JPH038647A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect the existence and absence of a material to be recorded by one optical sensor even when the material to be recorded is in different sizes by constructing a device so that multiple lever members are projected toward a feeding path and the material to be recorded can be detected by at least either one of the multiple lever members. CONSTITUTION:When a recording sheet 101 is not inserted into a feeding path, the two levers 52A and 52B of a lever device 50 are kept projected from the slit 11B of a lower guide 11 toward the feeding path by the action of an weight 53. Next, when the recording sheet 101 is inserted into the feeding path, the lever 52A and/or the lever 52B is pushed down by the end of the recording sheet 101 depending on its size and inserting position, and rotated to disengage a shutter 54 from the transmitting groove of a photo-sensor 60. By this, a sensor 60 in the off condition is turned on. Also, when the recording sheet 101 is passed over and disengaged out of the levers 52A and 52B, the absence of sheet is detected by the sensor 60.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application 1] The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, and more particularly to a recording apparatus equipped with means for detecting the presence or absence of a recording material in a recording material feeding path. [Prior Art] Conventional recording devices, especially serial printers, are configured to be able to record on recording materials of various sizes, and their application software allows the recording position to be set at the center of the feeding path of the recording material. For example, Lotus'"1゜2.3" (product name) is left-aligned, but Just System's "-Tabe" (product name) has different specifications. It is a central distribution. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, in such a recording device, if a means for detecting the presence or absence of a recording material is provided at one location on the recording material feeding path, recording materials of various widths Or, there is a possibility that it cannot be compatible with various software. For example, in a recording device that can record up to a large recording paper with a maximum width of about 17", and when feeding recording paper with the width of a postcard, for example, as shown in FIG. If the recording paper 101, which is the width of a postcard and is fed in the center sorting state, is installed at only one location suitable for left alignment in the feeding path 102, it will come off the detection means 100 and will not be detected. Providing multiple recording material detection means to enable detection in each case not only increases costs, but also requires space for wiring for the detection means, which limits design conditions. An object of the present invention is to focus on the above-mentioned conventional problems, and in order to solve the problems, it is an object of the present invention to solve the problems, regardless of whether the reference position for setting in the feeding path for recording is centered or left-aligned. ,1
An object of the present invention is to provide a recording device in which the presence or absence of a recording material can be detected by two recording material detection means. [Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a feeding path for guiding a recording material to a recording position, and a recording medium for detecting the presence or absence of a recording material in the feeding path. In a recording device having a material detecting means, a plurality of lever members protruding in the same direction while maintaining a predetermined interval on a rotary wheel disposed along a feeding path in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction. A recording material detection means is composed of a shutter member, a pinhole type lever device having a weight, and an optical sensor that is turned on and off by the shutter member, and a plurality of lever members are connected to the feeding path. It is characterized in that the recording material is protruded so that at least one of the plurality of lever members detects the recording material. [Function] According to the present invention, a plurality of lever members protrude in the same direction at a predetermined interval from the rotation shaft, so that at least one of the lever members engages with the tip of the recording material and rotates the recording material. By rotating the moving shaft, the shutter member biases the optical sensor and the recording material is detected. [Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described below in detail and specifically based on the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of an inkjet recording apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention. Here, 1 is a recording head mounted on a carriage 2, and the carriage 2 is stretched between an idler pulley (not shown). The timing belt is also driven by a carriage drive motor (not shown), and is reciprocated along the guide shaft 3 by forward and reverse rotation of the timing belt. Incidentally, ink is supplied to the recording head 1 from an ink cartridge 4 via an ink tube (not shown), and while the carriage 2 is moving from left to right, the recording head 1 is supplied with ink from an ink ejection port (not shown) to a recording material such as a recording material. Ink is ejected toward the recording sheet 5, and recording is performed. The ejection means for the recording head includes rapid formation and contraction of bubbles in the liquid using thermal energy, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,459,800. A bubble jet method (preferably one having an electrothermal converter as a component) can be adopted in which a change in state is caused and liquid is ejected as droplets in response to the formation of bubbles. 6 is a plate-shaped fixed platen that holds the recording sheet 5 at a position facing the ejection surface of the recording head 1 at a predetermined interval; 7 is a feed roller that feeds the recording sheet 5; 8 is in pressure contact with the feed roller rough; A pinch roller 9 is driven to sandwich the recording sheet 5 between them, and 9 is a pinch roller holder for applying pressure to the pinch roller 8. The holder 9 is made of a stainless steel plate or the like, and the spring force of the holder 9 causes the pinch roller to 8 is biased toward the feed roller rough. IO and 11 hold the recording sheet 5 fed manually, etc., and the feed roller rough and pinch roller 8
An upper guide and a lower guide for guiding between. A guide rail IOA is provided on the upper part of the upper guide IO, and a leaf spring portion 2A provided on the lower surface side of the carriage 2 is slidably held along the guide rail IOA. Thus, the spring force of the leaf spring 2A urges the carriage 2 itself toward the fixed platen 6, and the carriage 2
A part of the platen 6 is attached to the sheet holding plate 1 provided in front of the platen 6.
The recording head 1 is slidably brought into contact with the recording head 3.
A predetermined distance is maintained between the ink ejection surface IA and the recording sheet 5. Note that the part of the sheet press plate 13 that a part of the carriage 2 comes into contact with is the back side of the part of the sheet press plate 13 that contacts the feed roller rough. When the sheet press plate 13 is moved back by that amount due to the passage of the recording sheet 5, the carriage 2 is also moved back. Therefore, it is possible to maintain the above-mentioned interval at a predetermined interval regardless of paper thickness and form a high-quality recorded image. The recording sheet 5 fed by the feed roller rough and the pinch roller 8 is held by a fixed platen 6 tilted rearward at an angle of approximately 30 degrees, making it easy for the operator to see the recording results. In this way, the recording sheet 5 that has finished recording is delivered to the discharge roller 12.
and a spur (not shown) that comes into pressure contact with this, and is discharged. Further, on the left side of FIG. 1, 20 is a hollow needle that is inserted into the ink cartridge 4 when the ink cartridge 4 is inserted from the cartridge insertion port 21;
Ink is supplied from this hollow needle 20 to the recording head 1 via a tube (not shown). Furthermore, 23 is a cap member that is attached to the ink ejection surface IA of the recording head 1 when the recording head 1 is moved to the initial position, 24 is a cap guide shaft that movably holds the cap member 23, and 25 26 is a pump cam for driving the pump 25, and 27 is a pump for driving the feed roller luff together with the discharge roller 12 via a gear train 28 and an idler pulley 29. Feed motor possible. Next, the recording material detection means according to the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The recording material detection means is composed of a pendulum type lever device 50 and a transmission type photosensor 110, and the combined device is a second
It is arranged in relation to a feed path 102 formed by an upper guide IO and a lower guide 11 as shown in the figure. That is, the pendulum-type lever device 50 has two lever parts 52A and 5 disposed at a predetermined distance on a rotating shaft 51 supported parallel to the feed roller rough as shown in FIG.
2B, a weight section 53, and a shutter section 54 that turns the photosensor 60 on and off. Therefore, when the recording sheet 101 is not inserted into the feeding path 102, the two lever portions 5 of the lever device 50
2A and 52B are kept protruding from the slit IIB of the lower guide 11 toward the feeding path 102 by the action of the ffi weight portion 53. When the recording sheet 101 is inserted into the feeding path 102, the lever portion 52A and/or
Alternatively, the lever portion 52B is pushed down and rotated by the end thereof depending on the size and insertion position of the recording sheet 101, and the shutter portion 54 is disengaged from the transmitting groove of the sensor 60, and the sensor 60, which was previously in the “OFF 0” state, is rotated. is in the "on" state. Note that when the recording sheet 101 passes, the lever part 52
When the lever device 5G is removed from A and 52B, the lever device 5G returns to its original state by the action of the weight portion 53, and the sensor BO detects "no sheet". As described above, the lever portions S2A and 52B are arranged at a predetermined interval as will be described later, and the recording sheet 101 inserted in the center distribution is placed in the lever portion S2A and the lever portion 52B as shown in FIG. If the width is sufficiently wide, it is detected by the lever part 52A, and if the width is sufficiently wide, it is detected by both lever parts 52A and 52B. In this case, the lever parts 52A and 52B have the same posture. By being arranged to keep the
There is no possibility that the off timing will be off. Setting conditions regarding the distance between the lever parts 52A and 62B and the arrangement position of the lever device 50 will be described with reference to FIG. 4A. Here, A is the maximum width of a recording sheet that can pass through the feeding path 102 of the recording device, B is the minimum width of the recording sheet used, and P is the distance from the center of the lever parts 52A and 52B to the center of the feeding path 102. When A > 3B, the passing positions of recording sheet 10IA inserted with left alignment and recording sheet 101 B inserted with center distribution do not overlap, and therefore two lever members are required. I understand. Therefore, if the distance between the lever members at this time is L (see Fig. 4B), there is a relationship as follows, and if the conditions are set, the recording sheet 10IA is moved by the lever member 52A, and the recording sheet 10IA is moved by the lever part 52B. 101B can be detected, and space can be effectively utilized by keeping the spacing between the lever members to a minimum. FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which one lever member 52B is mounted movable along the rotation axis 51 in a pendulum lever device 5G, and the spacing between the lever members is adjustable. This allows the interval to be changed as appropriate for devices with different recording sheet specifications. FIG. 6 shows yet another embodiment of the present invention, in which one wide lever member 52 is used to separate lever members 52A and 52A.
It is also used as 2B. Therefore, the total width of the lever member 52 in this case, which corresponds to the example shown in FIG. 4B, is L+2d.
It is sufficient that the installation position of the lever device a50 satisfies the condition of equation (2). Note that α here is a margin provided in consideration of component precision and recording sheets, and is not necessarily necessary. In addition, in the above explanation, a pendulum lever device in which two lever members are arranged on one rotating shaft at a predetermined interval is used in principle, but the lever member arranged on one rotating shaft is The number of lever members is not limited to two, and for example, three lever members may be arranged at a predetermined interval. However, as a preferred example which has the simplest structure and can efficiently detect sheets for various specifications, an example having two lever members as in the above-mentioned embodiment is shown. The present invention has a plurality of lever sections, which increases the force acting on the paper when it is deformed, especially when the recording medium absorbs ink, such as in inkjet recording. Another advantage is that the presence or absence of paper can be accurately detected without remaining raised due to the deformed portion. [Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of lever members are projected in the same direction at a predetermined interval from the rotation axis of the pendulum lever device constituting the recording material detection means. At least one of the plurality of lever members is engaged with the recording material and rotated, so that the optical sensor is biased by the shutter member provided on the rotation wheel and the recording material is rotated. Since the recording material is detected, one optical sensor can be used for each recording material, regardless of whether the recording material is of a different size or the reference position of the recording material with respect to the feeding path is left-aligned or centered. Accordingly, it is possible to provide an inexpensive and efficient general-purpose recording device that can detect the presence or absence of a recording material.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of an inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an example of the structure of a recording material detecting means according to the present invention, and FIG. FIGS. 4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams of the setting conditions of the recording material detection means according to the present invention; FIGS. 5 and 6 are according to other embodiments of the present invention; FIGS. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a conventional recording material detection means. 1O... Upper guide, 11... Lower guide, 50... Pendulum type lever device, 51... Rotating shaft, 52.52^, 52 To... Lever part, 53... Weight part , 54--Shutter section, 60-Transmission type photosensor, 101, l0IA, l0IB...Recording sheet, 1
02...Feeding route. 1... Recording head, 121F Eroller Fig. 102 Feed and tighten each Fig. 4A Fig. 4 Fig. 4B +02 Feeding path Fig. 52 Lever housing 1 year old Fig.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A recording apparatus having a feeding path for guiding a recording material to a recording position, and a recording material detection means for detecting the presence or absence of the recording material in the feeding path, comprising: A plurality of lever members protruding in the same direction at a predetermined interval from a rotating shaft disposed along the feeding path in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction, a shutter member, and a weight. a pendulum-type lever device having a
and an optical sensor that is turned off constitutes the recording material detection means, and the plurality of lever members are made to protrude into the feeding path, so that the recording material is detected by at least one of the plurality of lever members. A recording device characterized in that detection is performed by any one of the following. 2) A recording head configured to form bubbles in response to thermal energy generated by an electrothermal transducer and form droplets by the action of the recording head, and the recording material detecting means is configured to detect a recording material in the recording head. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording apparatus is located downstream of the recording area so as to detect the recorded material.