WO2000054975A1 - Ink jet type image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

An ink jet type image forming device, wherein auxiliary rollers (44) are disposed between pinch rollers (22) adjacent to each other coaxially with the pinch rollers (22), large diameter parts (44a) of the auxiliary rollers (44) press, from an upper side, a recording medium at those areas positioned over a platen (12), downstream side paper retaining members (46) are disposed between the auxiliary rollers (44) and an image forming area (41), and large diameter parts (46a) of the downstream side paper retaining members (46) also press the recording medium at those areas positioned over the platen (12).

Description

 Description Ink jet type image forming apparatus Technical field

 The present invention relates to an ink jet image forming apparatus that forms an image by ejecting ink to a recording medium such as recording paper. Background art

 2. Description of the Related Art As one of output devices of a computer or a workstation, an ink jet type image forming apparatus which forms an image on a recording medium such as recording paper by discharging ink is known. With reference to FIG. 33, a conventional ink jet type image forming apparatus will be described.

 FIG. 33 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a plotter which is an example of a conventional ink jet type image forming apparatus.

 The plotter 10 includes a platen 12 on which recording paper (not shown) to be conveyed in the direction of arrow A (conveying direction) is placed. Above the platen 12, two guide rails 14 a and 14 b are extended in parallel with the platen 12. The two guide rails 14a and 14b have motors

(Not shown) and a belt (not shown), a carriage 16 that freely reciprocates in the direction of arrow B (the main scanning direction orthogonal to the transport direction) is a slide bearing.

(Not shown). The guide rail 14 a is fixed to the housing 15.

The print head 18 has a print head 18 mounted thereon. The ink discharge surface (not shown) of the print head 18 has a plurality of ink discharge heads. A discharge port (not shown) is formed. Printhead 18 has 5 The ink cartridges 18K, 18K (black), 18C (cyan), 18M (magenta), and 18Y (yellow) are detachably mounted. When the print head 18 is located above the platen 12, the front of the ink discharge port surface of the print head 18 is an image forming area where an image is formed. Ink is ejected from the ink ejection port at a predetermined timing on a portion of the recording paper located in the image forming area, and an image for one band is formed. Then, the recording paper is conveyed by the width of one band by the pinch roller 22 and the conveyance roller 24 held by the holding arm 20 and stopped, and the carriage 16 is again moved in the direction of the arrow B. While reciprocating (in the main scanning direction), ink is ejected from the ink ejection port based on the image signal, and an image is formed on a portion of the recording paper that is newly located in the image forming area. By repeating such operations, an image is formed on the recording paper. The portion of the recording paper on which the image is formed is guided to the outside by a paper ejection guide 26 and is ejected.

 However, when an image is formed on a recording sheet, the amount of ink ejected per unit area of the recording sheet varies depending on the type of the image. For example, when a drawing is formed on a recording paper, straight lines and curves are mainly drawn, so that the amount of ink discharged per unit area of the recording paper is small. On the other hand, there are cases where the amount of ink ejected per unit area of the recording paper is large. The case where the ink discharge amount per unit area of the recording paper is large will be described with reference to FIGS. 34 to 36. FIG.

 FIG. 34 is a perspective view showing a state in which the recording paper has wavy. FIG. 35 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the print head and the floating recording medium. FIG. 36 is a perspective view showing a state in which waving has occurred at the widthwise end of the recording medium. In these figures, the same components as those shown in FIG. 33 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

If the amount of ink ejected per unit area of recording paper 30 is large, As shown in 3 4, undulation 32 occurs on the recording paper 30. Due to the waving 32, as shown in FIG. 35, a high portion 30a and a low portion 30b are formed on the recording paper 30. The high section 30 a rises from the platen 12. However, the distance between the platen 12 and the print head 18 described above is set to be small in order to improve image quality (print quality). For this reason, the high part 30a of the recording paper 30 may be higher than the ink discharge surface (head face) 18a of the print head 18. In this case, the high portion 30a may rub against the ink discharge surface 18a, and the high portion 30a may be stained or damaged.

 In addition, the above-mentioned waving 32 usually occurs in a printing portion 34 of the recording paper 30 where ink is ejected (ink is absorbed). However, the wavy portion 32 may be transmitted to the upstream side of the printing portion 34 in the recording medium transport direction. Further, the waving 32 may be transmitted to the upstream side of the pinch roller 22 in the recording medium conveying direction.

 In this way, a wavy portion 32 occurs upstream of the image forming area in the recording medium transport direction, and when the wavy portion 32 is conveyed to the image forming area and the ink is ejected to this portion, the wavy portion 32 is formed. It becomes even more intense, and the amount of rising of the high part 30 a increases. In this case, the high portion 30a rubs against the ink discharge surface 18a, and the high portion 30a is more likely to become dirty or damaged. In addition, as shown in FIG. 36, when the waving 32 becomes violent and the width direction edge 30 c of the recording paper 30 rises high, the edge 30 c is printed on the printing paper 18. There is a risk of being caught and broken.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a technique is conceivable in which the amount of ink ejected at a time is reduced to a practically acceptable amount. However, due to the decrease in the discharge amount, the speed at which an image is formed on the recording medium 30 (print speed) may decrease, or the density of the image (print density) may decrease. There is.

 However, when forming an image on recording paper as described above, the carriage

The print head 18 reciprocates in the direction of arrow B together with 16 to eject ink to reach (land on) the recording paper. However, a part of the ink ejected from the print head 18 may be scattered around in a mist before reaching the recording paper. The scattered ink (mist) contaminates the periphery of the image forming area and the recording paper. Therefore, in order to prevent the mist from being stained, the ink (mist) is located slightly upstream of the image forming area in the recording medium conveyance direction. A sheet member (not shown) is arranged. This sheet member is elongated in the direction of arrow B, and the recording paper is conveyed below the sheet member. Therefore, the area covered with the sheet member is not contaminated by the mist.

 However, the mist adheres to the sheet member and contaminates its surface. Therefore, if the user's hand or clothing touches the surface of the sheet member, the hand or clothing will be stained with ink. Disclosure of the invention

 The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet type image forming apparatus which prevents trouble caused by ink ejected from a print head.

 In order to achieve the above object, a first inkjet type image forming apparatus according to the present invention is provided in a recording medium conveyed in a predetermined recording medium conveying direction in an image forming area where an image is formed. A recording medium transport unit that transports a recording medium to the image forming area in an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a portion to be printed;

(1) a drive roller disposed on the upstream side of the image forming area in the recording medium transport direction for transporting a recording medium in the recording medium transport direction; (2) a driven roller that conveys the recording medium in the recording medium conveyance direction while nipping the recording medium with the driving roller;

 (3) A floating suppressing member, which is arranged on the upstream side in the recording medium transport direction from the image forming area and suppresses the floating of the recording medium, is provided.

 Here, the ascent member is

 (4) an upstream paper pressing member which is rotatably disposed substantially coaxially with the driven roller,

 (5) A sheet regulating member may be provided between the upstream sheet pressing member and the image forming area, the sheet regulating member extending in a direction crossing the recording medium conveying direction.

 Further, the recording medium transport unit is

 (6) a contact / separation means for bringing the driven roller into contact with / separating from the drive roller;

(7) The above-mentioned levitation restraining member may move in conjunction with the movement of the contact / separation means.

 In addition,

 (8) The sheet regulating member may be one in which a portion facing the image forming area has been subjected to a water-repellent treatment.

 In order to achieve the above object, a second ink jet type image forming apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a carriage which has a print head for discharging ink and reciprocates in a predetermined main scanning direction. An ink ejecting ink from the print head onto a portion of a recording medium conveyed in a predetermined conveying direction, which is located in an image forming area where an image is formed, to form an image. In a dot-type image forming apparatus,

(9) a floating suppression member, which is arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction from the image forming area and suppresses the rising of the recording medium, (10) A cleaning member for cleaning the floating suppressing member is provided.

 Here, the above-mentioned ink jet image forming apparatus

 (11) A driving roller for transporting the recording medium in the transport direction, which is disposed upstream of the image forming area in the transport direction,

 (1 2) a driven roller that rotates in accordance with the drive porter, which transports the recording medium in the transport direction while nipping the recording medium together with the drive roller,

(13) The floating suppressing member includes a bar-shaped paper regulating member disposed between the driving roller and the image forming area and extending in a sub-scanning direction substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction. Is also good.

 Also,

 (14) The paper regulating member may be made of an electrically insulating material.

 In addition,

 (15) The paper regulating member may be charged with a charge having a polarity different from the polarity of the ink discharged from the print head.

 In addition,

 (16) The cleaning member is made of a conductive material, and may be grounded.

 In addition,

 (17) The cleaning member may be one attached to the print head or the carriage.

 In addition,

 (18) The cleaning member may rotate freely while being in contact with the floating suppression member.

Further, a third ink jet method of the present invention for achieving the above object. The image forming apparatus is equipped with a carriage mounted with a print head for discharging ink and reciprocating in a predetermined main scanning direction, and forms an image on a recording medium conveyed in a predetermined conveyance direction. An ink jet image forming apparatus for forming an image by discharging ink from the print head to a portion located in an image forming area to be formed.

 (19) a floating suppressing member that presses a portion of the recording medium located near the image forming area from above so as not to float;

 (20) The print head or the static elimination member fixed to the carriage, wherein the electric charge stored in the floating suppression member is discharged first. is there.

 In order to achieve the above object, a fourth ink jet type image forming apparatus of the present invention discharges ink from a print head mounted on a carriage reciprocating in a predetermined main scanning direction. The ink jet type image forming apparatus for forming an image on a portion of the recording medium conveyed in a predetermined conveying direction, which is located in the image forming area in front of the print head. Is also a cleaning member for cleaning a sheet member that covers the vicinity of the upstream side in the recording medium conveyance direction,

 (1) The sheet member, which is fixed to at least one of the carriage and the print head, is cleaned.

 here,

 (22) The print head is detachable from the carriage,

(23) The cleaning member may be fixed to the print head.

 Also,

(24) In the cleaning member, the cleaning member includes the main scanning member. It may have a cleaning roller that rotates as it moves in the direction.

 Further, a fifth inkjet type image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a conveying unit for conveying the recording medium in a predetermined conveying direction, and a platen on which the recording medium conveyed by the conveying unit is placed. An ink is ejected to a portion of the recording medium conveyed in the conveyance direction by the conveyance means while being placed on the platen, which is located in an image forming area where an image is formed, and an image is formed. In the image forming apparatus to be formed,

 (25) The image forming apparatus further includes a pressing unit disposed near the image forming area, for pressing the recording medium being conveyed to the platen.

 ,

 (26) The image forming area is formed on the downstream side in the transport direction from the transport unit, and

 (27) The pressing means is a portion of the recording medium from the upstream side in the transport direction of the transport means to the image forming area, and spreads in a width direction orthogonal to the transport direction. All parts may be pressed against the platen.

 Also,

 (28) The pressing means is incorporated in the transport means, and presses the recording medium against the plot in conjunction with whether or not the transport means can transport the recording medium. It may be in the state of whether or not.

 In addition,

 (29) The pressing means may be made of a flexible sheet material.

In addition, (30) The pressing means may be a rod-shaped member disposed between the image forming area and the recording medium conveying means.

 In addition,

 (31) In the standby state before the start of image formation, the conveying means may pull back the recording medium such that the downstream end of the recording medium in the conveying direction is covered by the pressing means.

 In addition,

 (32) The transporting means transports the recording medium by a predetermined amount in the transporting direction when removing the recording medium located at the predetermined standby position, so that the downstream end in the transporting direction is It may be located downstream of the pressing means in the transport direction.

 In addition,

 (33) The ink jet type image forming apparatus

 (33-1) an openable and closable protection member covering both the image forming area and the pressing means;

 (33-2) an open / close detection means for detecting an open / close state of the protection member and generating an open / close detection signal,

 (34) The transport means may perform a predetermined recording medium transport operation based on the open / close detection signal generated by the open / close detection means. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

 FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a plotter in which a recording medium transport unit is incorporated.

 FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the upstream paper pressing member.

 FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a part of the transport roller.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the upstream paper pressing member. FIG. 5 (a) is a perspective view showing the pinch opening ram to which the upstream paper pressing member is attached, and FIG. 5 (b) is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 5 (a). 6A is a perspective view showing a downstream paper pressing member, FIG. 6B is a perspective view showing a holding member, and FIG. 6C is a perspective view showing a pinch roller arm.

 FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which waving generated in a recording medium is suppressed.

 FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the pinch roller is pressing the conveyance roller, and FIG. 8B is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the pinch roller is separated from the conveyance roller.

 FIG. 9 is a perspective view schematically showing a plotter which is an example of the ink jet type image forming apparatus of the present invention.

 FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a part of the transfer port of the plotter of FIG. FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view showing two paper pressing members.

 FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view showing two paper pressing members.

 FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which waving generated in a recording medium is suppressed.

 FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the paper regulating member to which the ink mist has adhered. FIG. 15 is a side view showing a state in which ink mist adhering to the paper regulating member is removed.

 FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a carriage to which a rotary cleaning member is attached in place of a plate-like cleaning member.

 FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a print head to which a plate-shaped cleaning member is fixed.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a print head to which a rotary cleaning member is attached. FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing a paper regulating member, a pinch roller and the like to which ink mist has adhered.

 FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing a cleaning member that removes ink mist adhering to the paper regulating member.

 FIG. 21 is a side view schematically showing how ink mist gathers on the paper regulating member.

 FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing the carriage with one of the print heads removed.

 FIG. 23 is a side view schematically showing a state in which electric charges charged in the paper regulating member are discharged to metal parts of the print head.

 FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a plotter according to the third embodiment having a carriage to which a cleaning member is fixed.

 FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing a print head to which a cleaning member of another example is fixed.

 FIG. 26 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a probe having a carriage to which a cleaning member of still another example is fixed.

 FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing still another example of a print head to which a cleaning member is fixed.

 FIG. 28 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the plotter of the fourth embodiment. FIG. 29 is a plan view schematically showing a main part of the plotter of FIG. FIG. 30 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing the plotter when the recording medium is in a standby state when viewed from the side.

 FIG. 31 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing the plotter when the recording medium is removed (released), as viewed from the side.

 FIG. 32 is a perspective view showing another example of the pressing means.

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing a professional ink jet type image forming apparatus as an example. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a tta.

 FIG. 34 is a perspective view showing a state in which the recording paper has wavy. FIG. 35 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the print head and the floating recording medium.

 FIG. 36 is a perspective view showing a state in which waving has occurred at the end in the width direction of the recording medium. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

 Hereinafter, an embodiment of an ink jet type image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

 A first embodiment of the ink jet type image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a plotter in which a recording medium transport unit is incorporated. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the upstream paper pressing member. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a part of the transport roller, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an upstream paper pressing member. FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing a pinch roller arm to which an upstream paper pressing member is attached, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 6A is a perspective view showing a downstream paper pressing member, FIG. 6B is a perspective view showing a holding member, and FIG. 6C is a perspective view showing a pinch opening arm. . FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which waving generated in a recording medium is suppressed. In these figures, the same components as those shown in FIGS. 33 to 36 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the blotter 40, the recording medium is a transport roller 24 (an example of a driving roller according to the present invention) and a pinch opening 22 (an example of a driven opening according to the present invention). ) While being conveyed toward the paper ejection guide 26 while being pinched between the print heads 18 and the platen 12 of the recording medium. Ink is ejected onto the portion located in the image forming area 41) to form an image. A contact / separation member 60 (an example of a contact / separation unit according to the present invention, which is shown in FIG. 8) for bringing the pinch opening roller 22 into and out of contact with the transport roller 24 is provided. The contact / separation member 60 will be described later.

 As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of transport rollers 24 are fixed to a rotating shaft 24a extending in the main scanning direction orthogonal to the recording medium transport direction (the direction of arrow A) at predetermined intervals from each other. It is located upstream of the formation area 41 in the recording medium transport direction. The rotating shaft 24a is connected to a transport motor (not shown), and the transport roller 24 rotates with the rotation of the transport motor. A pinch roller 22 is disposed on each of the transfer ports 24. Each pinch roller 22 is rotatably fixed to the tip of a plurality of pinch roller arms 42 arranged at a predetermined distance from each other. Between the pinch rollers 22 adjacent to each other, an auxiliary opening roller 44 (an example of the upstream paper pressing member according to the present invention) is disposed coaxially with the pinch roller 22. The auxiliary roller 44 includes a cylindrical large-diameter portion 44a extending in the main scanning direction, and a shaft portion 44b narrower than the large-diameter portion 44a. The large diameter portion 44 a presses a portion of the recording medium located on the platen 12 from above. Therefore, even if this portion is going to float due to the ink ejected to the recording medium, this rising is suppressed by the large diameter portion 44a. The shaft portion 44b fits into the bearing portion 42a of the pinch roller arm 42, as shown in FIG. 5 (a).

The bearing portion 42a of the pinch roller arm 42 has a long hole shape extending in the up-down direction (direction of coming into contact with and away from the platen 12) as shown in FIG. For this reason, the shaft portion 44b of the auxiliary port roller 44 can move in the vertical direction inside the bearing portion 42a, and the auxiliary port roller 44 can also move in the vertical direction. For this reason, even if the transported recording medium is thick or thin, the recording medium can be easily By pressing from above, the lifting can be reliably suppressed.

 The image forming area 41 is located downstream of the auxiliary roller 44 in the recording medium conveyance direction, and a downstream paper pressing member 46 (referred to in the present invention) is provided between the auxiliary roller 44 and the image forming area 41. , Which is an example of a paper regulating member). The downstream paper holding member 46 is a cylindrical member extending in the main scanning direction. The length of the downstream paper pressing member 46 is longer than the width of the recording medium having the maximum size that can be used in the plotter 40. The auxiliary roller 44 and the downstream paper pressing member 46 constitute an example of the floating suppressing member according to the present invention.

 As shown in FIG. 6 (a), the downstream paper holding member 46 is composed of a large diameter portion 46a having a large diameter and a small diameter portion 46b having a small diameter. Similarly to the above, the large diameter portion 46a presses a portion of the recording medium located on the platen 12 from above. Therefore, even if this portion is going to float due to the ink ejected to the recording medium, this rising is suppressed by the large diameter portion 46a. As shown in FIG. 2, both ends in the longitudinal direction of the downstream paper holding member 46 are rotatably held by arm members 48 extending in the direction of arrow A. A portion of the downstream paper holding member 46 facing the image forming area 41 (or a portion facing the platen 12) is subjected to a water-repellent treatment. Therefore, ink does not easily adhere to the facing portion, and does not stain the recording medium being conveyed.

 The small diameter portion (shaft portion) 46 b of the downstream paper holding member 46 fits into the bearing portion 50 a of the holding member 50 shown in FIG. 6 (b). The holding member 50 is fixed so as to cover the pinch roller arm 42 as shown in FIG. In this fixing, the convex portion 42 b formed on the pinch opening arm 42 is fitted into the hole 50 b formed on the holding member 50.

When an ink is ejected onto the recording paper 30 to form an image, as shown in FIG. 7, a wave is formed upstream of the image forming area 41 in the recording medium conveyance direction. May occur. Of the undulations 32, those that occur upstream of the auxiliary roller 44 in the recording medium transport direction (upstream undulations) are generated when the recording medium passes under the auxiliary roller 44. 4 Pressed by 4. For this reason, the rising of the recording medium due to the upstream wavy portion is suppressed, and the upstream wavy portion is conveyed to the downstream side of the auxiliary roller 44 in the recording medium conveying direction in a state where the upstream wavy portion is almost flat. You.

 In addition, the waving (downstream wavy portion) generated between the auxiliary roller 44 and the downstream paper pressing member 46 causes the recording medium to pass under the downstream paper pressing member 46 when the recording medium passes below the downstream paper pressing member 46. The paper is held down by the downstream paper holding member 46. For this reason, the lifting of the recording medium due to the downstream wavy portion is suppressed, and the upstream wavy portion is conveyed to the downstream side of the downstream paper pressing member 46 in the recording medium conveying direction with the upstream wavy portion being substantially flat. You. As a result, a substantially flat recording medium is conveyed to the image forming area 41, and the recording medium does not come into contact with or be caught by the print head 18.

 The contact / separation member will be described with reference to FIG.

 FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the pinch roller is pressing the conveyance roller, and FIG. 8B is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the pinch roller is separated from the conveyance roller.

The above-described pinch roller arm 42 is configured to rotate around a rotation shaft 42c formed at the center in the longitudinal direction. One end of a coil spring 70 is fixed to the rear end 42 d of the pinch roller arm 42. The pinch roller arm 42 is urged by a coil spring 70 so that its rear end 42 d rotates in the direction of arrow C. A part of the pinch opening arm 42, slightly above the center between the rotating shaft 42c and the rear end 42d, is a contact / separation member that moves the pinch roller 22 and the transport roller 24 apart. 60 are arranged. The contact / separation member 60 has a cam-shaped top 62 and a rotating shaft 64 fixed to the top 62. An operation lever (not shown) fixed to the rotation shaft 64 is fixed to the longitudinal end of the rotation shaft 64.

 Therefore, by operating the operation lever, the auxiliary roller 44 (see FIG. 1) and the downstream paper holding member 46 move in conjunction with the movement of the contact / separation member 60, and the pinch roller 22 moves. When the contact / separation member 60 moves so that the transfer port roller 24 is pressed (so that the pinch roller 22 contacts the transfer port roller 24 as shown in (a)), the auxiliary roller is moved. 44 and the downstream paper holding member 46 move to a position where the lifting of the recording medium can be suppressed. On the other hand, when the contact / separation member 60 moves so that the pinch roller 22 moves to a position distant from the conveying roller 24, the auxiliary roller 44 and the downstream paper pressing member 46 move the recording medium out of the recording medium. Move to a position where it cannot be lifted.

 Next, a second embodiment of the ink jet type image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 13.

 FIG. 9 is a perspective view schematically showing a plotter which is an example of the ink jet image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a part of the transfer port. FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view showing two paper pressing members. FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view showing two paper pressing members. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which waving generated on a recording medium is suppressed. In these figures, the same components as those shown in FIGS. 33 to 36 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In the plotter 80, the recording medium is composed of a conveying port 24 (an example of a driving roller according to the present invention) and a pinch roller 22 (an example of a driven port according to the present invention). The paper is conveyed toward the paper ejection guide 26 while being pinched by the paper. Ink is ejected to the part of the recording medium being transported that is located in the area (image forming area 41) between the print head 18 and the platen 12 An image is formed.

 As shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of transfer ports 24 are fixed to a rotating shaft 24a extending in a direction perpendicular to the transfer direction (the direction of arrow A) at predetermined intervals from each other. It is located upstream of 41 in the transport direction. The rotating shaft 24a is connected to a transfer motor (not shown), and the transfer port 24 rotates with the rotation of the transfer motor.

 A pinch roller 22 is arranged on each of the transport rollers 24. Each pinch roller 22 is rotatably fixed to the tip of a plurality of pinch roller arms 42 arranged at a predetermined distance from each other. Between the pinch rollers 22 adjacent to each other, a paper pressing roller 44 is disposed coaxially with the pinch roller 22. The paper pressing roller 44 includes a cylindrical large-diameter portion 44 a extending in a direction orthogonal to the direction of arrow A, and a shaft portion 44 b that is thinner than the large-diameter portion 44 a. . The large diameter portion 44 a presses the portion of the recording medium located on the platen 12 from above. Therefore, even if this portion is going to float due to the ink ejected to the recording medium, this rising is suppressed by the large diameter portion 44a. The shaft portion 44b is fitted into the bearing portion 42a of the pinch roller arm 42, as shown in FIG.

 As shown in FIG. 12, the bearing portion 42 a of the pinch roller arm 42 has a long hole shape extending upward and downward (in the direction of coming and coming from the platen 12). For this reason, the shaft portion 44b of the paper pressing roller 44 can be moved vertically by the bearing portion 42a, and the paper pressing roller 44 can also be moved vertically. For this reason, even if the recording medium conveyed is thick or thin, the recording medium can be pressed from above without difficulty and the lifting thereof can be reliably suppressed.

The image forming area 41 is located downstream of the paper pressing roller 44 in the transport direction, and the recording medium floats between the paper pressing roller 44 and the image forming area 41. A paper restricting member 82 (which is an example of a floating suppressing member according to the present invention) that restricts the lifting is provided. The paper regulating member 82 is a cylindrical member extending in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction (the direction of arrow A). The length of the paper regulating member 82 is longer than the width of the recording medium having the maximum size that can be used in the plotter 80.

 As shown in FIG. 12, the paper regulating member 82 is composed of a large-diameter portion 82 a having a large diameter and a small-diameter portion 82 b having a small diameter. The diameter portion 82a presses a portion of the recording medium located on the platen 12 from above. Therefore, even if this portion is going to float due to the ink ejected to the recording medium, this rising is suppressed by the large diameter portion 82a. As shown in FIG. 11, both ends of the paper regulating member 82 in the longitudinal direction are rotatably held by arm members 48 extending in the direction of arrow A.

 The small diameter portion (shaft portion) 82b of the paper regulating member 82 is fitted into the bearing portion 50a of the holding member 50 shown in FIG. The holding member 50 is fixed so as to cover the pinch roller arm 42 as shown in FIG. In this fixing, the convex portion 42b formed on the pinch roller arm 42 is fitted into the hole 50b formed in the holding member 50.

When an ink is ejected onto the recording paper 30 to form an image, as shown in FIG. 13, undulations 32 may occur upstream of the image forming area 41 in the transport direction. . Of the undulations 32, those that occur upstream of the paper holding roller 44 in the transport direction (upstream undulations) are used when the recording medium passes under the paper holding roller 44. Pressed by rollers 4 4. For this reason, the rising of the recording medium due to the upstream wavy portion is suppressed, and the paper is conveyed downstream of the paper pressing roller 44 in the conveying direction with the upstream wavy portion being substantially flat. In addition, the undulation (downstream undulation) generated between the paper pressing roller 44 and the paper regulating member 82 causes the paper regulation to occur when the recording medium passes under the paper regulating member 82. Pressed by member 82. For this reason, the lifting of the recording medium due to the downstream wavy portion is suppressed, and the paper is conveyed downstream of the paper regulating member 82 in the conveying direction with the upstream wavy portion being substantially flat. As a result, a substantially flat recording medium is conveyed to the image forming area 41, and the recording medium does not contact with or be caught by the print head 18.

 By the way, if the plotter 80 is used for a long time, the ink mist adheres to the paper regulating member 82. This case will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15.

 FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the paper regulating member to which the ink mist has adhered. FIG. 15 is a side view showing a state in which the ink mist adhering to the paper regulating member is removed. In these figures, the same components as those shown in FIGS. 9 to 13 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

 If the plotter 80 has been used for a long time, the ink ejected from the print head 18 becomes a mist and the ink mist 19 adheres to the paper regulating member 82. The floating recording medium may come into contact with the paper regulating member 82. In this case, the ink mist 19 adheres to the recording medium and soils the recording medium. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 13, the cleaning member 60 for cleaning the paper regulating member 82 is fixed to the carriage 16 and the ink mist 19 is removed. .

The cleaning member 84 is made of a sponge or the like that easily absorbs ink, and has a plate shape. The position where the cleaning member 84 is fixed to the carriage 16 is, as shown in FIG. 15, when the carriage 16 reciprocates in the main running direction. 4 is the paper regulating member 8 2 This is the sliding position. Therefore, when the carriage 16 reciprocates in the main scanning direction, the cleaning member 84 removes the ink mist 19 from the paper regulating member 82. In this case, the cleaning member 84 is fixed to the carriage 16 and the cleaning member 84 is always fixed to the paper when the carriage 16 reciprocates in the main scanning direction. Although the regulating member 82 is configured to be cleaned, the cleaning member 84 may be configured to be able to move up and down, and the paper regulating member 82 may be configured to be cleaned as necessary. Good.

 Another example of the cleaning member will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 to 18.

 FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a carriage to which a rotary cleaning member is attached instead of a plate-like cleaning member. FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a print head to which a plate-shaped cleaning member is fixed. FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a print head to which a rotary cleaning member is attached.

 The cleaning member 86 shown in FIG. 16 is attached to the lower end of the carriage 16 and freely rotates. The cleaning member 86 is formed in a roller shape, and the cleaning roller 86a rotates freely. When the carriage 16 reciprocates in the main scanning direction, the cleaning roller 86a rotates while rotating the ink mist 19 (see FIG. 14) attached to the paper regulating member 82. I do. As a result, the paper regulating member 82 is cleaned. The cleaning roller 86a is made of a sponge or the like that easily absorbs ink.

The cleaning member 88 shown in FIG. 17 is fixed to the lower end of the print head 18. The cleaning member 88 is made of a sponge or the like that easily absorbs ink. The print head 18 is detachable from the carriage 16 (see FIG. 9). Therefore, change the print head 18 Each time the cleaning member 88 is replaced, the cleaning member 88 is also replaced. As a result, the paper regulating member 82 is reliably cleaned, and the ink mist 19 (see FIG. 14) is also reliably removed.

 The cleaning member 90 shown in FIG. 18 is attached to the lower end of the print head 18 and freely rotates. The cleaning member 90 is formed in a roller shape, and the cleaning roller 90a rotates freely. When the print head 18 reciprocates in the main scanning direction together with the carriage 16 (see FIG. 9), the ink mist 19 attached to the paper regulating member 82 (see FIG. 14) The cleaning roller 90a rotates while wiping. As a result, the paper regulating member 82 is cleaned. The cleaning roller 90a is made of a sponge or the like that easily absorbs ink. The print head 18 is detachable from the carriage 16 (see FIG. 9). Therefore, each time the print head 18 is replaced, the cleaning member 90 is also replaced. As a result, the paper regulating member 82 is reliably cleaned, and the ink mist 19 (see FIG. 14) is also reliably removed.

 In the above example, the case where the ink mist 19 adheres only to the paper regulating member 82 has been described. However, the ink mist 19 is attached to the parts and members around the paper regulating member 82. May also adhere. Countermeasures in this case will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 23.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing a paper regulating member and a pinch roller to which ink mist adheres. FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing a cleaning member that removes ink mist adhering to the paper regulating member. FIG. 21 is a side view schematically showing a state in which ink mist gathers on the paper regulating member. FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing the carriage with one of the print heads removed. FIG. 23 is a side view schematically showing a state in which electric charges charged in the paper regulating member are discharged to metal parts of the print head. In these figures, from Figure 9 The same components as those shown in FIG. 18 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

 If the plotter 80 (see Fig. 9) has been used for a long time, the ink ejected from the print head 18 becomes mist-like as shown in Fig. 19, and the paper regulating members 82, It may adhere to the pinch roller 22, pinch roller arm 42, paper holding roller 44, etc. In such a case, the ink mist 19 adhered to the paper regulating member 82 or the pinch roller 22 adheres to the recording medium (is offset). Further, the recording medium being conveyed by being pinched between the pinch roller 22 and the conveying roller 24 may slip due to the ink mist adhering to the pinch roller 22. Therefore, an embodiment different from the above-described embodiment for solving such a problem will be described. In the present embodiment, a cleaning member 92 (which is also an example of the static elimination member according to the present invention) is fixed to the lower end of the carriage 16 so that the cleaning member 92 has a static elimination function. It is characterized in that it is provided and that the paper regulating member 82 is made of an electrically insulating material.

 The cleaning member 92 is made of a sponge or the like that easily absorbs ink, and has a plate shape. Further, as shown in FIG. 20, the cleaning member 92 is connected to a ground wire 94 and grounded. The grounding conductor 94 is embedded in a communication cable (long flex) 96 for transmitting an image signal to the print head 18.

When the recording medium is conveyed, a positive charge 98 is charged on the paper regulating member 82 by friction between the paper regulating member 82 and the recording medium. Since the paper regulating member 82 is electrically insulative, the charged electric charge has no place to escape and continues to charge (accumulate) on the paper regulating member 82. Here, since the ink discharged from the print head 18 has a negative charge, the ink mist 19 is attracted to the paper regulating member 82, and the pinch roller 22 and the pinch roller arm 4 2, Paper holding roller 4 4 Does not stick to paper. As a result, almost all of the ink mist 19 adheres to the paper regulating member 82. The ink mist 19 attached to the paper regulating member 82 in this manner is removed by wiping with the cleaning member 92, as shown in FIG. When the ink has a positive charge, the material is selected so that the paper regulating member 82 is negatively charged.

 By the way, as shown in FIG. 22, the print head 18 obtains image information via a flexible cable 99, and discharges ink based on the image information. Therefore, if the positive charge 98 is excessively accumulated on the paper regulating member 82 and this charge 98 is discharged to the metal part of the print head 18, the device malfunctions due to the charge 98. Abnormal image may occur. However, in the present embodiment, since the cleaning member 92 is grounded through the grounding conductor 94, the electric charge 98 accumulated on the paper regulating member 82 is removed by the cleaning member 92. The electric charge is discharged first, and the electric charge escapes through the cleaning member 92 and the ground wire 94. Therefore, the positive charges 98 are not excessively accumulated on the paper regulating member 82, and no malfunction occurs.

In the above embodiment, the cleaning member 92 is fixed to the carriage 16. However, the cleaning member 92 is configured to be able to move up and down, and an operation of cutting the recording medium (cutter operation). Each time, the paper regulating member 82 may be cleaned. Further, although the cleaning member 92 is plate-shaped, it may be replaced with a rotary cleaning member as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the cleaning member 92 may be fixed to the lower end of the print head 18. In this case, the cleaning 70 is grounded via a head flexible (not shown). When the cleaning member 92 is made to be of a rotary type or fixed to the print head 18 in this way, the same effects as described above can be obtained. A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

 FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a plotter having a carriage to which the cleaning member of the present invention is fixed. In this figure, the same components as those shown in FIG. 33 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

 In the plotter 100, a Mylar sheet member 102 is disposed slightly upstream of the image forming area in the recording medium transport direction (the direction of arrow A) to prevent contamination by mist. I have. The sheet member 102 is an elongated member extending in the direction of arrow B, and the recording paper is conveyed below the sheet member 102. When forming an image on recording paper, the print head 18 together with the carriage 104 ejects ink while reciprocating in the direction of arrow B to reach (land on) the recording paper. A part of the ink ejected from the print head 18 scatters in a mist before reaching the recording paper, and the adhesion area of the sheet member 102 (a shaded area) ) For this reason, the adhesion region 102a is contaminated with ink.

 At the lower end of the carriage 104, a cleaning member 106 for cleaning the above-mentioned adhesion region 102a is fixed. When the carriage 104 reciprocates in the direction of arrow B, the cleaning member 106 together with the carriage 104 wipes the ink adhered to the adhered area 102a. Reciprocate. Therefore, the sheet member 102 is cleaned, and the user's hands and clothes are not stained. Note that the cleaning member 106 is made of a sponge or the like that easily absorbs ink. The cleaning 34 may be fixed to the print head 18.

 Another example of the cleaning member will be described with reference to FIG.

 FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing a print head to which a cleaning member of another example is fixed.

Another feature of the cleaning member is that the cleaning member 110 is printed. It is at a point fixed to the lower end of the head 108. The cleaning member 110 is for cleaning the adhesion area 102a (see FIG. 24). The cleaning member 110 wipes off the ink adhering to the adhesion area 102a when the print head 108 moves back and forth in the direction of arrow B (see FIG. 24). Reciprocates with the print head 108 while doing so. Therefore, the sheet member 102 is cleaned, and the user's hands and clothes are not stained. Note that the cleaning member 110 is made of a sponge or the like that easily absorbs ink.

 The print head 108 is attached to and detached from the carriage 16 (see FIG. 33). Therefore, each time the print head 108 is replaced, the cleaning member 110 is also replaced, and the period in which one cleaning member 110 is used is shortened. Therefore, even if the cleaning member 110 is downsized, the sheet member 102 (see FIG. 24) can be reliably cleaned. With reference to FIG. 26, still another example of the cleaning member will be described.

 FIG. 26 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a plotter having a carriage to which a cleaning member of another example is fixed. In this figure, the same components as those shown in FIG. 24 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

A mylar sheet member 102 is disposed on the plotter 112 in a position slightly upstream of the image forming area in the recording medium transport direction (the direction of arrow A) to prevent contamination by mist. I have. The sheet member 102 is an elongated member extending in the direction of arrow B, and the recording paper is conveyed below the sheet member 102. When forming an image on the recording paper, the print head 18 together with the carriage 114 ejects ink while reciprocating in the direction of arrow B to reach (land on) the recording paper. A portion of the ink ejected from the print head 18 scatters in a mist before reaching the recording paper, and the adhered area 102 a of the sheet member 102 (shown by oblique lines) Area). For this reason, the adhesion area 102 a is Is stained with

 At the lower end of the carriage 114, a cleaning member 116 for cleaning the adhesion area 102a is fixed. The cleaning member 116 is formed in a roller shape, and the cleaning roller 116a rotates freely. When the carriage 114 reciprocates in the direction of arrow B, the cleaning member 1 16 removes the ink adhering to the adhering area 102 a with the cleaning roller 116 a. Rotate while wiping. Therefore, the sheet member 102 is cleaned, and the user's hands and clothes are not stained. The cleaning roller 1 16a is made of a sponge or the like that easily absorbs ink. The cleaning 54 may be fixed to the print head 18.

 Another example of the cleaning member will be described with reference to FIG.

 FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing a print head to which the cleaning member of the present invention is fixed.

 A feature of the cleaning member of this other example is that the cleaning member 120 is fixed to the lower end of the print head 118. The cleaning member 120 is for cleaning the adhesion area 102a (see FIG. 24). The cleaning member 120 is formed in a roller shape, and a cleaning roller 124 is mounted on a pair of arms 122 fixed to the lower end of the print head 118. It is fixed rotatably. When the carriage 16 (see FIG. 33) reciprocates in the direction of the arrow B, the cleaning member 120 cleans the ink attached to the adhesion area 102a. Rotate while wiping with 1 la 1 2 4. For this reason, the sheet member 102 is cleaned, and the user's hands and clothes are not stained. In addition, the cleaning roller 124 is formed of a sponge or the like that easily absorbs ink.

The print head 118 is attached to and detached from the carriage 16 (see Fig. 33). It is in existence. Therefore, each time the printing head 118 is replaced, the cleaning member 120 is also replaced, and the period during which one cleaning member 120 is used is reduced. Be shorter. Therefore, even if the cleaning member 120 is downsized, the sheet member 102 (see FIG. 24) can be reliably cleaned. Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 28 to FIG.

 FIG. 28 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the plotter of the fourth embodiment. FIG. 29 is a plan view schematically showing a main part of the plotter of FIG. FIG. 30 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing the plotter when the recording medium is in a standby state when viewed from the side. FIG. 31 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing the plotter when the recording medium is removed (released) when viewed from the side. FIG. 32 is a perspective view showing another example of the pressing means.

 The plotter 130 has a fan 132 and a housing 134 in which the fan 132 is built. A platen 138 on which the recording medium 136 is placed is fixed to an upper portion of the housing 334. The recording medium 13 6 placed on the platen 13 8 is transported in the direction of arrow A (transport direction).

 On the inside (lower side) of the platen 138, a transport roller 140 for transporting the recording medium 136 is arranged. A plurality of driven rollers 142 are pressed (pressed) onto the transport roller 140 from above. The plurality of driven rollers 142 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the main scanning direction (arrow B direction). Each driven port roller 144 is rotatably fixed to the tip of a roller holder 144 in the form of a lever. When the transport roller 140 rotates, the driven rollers 14 2 also rotate with this rotation, whereby the recording medium 13 6 is held between the transport roller 14 0 and the driven roller 14 2. While being transported in the direction of arrow A.

The print head 15 2 is mounted above the platen 13 8 in the main scanning direction. A carriage 160 reciprocating (in the direction of arrow B) is arranged. The carriage 160 scans in the direction of arrow B while being guided by a guide rail 162 extending in the direction of arrow B. In addition, an ink discharge surface 154 from which ink is discharged is formed on the lower surface of the print head 152.

 Each of the plurality of roller holders 144 described above is fixed via a shaft 148 to a support member 144 attached to the housing 134. As shown in FIG. 28, one end of a coil spring 144 is fixed to the rear end (upper end) of the roller holder 144. The other end of the coil spring 148 is fixed to the housing 134. Therefore, each roller holder 144 is urged by the coil spring 148 so as to rotate in the direction of arrow D about the rotation shaft 144a. As a result, the driven port roller 142 is pressed against the transport port roller 140. When each roller holder 144 rotates around the rotation shaft 144a in the direction opposite to the direction of arrow D, the driven roller 144 moves away from the transfer port roller 140.

 A pressing sheet 150 (which is an example of pressing means according to the present invention) for pressing the recording medium 1336 against the platen 1338 is fixed to the lower surface of the roller holder 144. Of the pressing sheet 150, the part (adhesive part) close to the rotating shaft 144a of the roller holder 144 is made of roller holder with adhesive or the like.

It is bonded and fixed to the lower surface of 144. Further, the pressing sheet 150 extends in the direction of arrow A from this bonded portion.

 The pressing sheet 150 is located upstream of the ink discharge surface 154 of the print head 152 in the arrow A direction. In front of the ink discharge surface 154 is an image forming area (scanning area of the print head 152) 156 on which an image is formed. Therefore, the image forming area 156 is formed on the downstream side in the direction of arrow A (downstream side in the transport direction) from the transport port 140. That is, the pressing sheet

As shown in FIG. 29, 150 is the position where the driven port is located. From the position to the upstream side of the image forming area 156 in the direction of arrow A. Further, the pressing sheet 150 has a width slightly wider than the width of the recording medium 1336 within the range of the platen 13 in the direction of arrow B. The width of the recording medium 13 6 means the length in the direction of arrow B.

 In the pressing sheet 150, the portion where the driven port rollers 142 are arranged is notched. Therefore, the driven roller 144 directly contacts the recording medium 136. The pressing sheet 150 has a substantially rectangular shape and is made of a flexible thin sheet material.

 When the driven roller 14 2 is in pressure contact with the transport roller 140, the pressing sheet 150 is positioned upstream of the transport port 140 in the direction of arrow A out of the recording medium 13 36. The part from the side to the image forming area 156 is pressed against the platen 138. Further, the above-mentioned portion and all the portions extending in the width direction of the recording medium 136 are pressed against the platen 138. In this case, the pressing sheet 150 radially adheres to the recording medium 136 near the driven port 140.

By the way, an operation lever (not shown) for bringing the driven roller 142 into and out of contact with the transport roller 140 is connected to the roller holder 144. When the user operates the operation lever, the driven port roller 142 can be pressed against the transport port roller 140, or the driven port roller 144 can be separated from the transport roller 140. The pressing sheet 150 is configured so that the pressing sheet 150 comes in contact with and separates from the recording medium 1336 placed on the platen 1338 at the same time as the driven rollers 142 come and go. That is, the pressing sheet 150 prints the recording medium 1336 in conjunction with the state of whether or not the driven roller 142 and the conveyance roller 1440 can convey the recording medium 1336. It will be in a state whether it will be pressed to 1 3 8 or not. The force by which the pressing sheet 150 presses the recording medium 13 6 (the biasing force of the coil spring 148) is such that the recording medium 13 6 smoothly moves on the platen 13 8. It is set to be a force that does not have any adverse effect on the transfer by being transferred to

 When forming an image on the recording medium 1336 with the above-described plotter 1330, a large amount of ink is ejected from the ink ejection surface 1554 of the print head 152 onto the recording medium 1336. Sometimes. In this case, since a large amount of ink is absorbed by the fiber portion and the non-fiber portion forming the recording medium 136, an image portion as shown in FIG. The difference in expansion occurs at 1 36 a, which causes wavy deformation. However, even in such a case, the recording medium 1336 is pressed against the platen 1338 by the pressing sheet 150 to be kept flat. Therefore, the recording medium 135 does not rise near the ink discharge surface 154. Therefore, the image formation is favorably performed without the recording medium 13 6 coming into contact with the ink ejection surface 15 4.

 Further, the range in which the pressing sheet 150 presses the recording medium 1336 against the platen 1338 is continuous from the upstream side to the downstream side in the direction of arrow A across the driven roller 142. Therefore, the recording medium 136 is conveyed without being loosened due to the pressing force of the plurality of driven rollers 142. Therefore, the entire width of the recording medium 1336 is stably adsorbed and conveyed by the platen 1338 by the rotation of the fan 1332.

 As described above, the recording medium 136 on which the image is formed does not rub without coming into contact with the ink discharge surface 154 of the print head 252. As a result, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the image quality due to the rubbing and prevent the recording medium 136 from being caught on the ink discharge surface 154 and damaged.

The material of the pressing sheet 150 may be a material having a small coefficient of friction, and need not be specified. When the pressing sheet 150 is made of a material having a small coefficient of friction, the surface of the recording medium 136 is preferably not caught or worn. After the formation of the image on the recording medium 136 is completed, the recording medium 136 is cut by the force cutter 158 shown in FIG. After this cutting, the apparatus enters a standby state before the start of image formation. In this standby state, the transport roller 140 is reversely rotated by a control device (not shown). As a result, the recording medium 1336 is pulled back by a predetermined amount in the direction opposite to the arrow A direction.

 When the transport port 140 is rotated in the reverse direction and the recording medium 13 36 is pulled back and stopped, as shown in FIG. 30, the downstream end of the recording medium 1 36 in the transport direction is used. 136b is located on the upstream side in the direction of arrow A from the downstream end of the pressing sheet 150, and is located downstream of the driven roller 142 in the direction of arrow A. Therefore, the downstream end 1 36 b of the recording medium 1 36 in the transport direction is covered with the pressing sheet 150.

 As described above, when the downstream end 1 36 b in the transport direction is covered with the pressing sheet 150, this covered portion is not affected by humidity even in a high humidity environment. Peg. Even if the covered part absorbs moisture, it does not float because this part is pressed against the platen 1380 by the pressing sheet 150. Therefore, even if the recording medium 136 is left in a high humidity environment, the recording medium 136 is prevented from rubbing against the ink discharge surface 154 due to the floating.

 By the way, as shown in FIG. 30, when the downstream end 1 36 b of the recording medium 13 6 in the transport direction is covered with the pressing sheet 150, the driven port 1 4 2 When the recording medium 134 is separated from the recording medium 140, the recording medium 136 is no longer pinched, and the recording medium 136 may fall backward (upstream in the direction of arrow A). The measures to prevent this fall will be described with reference to FIG.

In the plotter 130, a protective cover 170 (which is an example of the protective member according to the present invention) that covers the pressing sheet 150 and the image forming area 156 is a platen 13 8. It is arranged above. The protective cover 170 can be freely opened and closed about an axis 170a extending in the direction of arrow B (perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 31). A photo sensor 172 (which is an example of the open / close detection means according to the present invention) that detects whether the protection cover 170 is open or closed is disposed above the platen 1338. ing. The photo sensor 17 2 generates an open / close detection signal of 0 volt when the protection force 170 is open, and detects an open / close of 5 volt when the protection cover 170 is closed. A signal is generated.

 A controller (not shown) controls the transport port 140 based on the open / close detection signal generated by the photo sensor 172, whereby the transport port 140 becomes a predetermined amount. , And a predetermined recording medium conveying operation is performed.

 An example of the predetermined recording medium conveying operation will be described.

 When an image is formed on the recording medium 1336, the recording medium 1336 is sandwiched between the transport roller 140 and the driven roller 144 (with the recording medium 1336 set). The ink is ejected from the ink ejection surface 154 (see FIG. 28) to the recording medium 1336 while the recording medium 1336 is transported in the direction to form an image.

 After setting the recording medium 136, the user may notice that, for example, the wrong size of the recording medium 136 has been set. In this case, the user opens the protective cover 170 in order to remove the set recording medium 136. When the protective cover 170 is opened, the open state is detected by the photosensor 1772, and the photosensor 1772 generates a 0-volt open / close detection signal.

Here, when the photo sensor 172 generates an open / close detection signal of 0 volts, the discharge tray 140 rotates forward and conveys the recording medium 1336 in the direction of arrow A by a predetermined distance. It is supposed to. The predetermined distance is a distance at which the downstream end 1336b of the recording medium 1336 in the transport direction reaches the discharge guide 174. In this way, when the downstream end 1 36 b of the recording medium 13 6 in the transport direction reaches the discharge guide 17 4, the driven port 14 is separated from the transport port 14 Also, the recording medium 1 36 does not fall backward (upstream in the direction of arrow A). For this reason, the recording medium 13 6 can be easily removed.

 In the above example, the pressing sheet 150 is used to press the recording medium 1336 against the platen 1338, but the pressing sheet 150 is replaced with the pressing sheet 150 shown in FIG. A pressing rod 180 may be used.

 The pressing rod 180 is a rod-shaped member extending in the direction of arrow B (the width direction of the recording medium). The pressing rod 180 is rotatably fixed to the tip of the roller holder 144. The pressing rod 180 is disposed near the image forming area 156 and slightly upstream of the image forming area 156 in the transport direction.

 A hole into which the pressing rod 180 is inserted is formed at the tip of the roller holder 144. The size of this hole may be increased so that the roller holder 144 can be easily attached to (inserted into) the hole. When the size of the hole is increased, the pressing rod 180 can press the recording medium 136 with a margin. Industrial applicability

 As described above, in the first ink jet type image forming apparatus of the present invention, even if the recording medium is going to float upstream of the image forming area in the recording medium conveyance direction, this is prevented by the floating suppressing member. Lifting is suppressed. For this reason, the recording medium is prevented from contacting or being caught by the print head located above the image forming area, and damage to the recording medium and the print head can be prevented.

Here, the floating suppression member is rotatably disposed substantially coaxially on the driven roller. And a paper regulating member disposed between the upstream paper holding member and the image forming area and extending in a direction crossing the recording medium transport direction. Thus, the rising of the recording medium can be more reliably suppressed by the upstream paper pressing member and the paper regulating member. In addition, a contact / separation means for bringing the driven roller into contact with / separating from the drive roller is provided, and when the floating suppressing member moves in conjunction with the movement of the contact / separation means, when a paper jam occurs. In this case, since the driven roller can be separated from the driving roller and the floating suppressing member can be separated from the recording medium, paper jams can be easily eliminated, and an easy-to-use recording medium transport unit can be obtained.

 Further, in the case where the paper regulating member has been subjected to a water-repellent treatment on a portion facing the image forming area, the ink is less likely to adhere to the portion of the paper regulating member facing the image forming area. The recording medium being transported is not contaminated.

 Further, in the second ink jet type image forming apparatus of the present invention, the ink discharged from the print head may form a mist and adhere to the floating suppression member. In addition, the recording medium may float up and come into contact with the lifting suppression member. In such a case, there is a possibility that the ink that has adhered to the floating suppression member may adhere to the recording medium. However, since the cleaning member cleans the surfacing suppression member and removes the ink from the surfacing suppression member, the ink does not adhere to the recording medium even when the recording medium contacts the surfacing suppression member. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the recording medium from being stained with the ink. In addition, the recording medium does not come into contact with the print head because the floating suppressing member suppresses the floating of the recording medium. Therefore, the ink ejected from the print head is not disturbed and the image is not deteriorated, and the print head is not damaged by the recording medium.

Here, a drive roller disposed on the upstream side in the transport direction from the image forming area for transporting the recording medium in the transport direction, and a drive roller And a driven roller that conveys the recording medium in the conveying direction while nipping the recording medium together with the driven roller. The driven roller rotates in accordance with the driving roller. The floating suppression member is disposed between the driving roller and the image forming area. In the case where the recording medium is provided with a bar-shaped paper regulating member extending in the sub-scanning direction substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction, the recording medium is conveyed in the conveyance direction while nipping the recording medium between the driving roller and the driven roller. The medium can be transported at any time. In addition, since the floating suppressing member is formed of a bar-shaped paper regulating member, it has a simple structure.

 Further, when the paper regulating member is made of an electrically insulating material, when the recording medium slides on the paper regulating member to generate electric charge, the paper regulating member is electrically insulating. Electric charges are accumulated in the paper regulating member. In this case, the polarity of the mist generated by the ink ejected from the print head should be opposite to the polarity of the charge stored in the paper regulating member. As a result, the mist is preferentially attracted to the paper regulating member by electrostatic force.

 For this reason, the mist is hardly absorbed by anything other than the paper regulating member. The mist adsorbed on the paper regulating member in this manner is removed by the cleaning member. As a result, most of the mist is adsorbed by the paper regulating member and removed by the cleaning member, thereby preventing the mist from adhering to other members and components.

 Further, when the paper regulating member is charged to a charge having a polarity different from the polarity of the ink ejected from the print head, the ink mist is electrostatically applied to the paper regulating member. Is adsorbed. Therefore, in this case, the ink mist is easily collected and removed by the paper regulating member without scattering to the surroundings.

Further, the cleaning member is made of a conductive material. When the cleaning member is grounded, electric charges are stored in the cleaning member. Does not accumulate. For this reason, a malfunction caused by the electric charge stored in the cleaning member is prevented.

 Furthermore, when the cleaning member is attached to the print head or the carriage, the print head or the carriage is usually replaced. Therefore, the cleaning members are also replaced at the same timing. Therefore, the mist of the ink is more reliably removed from the levitation suppressing member.

 Furthermore, when the cleaning member rotates freely while being in contact with the floating suppression member, the cleaning member ensures that the mist of the ink adhering to the floating suppression member can be improved by the cleaning member. Is removed.

 Further, in the third ink jet type image forming apparatus of the present invention, the recording medium may be rubbed against the floating suppressing member while being conveyed. In this case, static electricity is generated between the surfacing suppression member and the recording medium, and charges are stored in the surfacing suppression member. When the amount of this charge reaches a certain amount, the stored charge is discharged. If the electric charge is discharged to, for example, a metal part of the print head, the electric charge may cause the ink jet type image forming apparatus to malfunction and generate an abnormal image. However, since the charge stored in the floating suppression member is removed by the charge removing member, the charge is not discharged to the metal members around the print head. Therefore, malfunctions and abnormal images can be prevented. In addition, since the charge stored in the floating suppression member is discharged first in the charge eliminating member, the charge is discharged first in the charge eliminating member. For this reason, it is possible to more reliably prevent discharge to the metal members and the like around the print head 、, and to prevent malfunction and abnormal images at any time. In addition, since the static elimination member is fixed to the print head or the carriage, static elimination can be performed with reciprocation of the print head and the carriage, and a simple configuration. Is obtained.

Further, in the fourth inkjet type image forming apparatus of the present invention, the carrier is provided. As the cleaning member cleans the sheet member as the carriage or print head reciprocates, the sheet member is reliably cleaned each time the carriage or print head reciprocates. You. Therefore, the user's hands and clothes are not stained by the sheet member.

 Here, the printing head is detachable from the carriage, and if the cleaning member is fixed to the printing head, the printing head is attached to the cleaning head. Since the cleaning member is also replaced each time it is replaced, the period during which one cleaning member is used is shortened. Therefore, even if the cleaning member is downsized, the sheet member can be reliably cleaned. In the case where the cleaning member includes a cleaning roller that rotates as the cleaning member moves in the main scanning direction, a gap between the cleaning member and the sheet member is provided. The frictional resistance that occurs is reduced. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the influence of vibration and the like due to the movement of the cleaning member.

 In addition, since the cleaning roller rotates, the contact area between the cleaning roller and the sheet member can be increased. Therefore, the cleaning performance of the cleaning member is improved.

 Further, in the fifth ink jet image forming apparatus of the present invention, since the pressing means presses the recording medium against the platen, the recording medium is not rubbed without contacting the print head. This prevents the recording medium from being damaged and the image from being damaged. Therefore, an ink jet image forming apparatus with improved reliability can be obtained.

Here, the image forming area is formed on the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the transport unit, and the pressing unit is provided on the recording medium from the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the transport unit with respect to the recording medium. When the portion up to the image forming area and all the portions extending in the width direction perpendicular to the transport direction are pressed against the platen, the pressing means lifts the recording medium. Lifting can be more reliably prevented.

 The pressing means is incorporated in the conveying means, and determines whether or not the recording medium can be pressed against the plot in conjunction with whether or not the conveying means can convey the recording medium. In such a case, the recording medium can be easily handled, so that a convenient ink jet type image forming apparatus can be obtained.

 Further, when the pressing means is made of a flexible sheet material, a pressing means having a simple configuration can be obtained.

 Furthermore, when the pressing means is formed of a rod-shaped member disposed between the image forming area and the recording medium conveying means, a simple pressing means can be obtained.

 Further, in the standby state before the start of image formation, the conveying means pulls back the recording medium so that the downstream end in the conveying direction of the recording medium is covered with the pressing means. Even if the recording medium is set and left as it is, the recording medium hardly absorbs moisture, so that it is possible to reliably prevent the recording medium from rising.

Furthermore, the transporting means transports the recording medium by a predetermined amount in the transporting direction when removing the recording medium located at the predetermined standby position, so that the downstream end in the transporting direction is more transported than the pressing means. If the recording medium is located on the downstream side in the direction, the recording medium can be easily and reliably removed and reset without dropping the recording medium from the apparatus main body. Furthermore, the ink jet type image forming apparatus includes an openable and closable protection member that covers both the image forming area and the pressing means, and an open / close detection unit that detects an open / closed state of the protection member and generates an open / close detection signal. The transporting means performs a predetermined recording medium transporting operation based on the open / close detection signal generated by the open / close detection means. Can be easily removed.

Claims

The scope of the claims 1. Among the recording media conveyed in a predetermined recording medium conveying direction, in an image forming apparatus that forms an image in a portion located in an image forming area where an image is formed, the recording medium is conveyed to the image forming area. Recording unit transport unit  A drive roller disposed on the upstream side of the image forming area in the recording medium transport direction for transporting the recording medium in the recording medium transport direction; and the recording medium while nipping the recording medium together with the drive opening roller. A driven port that conveys in the conveying direction,  A recording medium transport unit, comprising: a floating suppression member disposed upstream of the image forming area in the recording medium transport direction to suppress lifting of the recording medium. 2. The floating suppression member is  An upstream paper pressing member rotatably disposed substantially coaxially with the driven roller; and an intersection intersecting the recording medium transport direction disposed between the upstream paper pressing member and the image forming area. 2. The recording medium transport unit according to claim 1, further comprising a sheet regulating member extending in the direction. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a contact / separation means for bringing the driven roller into contact with / separating from the drive roller, and wherein the floating suppressing member moves in conjunction with the movement of the contact / separation means. Item or the recording medium transport unit described in Item 2 4. The paper regulating member is  4. The recording medium transport unit according to claim 2, wherein a water-repellent treatment is applied to a portion facing the image forming area. 5. Equipped with a carriage that carries a print head that discharges ink and reciprocates in a predetermined main scanning direction, and among the recording media conveyed in a predetermined conveyance direction, an image on which an image is formed In an inkjet image forming apparatus, an image is formed by ejecting ink from the print head to a portion located in a forming area.  A floating suppressing member disposed on the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the image forming area, for suppressing floating of the recording medium;  An ink jet X-type image forming apparatus, comprising: a cleaning member for cleaning the floating suppression member. 6. A drive roller disposed on the upstream side of the image forming area in the transport direction to transport a recording medium in the transport direction;  A driven roller that conveys in the conveyance direction while nipping the recording medium together with the drive roller,  The floating suppression member,  6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a bar-shaped paper regulating member disposed between the driving roller and the image forming area and extending in a sub-scanning direction substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction. An inkjet image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 7. The paper regulating member is 7. The ink jet image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image forming apparatus is made of an electrically insulating material. 8. The paper regulating member is  9. The ink jet according to claim 6, wherein the ink is charged to a charge having a polarity different from the polarity of the ink ejected from the print head. Type image forming apparatus. 9. The cleaning member includes:  The ink jet according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the ink jet is made of a conductive material and is grounded. Type image forming apparatus. 10. The cleaning member includes:  The ink jet printer according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein the print head or the carriage is attached to the print head. Image forming apparatus. 1 1. The cleaning member is  The ink jet according to any one of claims 5 to 10, characterized in that the ink jet rotatably rotates while being in contact with the floating suppression member. Type image forming apparatus. 1 2. Equipped with a carriage that carries a print head that ejects ink and moves back and forth in a predetermined main scanning direction, and an image is formed on a recording medium that is being conveyed in a predetermined conveyance direction. Print head in the area located in the image forming area In an ink-jet type image forming apparatus which forms an image by discharging ink from  A floating suppressing member that presses a portion of the recording medium located in the vicinity of the image forming area from above so as not to float,  An ink jet method comprising: the print head or a static elimination member fixed to the carriage, wherein the charge accumulated in the floating suppression member is discharged first. Image forming device. 13 3. Ink is ejected from a print head mounted on a carriage that reciprocates in a predetermined main scanning direction, and the print head is one of the recording media conveyed in a predetermined conveyance direction. In an ink jet type image forming apparatus for forming an image in a portion located in a front image forming area, a cliche for cleaning a sheet member covering a portion near an upstream side in a recording medium conveying direction from the image forming area. —It is a material for  A cleaning member fixed to at least one of the carriage and the print head for cleaning the sheet member. 14. The printing head is detachable from the carriage, and the cleaning member is fixed to the printing head. A cleaning member according to item 13 of the item (1). 15. The cleaning member according to claim 13, further comprising a cleaning roller that rotates as the cleaning member moves in the main scanning direction. The cleaning member according to item 1. 16. A transporting means for transporting the recording medium in a predetermined transporting direction, and a platen on which the recording medium being transported by the transporting means is placed, and while being placed on the platen, the transporting means An image forming apparatus for forming an image by ejecting an ink to a portion located in an image forming area where an image is formed, of a recording medium conveyed in the conveying direction,  An ink jet type image forming apparatus, comprising: a pressing unit disposed near the image forming area, for pressing a recording medium being conveyed against the platen. 1 7. The image forming area is  The pressing means is formed on the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the transport means.  A portion of the recording medium from the upstream side of the transport direction in the transport direction to the image forming area, and all the portions extending in a width direction orthogonal to the transport direction are pressed against the platen. 17. The ink jet type image forming apparatus according to claim 16, wherein: 1 8. The pressing means,  Incorporated in the transport means, and  17. The recording medium according to claim 16, wherein a state in which the recording medium is pressed against the plotter is linked to a state in which the transportation unit can transport the recording medium. Item 18. An ink-jet image forming apparatus according to Item 17. 1 9. The pressing means, An ink jet image forming apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the ink jet image forming apparatus is made of a flexible sheet material. 20. The pressing means,  17. The ink jet type image forming apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the image forming apparatus comprises a rod-shaped member disposed between the image forming area and a recording medium conveying unit. 2 1. The transporting means:  In a standby state before the start of image formation, the recording medium is pulled back so that the downstream end in the transport direction of the recording medium is covered with the pressing means. An inkjet image forming apparatus according to any one of the preceding paragraphs. 2 2. The conveying means,  When the recording medium located at the predetermined standby position is removed, the recording medium is transported by a predetermined amount in the transport direction, so that the downstream end in the transport direction is located downstream of the pressing unit in the transport direction. The ink jet image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 16 to 21, wherein the image forming apparatus is an ink jet type image forming apparatus. 23. An openable and closable protection member covering both the image forming area and the pressing means;  Opening / closing detection means for detecting the opening / closing state of the protection member and generating an opening / closing detection signal,  The transport means, A predetermined recording medium is determined based on the open / close detection signal generated by the open / close detection means. An ink jet type image form according to any one of claims 16 to 22, wherein the image processing apparatus performs a body transport operation.