Medium cassette
12179477 ยท 2024-12-31
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
B41J15/044
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
International classification
Abstract
A roll medium is accommodated in a medium cassette. The roll medium has a configuration where a continuous medium is rolled in a roll shape. The medium cassette has a supporter including two sets of support roller pairs which rotatably support the roll medium. The two sets of the support roller pairs are in contact with an outer peripheral surface of a lower part of the roll medium at each of end positions, where a lower end of the roll medium is sandwiched between the support roller pair, of the roll medium in a direction of a rotation axis of the roll medium, and are not in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the lower part of the roll medium at a central portion of the roll medium in the direction of the rotation axis.
Claims
1. A medium cassette, in which a roll medium having a configuration where a continuous medium is rolled in a roll shape is accommodated, the medium cassette comprising: a supporter including two sets of support roller pairs configured to rotatably support the roll medium, wherein the two sets of the support roller pairs are in contact with an outer peripheral surface of a lower part of the roll medium at each of end positions, where a lower end of the roll medium is sandwiched between the support roller pair, of the roll medium in a direction of a rotation axis of the roll medium, and are not in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the lower part of the roll medium at a central portion of the roll medium in the direction of the rotation axis, wherein the supporter further includes two sets of inner support roller pairs arranged on an inner side of the two sets of the support roller pairs in the direction of the rotation axis and having upper ends arranged in lower positions than upper ends of the two sets of the support roller pairs, the two sets of the inner support roller pairs are configured to rotatably support a separate roll medium having a length shorter than the roll medium in the direction of the rotation axis, and the two sets of the inner support roller pairs are in contact with an outer peripheral surface of a lower part of the separate roll medium at each of end positions, where a lower end of the separate roll medium is sandwiched between the inner support roller pair, of the separate roll medium in a direction of a rotation axis of the separate roll medium, and are not in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the lower part of the separate roll medium at a central portion of the separate roll medium in the direction of the rotation axis, and wherein each roller included in the two sets of the inner support roller pairs have a rotation axis being located at a position lower than a position of a rotation axis of each roller included in the two sets of the support roller pairs.
2. The medium cassette according to claim 1, wherein each support roller of the two sets of the support roller pairs and the two sets of the inner support roller pairs is configured by an individual roller having an individual shaft part.
3. The medium cassette according to claim 1, wherein a common shaft part is provided with support rollers of the two sets of the support roller pairs and the two sets of the inner support roller pairs, the support rollers arranged on each of both sides between which the lower ends of the roll medium and the separate roll medium are sandwiched.
4. The medium cassette according to claim 1, wherein at least one support roller pair of the two sets of the support roller pairs is configured to be movable in the direction of the rotation axis.
5. The medium cassette according to claim 4, further comprising a pair of side guides configured to guide both end faces, in the direction of the rotation axis, of the roll medium supported on the supporter.
6. The medium cassette according to claim 5, wherein at least one side guide of the pair of the side guides is configured to be movable in the direction of the rotation axis, and the one support roller pair is configured to be movable together with the one side guide.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5) FIGS. SA and 5B depict a tilted situation of a rotation axis of a roll sheet when deviation in an upper and lower direction is generated in support positions in which the roll sheet is supported between two sets of support roller pairs, where
(6)
(7)
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(8) A printer 100 in which a sheet feeding cassette 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure is adopted will be described.
(9) As shown in
(10) In the sheet feeding cassette 1, roll sheets R1, R2 corresponding to the roll medium can be selectively accommodated. The roll sheet R1 is longer than the roll sheet R2 (which will be described later) in an axis direction D (a vertical direction of the drawing sheet of
(11) In the present embodiment, a direction A in which the sheet P is unrolled from the roll sheet R1 and is conveyed away from the roll sheet R1 is a conveying direction. A rotating direction of the roll sheet R1 while the sheet P is conveyed is an unrolling direction B of the roll sheet R1.
(12) As shown in
(13) As shown in
(14) As shown in
(15) As shown in
(16) As shown in
(17) The roller 25 is a roller for guiding the sheet P unrolled from the roll sheet R. and extends long in the axis direction D. As shown in FIG. 2, the roller 25 also has a cylindrical roller main body 25a and a shaft part 25b inserted in the roller main body 25a. The shaft part 25b is integrally fixed to the roller main body 25a. The roller 25 is rotatably supported on the support base 13 via the shaft part 25b.
(18) As shown in
(19) As shown in
(20) As shown in
(21) As shown in
(22) The head 5 includes a plurality of nozzles (not shown) formed on a lower surface, and a driver IC 5a (refer to
(23) As shown in
(24) The controller 7 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 7a, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 7b, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 7c. In the ROM 7b, programs and data necessary for the CPU 7a to execute a variety of controls are stored. In the RAM 7c, data that is used when the CPU 7a executes the programs is temporarily stored.
(25) Subsequently, an image recording operation that is performed on the sheet P of the roll sheet R1 accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette 1 is described.
(26) When a recording command is received, the controller 7 drives the feeder motor 2M to rotate forward. Thereby, the sheet P is fed in the conveying direction A by the feeder roller 2a. At this time, the two sets of the support roller pairs 21, 22 that support both end portions of the roll sheet R1 in the axis direction D are rotated in conjunction with the rotation of the roll sheet R1 as the feeder roller 2a feeds the sheet P. When a signal indicative of detection of the tip end of the sheet P is received from the sensor 9, the controller 7 drives the feeder motor 2M to a position in which the tip end portion of the sheet P can be sandwiched by the conveying roller pair 3a, and then stops the same. Thereafter, the controller 7 drives the first and second conveyor motors 3Ma, 3Mb to rotate forward, thereby conveying the sheet P by the three sets of the conveying roller pairs 3a to 3c. When the sheet P passes a position facing the head 5, the controller 7 drives the driver IC 5a to eject ink from the nozzles of the head 5. In this way, a desired image is recorded on the sheet P. At this time, the controller 7 also stops the drive of the first and second conveyor motors 3Ma, 3Mb. and then drives the cutting motor 4M to cut the sheet P in a desired position. Thereafter, the controller 7 drives the second conveyor motor 3Mb to convey the cut sheet P. When further recording an image on the sheet P, the controller 7 drives the driver IC Sa to eject ink from the nozzles of the head 5. Then, the controller 7 discharges the sheet P having an image formed thereon to the sheet discharge unit 6, and stops the drive of the second conveyor motor 3Mb. In this way, a series of image recording operations on the sheet P of the roll sheet R1 are over.
(27) When recording an image on the sheet P of the roll sheet R2, the roll sheet R2 other than the roll sheet R1 is accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette 1. At this time, the roll sheet R2 is supported at both end portions in the axis direction D by the two sets of the support roller pairs 23, 24. Then, the sheet P of the roll sheet R2 is conveyed and an image is formed thereon, in a similar manner to the case of the roll sheet R1. At this time, the two sets of the support roller pairs 23, 24 are rotated in conjunction with the rotation of the roll sheet R2 as the sheet is conveyed. Thereafter, the sheet P having an image formed thereon is discharged to the sheet discharge unit 6, and a series of image recording operations on the sheet P of the roll sheet R2 are over.
(28) Due to a manufacturing error of each of the support rollers 21a, 22a configuring the two sets of the support roller pairs 21, 22, an attaching error to the support base 13, and the like, for example, as shown in
(29) In the present embodiment, since the roll sheet R1 shown with the dashed-two dotted line in
(30) Also in a case of the support rollers 23a, 24a configuring the two sets of the support roller pairs 23, 24, due to a manufacturing error, an attaching error to the support base 13, and the like, a deviation amount may be generated at the right and left support positions in which the two sets of the support roller pairs 23, 24 support the roll sheet R2. Also in this case, since the roll sheet R2 is supported downward at both end portions in the axis direction D, a tilt angle of the rotation axis Rx with respect to the horizontal line H passing through a center of the roll sheet R2 in the axis direction D can be suppressed from increasing and can be made small, similarly to the above case.
(31) As described above, according to the sheet feeding cassette 1 of the present embodiment, the two sets of the support roller pairs 21, 22 support the roll sheet R1 in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the lower part of the roll sheet R1, and the two sets of the support roller pairs 23, 24 support the roll sheet R2 in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the lower part of the roll sheet R2. For this reason, it is not necessary to adjust positions of the roll sheets R1, R2, so that it is possible to facilitate a replacement operation of the roll sheets R1, R2.
(32) It is possible to support both end positions of the roll sheet R1 without supporting the central portion of the roll sheet R1 by the two sets of the support roller pairs 21, 22. Thereby, even when a slight deviation in the upper and lower direction is generated at the support positions in which the two sets of the support roller pairs 21, 22 contact and support the roll sheet R1, a tilt of the rotation axis Rx is reduced, as compared to a configuration of supporting the central portion of the roll sheet R1 in the axis direction D. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the sheet P unrolled from the roll sheet R1 from being skewed.
(33) It is possible to support both end positions of the roll sheet R2 without supporting the central portion of the roll sheet R2 by the two sets of the support roller pairs 23, 24. Thereby, even when a slight deviation in the upper and lower direction is generated at the support positions in which the two sets of the support roller pairs 23, 24 contact and support the roll sheet R2, a tilt of the rotation axis Rx is reduced, as compared to a configuration of supporting the central portion of the roll sheet R2 in the axis direction D. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the sheet P unrolled from the roll sheet R2 from being skewed. Therefore, for each of the plurality of types of the roll sheets R1, R2 having different lengths in the axis direction D, it is possible to suppress the sheet P unrolled from each of the roll sheets R1, R2 from being skewed.
(34) The support rollers 21a to 24a configuring the four sets of the support roller pairs 21 to 24 are each configured by the individual rollers having the shaft parts 21a2 to 24a2. Thereby, since each of the support rollers 21a to 24a is configured by the individual roller having a relatively short length in the axis direction D, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost.
(35) As a first modified embodiment, as shown in
(36) As shown in
(37) Also in the first modified embodiment, the two sets of the support roller pairs 21, 22 support both end portions of the roll sheet R1 in the axis direction D, and the two sets of the support roller pairs 23, 24 support both end portions of the roll sheet R2 in the axis direction D. For this reason, it is possible to achieve the similar effects to the above embodiment. The four sets of the support roller pairs 21 to 24 have the common shaft parts 125, so that it is possible to easily mount the roller main bodies 21al to 24al.
(38) As a second modified embodiment, as shown in
(39) As shown in
(40) As shown in
(41) As shown in
(42) When accommodating the roll sheet R1 into the sheet feeding cassette 201, the support base 213b is arranged at a position shown with the solid line in
(43) When accommodating the roll sheet R2 into the sheet feeding cassette 201, the support base 213b is arranged at a position shown with the dashed-two dotted line in
(44) Furthermore, according to the sheet feeding cassette 201 of the present modified embodiment, the two sets of the support roller pairs 221, 222 contact the outer peripheral surfaces of the lower parts of the roll sheets R1, R2 and support the roll sheets R1, R2. For this reason, it is not necessary to adjust the positions of the roll sheets R1, R2, so that it is possible to facilitate the replacement operation of the roll sheets R1, R2.
(45) The support roller pair 222 of the two sets of the support roller pairs 221, 222 is configured to be movable in the axis direction D. Thereby, when accommodating the separate roll sheet R2 shorter than the roll sheet R1, the support roller pair 222 (support base 213b) is moved according to the length of the roll sheet R2, so that it is possible to support both end positions of the roll sheet R2 by the two sets of the support roller pairs 221, 222. For this reason, it is also possible to suppress the sheet P unrolled from the roll sheet R2 from being skewed. Therefore, for each of the plurality of types of the roll sheets R1, R2 having different lengths in the axis direction D, it is possible to suppress the sheet P unrolled from each of the roll sheets R1. R2 from being skewed.
(46) The pair of side guides 214a, 214b is provided, so that the roll sheets R1, R2 supported on the supporter 212 can be suppressed from shaking in the axis direction D. The support roller pair 222 is configured to be movable together with the side guide 214b. Thereby, when accommodating the roll sheet R2 shorter than the roll sheet R1, one side guide 214b is simply moved according to the length of the roll sheet R2 so as to guide both end faces of the roll sheet R2 by the pair of side guides 214a. 214b, so that it is possible to support both end positions of the roll sheet R2 by the two sets of the support roller pairs 221, 222.
(47) Although the favorable embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and a variety of changes can be made within the scope defined in the claims. For example, in the above embodiment and the first modified embodiment, the sheet feeding cassette 1 includes the four sets of the support roller pairs 21 to 24. However, two or more sets of support roller pairs may be further provided on an inner side of the two sets of the support roller pairs 23, 24. In this case, the support roller pair arranged on a further inner side is preferably configured so that an upper end thereof is positioned on a further lower side. In the above embodiment and the first modified embodiment, any one of the two sets of the support roller pairs 21, 22 and the two sets of the support roller pairs 23, 24 may be provided. Also in this case, since it is possible to support both end portions of the roll sheet, it is possible to achieve the similar effects to the above.
(48) Also in the above embodiment and the first modified embodiment, a pair of side guides capable of guiding both end faces of the roll sheet may be provided. In this case, at least one of the pair of side guides may be configured to be movable in the axis direction D.
(49) In the second modified embodiment, only the support base 213b is configured to be movable. However, the support base 213a may also be configured to be movable in the axis direction D. In this case, preferably, when one support base is moved toward one side in the axis direction D, the other support base is moved toward the other side in the axis direction D, and when one support base is moved toward the other side in the axis direction D, the other support base is moved toward one side in the axis direction D. This makes it possible for the two sets of the support roller pairs 221, 222 and the pair of side guides 214a, 214b to be movable in the axis direction D, in a similar manner. The pair of side guides 214a, 214b may also be configured to be immovable in the axis direction D.
(50) In the above embodiment and the first modified embodiment, at least one support roller pair of two sets of the support roller pairs of any one of the two sets of the support roller pairs 21, 22 and the two sets of the support roller pairs 23, 24 may be configured to be movable in the axis direction D. For example, one support roller pair of the two sets of the support roller pairs 23, 24 is configured to be movable in the axis direction D, so that even when a roll sheet having a length shorter than the roll sheet R2 in the axis direction D is accommodated, it is possible to support both end positions of the roll sheet in the axis direction D by the two sets of the support roller pairs 23, 24.
(51) The roll sheets R1, R2 may be each a coreless roll sheet with no core member Rc. The present invention can be applied to all medium cassettes in which a roll sheet is accommodated.