JP2012000898A - Conveying device for inkjet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent jamming from occurring in the middle of a manual feed path or a sheet from getting unusable even when the sheet is inserted from a manual feed tray during operation other than conveyance of the sheet.SOLUTION: By providing a rear paper ejection port 23 below the manual feed tray 20, a retreat path P3 different from the manual feed path P1 is formed below the manual feed path P1. The retreat path P3 is formed to relieve the trailing edge of the sheet conveyed in a reverse direction when a first conveying roller 60 reversely rotates by maintenance operation by a maintenance mechanism.

Description

  The present invention relates to a conveyance device of an ink jet recording apparatus that records an image on a sheet by discharging ink from a recording head.

  2. Related Art Inkjet recording apparatuses that perform image recording on a sheet by discharging ink from a recording head are known. In this ink jet recording apparatus, bubbles and ink clogging may occur in the recording head. These become obstacles to ink ejection from the recording head. In order to prevent or recover from such a failure, a purge for removing bubbles and ink from the recording head is performed. The purge is realized by a maintenance mechanism.

  On the other hand, conventionally, as an ink jet recording apparatus, an apparatus that records an image on a sheet inserted from a manual feed tray by a user in addition to a sheet stacked on a sheet feeding tray is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). . The transport apparatus provided in the conventional ink jet recording apparatus includes a transport path for paper from the manual feed tray, a transport path for sheets from the paper feed tray, and a transport roller. They merge before the transport roller, and image recording is performed downstream thereof.

JP-A-8-113379

  In general, the manual feed tray uses a lot of special paper such as thick paper, is more expensive than normal paper, and has few spares, so it is important to avoid reprinting.

  In the above-described conventional ink jet recording apparatus, the manual feed tray can be stored in the apparatus main body when not in use. On the other hand, since the sheets inserted from the manual feed tray are mostly special paper such as cardboard as described above, the inclination of the path of the sheet inserted from the manual feed tray (hereinafter referred to as “manual path”) is horizontal in the apparatus main body. It is close to the configuration. For this reason, the manual feed path is discontinuous because the angle changes between the openable and closable manual feed tray portion and the horizontal portion in the apparatus main body.

  In the case of using the manual feed tray, the user can manually feed the sheet at an arbitrary timing. Therefore, while the maintenance is being performed by the maintenance mechanism, the sheet can be inserted along the manual feed path until it abuts on the conveyance roller. At this time, if the conveyance roller shares a drive source with another mechanism, for example, the maintenance mechanism, the sheet may be unintentionally conveyed. At this time, depending on the operation of the drive source, the conveying roller may rotate forward or backward, and depending on the situation, the sheet returned to the discontinuous portion of the manual feed path may collide, and there is a risk of jamming or making the sheet unusable.

  An object of the present invention is an ink jet recording that can prevent clogging in the middle of a manual feed path or disabling of a sheet even if a sheet is inserted from a manual feed tray during an operation other than sheet conveyance. An object of the present invention is to provide a transfer device for the apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, a transport apparatus for an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is a transport apparatus for an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a manual feed tray, and is inserted from a transport roller for transporting a sheet and the manual feed tray. A manual path that is a path of the sheet, and a retraction path that is formed at a lower portion of the manual path and that is different from the manual path, and the transport roller performs an operation other than the transport of the sheet When the operation mechanism and the drive source are shared and linked with the other operation, the retraction path shares a part with the manual feed path, and the transport roller is reversed by the other operation by the operation mechanism. In addition, the rear end of the sheet is formed to escape.

  In the conveyance device of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the conveyance roller has a common driving mechanism and driving mechanism for performing operations other than the conveyance of the sheet, and is linked to other operations. For this reason, when the user inserts a sheet from the manual feed tray while the operation mechanism is performing another operation, the sheet may be unintentionally conveyed by the associated conveyance roller. At this time, depending on the operation of the drive source, the conveyance roller may rotate forward or reverse, and depending on the situation, the sheet returned to the discontinuous portion of the manual feed path may collide, and may jam or make the sheet unusable.

  In the first invention of the present application, a retraction path different from the manual feed path is formed below the manual feed path, and the retreat path shares a part with the manual feed path, and the conveyance roller is reversed by another operation by the operation mechanism. At this time, the rear end of the sheet conveyed in the reverse direction is formed to escape. As a result, even when the conveying roller is operated so that the trailing edge of the sheet returns to the upstream side (the direction opposite to the normal conveying direction = the manual feed position), the trailing edge of the sheet can be released to the retreat path side, It is possible to prevent clogging on the way or making the sheet unusable.

  In the transport apparatus for an ink jet recording apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the retraction path surrounds the sheet detection means for detecting the sheet from three directions on the transport roller side of the shared portion of the manual feed path. And a maintenance opening portion integrally having a surface that forms a sheet feeding path as a path of the sheet supplied from the sheet feeding tray on the back side. Features.

  In the second invention of the present application, the retreat path is constituted by a maintenance opening part integrally having a surface forming a paper feed path on the back side. Accordingly, by opening the maintenance opening portion, both the retreat path and the paper feed path can be opened at once, and clogging caused in the retreat path and the paper feed path can be eliminated at a time. Further, the maintenance opening portion has a conveyance end portion protruding so as to surround the sheet detection means for detecting the sheet from three directions. With this conveyance end, it is possible to position the sheet with respect to the sheet detection means, and when the conveyance roller is operated so that the rear end of the sheet returns to the upstream side, the rear end is not the paper feed path side but the retreat path side. Can be guided to.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the sheet detecting means is a contact switch that can be tilted toward the conveying roller when the sheet is inserted into the manual feed path. The conveying end portion projects the sheet from the leading end portion when the contact switch tilts.

  In the third invention of the present application, as the sheet detecting means, a contact switch that can be tilted toward the conveying roller when the sheet is inserted into the manual feed path is used. This contact switch is turned on when the leading edge of the sheet inserted from the manual feed tray comes into contact and tilts toward the conveying roller, and returns to the original posture when the sheet is conveyed downstream and the trailing edge passes, and is turned off. Become. The conveying end projects the sheet from the leading end when the contact switch is tilted. As a result, when the sheet is inserted from the manual feed tray and protruded from the conveyance end portion to the conveyance roller, the sheet can be reliably detected by the contact switch.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ink jet recording apparatus transporting apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the operation mechanism is a maintenance mechanism, and the other operation is a maintenance operation performed on the recording head. It is characterized by.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus, maintenance is performed in order to remove bubbles and ink from the recording head. Maintenance is performed by a maintenance mechanism. In the fourth invention of the present application, when the conveying roller is reversed by the maintenance operation by the maintenance mechanism, the trailing edge of the sheet can be released to the retreat path. Thereby, even if a sheet is inserted from the manual feed tray during maintenance, it is possible to prevent clogging in the middle of the manual feed path or making the sheet unusable.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the inkjet recording apparatus transporting apparatus according to the fourth aspect, wherein the maintenance operation is ink discharge from a nozzle surface of the recording head.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus, suction purge is performed to discharge ink from the nozzle surface of the recording head. The suction purge is executed by a maintenance mechanism. In the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the conveying roller is reversed by the suction purge operation by the maintenance mechanism, the trailing edge of the sheet can be escaped to the retreat path. Thereby, even if a sheet is inserted from the manual feed tray during the suction purge, it is possible to prevent clogging in the middle of the manual feed path or making the sheet unusable.

  According to the present invention, even when a sheet is inserted from the manual feed tray during an operation other than the sheet conveyance, it is possible to prevent clogging in the middle of the manual feed path or making the sheet unusable.

1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a multifunction machine as an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention. 1 is a rear view showing an external appearance of a multifunction machine. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an external appearance of the multifunction machine in a state where an image reading unit is opened. It is an arrow view from the A direction in FIG. 3 showing the detailed structure of a jam processing cover. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows typically the internal structure of a printer part. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows notionally the structure of a sheet sensor vicinity. 2 is a partial plan view showing an internal configuration of a printer unit. FIG. It is a flowchart showing the operation | movement procedure of a maintenance.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an external configuration of a multifunction machine 10 including an embodiment of a conveyance device for an inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention will be described. In the following description, the vertical direction 7 is defined with reference to the state where the multifunction machine 10 is installed (the state shown in FIG. 1), and the side on which the operation panel 121 is provided is the front side (front side). A front-rear direction 8 is defined, and a left-right direction 9 is defined when the multifunction device 10 is viewed from the front side (front side).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 10 is a thin rectangular parallelepiped having a large width (length in the left-right direction 9) and depth (length in the front-rear direction 8) with respect to the height (length in the up-down direction 7). It is generally formed. An image reading unit 12 is provided in the upper part of the multi-function device 10, and a printer unit 11 of an ink jet recording system is provided in the lower part. The printer unit 11 has a casing 14 having openings formed on the front and the back. Each component of the printer unit 11 is disposed in the casing 14. The multifunction machine 10 has various functions such as a facsimile function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a copy function. In the present embodiment, the multifunction device 10 having only a single-sided image recording function as a printer function is described, but the multifunction device 10 may have a double-sided image recording function.

[Configuration of Image Reading Unit 12]
The image reading unit 12 is disposed on the upper part of the printer unit 11 and includes a scanner unit 122. The scanner unit 122 is configured as a flat bed scanner (FBS: Flat Bed Scanner) and an automatic document feeder (ADF: Automatic Document Feeder). In the present invention, the scanner unit 122 reads an image recorded on a document. Any configuration can be used. In the present specification, detailed description thereof is omitted.

[Configuration of Operation Panel 121]
An operation panel 121 for operating the printer unit 11 and the scanner unit 122 is provided on the front side of the upper surface of the multifunction machine 10 and on the upper surface of the front side of the scanner unit 122. The operation panel 121 includes various operation buttons and a liquid crystal display unit. The multifunction machine 10 operates in response to an instruction input from the operation panel 121.

[Configuration of Printer Unit 11]
A storage chamber (not shown) is defined so as to continue from an opening (not shown) in the front of the printer unit 11 to the inside of the casing 14. A paper feed tray 78 (see FIG. 5 to be described later) is mounted in this accommodation chamber. The paper feed tray 78 is configured to be able to be inserted into and removed from the front opening 8 in the front-rear direction 8. The sheet feed tray 78 can hold sheets of various sizes. In the present embodiment, the multi-function device 10 capable of mounting only one paper feed tray 78 is described. However, the multi-function device 10 may be capable of mounting a plurality of paper feed trays 78. For example, as shown in FIG. 6 to be described later, the multifunction machine 10 may include a first paper feed tray 78A and a second paper feed tray 78B that is slidable in the front-rear direction 8 above the first paper feed tray 78A.

  A recess 122B is provided on the back surface 14A of the printer unit 11. The recess 122B is provided at a height between the scanner unit 122 and the paper feed tray 78, and includes a right side surface 14AA, a left side surface 14AB, and a back surface 14AC.

  A manual feed tray 20 is provided on the back surface 14A of the printer unit 11 so as to be openable and closable with respect to the apparatus main body 10A. Here, the apparatus main body 10 </ b> A refers to a portion other than the manual feed tray 20 in the entire multifunction peripheral 10. As shown in FIG. 5, which will be described later, the manual feed tray 20 is opened and closed by rotating about a base shaft 21 (see FIG. 3) as a rotation center axis. 1 and 2 show a state in which the manual feed tray 20 is closed. FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 described later show a state in which the manual feed tray 20 is opened. In FIG. 5, the state where the manual feed tray 20 is opened is indicated by a solid line, and the closed state is indicated by a broken line. Various sizes of sheets can be placed on the manual feed tray 20 in an opened state. In general, special paper such as cardboard is placed on the manual feed tray 20. On the back surface 14 </ b> A of the printer unit 11, a back surface opening 13 is provided at a position facing the base end portion (lower end portion) of the manual feed tray 20. The sheet is inserted into the printer unit 11 from the rear opening 13 toward the front by the user of the multifunction machine 10 while being carried on the placement surface of the manual feed tray 20.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the manual feed tray 20 is connected to a portion where the manual feed tray 20 and the apparatus main body 10 </ b> A are connected, specifically, between the base shafts 21, 21 that are the rotation center axes of the manual feed tray 20. In addition, a rear paper discharge port 23 is provided. The rear discharge port 23 shares a part with a manual feed path P1 (see FIGS. 5 and 6 to be described later) that is a path of a sheet inserted from the manual feed tray 20, and is described later by a maintenance operation by the maintenance mechanism 180. This is formed as an exit of a retreat path P3 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) through which the trailing edge of the sheet escapes when the one transport roller 60 is reversed.

  In the present embodiment, the rear discharge port 23 is provided by forming a recess on the manual feed tray 20 side. However, a rear discharge port may be provided by forming a recess on the apparatus body 10A side.

  Next, the internal configuration of the printer unit 11 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7. In FIG. 5, the illustration of the front side (the right side of the paper) of the paper feed tray 78 is omitted.

  In addition to the paper feed tray 78, the printer unit 11 picks up a sheet from the paper feed tray 78 and feeds (feeds) the sheet, and ink droplets are applied to the sheet fed by the feed unit 15. An ink jet recording type recording unit 24 that discharges to form an image on a sheet is provided. These are provided in the casing 14.

[Conveyance path 65]
Inside the printer unit 11, a conveyance path 65 is formed from the paper feed tray 78 and the manual feed tray 20 to the paper discharge holding unit 79 through the recording unit 24 and the front paper discharge port 85. The conveyance path 65 includes a paper feed path P2 formed between the leading end (rear end portion) of the paper feed tray 78 and the recording unit 24, and a manual feed path P1 that is a path of a sheet inserted from the manual feed tray 20. And a retreat path P3 different from the manual feed path P1 formed in the lower part of the manual feed path P1 and a discharge path 65C formed between the recording unit 24 and the front discharge port 85. The manual feed path P1 and the retreat path P3 share a part thereof, and the leading end (front end) of the manual feed path P1 and the retreat path P3 and the paper feed path P2 merge at the merge position 36. The paper discharge holding unit 79 may be integrated with the paper feed tray 78 or may be fixed to the frame of the printer unit 11 or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the paper feed path P <b> 2 is a curved path extending from the vicinity of the upper end of the separation inclined plate 22 provided in the paper feed tray 78 to the recording unit 24. The sheet is conveyed rearward from the paper feed tray 78. The sheet is U-turned from the lower side to the upper side by the paper feed path P2 on the back side of the apparatus. Thereafter, the sheet is conveyed forward. The sheet feeding path P2 is partitioned by an outer guide member 18 and an inner guide member 19 that face each other with a predetermined interval. The outer guide member 18 corresponds to a surface that forms the paper feed path described in the claims.

  The manual feed path P1 is formed above the paper feed path P2. The sheet is inserted by the user of the multifunction machine 10 forward from the rear opening 13 while being carried on the manual feed tray 20. The inserted sheet is inserted into a nip position 60A between the first conveying roller 60 and the pinch roller 61 via the manual feed path P1. The first conveying roller 60 conveys the sheet in the forward direction and the reverse direction by rotating forward and backward. The forward direction refers to the direction in which the sheet is conveyed downstream in the conveyance direction (the direction indicated by the two-dot chain line arrow in FIG. 5), and the reverse direction is the direction opposite to the forward direction. The direction of transport to the upstream side of the direction. Moreover, the 1st conveyance roller 60 is corresponded to the conveyance roller as described in a claim.

  The manual feed path P1 is partitioned by a first lower guide member 80 and a first upper guide member 81 that face each other with a predetermined interval therebetween. As described above, since many sheets are inserted from the manual feed tray 20 such as thick paper, the inclination of the manual feed path P1 is almost horizontal in the apparatus main body 10A. On the other hand, the manual feed tray 20 can be opened and closed with respect to the apparatus main body 10A. For this reason, the manual feed path P1 changes its angle between the openable / closable manual feed tray 20 portion and the substantially horizontal portion in the apparatus main body 10A to form a discontinuous portion P1X.

  The outer guide member 18 constitutes a wall surface on the back side of the multifunction machine 10 of the paper feed path P2, and the first lower guide member 80 constitutes a lower wall surface of the manual feed path P1 and the retreat path P3. Both wall surfaces are constituent elements of the jam processing cover 14B.

  The jam processing cover 14B is rotatably provided at the rear end portion of the apparatus main body 10A. The jam handling cover 14B has a foreign matter collecting portion 14C for taking in and storing foreign matter other than a sheet such as a staple of a clip / stapler that has entered the manual feed path P1 in a box shape. The foreign matter collecting unit 14C is configured to open the manual feed path P1 and take in foreign matter that has entered along the manual feed path P1. The jam handling cover 14B corresponds to the maintenance opening portion described in the claims.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the jam processing cover 14 </ b> B has a protruding portion 14 </ b> D protruding from the end portion on the first conveying roller 60 side. As shown in FIG. 4, the projecting portion 14 </ b> D is provided so as to project in a bifurcated manner so as to surround a sheet sensor 110, which will be described later, disposed in the vicinity of the merging position 36 from three directions. Perform positioning. This prevents the sheet from interfering with the sheet sensor 110 and prevents the conveyance from being hindered. In addition, protrusion part 14D is corresponded to the conveyance end part as described in a claim.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the front end of the protrusion 14D has a surface 14DA on the paper feed path P2 side that is substantially horizontal, but the surface on the manual feed path P1 and retreat path P3 side. 14DB is formed to be inclined toward the paper feed path P2. As a result of such a leading end shape, the sheet has a function of guiding the sheet toward the retreat path P3 when the sheet conveyed to the downstream side in the forward direction of the merge position 36 is conveyed in the reverse direction. .

  Further, concave portions 14E for reducing the sheet contact area in the vicinity of the merging position and reducing the conveyance resistance due to friction are formed at both the left and right positions of the protrusion 14D.

  The paper discharge path 65 </ b> C is partitioned by a second lower guide member 83 and a third upper guide member 84 provided on the downstream side of the recording unit 24. The paper discharge path 65C guides to the downstream side while supporting the lower surface of the image-recorded sheet conveyed by the second conveyance roller 62. The third upper guide member 84 and the second lower guide member 83 are arranged to face each other with a predetermined interval through which the sheet can pass.

[Feeding unit 15]
The feeding unit 15 is for conveying the sheets stored in the sheet feeding tray 78 toward the sheet feeding path P2, and includes a sheet feeding roller 25, a sheet feeding arm 26, a sheet feeding drive transmission mechanism 27, and the like. It has. The paper feed roller 25 is disposed above the paper feed tray 78. The paper feed roller 25 picks up a sheet stored in the paper feed tray 78 and feeds it to the paper feed path P <b> 2, and is rotatably supported at the tip of the paper feed arm 26. The paper feed roller 25 is driven to rotate when the rotational force of a paper feed motor (not shown) is transmitted via the paper feed drive transmission mechanism 27. The paper feed drive transmission mechanism 27 is pivotally supported by the paper feed arm 26 and is composed of a plurality of gears arranged in a straight line substantially along the extending direction of the paper feed arm 26. The paper feed roller 25 rotates about the base shaft 28 as a rotation center axis, and can be pressed against the upper surface of the sheet stored in the paper feed tray 78.

[Seat sensor 110]
As shown in FIG. 6, below the protrusion 14 </ b> D in the vicinity of the first transport roller 60, a sheet fed from the paper feed tray 78 and transported through the paper feed path P <b> 2 or from the manual feed tray 20 to the manual feed path P <b> 1. A sheet sensor 110 is provided for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet inserted via the sheet. The sheet sensor 110 includes a contact switch that can be tilted about the rotation shaft 110a. As shown in FIG. 6, when a sheet is inserted in the forward direction (rightward in FIG. 6) when the sheet is inserted from the manual feed path P1 or supplied from the paper feed path P2, the leading edge of the sheet is the sheet sensor 110. And incline toward the first conveying roller 60 (a state indicated by a broken line 110a in FIG. 6). When the sheet reaches the nip position 60A between the first conveying roller 60 and the pinch roller 61, the sheet sensor 110 is tilted until the leading end is located at the lower part of the sheet (a state indicated by a broken line 110b in FIG. 6). When the sheet sensor 110 is tilted to the state 110b, the protrusion 14D protrudes the sheet from the leading end toward the first conveying roller 60. The sheet sensor 110 is turned on in the states indicated by 110a and 110b, and outputs a signal to a control unit (not shown). The control unit determines that the sheet is present.

  On the other hand, when the sheet is conveyed and the trailing end of the sheet passes the nip position 60A between the first conveying roller 60 and the pinch roller 61, the sheet sensor 110 returns to the original posture by the biasing force of a spring (not shown) (in FIG. 6). A state indicated by a solid line 110). Further, when the first conveyance roller 60 is reversed by a maintenance operation by a maintenance mechanism 180 described later, the sheet is conveyed in the reverse direction (left direction in FIG. 6), and the sheet trailing edge is released to the retraction path P3, the sheet The sensor 110 is inclined toward the back side of the apparatus until the tip of the sensor 110 is located at the lower part of the sheet (a state shown by a broken line 110c in FIG. 6). The sheet sensor 110 is OFF in the state indicated by the solid line 110 and the broken line 110c, and does not output a signal to a control unit (not shown). As a result, the control unit determines that there is no sheet.

  Since the sheet sensor 110 is provided in the vicinity of the first conveyance roller 60, when the detection state of the sheet conveyed in the forward direction by the first conveyance roller 60 changes from presence to absence, the sheet is conveyed in the conveyance path 65. Can be regarded as having been transported to a position beyond the first transport roller 60. The sheet sensor 110 corresponds to the sheet detecting means described in the claims.

[Recording unit 24]
As shown in FIG. 7, the recording unit 24 includes a carriage 31 that is mounted with a recording head 39 and reciprocates in a direction (main scanning direction) perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction. The recording head 39 is supplied with inks of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (Bk) from an ink cartridge (not shown) through an ink tube 33. The carriage 31 reciprocates along guide rails 35 and 36 extending in the main scanning direction. Thereby, the recording head 39 is scanned with respect to the sheet, and image recording is performed on the sheet conveyed on the platen 34 provided below the recording unit 24.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the recording head 39 is exposed on the lower surface side of the carriage 31. A plurality of nozzles (not shown) are provided on the nozzle surface 48 of the recording head 39. Each nozzle is provided for each color ink of CMYBk. Each color ink is ejected from each nozzle as a fine ink droplet.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the guide rail 36 is provided with an encoder strip 42 of a linear encoder along the end 37. The linear encoder detects the encoder strip 42 by a photo interrupter 43 provided on the carriage 31. The reciprocation of the carriage 31 is controlled based on the detection signal of the linear encoder.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a first transport roller 60 and a pinch roller 61 are provided between the end of the paper feed path P <b> 2 and the recording unit 24. These are paired. The pinch roller 61 is disposed below the first transport roller 60 and is pressed against the roller surface of the first transport roller 60 by an elastic member such as a spring (not shown). The first conveying roller 60 and the pinch roller 61 pinch the sheet that has been conveyed through the paper feed path P2 or the manual feed path P1 and feed it onto the platen 34. A second transport roller 62 and a spur roller 63 are provided between the recording unit 24 and the start end of the paper discharge path 65C. These are paired. The second conveying roller 62 and the spur roller 63 pinch the recorded sheet and further convey it to the downstream side (front discharge port 85 side) in the conveying direction.

  The first transport roller 60 and the second transport roller 62 are rotated by a rotational driving force transmitted from a transport motor (not shown) via a drive transmission mechanism (not shown). The first transport roller 60 and the second transport roller 62 are intermittently driven during image recording. Therefore, image recording is performed while the sheet is sent with a predetermined line feed width.

[Drive transmission mechanism]
The drive transmission mechanism is composed of a planetary gear or the like, and transmits the forward rotation driving force of the transport motor to a pump (not shown) described later, and the reverse rotation driving force (not shown). ). The first conveyance roller 60 and the second conveyance roller 62 are rotated in the direction in which the sheet is conveyed in the forward direction by the forward rotation driving force of the conveyance motor, and by the reverse rotation driving force of the conveyance motor, Rotate in the direction to transport the sheet in the reverse direction. With this drive transmission mechanism, it is possible to use a conveyance motor that is a common drive source for the first conveyance roller 60, the pump, and the port switching mechanism. Needless to say, the correspondence relationship between the rotation direction of the transfer motor and the drive transmission to the pump or the port switching mechanism may be reversed. Further, the conveyance motor corresponds to the drive source described in the claims.

[Maintenance mechanism 180]
As shown in FIG. 7, a maintenance mechanism 180 is disposed in a region where the sheets on both sides in the left-right direction 9 of the platen 34 do not pass, that is, in the retreat position in the reciprocating range of the recording unit 24. The maintenance mechanism 180 includes a purge mechanism 44 and a waste liquid tank (not shown), and performs maintenance including exhaust purge and suction purge.

  The purge mechanism 44 sucks and removes bubbles and foreign matters together with ink from the nozzles and sub tanks (not shown) of the recording head 39. As shown in FIG. 7, the purge mechanism 44 includes a suction cap 46 that covers a nozzle surface 48 (see FIG. 5) of the recording head 39 and an exhaust cap 53 that covers an exhaust hole of a sub tank (not shown) provided in the recording head 39. A pump (not shown) connected to the suction cap 46 or the exhaust cap 53 and performing suction, a lift-up mechanism for bringing the suction cap 46 and the exhaust cap 53 into and away from the recording head 39, and the like.

  The suction cap 46 is made of rubber. The suction cap 46 is in close contact with the nozzle surface 48 by a lift-up mechanism. The inside of the suction cap 46 is divided into two spaces according to the color ink (CMY) nozzles and the black ink (Bk) nozzles. A space is formed between them. Although not shown, an intake port is provided at the bottom of each space of the suction cap 46, and each intake port is connected to a pump via a port switching mechanism. The exhaust cap 53 is also made of rubber. The exhaust cap 53 is in close contact with the exhaust hole of the recording head 39.

  Next, a maintenance operation procedure executed by the maintenance mechanism 180 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in step S10, the conveyance motor is driven in reverse by the control of the control unit, the drive is transmitted to the port switching mechanism by the drive transmission mechanism, and the port is switched to the exhaust purge mode. As a result, the first conveyance roller 60 is driven in reverse to convey the sheet in the reverse direction.

  Next, in step S20, the conveyance motor is driven to rotate forward under the control of the control unit, and the drive is transmitted to the pump by the drive transmission mechanism to drive the pump. As a result, exhaust purge is performed to suck air bubbles from the sub tank of the recording head 39 through the exhaust cap 53. Further, the first conveying roller 60 is driven to rotate forward, and the sheet is conveyed in the forward direction.

  Next, in step S30, the conveyance motor is driven in reverse by the control of the control unit, and the drive is transmitted to the port switching mechanism by the drive transmission mechanism, and the port is switched to the suction purge mode. As a result, the first conveyance roller 60 is driven in reverse to convey the sheet in the reverse direction.

  Next, in step S40, the conveyance motor is driven to rotate forward under the control of the control unit, and the drive is transmitted to the pump by the drive transmission mechanism to drive the pump. As a result, a suction purge for sucking ink from the nozzle surface 48 of the recording head 39 via the suction cap 46 is performed. Further, the first conveying roller 60 is driven to rotate forward, and the sheet is conveyed in the forward direction.

  Next, in step S50, the conveyance motor is driven in reverse by the control of the control unit, and the drive is transmitted to the port switching mechanism by the drive transmission mechanism, so that the port is switched to the normal printing mode. Thereby, the maintenance operation is completed.

  As described above, during the maintenance, in order to operate the pump and the switching mechanism, the conveyance motor performs both forward rotation and reverse rotation, and these drives are driven by the first transmission by the drive transmission unit. Since it is also transmitted to the roller 60, the first transport roller 60 drives both forward and reverse. For this reason, when a sheet is inserted from the manual feed tray 20 during maintenance, the sheet is conveyed in the forward direction and the reverse direction, and reciprocates in the apparatus main body 10A. As a result, the leading edge of the sheet conveyed in the reverse direction may come into contact with the discontinuous portion P1X of the manual feed path P1 and clogging may occur, but as described above, the connection portion between the manual feed tray 20 and the apparatus main body 10A Since the rear discharge port 23 is provided on the rear end of the sheet, the front end of the sheet conveyed in the reverse direction in the retreat path P3 is received in the opening of the rear discharge port 23, or when the movement amount is large, the front end of the sheet is It is also possible to expose to the outside of the apparatus through the paper discharge port 23. In this way, since the sheet can be allowed to be conveyed in the reverse direction in the apparatus main body 10A, even if the sheet is inserted from the manual feed tray 20 during the maintenance operation, the sheet is prevented from being jammed in the apparatus. can do.

  In the above, the first transport roller 60, the manual feed path P1, the retreat path P3, and the like constitute a transport apparatus of the ink jet recording apparatus described in the claims.

[Effect of the embodiment]
In the multifunction machine 10 of the present embodiment, the first conveyance roller 60 shares a drive source with the maintenance mechanism 180 that performs maintenance, which is an operation other than the conveyance of the sheet, and is linked to the maintenance operation. For this reason, when the user inserts a sheet from the manual feed tray 20 while the maintenance mechanism 180 is performing the maintenance operation, the sheet may be unintentionally conveyed by the first conveying roller 60 that is interlocked. At this time, depending on the operation of the conveyance motor, the first conveyance roller 60 may rotate forward or reverse, and depending on the situation, the sheet returned to the discontinuous portion P1X of the manual feed path P1 may collide, and clogging or making the sheet unusable There is.

  In the present embodiment, by providing the rear paper discharge port 23 at the lower part of the manual feed tray 20, a retreat path P3 different from the manual feed path P1 is formed at the lower part of the manual feed path P1. The retraction path P3 is formed so as to escape the trailing edge of the sheet conveyed in the reverse direction when the first conveying roller 60 is reversed by a maintenance operation by the maintenance mechanism 180. As a result, even when the first conveying roller 60 is operated so that the sheet trailing edge returns to the upstream side, the sheet trailing edge can be relieved to the retreat path P3 side, and jamming occurs in the middle of the manual feeding path P1, Can be prevented from being disabled.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the retracting path P3 is constituted by a jam processing cover 14B integrally including an outer guide member 18 that forms the sheet feeding path P2 on the back side. Accordingly, by opening the jam processing cover 14B, both the retreat path P3 and the paper feed path P2 can be opened at once, and the clogging generated in the retreat path P3 and the paper feed path P2 can be eliminated at a time. it can. Further, the jam processing cover 14B has a protruding portion 14D that protrudes so as to surround the sheet sensor 110 that detects the sheet from three directions. The protrusion 14D can position the sheet with respect to the sheet sensor 110, and when the first conveying roller 60 is operated so that the rear end of the sheet returns to the upstream side, the rear end of the first conveyance roller 60 is moved toward the paper feed path P2. And can be guided to the retreat path P3 side.

  In this embodiment, in particular, a contact switch that can be tilted toward the first conveying roller 60 when a sheet is inserted into the manual feed path P1 is used as the sheet sensor 110. The sheet sensor 110 is turned on when the leading edge of the sheet inserted from the manual feed tray 20 comes into contact and tilts toward the first conveying roller 60, and the sheet is conveyed downstream and the trailing edge passes, thereby returning to the original posture. Return to and turn off. Then, the protrusion 14D protrudes the sheet from the leading end when the sheet sensor 110 tilts. Thereby, when the sheet is inserted from the manual feed tray 20 and protruded from the protrusion 14D to the first conveyance roller 60, the sheet sensor 110 can reliably detect the sheet.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, when the first conveying roller 60 is reversed by a maintenance operation by the maintenance mechanism 180, the trailing edge of the sheet can be released to the retraction path P3. Thereby, even if a sheet is inserted from the manual feed tray 20 during maintenance, it is possible to prevent clogging in the middle of the manual feed path P1 or making the sheet unusable.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, when the first conveying roller 60 is reversed by the suction purge operation by the maintenance mechanism 180, the trailing edge of the sheet can be released to the retreat path P3. Thereby, even if a sheet is inserted from the manual feed tray 20 during the suction purge, it is possible to prevent clogging in the middle of the manual feed path P3 or the sheet from being disabled.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can be implemented with various modifications within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention.

10 MFP (inkjet recording device)
14B Jam treatment cover (maintenance opening)
14D Protrusion (conveyance end)
18 Outer guide member (surface that forms the paper feed path)
20 Bypass tray 39 Recording head 48 Nozzle surface 60 First transport roller (transport roller, transport device)
110 Sheet sensor (sheet detection means)
180 Maintenance mechanism (motion mechanism)
P1 Manual feed path (conveyance device)
P2 Paper feed path P3 Retraction path (conveyance device)

Claims (5)

A transport device for an inkjet recording apparatus having a manual feed tray,
A transport roller for transporting the sheet;
A manual path that is a path of the sheet inserted from the manual tray;
A retraction path different from the manual path, formed at a lower portion of the manual path,
The conveyance roller has a common operation mechanism and drive source for performing operations other than conveyance of the sheet, and is linked to the other operations.
The retraction path shares a part with the manual feed path, and is formed so as to escape the rear end of the sheet when the conveying roller is reversed by the other operation by the operation mechanism. An inkjet recording apparatus carrying apparatus. In the conveyance apparatus of the inkjet recording device of Claim 1,
The evacuation route is
The shared path of the manual feed path has a conveyance end projecting so as to surround the sheet detection means for detecting the sheet from three directions on the conveyance roller side, and the sheet fed from the sheet feeding tray on the back side. A transport apparatus for an ink jet recording apparatus, comprising a maintenance opening portion integrally having a surface that forms a paper feed path as a path. In the conveyance apparatus of the inkjet recording device of Claim 1 or 2,
The sheet detecting means includes
A contact switch that is tiltable toward the conveying roller when the sheet is inserted into the manual feed path;
The transport end is
A transport apparatus for an ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the sheet is projected from a leading end when the contact switch is tilted. In the conveyance device of the ink-jet recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The transport mechanism of the ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the operation mechanism is a maintenance mechanism, and the other operation is a maintenance operation performed on the recording head. In the conveyance apparatus of the inkjet recording device of Claim 4,
The maintenance operation is
An ink jet recording apparatus conveying apparatus, wherein the ink is discharged from a nozzle surface of the recording head.

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