JP7705252B2 - Media handling device and printer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a media transport device and a printer equipped with the same.

So-called roll-to-roll printers have been known in the past, in which media wound in a roll is unwound from the roll, an image is printed on the media, and the printed media is then rewound into a roll. There are two types of winding devices for winding media in roll-to-roll printers: one that winds the media around a core of a predetermined length regardless of the media width, and one that winds the media around a core that corresponds to the media width. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a printer that has a pair of holding parts that hold both ends of a core of a predetermined length, and a drive part that rotates one of the holding parts to wind the media around the core.

For example, Patent Document 2 discloses a printer equipped with a winding device that can select a winding core of different lengths depending on the width of the media. The winding device of the printer disclosed in Patent Document 2 has a pair of rails that extend parallel to each other and a pair of walls that move toward or away from each other along the pair of rails. Both ends of the winding core are held by the pair of walls. A winding device that can select a winding core of different lengths depending on the width of the media has the advantage that, for example, used cores of the same type of media can be reused as winding cores.

JP 2018-094769 A JP 2018-012599 A

When the rolled media (hereinafter also referred to as roll media) is removed from the winding device after being wound by the winding device, the roll media tends to fall, but roll media is generally heavy. For this reason, a dolly or the like may be inserted under the falling roll media to receive the roll media. However, in a printer such as that disclosed in Patent Document 2, for example, the removed roll media falls onto rails supporting a pair of walls. For this reason, the removed roll media cannot be received by a dolly or the like. In such a case, for example, the user must transfer the heavy roll media to a dolly or the like.

On the other hand, a winding device that can select a winding core of different lengths depending on the width of the media has the advantages mentioned above.

In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a media transport device that can use cores of different lengths depending on the width of the media, and that makes it easy to collect the roll media after winding.

The media transport device disclosed herein includes a winding device that winds up media and a main body that supports the winding device. The winding device includes a first guide member and a pair of first support members. The first guide member is supported by the main body and extends in a first direction along a horizontal plane. The pair of first support members each include an insertion portion through which the first guide member is inserted, and a mounting portion that is provided below the insertion portion and into which a media core is attached. At least one of the pair of first support members is configured to be slidable in the first direction along the first guide member. A storage space is provided around the mounting portion to accommodate the media after it has been wound around the core. The storage space is configured so that the lower end is open so as to reach the installation surface on which the main body is installed, and so that a gap is formed between the stored media after it has been wound and the installation surface.

According to the above media transport device, by sliding the first support member along the first guide member, it is possible to use a core of different lengths depending on the width of the media. Also, according to the above media transport device, since the core of the media is mounted below the first guide member, it is possible to provide a storage space for the roll media whose lower end is not partitioned by the first guide member. The storage space is open at the lower end so that it reaches the installation surface (e.g., the floor surface of the installation location) on which the main body is installed, and is configured so that there is a gap between the stored roll media after winding and the installation surface. Therefore, a dolly or the like can be easily inserted below the roll media after winding. Then, if the roll media is removed from the mounting section in this state, the roll media can be easily placed on the dolly or the like because the lower part of the roll media is not partitioned by the first guide member. Therefore, according to the above media transport device, it is possible to use a core of different lengths depending on the width of the media, and it is easy to collect the roll media after winding.

1 is a perspective view showing a printer according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the printer. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the left leg of the printer 1 and its surrounding area. FIG. FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view showing a schematic view of the feeder before position adjustment. FIG. 13 is a front view showing a schematic view of the feeder after it has been moved to match the width of the media.

Below, an inkjet printer according to one embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the embodiment described here is, of course, not intended to limit the present invention in any way. Also, the same reference numerals are used for members and parts that perform the same function, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted or simplified as appropriate. In the following description, when the inkjet printer is viewed from the front, the side away from the inkjet printer is the front, and the side approaching the inkjet printer is the rear. Also, the reference numerals F, Rr, L, R, U, and D in the drawings represent front, rear, left, right, top, and bottom, respectively. However, these directions are merely provided for the convenience of description, and do not limit the installation mode of the inkjet printer, etc.

In the following, the left and right pair of members (for example, the left and right pair of feeders 70L and 70R, which will be described later) are configured alternately left and right unless otherwise specified. In the following, when it is said that "a pair of members A and another pair of members B are the same member," it means that "the left member A1 of the pair of members A is the same part as the left member B1 or right member B2 of the pair of members B, and the right member A2 of the pair of members A is the same part as the right member B2 or left member B1 of the pair of members B." In other words, there may be cases where the same members A and B are used in different orientations. The same members may have different configurations due to being used in different orientations. In addition, cases where additional configurations are added are not actively excluded, and it is sufficient to achieve the purpose of reducing the number of types of parts by commonality. The exact correspondence relationship of the members (for example, whether the left member A1 of the pair of members A is the same as the left member B1 or right member B2 of the pair of members B) will be explained each time.

[Inkjet Printer Configuration]
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a large-format inkjet printer (hereinafter referred to as "printer") 10 according to one embodiment. Fig. 2 is a right side view of the printer 10. Fig. 3 is a perspective view from the rear side of the printer 10. Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 3, and is a perspective view of the vicinity of a leg 13L on the left side of the printer 10. The printer 10 moves a rolled medium 5 in the front-to-rear direction while unwinding it, and forms an image on the medium 5 by ejecting ink from a print head 16 mounted on a carriage 15 that moves in the left-to-right direction.

In this embodiment, the printer 10 is an inkjet printer. In this embodiment, the term "inkjet" refers to inkjet printers using various conventional methods, including various continuous methods such as a binary deflection method or a continuous deflection method, and various on-demand methods such as a thermal method or a piezoelectric element method.

The medium 5 is an object on which an image is printed. The medium 5 is a sheet-shaped recording medium. There are no particular limitations on the material of the medium 5. The medium 5 may be, for example, paper such as plain paper or inkjet printing paper, or a transparent sheet made of resin or the like. It may also be a sheet made of metal or rubber. It may also be a fabric. In the following, as shown in FIG. 2, the rolled medium 5 before printing will be referred to as roll media 6, and the roll of media 5 that has been rolled up again after printing will be referred to as roll media 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the printer 10 includes a printer body 11, a print head 16, a media supply device 20, a feed device 50, and a winding device 60. The media supply device 20 is loaded with a roll media 6 before printing. The media supply device 20 supports the roll media 6 so that it can rotate in the front-rear direction. The media supply device 20 supplies the media 5 from the roll media 6. The feed device 50 pays out the media 5 from the roll media 6 and transports the paid out media 5 in the front-rear direction. The print head 16 forms an image on the media 5 supplied from the media supply device 20. The winding device 60 winds up the media 5 after the image has been formed. The printer 10 also includes a carriage movement device (not shown) that moves the carriage 15 left and right.

The printer body 11 includes a casing 12 and a pair of legs 13L and 13R. As shown in FIG. 2, the box-shaped casing 12 houses a print head 16, a feed device 50, a platen 14, and the like. The printer body 11 also supports a media supply device 20 and a winding device 60. In detail, as shown in FIG. 3, the printer body 11 supports the media supply device 20 via a pair of arms 40L and 40R attached to the legs 13L and 13R. The printer body 11 supports the winding device 60 via a pair of arms 90L and 90R attached to the legs 13L and 13R. Of the pair of legs 13L and 13R, the left leg 13L extends downward from the left side of the casing 12. The right leg 13R extends downward from the right side of the casing 12. The pair of legs 13L and 13R support the casing 12. A space is formed between the left leg 13L and the right leg 13R.

As shown in FIG. 2, the print head 16 is provided downstream, here on the front side, of the media supply device 20 in the transport direction of the media 5. The print head 16 is mounted on the carriage 15 and positioned above the platen 14. The print head 16 is configured to eject ink toward the media 5 on the platen 14. The print head 16 moves left and right as the carriage 15 is moved left and right by a carriage movement device (not shown). The print head 16 forms an image on the media 5 by ejecting ink while moving left and right.

The platen 14 is a support platform that supports the media 5. The platen 14 extends in the front-rear and left-right directions. The media 5 on the platen 14 is moved in the front-rear direction by the feed device 50. As shown in FIG. 2, the feed device 50 includes a pinch roller 51, a grit roller 52, and a feed motor (not shown). The pinch roller 51 is provided above the platen 14 and presses down the media 5 from above. The grit roller 52 is provided on the platen 14. The grit roller 52 is provided in a position opposite the pinch roller 51. The grit roller 52 is connected to the feed motor. When the grit roller 52 rotates with the media 5 sandwiched between the pinch roller 51 and the grit roller 52, the media 5 is transported in the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the media supply device 20 is provided on the rear side of the printer 10. The roll media 6 of the media supply device 20 rotates following the media 5 being pulled by the feed device 50. As shown in FIG. 3, the media supply device 20 includes a pair of guide pipes 21 and 22 extending in the left-right direction, a pair of feeders 30L and 30R that can slide left-right along the pair of guide pipes 21 and 22, and a pair of temporary placement members 36L and 36R for temporarily placing the roll media 6 before it is loaded into the media supply device 20. The pair of temporary placement members 36L and 36R are bridged between the pair of guide pipes 21 and 22, respectively. Here, the left-right direction is a direction parallel to the axial direction of the roll media 6.

The pair of guide pipes 21, 22 are members supported by the printer body 11 (more specifically, the pair of legs 13L and 13R of the printer body 11) and are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction. The front-rear direction is a direction perpendicular to the left-right direction, which is the axial direction of the roll media 6, and is the feed direction of the media 5. The pair of guide pipes 21, 22 are each arranged horizontally. The pair of guide pipes 21, 22 are arranged at the same height here. However, the heights of the pair of guide pipes 21, 22 may be different from each other. Here, the pair of guide pipes 21 and 22 are each composed of a round pipe. As shown in FIG. 3, the printer body 11 (more specifically, the pair of legs 13L and 13R of the printer body 11) supports the pair of front and rear guide pipes 21, 22 via a pair of left and right arms 40L and 40R.

As shown in FIG. 3, the right arm 40R is connected to the printer body 11 and the pair of guide pipes 21, 22. The right arm 40R is a member for supporting the pair of front and rear guide pipes 21 and 22 on the pair of legs 13L and 13R of the printer body 11, and is a flat member extending in the front-rear and up-down directions. As shown in FIG. 2, the arm 40R includes a guide connection part 41 to which the guide pipes 21, 22 are connected, a first body connection part 42 configured to be connectable to the printer body 11, and a second body connection part 43 configured to be connectable to the printer body 11. FIG. 5 is a side view of the arm 40R. As shown in FIG. 5, the first body connection part 42 and the second body connection part 43 are provided in the front part of the arm 40R, which is a part that is longer in the up-down direction than the rear part (hereinafter also referred to as the root part 40a). The second body connection part 43 is provided forward of the first body connection part 42. The guide connection part 41 is provided in the rear part (hereinafter also referred to as the tip part 40b) of the arm 40R, which has a shorter vertical width than the base part 40a. The first body connection part 42 and the second body connection part 43 are different distances from the guide connection part 41. Here, the distance between the second body connection part 43 and the guide connection part 41 is longer than the distance between the first body connection part 42 and the guide connection part 41.

The arm 40R is connected to the printer body 11 by connecting the second body connection part 43 to the printer body 11. In detail, as shown in FIG. 2, the second body connection part 43 is connected to the upper mounting part 13a provided on the right side surface of the right leg 13R. The tip part 40b protrudes rearward from the leg 13R. The guide connection part 41 provided on the tip part 40b is located rearward from the leg 13R. The guide connection part 41 supports the right ends of the guide pipes 21 and 22. The first body connection part 42 is not used in the arm 40R.

As shown in FIG. 5, the guide connection part 41 has two through holes arranged in the front-rear direction, into which the guide pipes 21 and 22 are attached. The first body connection part 42 and the second body connection part 43 have a total of six screw holes. The six screw holes include two through holes 40H1 arranged in the vertical direction, two through holes 40H2 arranged in the vertical direction forward of the two through holes 40H1, and two through holes 40H3 arranged in the vertical direction further forward of the two through holes 40H2. The two through holes 40H1 and the two through holes 40H2 constitute the four screw holes of the first body connection part 42. The two through holes 40H2 and the two through holes 40H3 constitute the four screw holes of the second body connection part 43. The two through holes 40H2 in the middle are shared by the first body connection part 42 and the second body connection part 43. By sharing the two central through holes 40H2, the number of through holes is reduced, reducing the cost of the arms 40L and 40R. The arm 40R is fastened to the printer body 11 by screws inserted through the four through holes 40H2 and 40H3.

The left arm 40L is configured in a staggered arrangement with the right arm 40R. Using the same reference numerals as the right arm 40R, the second body connection part 43 of the left arm 40L is connected to an upper attachment part (not shown) provided on the left side surface of the left leg 13L. The guide connection part 41 of the left arm 40L supports the left ends of the guide pipes 21 and 22. The first body connection part 42 is not used in the left arm 40L either.

The pair of feeders 30L, 30R is an example of a support member configured to support the roll media 6. Guide pipes 21, 22 are inserted through the pair of left and right feeders 30L, 30R. The pair of feeders 30L and 30R are configured to be movable in the left-right direction along the guide pipes 21, 22, respectively. As will be described later, the pair of feeders 30L and 30R can be fixed to the guide pipes 21, 22. The pair of feeders 30L and 30R are fixed after their left-right positions are adjusted along the guide pipes 21 and 22.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the right feeder 30R from the left. As shown in Figure 6, the feeder 30R includes a flange 31, a main body 32, an insertion portion 33 provided on the main body 32, a rotation shaft 34 of the flange 31 provided on the main body 32, and a fixed portion 35. The flange 31 is an example of an attachment portion to which the core 6a of the roll media 6 is attached. The right end of the core 6a is attached to the flange 31 of the right feeder 30R. The flange 31 supports the core 6a from the outside in the axial direction of the roll media 6, in this case from the right side.

As shown in FIG. 6, the flange 31 is configured in a stepped cylindrical shape extending in the left-right direction. The flange 31 is configured with three parts, in order from the inside in the axial direction of the roll media 6, a first insertion part 31a, a second insertion part 31b, and a handle 31c. The first insertion part 31a, which configures the tip of the flange 31, is the part that is inserted into the relatively thin winding core 6a. The second insertion part 31b, which is provided further outward in the axial direction of the roll media 6 than the first insertion part 31a, is the part that is inserted into the relatively thick winding core 6a. The diameter of the second insertion part 31b is configured to be larger than the diameter of the first insertion part 31a. The handle 31c is for manually rotating the flange 31 when necessary.

The main body 32 is provided on the outside of the flange 31 in the axial direction of the roll media 6, here on the right side. The main body 32 extends in the front-rear and up-down directions. Here, the main body 32 has a substantially triangular shape with a wider bottom when viewed in the left-right direction. The main body 32 has an insertion portion 33 through which a pair of guide pipes 21 and 22 are inserted. The insertion portion 33 includes a first insertion portion 33a through which the rear guide pipe 21 is inserted, and a second insertion portion 33b through which the front guide pipe 22 is inserted. The first insertion portion 33a is provided at the rear apex of the two lower apexes of the substantially triangle of the main body 32. The first insertion portion 33a is configured in a cylindrical shape extending in the left-right direction. The second insertion portion 33b is provided at the front apex of the two lower apexes of the substantially triangle of the main body 32. The second insertion portion 33b has a roughly C-shape with an open front side when viewed from the left and right.

The rotation shaft 34 of the flange 31 is provided near the apex of the upper part of the approximately triangular main body 32. The rotation shaft 34 extends in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the flange 31 is located above the pair of guide pipes 21, 22 and the pair of temporary placement members 36L, 36R. The pair of feeders 30L, 30R are supported by the pair of guide pipes 21, 22 in an orientation such that the flange 31 is located above the pair of guide pipes 21, 22 and the pair of temporary placement members 36L, 36R. When the roll media 6 is attached to the pair of feeders 30L, 30R, it is supported by the flange 31 above the multiple guide pipes 21, 22 and the pair of temporary placement members 36L, 36R. The rear guide pipe 21 is inserted into the first insertion portion 33a, and the front guide pipe 22 is inserted into the second insertion portion 33b, thereby determining the posture of the feeder 30R and its position in the front-rear and up-down directions.

The fixing part 35 is a mechanism for fixing and releasing the feeder 30R to the guide pipe 21. As shown in FIG. 6, the fixing part 35 includes a lever 35a, a stopper 35b, and an eccentric cam (not shown). The eccentric cam (not shown) is embedded in the main body 32. The eccentric cam rotates by rotating the lever 35a in the vertical direction. When the lever 35a is rotated upward, the eccentric cam rotates and pushes the stopper 35b upward. As a result, the stopper 35b appears in the first insertion part 33a. The stopper 35b abuts against the guide pipe 21, and the feeder 30R is fixed to the guide pipe 21. When the lever 35a is rotated downward, the stopper 35b, which is no longer pressed by the eccentric cam, retreats to the outside of the first insertion part 33a. As a result, the stopper 35b moves away from the guide pipe 21. The feeder 30R is fixed to or released from the guide pipe 21 by operating the lever 35a.

The left feeder 30L is configured in a staggered arrangement with the right feeder 30R. Using the same reference numerals as the right feeder 30R, the left feeder 30L has an insertion section 33 through which the guide pipes 21 and 22 are inserted, and a flange 31 that is located above the insertion section 33 and to which the core 6a of the roll media 6 is attached. The left end of the core 6a is attached to the flange 31 of the left feeder 30L.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pair of temporary placement members 36L and 36R are bridged between the pair of guide pipes 21 and 22, and are composed of the left temporary placement member 36L and the right temporary placement member 36R. The pair of temporary placement members 36L and 36R are configured to be able to temporarily place the roll media 6 before it is attached to the feeders 30L and 30R. By temporarily placing the roll media 6 on the pair of guide pipes 21 and 22 via the pair of temporary placement members 36L and 36R, the roll media 6 can be lifted by utilizing the gap formed between the roll media 6 and the pair of guide pipes 21 and 22. This makes it easier to handle the roll media 6. Here, the left temporary placement member 36L and the right temporary placement member 36R are the same member. Therefore, to explain the left temporary placement member 36L, the left temporary placement member 36L has a placement portion 36L1 recessed downward in the center in the front-rear direction as shown in FIG. 4. The placement section 36L1 is where the roll media 6 is placed before being loaded into the feeders 30L, 30R. The placement section 36L1 is recessed downwards, allowing the cylindrical roll media 6 to be stably placed temporarily. The right temporary placement member 36R is configured in the same way. Both the left temporary placement member 36L and the right temporary placement member 36R are configured to be movable in the left-right direction along a pair of guide pipes 21 and 22.

As shown in FIG. 1, the winding device 60 is provided on the front side of the printer 10. The winding device 60 includes a pair of guide pipes 61, 62, a pair of left and right feeders 70L, 70R, a winding motor 80, and a tension bar 85. The pair of guide pipes 61, 62 are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction and extend in the left-right direction. The pair of guide pipes 61, 62 are each arranged horizontally. The pair of guide pipes 61, 62 are arranged at the same height here. However, the heights of the pair of guide pipes 61, 62 may be different from each other. The pair of guide pipes 61 and 62 are each composed of a round pipe here. As shown in FIG. 1, the printer body 11 (more specifically, the pair of legs 13L and 13R of the printer body 11) supports the guide pipes 61, 62 via a pair of left and right arms 90L and 90R.

The pair of arms 90L, 90R on the winding device 60 side and the pair of arms 40L, 40R on the media supplying device 20 side are made of the same material. More specifically, the left arm 90L on the winding device 60 side is made of the same material as the right arm 40R on the media supplying device 20 side. The right arm 90R on the winding device 60 side is made of the same material as the left arm 40L on the media supplying device 20 side. The arms have a front and back, and are designed to face a specific direction outward. Therefore, the arm on the winding device 60 side is used by swapping the left and right sides with the arm on the media supplying device 20 side. However, the arms may be configured so that there is no distinction between the front and back.

In FIG. 5, the reference numerals of the parts of the left arm 90L on the winding device 60 side are shown in parentheses (see also FIG. 2 which illustrates the right arm 90R). The left arm 90L on the winding device 60 side includes a guide connection part 91 to which the guide pipes 61 and 62 are connected, a first body connection part 92 configured to be connectable to the printer body 11, and a second body connection part 93 configured to be connectable to the printer body 11. The first body connection part 92 and the second body connection part 93 are provided at the root part 90a. The guide connection part 91 is provided at the tip part 90b. The first body connection part 92 is provided between the guide connection part 91 and the second body connection part 93. The first body connection part 92 and the second body connection part 93 are different in distance from the guide connection part 91. Here, the distance between the second body connection part 93 and the guide connection part 91 is longer than the distance between the first body connection part 92 and the guide connection part 91. The details of the guide connection part 91, the first main body connection part 92, and the second main body connection part 93, as well as the entire configuration of the arm 90L, are the same as the right arm 40R on the media supply device 20 side.

2, the right arm 90R is connected to the printer body 11 by connecting the first body connection part 92 to the printer body 11. More specifically, the first body connection part 92 of the arm 90R is connected to the lower attachment part 13b provided on the right side of the right leg 13R. The lower attachment part 13b is provided below the upper attachment part 13a to which the arm 40R on the media supply device 20 side is attached. The tip part 90b of the arm 90R protrudes forward from the leg 13R. The guide connection part 91 provided on the tip part 90b is located forward from the leg 13R. However, since the first body connection part 92 is disposed closer to the guide connection part 91 than the second body connection part 93, the protrusion amount of the arm 90R on the winding device 60 side from the leg 13R is smaller than the protrusion amount of the arm 40R on the media supply device 20 side from the leg 13R.

The left arm 90L is similarly connected to the printer body 11 by connecting the first body connection part 92 to the printer body 11 (more specifically, to the lower mounting part, not shown, of the left leg 13L). The guide connection parts 91 of the left and right arms 90L and 90R support the left and right ends of the guide pipes 61 and 62, respectively. The second body connection part 93 is not used in the arms 90L and 90R.

The guide pipes 61 and 62 are inserted into a pair of left and right feeders 70L and 70R. The pair of feeders 70L and 70R can slide left and right along the guide pipes 61 and 62, respectively. The pair of feeders 70L and 70R of the winding device 60 are the same members as the pair of feeders 30L and 30R of the media supply device 20. In detail, the feeder 70L on the left side of the winding device 60 is the same member as the feeder 30L on the left side of the media supply device 20. The feeder 70R on the right side of the winding device 60 is the same member as the feeder 30R on the right side of the media supply device 20. As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the pair of feeders 70L and 70R of the winding device 60 each include a flange 71 on which the core 7a of the roll media 7 after printing (see Figure 7B) is attached, an insertion portion 73 through which the guide pipes 61 and 62 are inserted, and a fixed portion 75.

1 and 3, the pair of feeders 70L, 70R of the winding device 60 are mounted with their vertical orientations swapped with the pair of feeders 30L, 30R of the media supplying device 20. For example, the orientation of the left feeder 70L of the winding device 60 is the orientation of the left feeder 30L of the media supplying device 20 rotated 180 degrees around an axis parallel to the axis of the guide pipes 61, 62, as shown in FIG. 4. The apex of the main body 72 where the first insertion portion 73a is provided is the upper and front apex of the main body 72 of the approximately inverted triangle. The front guide pipe 61 is inserted into the first insertion portion 73a. The apex of the main body 72 where the second insertion portion 73b is provided is the upper and rear apex of the main body 72 of the approximately inverted triangle. The rear guide pipe 62 is inserted into the second insertion portion 73b. The pair of feeders 70L, 70R of the winding device 60 are suspended by the guide pipes 61, 62 in this manner. The flange 71 is located at the lower apex of the main body 72 of a roughly inverted triangle. The flange 71 of the winding device 60 is located below the insertion portion 73. When the feeder 70L rotates, the fixed portion 75 (see FIG. 1) moves so that it faces forward.

As shown in FIG. 1, the right feeder 70R is provided with a winding motor 80. The winding motor 80 rotates the flange 71 of the right feeder 70R around a rotation shaft (not shown, but the same as the rotation shaft 34 in FIG. 6).

The left and right pair of feeders 70L and 70R are adjusted in their left and right positions according to the left and right width of the media 5 and the positions of the pair of feeders 30L and 30R of the media supply device 20. The pair of feeders 70L and 70R are fixed after their left and right positions are adjusted along the guide pipes 61 and 62. The winding motor 80 moves left and right along the guide pipes 61 and 62 together with the right feeder 70R. Figures 7A and 7B are front views showing the movement of the pair of feeders 70L and 70R. Figure 7A shows the pair of feeders 70L and 70R before position adjustment. Figure 7B shows the pair of feeders 70L and 70R after they have been moved according to the width of the media 5 and the positions of the feeders 30L and 30R of the media supply device 20. As shown in Figures 7A and 7B, the winding device 60 can hold winding cores 7a of various lengths by moving the feeders 70L and 70R left and right, respectively. The core 7a can be a used core of the same type of roll media. When the winding motor 80 is driven with the left and right feeders 70L and 70R holding the core 7a, the rotating flange 71 rotates the core 7a. As a result, the printed media 5 is wound up by the winding device 60, forming the printed roll media 7. The wound roll media 7 is suspended and supported by a pair of guide pipes 61 and 62 via a pair of feeders 70L and 70R.

The tension bar 85 is located forward of the feeders 70L and 70R. The tension bar 85 is configured to swing up and down. The tension of the media 5 on the platen 14 is maintained at a predetermined tension by winding the media 5 around the tension bar 85 upstream of the core 7a in the transport direction.

As shown in FIG. 7A, a storage space S1 is provided around the flanges 71 of the pair of feeders 70L, 70R to store the roll media 7 after it has been wound around the core 7a. The storage space S1 is open at its bottom end so that it reaches the installation surface F1 (e.g., the floor surface of the installation location of the printer 10) on which the printer main body 11 is installed. The storage space S1 is configured so that the bottom end is not partitioned by any member.

2 and 7B show the roll media 7 after winding. 2 and 7B show the roll media 7 with the largest diameter among the usable roll media. As shown in FIG. 2 and 7B, the storage space S1 is configured to allow a gap between the stored roll media 7 after winding and the installation surface F1 of the printer 10. The vertical length of the gap is preferably 100 mm or more when it is at its minimum (when the diameter of the roll media 7 is the largest). More preferably, the vertical length of the gap is preferably 200 mm or more when it is at its minimum. A gap of this height is a gap that allows, for example, a dolly to be inserted below the roll media 7. The method of using this gap will be explained in the following explanation of the flow from setting the roll media 6 before printing to collecting the roll media 7 after printing.

[Flow from setting up roll media to collecting it]
The following describes the process from setting the roll media 6 before printing to collecting the roll media 7 after printing. In the setting work of the roll media 6 in the media supply device 20, first, the roll media 6 is temporarily placed on the temporary placement members 36L and 36R. In addition, the left and right feeders 30L and 30R of the media supply device 20 are released. This allows the feeders 30L and 30R to move left and right along the guide pipes 21 and 22. Next, the roll media 6 is set between the left and right flanges 31 while adjusting the left and right positions of the feeders 30L and 30R to match the width of the roll media 6. Before mounting the roll media 6, it is recommended that one of the left and right feeders 30L and 30R be fixed to the guide pipes 21 and 22. In this setting work of the roll media 6 before printing, the user should lift one of the left and right ends of the roll media 6 and mount it on one of the flanges 31, and then the user should lift the other end and mount it on the other flange 31. In this embodiment, in order to facilitate this operation, the flanges 31 are provided above the guide pipes 21, 22 and the temporary placement members 36L, 36R. When the roll media 6 is set in the media supply device 20, the tips of the left and right flanges 31 are inserted into the internal space of the core 6a.

The core 7a on the winding device 60 side is set in the winding device 60 in the same procedure as setting the roll media 6 before printing in the media supply device 20. When setting the core 7a in the winding device 60, first, the left and right feeders 70L and 70R of the winding device 60 are released. This allows the feeders 70L and 70R to move left and right along the guide pipes 61 and 62. Next, the core 7a is set between the left and right flanges 71 while adjusting the left and right positions of the feeders 70L and 70R to match the positions of the feeders 30L and 30R of the media supply device 20 and the width of the core 7a (see Figures 7A and 7B). In this installation of the core 7a, it is recommended that the core 7a be inserted between the left and right flanges 71 from between the front guide pipe 61 and the tension bar 85. When the winding core 7a is set in the winding device 60, the tips of the left and right flanges 71 are inserted into the internal space of the winding core 7a.

Next, the media 5 is unwound from the roll media 6 set in the media supply device 20. In unwinding the media 5, the user pulls out the front end of the media 5 from the roll media 6 and inserts it into the rear opening 11a (see FIG. 3) of the printer body 11. When the media 5 is unwound through the rear opening 11a onto the platen 14, the user lowers the pinch roller 51. This holds the media 5 down on the platen 14. The grit roller 52 is then driven, and the media 5 is transported forward until the front end reaches the winding device 60. The front end of the media 5 is set on the winding core 7a held by the winding device 60 via the tension bar 85.

The feed device 50 feeds the media 5 forward as printing progresses. The winding device 60 sequentially winds up the media 5 fed by the feed device 50. After printing on the media 5 is completed and the entire media 5 is wound up as the roll media 7, the user collects the roll media 7. In one preferred method, when collecting the roll media 7, the user may first insert the dolly T1 into the space below the roll media 7 in the storage space S1 (see FIG. 2). In this embodiment, the core 7a of the roll media 7 is attached below the guide pipes 61 and 62. Therefore, the lower end of the storage space S1 for the roll media 7 is not partitioned by the guide pipes 61 and 62. The lower end of the storage space S1 is open so that it reaches the installation surface F1 of the printer body 11. In addition, the storage space S1 is configured so that a gap is formed between the roll media 7 stored after winding and the installation surface F1. Therefore, the cart T1 can be easily inserted under the roll media 7 simply by running the cart T1 on the installation surface F1.

After inserting the dolly T1 under the roll media 7, the roll media 7 wound around the core 7a is removed from the winding device 60 in the reverse order of how the core 7a was attached. The roll media 7 removed from the winding device 60 falls onto the dolly T1. After this, the collection of the roll media 7 from the printer 10 is completed by simply pulling the dolly T1 out of the storage space S1.

[Effects of this embodiment]
The effects and advantages of the printer 10 according to this embodiment will be described below.

In this embodiment, the pair of feeders 70L, 70R of the winding device 60 are configured to be slidable in the left-right direction along the guide pipes 61, 62, respectively. Furthermore, the flanges 71, which are the mounting parts of the winding cores 7a in the feeders 70L, 70R, are located below the insertion parts 73 of the guide pipes 61, 62. According to this winding device 60, by sliding the feeders 70L and 70R along the guide pipes 61, 62, it is possible to use winding cores 7a of different lengths depending on the width of the media 5. This makes it possible to reuse the winding cores 6a of used roll media 6 as the winding cores 7a of the winding device 60, for example. Also, as described above, in this embodiment, the dolly T1 or the like can be easily inserted below the roll media 7 after winding. Then, if the roll media 7 is removed from the flanges 71 in this state, the roll media 7 can be easily placed on the dolly T1 or the like because there is no guide pipe below the roll media 7. This makes it easy to collect the roll media 7 after winding. As mentioned above, conventional printers were not designed to allow both the spacing between the pair of mounting sections to be adjusted to match the width of the media and the insertion of a dolly or the like under the roll media after it has been wound up. With the printer 10 according to this embodiment, it is possible to both adjust the spacing between the pair of flanges 71 to match the width of the media 5 and easily place the roll media 7 on a dolly T1 or the like after it has been wound up.

In this embodiment, the winding device 60 has two guide pipes 61 and 62 instead of one, and the feeders 70L and 70R have a first insertion portion 73a and a second insertion portion 73b through which the guide pipes 61 and 62 are inserted, respectively. With this configuration, the posture and the position in the front-rear and up-down directions of the feeders 70L and 70R can be determined by inserting one guide pipe 61 into the first insertion portion 73a and the other guide pipe 62 into the second insertion portion 73b. For example, it is possible to determine the posture and position of the feeder by configuring the guide pipe as a single square pipe. However, in such a configuration, the force that tries to rotate the feeder is concentrated at the corners of the guide pipe and the insertion portion, so that the guide pipe and the insertion portion need to be constructed firmly. In addition, the guide pipe and the insertion portion are easily damaged. If there are two guide pipes, the force trying to rotate the feeder will not be concentrated at the corners of the guide pipes and the insertion part, and the guide pipes can be made of round pipes, which are easy to obtain and inexpensive. The same applies to the guide pipes 21 and 22 of the media supply device 20.

In this embodiment, the pair of feeders 30L and 30R of the media supply device 20 are the same components as the pair of feeders 70L and 70R of the winding device 60. With this configuration, the feeders 30L and 30R of the media supply device 20 and the feeders 70L and 70R of the winding device 60 can be made common, thereby reducing the number of types of parts in the printer 10.

In this embodiment, the pair of feeders 30L, 30R of the media supply device 20 are supported by the guide pipes 21, 22 in such a direction that the flanges 31 are located above the pair of guide pipes 21, 22 and the pair of temporary placement members 36L, 36R. Here, the pair of feeders 30L, 30R are attached upside down to the feeders 70L, 70R of the winding device 60. As described above, when loading the roll media 6 into the media supply device 20, it is preferable to temporarily place the roll media 6 on the temporary placement members 36L and 36R. Therefore, in the media supply device 20 according to this embodiment, the flanges 31 are positioned above the temporary placement members 36L and 36R so that the roll media 6 can be easily loaded onto the flanges 31. In addition, the temporary placement members 36L and 36R are bridged between the guide pipes 21 and 22 so that the guide pipes 21, 22 do not get in the way when loading the roll media 6 onto the flanges 31.

In this embodiment, the arms 90L and 90R on the winding device 60 side that connect the guide pipes 61 and 62 of the winding device 60 to the printer body 11 and the arms 40L and 40R on the media supplying device 20 side that connect the guide pipes 21 and 22 of the media supplying device 20 to the printer body 11 are the same member. This allows the number of parts of the printer 10 to be further reduced. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the arms 40L, 40R, 90L, and 90R each have two body connectors: a first body connector 42 or 92 that can be connected to the printer body 11, and a second body connector 43 or 93 that can be connected to the printer body 11. The arms 90L and 90R on the winding device 60 side are connected to the printer body 11 by connecting the first body connector 92 to the printer body 11. The arms 40L and 40R on the media supplying device 20 side are connected to the printer body 11 by connecting the second body connector 43 to the printer body 11. With this configuration, the arms can be attached to the printer body 11 in different ways while using the same arms for the winding device 60 and the media supplying device 20. For example, the distance from the legs 13L, 13R of the winding device 60 can be different from the distance from the legs 13L, 13R of the media supplying device 20.

Specifically, in the arms 40R, 90L or 40L, 90R, the distance between the second body connection part 43 or 93 and the guide connection part 41 or 91 is set longer than the distance between the first body connection part 42 or 92 and the guide connection part 41 or 91. Therefore, the media supply device 20 is farther from the printer body 11 than the winding device 60. In order to sufficiently dry the media 5 after printing, it is preferable that the transport path of the media 5 is longer downstream of the print head 16 than upstream. The transport path of the media 5 downstream of the print head 16 passes through the tension bar 85, so it is longer when the winding device 60 is closer to the legs 13L, 13R. Therefore, in this embodiment, the arms 90L, 90R on the winding device 60 side are connected to the printer body 11 by the second body connection part 93.

In this embodiment, the pair of feeders 30L and 30R of the media supply device 20 are both configured to be movable in the left-right direction along the guide pipes 21 and 22, and the pair of feeders 70L and 70R of the winding device 60 are also configured to be movable in the left-right direction along the guide pipes 21 and 22, respectively. Therefore, it is easy to align the positions of the pair of feeders 70L and 70R of the winding device 60 with the positions of the pair of feeders 30L and 30R of the media supply device 20 fixed to the guide pipes 21 and 22 according to the width of the roll media 6. In this embodiment, the winding motor 80 that rotates the right flange 71 moves left-right together with the right feeder 70R, so the media 5 can be wound even if the positions of the feeders 70L and 70R are moved.

[Other embodiments]
Although a preferred embodiment has been described above, the printer disclosed herein is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, in the above embodiment, the flange 71 of the winding device 60 is provided below the insertion portion 73. However, the flange 71 of the winding device 60 may be provided on the side of the insertion portion 73. Even if the flange 71 is on the side of the insertion portion 73, a storage space S1 whose lower end is not partitioned by the guide pipes 61 and 62 can be provided. However, it is more preferable that the flange 71 of the winding device 60 is provided below the insertion portion 73 in that the width of the printer 10 is less likely to become wide. In addition, it is more preferable that the flange 71 of the winding device 60 is provided below the insertion portion 73 in that the feeders 70L, 70R and the guide pipes 61 and 63 are not required to have strength. When the flange 71 of the winding device 60 is provided below the insertion portion 73, the feeders 70L, 70R and the roll media 7 are simply hanging from the guide pipes 61 and 63. On the other hand, when the flange 71 of the winding device 60 is provided to the side of the insertion portion 73, the feeders 70L, 70R and the guide pipes 61, 63 are subjected to a rotational torque due to the weight of the feeders 70L, 70R, the guide pipes 61, 63, and the roll media 7. Therefore, the feeders 70L, 70R and the guide pipes 61, 63 are required to have strength.

In the above embodiment, the feeders 30L, 30R of the media supply device 20 are common members to the feeders 70L, 70R of the winding device 60, but they may be different types of members. The same applies to the arms 90L, 90R on the winding device 60 side and the arms 40L, 40R on the media supply device 20 side.

In the above embodiment, there were two guide pipes in each of the media supply device 20 and the winding device 60, but as mentioned above, there may be only one each. Alternatively, there may be three or more guide pipes in each of the media supply device 20 and the winding device 60. Also, in the above embodiment, the temporary placement members 36L and 36R were a pair on the left and right, but they may be a single member.

In the above embodiment, both of the pair of feeders 70L and 70R of the winding device 60 are configured to be slidable along the guide pipes 61 and 62, but the winding device 60 only needs to be configured to be able to place the core 7a at any position within a set range, and only one of the pair of feeders 70L and 70R may be configured to be movable. The same is true for the pair of feeders 30L and 30R of the media supply device 20. That is, in the above embodiment, both of the pair of feeders 30L and 30R of the media supply device 20 are configured to be slidable along the guide pipes 21 and 22, but the media supply device 20 only needs to be configured to be able to adjust the left-right position to match the left-right width of the roll media 6, and only one of the pair of feeders 30L and 30R may be configured to be movable.

In the above embodiment, the feeders 30L, 30R of the media supply device 20 and the feeders 70L, 70R of the winding device 60 are installed upside down. However, the installation manner of the feeders 30L, 30R of the media supply device 20 and the feeders 70L, 70R of the winding device 60 is not particularly limited. The feeders 30L, 30R of the media supply device 20 and the feeders 70L, 70R of the winding device 60 may be installed offset by a specified angle other than 180 degrees, or may be installed in the same direction. The feeders 30L, 30R of the media supply device 20 and the feeders 70L, 70R of the winding device 60 may be used by switching the left and right sides.

Unless otherwise specified, the configuration of the printer is not limited to the configuration described above. For example, the shape and configuration of the feeder are not limited.

Furthermore, the technology disclosed herein can be used not only in inkjet printers, but also in other devices equipped with a media transport device that transports media while unwinding it from a roll of media on which sheet-like media is wound. For example, the technology disclosed herein may be used in a cutting device that cuts media into a desired shape with a cutter. The technology disclosed herein may also be applied to printers other than inkjet printers.

5 Media 6 Roll media (before printing)
7 Roll media (after printing)
7a Winding core 10 Printer 11 Printer body (main body)
16 Print head 20 Media supply device (supply device)
21, 22 Guide pipe (second guide member)
30L, 30R Feeder (second support member)
31 Flange (mounting part)
33 Insertion portion 36L, 36R Temporary placement member 40L, 40R Arm (second arm)
50: Feed device 60: Winding device 61, 62: Guide pipe (first guide member)
70L, 70R Feeder (first support member)
71 Flange (mounting part)
73 Insertion portion 80 Winding motor 90L, 90R Arm (first arm)
91 Guide connection part 92 First body connection part 93 Second body connection part F1 Installation surface S1 Storage space T1 Cart

Claims (7)

A take-up device that takes up the media;
a main body supporting the winding device,
The winding device includes:
a first guide member supported by the main body and extending in a first direction along a horizontal plane;
Another first guide member extending in the first direction and provided alongside the first guide member in a direction perpendicular to the first direction;
a pair of first support members each including an insertion portion through which the first guide member is inserted, another insertion portion through which the other first guide member is inserted, and a mounting portion that is disposed below the insertion portion and the other insertion portion and between the insertion portion and the other insertion portion in a direction perpendicular to the first direction and into which a core of a medium is mounted, at least one of which is slidable in the first direction along the first guide member and the other first guide member;
a storage space is provided between the pair of first support members and below the first guide member and the other first guide member , the storage space being a space that does not overlap with the first guide member and the other first guide member in the vertical direction, and in which the medium after being wound around the core is stored;
the storage space is configured such that a lower end thereof is open so as to reach an installation surface on which the main body is installed, and a gap is formed between the stored wound media and the installation surface.
Media transport device. The first direction is a left-right direction,
The direction perpendicular to the first direction is a front-rear direction,
A tension bar is provided forward of the pair of first support members and configured to swing up and down;
a tension bar support member provided forward of the pair of first support members and supporting the tension bar,
The media conveying device according to claim 1 . a feeder supported by the body and feeding media from a roll;
The supply device comprises:
a plurality of second guide members each supported by the main body and extending in the first direction;
a pair of second support members each being the same as the pair of first support members, the plurality of second guide members being inserted therethrough, and at least one of the second support members being slidable in the first direction along the plurality of second guide members;
a temporary placement member that is bridged between the plurality of second guide members and is capable of temporarily placing a roll of media before the roll is attached to the pair of second support members,
the pair of second support members are supported by the second guide members in an orientation such that the mounting portion is located above the second guide members and the temporary placement member;
the roll of media is supported by the pair of mounting portions above the second guide members and the temporary placement member;
the medium after being wound is supported by being suspended from the first guide member and the another first guide member via the pair of first support members;
The media conveying device according to claim 1 . A take-up device that takes up the media;
A main body supporting the winding device;
a feeder supported by the body and feeding a medium from a roll;
The winding device includes:
a first guide member supported by the main body and extending in a first direction along a horizontal plane;
a pair of first support members each including an insertion portion through which the first guide member is inserted and an attachment portion provided below the insertion portion and into which a core of a medium is attached, at least one of which is slidable in the first direction along the first guide member;
a storage space for storing the medium after being wound around the core is provided between the pair of first support members and below the first guide member;
the storage space is configured such that a lower end thereof is open so as to reach an installation surface on which the main body is installed, and a gap is formed between the stored wound media and the installation surface,
The supply device comprises:
a second guide member supported by the main body and extending in the first direction;
a pair of second support members each being the same as the pair of first support members, the second guide member being inserted therethrough, and at least one of the second support members being slidable along the second guide member in the first direction;
a pair of first arms connected to the main body and the first guide member;
a pair of second arms, which are the same members as the pair of first arms and are connected to the main body and the second guide member;
the main body supports the first guide member and the second guide member via the pair of first arms and the pair of second arms, respectively;
The first arm and the second arm each have
a guide connection portion to which the first guide member and the second guide member are connected;
A first body connection portion connectable to the body;
A second body connection part connectable to the body,
the first arm is connected to the main body by connecting the first main body connection portion to the main body,
The second arm is connected to the main body by connecting the second main body connection portion to the main body .
Media transport device. A distance between the second body connection portion and the guide connection portion is longer than a distance between the first body connection portion and the guide connection portion.
The media conveying device according to claim 4 . a feeder supported by the body and feeding media from a roll;
The supply device comprises:
A second guide member extending in the first direction;
a pair of second support members configured to support a roll of media and inserted through the second guide member so as to be movable along the second guide member in the first direction;
The pair of first support members are each configured to be movable in the first direction along the first guide member.
The media conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. A media conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A print head for forming an image on a medium.
Printer.

Images