the upper end. At this time, since the holding member 13 is detachable, the holding member 13 can be detached from the support piece 11 and the guide means 14 can be easily stored.
Further, the guide means 14 is removed from the locking piece 7, and is folded three times in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 2B, and further folded in the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. It is also possible to store it in the box.
[0023]
As described above, according to the ink jet printer of the first embodiment, the guide member 16 has rigidity, and the receiving surface 16a is inclined with an angle with respect to the extension line E in the transport direction within ± 15 degrees. Therefore, even when the recording paper 3 absorbs ink and weakens its rigidity to reduce the straightness during transportation, the recording paper 3 can be smoothly conveyed without being bent. Further, it is possible to prevent the recording paper 3 from being inverted due to rolling. Accordingly, it is possible to discharge the paper without contaminating the periphery of the main body, the guide means 14, the recording paper 3, and the like. In particular, in this case, since the angle between the extension line E in the transport direction and the receiving surface 16a of the guide member 16 is set within ± 15 degrees, the recording paper 3 can be discharged without being bent at the carry-out port during printing, Swelling of the recording paper 3 in the vicinity of the recording head 4 can be prevented. For this reason, it can prevent that the recording paper 3 and the recording head 4 contact, and can perform clear printing.
[0024]
Further, since the conveyance state of the recording paper 3 is almost straight from printing to unloading and conveyance by the guide member 16, the recording paper 3 is discharged without being bent at the unloading port 5. That is, since the bending at the carry-out port 5 is eliminated, the recording paper 3 does not rise near the recording head 4, so that the recording paper 3 and the recording head 4 can be prevented from coming into contact with each other and clear printing can be performed. It can be carried out. If the length of the guide member 16 in the transport direction is set to a length corresponding to the maximum size printed by the printer, the recording paper 3 during printing, that is, before cutting by the cutter 6 is performed. This conveyance is performed along the guide member 16. That is, since the recording paper 3 is conveyed at substantially the same angle as the printing angle until the printing is completed, the recording paper 3 can be maintained in a straight line until the printing is completed, and the printing portion of the recording paper 3 is further prevented from being bent. Can do.
Further, since the guide means 14 can be stored in a compact manner, the work can be performed without being obstructed by the guide member 14 when the recording head 4 or the recording paper 3 is replaced.
Further, since the resin plate material 18 is included in the cloth portion 17, the lighter guide means 14 can be formed than the case where a plate material formed of metal, wood, or the like is included.
[0025]
In the first embodiment, the guide member 14 has rigidity by including the plate member 18 having rigidity in the cloth portion 17. However, the guide means 14 has rigidity. Any configuration may be used, for example, a configuration in which bars are arranged along the conveyance direction at positions corresponding to both ends of the cloth portion or both ends of the size of the recording paper to be printed. .
[0026]
Further, the guide means may be formed by combining rigid plate-like members without using cloth for the guide means. In this case, the guide member can be folded by connecting the plate-like members with a connecting member such as a hinge.
Further, in the first embodiment, as the guide means 14, the guide member 16 and the lower guide member 15 are used to exemplify the conveyance of the recording paper 3 to the floor surface. As long as it has a length up to the floor surface, the recording paper can be conveyed to the floor surface only by the guide member while preventing the recording paper from being reversed or curled. Further, if the length of the guide member is set to the length until the trailing edge of the recording paper passes the recording head, the recording paper can be prevented from being bent at the printing position.
[0027]
[Second Embodiment]
The parts other than those specific to the second embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
[0028]
In the first embodiment, the recording paper 3 transported by the guide means 14 has a possibility that its leading end portion may protrude from the guide means 14 due to the force of inclination. The guiding means is provided with a stopper member that stops on the guiding means so that the recording paper 3 does not protrude.
[0029]
More specifically, a cover member 19 which is a terminal portion of the guide means 14 is provided with a stopper member 20 having a triangular shape in a side view for stopping the front end of the recording paper 3 as shown in FIG. The stopper member 20 is located at a position where the distance from the printing position is longer than the sheet length in the conveyance direction of the recording paper 3 (preferably, the maximum length of the recording paper 3 printed and cut by the inkjet printer 1). Be placed.
As shown in FIG. 5, the stopper member 20 is erected substantially perpendicular to the floor surface, and stops the conveyance of the recording paper 3. Is bent toward the left side), the maintenance part 22 that maintains the standing state of the stop part 21, and the slope part 23 that slopes downward from the upper end of the stop part 21 and supports the stop part 21. It consists of and. The maintenance part 22 and the cover part 19 are fixed by a hook-and-loop fastener 24.
Each of these parts (stop part 21, maintenance part 22, inclined part 23) is formed continuously so as to be able to bend with a resin plate material having rigidity included in cloth part 17. That is, by releasing the fixation by the hook-and-loop fastener 24, these parts are in a flat state, and the guide means 14 can be easily folded even if the stopper member 20 is present. Further, since the shape of the stopper member 20 is maintained by the hook-and-loop fastener 24, the stopper member 20 can be easily assembled and disassembled.
[0030]
As described above, according to the ink jet printer of the second embodiment, the stopper member 20 for stopping the unloaded recording paper 3 on the guide means 14 is provided at the end of the guide means 14. The printed recording paper 3 can be held on the guide means 14 and prevented from jumping to the floor. Therefore, the recording paper 3 is not soiled by contact with the floor, and the recording paper is not scattered on the floor, so that the appearance is improved.
[0031]
The first and second embodiments disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the sheet from protruding from the guide member during the conveyance.
Further, even when the sheet absorbs ink and weakens its rigidity and the straightness during conveyance is lowered, the sheet can be smoothly conveyed without being bent, and the sheet can be prevented from being inverted by being rolled. Accordingly, it is possible to discharge the sheet without contaminating the periphery of the main body, the guide means, the sheet, and the like.
During printing, the sheet is discharged from the printing position onto the guide member outside the case without being bent. That is, it is possible to prevent the sheet from rising near the recording head that occurs when the sheet is bent at the carry-out port, and therefore, it is possible to prevent printing defects due to contact between the sheet and the recording head.
Moreover, the incident angle with respect to the floor surface of a sheet | seat can be made small. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the leading edge of the sheet from crawling on the floor during conveyance, and to prevent the sheet from being reversed or bent due to the curling.
[0033]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, when printing is not performed, the guiding means can be folded and stored compactly, and the work can be performed without being obstructed by the guiding means when the recording head or the sheet is replaced. Can do. In particular, when the printer includes a gantry, the guide means can be stored inside the gantry. Further, as described above, the inclination angle of the lower guide member can be made easier than the inclination angle of the guide member by using a folding fold.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the printed sheet can be held on the guiding means and prevented from jumping to the floor. Therefore, the sheet is not soiled by contact with the floor, and the sheet is not scattered on the floor, so that the appearance is improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an ink jet printer according to a first embodiment to which the invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a reference diagram illustrating a folding method of a guide member provided in the ink jet printer of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a modification of the ink jet printer of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a side view showing a stopper member provided in an ink jet printer according to a second embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the stopper member of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating a conventional inkjet printer.
FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating a conventional inkjet printer.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Inkjet printer (printer)
2A Case 3 Recording paper (sheet)
4 Recording head 5 Unloading port 14 Guide means 15 Lower guide member 16 Guide member 16a Receiving surface 20 Stopper member E Extension line

Claims (3)

In a printer that prints on sheets such as paper,
Surrounding the printing unit including the printing position, and having a case having a printed sheet exit,
The conveyance direction of the sheet from the printing position to the carry-out port is substantially straight,
A guide member that is arranged obliquely downward with respect to the case and guides the back surface of the sheet carried out from the carry-out port from the leading end side , and continuously obliquely downward from the lower end of the guide member And a guide means provided with a lower guide member inclined to the floor surface ,
The guide member has rigidity and is disposed at a position to receive the leading end side of the unloaded sheet on a receiving surface that is inclined within ± 15 degrees with respect to an extension line in the conveyance direction, and the inclination of the lower guide member A printer characterized in that a corner is gentler than an inclination angle of the guide member . 2. The printer according to claim 1 , wherein the guide means is foldable. The printer according to claim 1 , wherein a stopper member is provided at a terminal portion of the guide unit to stop the unloaded sheet on the guide unit.

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