Image forming apparatus

Abstract

Provided is an image forming apparatus (10) capable of narrowing a supply port of a housing to a predetermined value or less during operation and opening / closing the supply port of the housing during non-operation. The image forming apparatus (10) includes: conveyance means (3) that convey a continuous recording medium (9); an image forming section (4) that forms an image on a front surface of the continuous recording medium (9); a housing (11) that houses the conveyance means (3) and the image forming section (4) and has an opening (11o) through which the continuous recording medium (9) is supplied from an outer side; and a door (12, 13) that is slidable in a direction orthogonal to a conveyance width direction on a surface (11b) of the housing (11) in which the opening (11o) is formed. During operation, the door (12, 13) closes a part of the opening (11o) so that a gap in the opening (11o) functions as a supply port (1s) through which the continuous recording medium (9) is inserted.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

[0002] An image forming apparatus includes an image forming section such as an inkjet head, conveyance means that convey a sheet-like recording medium, which is a printed target, to pass through the image forming section, and a printer controller that controls the image forming section and the conveyance means. The conveyance means are generally constituted by two or more pairs of rollers that rotate while holding the recording medium, or an endless belt (conveyance belt) that is stretched by two or more rotating rollers. The image forming apparatus that prints on a recording medium having particularly low rigidity, such as cloth, includes, as conveyance means, a conveyance belt and rollers that rotate the recording medium interposed therebetween on an upstream side in a conveyance direction of the image forming section (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).

[0003] In order to print on a continuous recording medium such as roll paper or cloth, the image forming apparatus is used with an externally attached unwinder (sheet feed device) in which the roll-shaped continuous recording medium before printed is set. Therefore, a housing (exterior) of the image forming apparatus is formed with a supply port through which the continuous recording medium passes during operation (printing).PRIOR ARTPatent Documents

[0004] [Patent document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-63161 [Patent document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-157450 [Patent document 3] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2021-88129 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The supply port of the housing of the image forming apparatus is generally at a height between the waist and the chest of a person due to the structure of the conveyance means or the like, and a roller or the like that rotates while holding the recording medium is provided in the vicinity of the supply port in the housing. In addition, the image forming apparatus may be installed with a space for an operator to enter in the vicinity of the supply port side for replacement work or the like of the continuous recording medium. In the image forming apparatus, an opening of the housing is regulated to be narrower than a predetermined value (JIS B9718). On the other hand, the image forming apparatus is desirable to have a structure in which the supply port can be widely opened for replacement work or the like of the continuous recording medium. Furthermore, the housing of the image forming apparatus that supports the continuous recording medium, especially cloth that is wider than 1 m, is large. Still further, in a case where a small-lot production is performed, the continuous recording medium is frequently replaced so that the supply port can desirably opened and closed with a simple structure.

[0006] The present invention has been conceived in consideration of the above-described problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus in which a supply port of a housing can be narrowed than a predetermined value during operation, and the supply port of the housing can be opened and closed during non-operation.

[0007] The problems described above of the present invention are solved by the following configurations. (1) An image forming apparatus includes: conveyance means that convey a continuous recording medium; an image forming section that forms an image on a front surface of the continuous recording medium; a housing that houses the conveyance means and the image forming section and has an opening through which the continuous recording medium is supplied from an outer side; and a door that is slidable in a direction orthogonal to a conveyance width direction on a surface of the housing in which the opening is formed, wherein during operation, the continuous recording medium is inserted into a gap formed by the door closing a part of the opening so as to be conveyed by the conveyance means. (2) The image forming apparatus according to (1), wherein the door is adjustable to a position at which the door is not brought into contact with the continuous recording medium during operation. (3) The image forming apparatus according to (2), wherein two of the doors are provided in a slide movement direction, and the gap is formed between the doors. (4) The image forming apparatus according to (3), wherein the conveyance means have two or more conveyance paths on an upstream side in a conveyance direction with respect to the image forming section, and the gap is adjustable to a position corresponding to selection of the conveyance path by sliding movement of the doors. (5) The image forming apparatus according to (2), wherein the gap is adjustable in accordance with thickness of the continuous recording medium. (6) The image forming apparatus according to (2), wherein the gap is adjustable within a range that is wider than thickness of the continuous recording medium and is equal to or smaller than a value obtained by adding 6 mm to the thickness of the continuous recording medium. (7) The image forming apparatus according to (2), wherein one guide roller to contact with a surface of the supplied continuous recording medium is provided, or two guide rollers to contact with each surface of the supplied continuous recording medium are provided, that is / are movable in conjunction with the door in the vicinity of the opening. (8) The image forming apparatus according to (7) comprising the two guide rollers, wherein a position of the one guide roller or positions of the two guide rollers is / are adjustable in accordance with thickness of the continuous recording medium to hold the continuous recording medium between the guide rollers. (9) The image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (8), wherein the door is provided with an interlock switch so that the gap has a predetermined value during operation. (10) The image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (8), wherein a position of the door is steplessly adjustable. (11) The image forming apparatus according to (10) includes: a sensor that detects a position of the continuous recording medium at the opening; and a drive section that moves the door in accordance with the position of the continuous recording medium at the opening. (12) The image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (8), wherein the continuous recording medium is cloth. (13) The image forming apparatus according to (12), wherein the conveyance means include a plurality of rollers and a conveyance belt stretched by the plurality of rollers, and the conveyance belt supports and conveys the continuous recording medium. (14) The image forming apparatus according to (13), wherein the conveyance means include, on an upstream side of the image forming section in the conveyance direction, a pressing roller that presses the continuous recording medium against the conveyance belt to support the continuous recording medium. (15) The image forming apparatus according to (14), wherein the conveyance means include, on the upstream side of the pressing roller in the conveyance direction, an intermediate roller that stretches the continuous recording medium together with the pressing roller.

[0008] According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the supply port of the housing can be narrowed than a predetermined value during operation, and the supply port of the housing can be opened and closed during non-operation.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The advantages and features provided by one or more embodiments of the invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the appended drawings that are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention, and wherein: FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4A is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a relationship between a conveyance path and a position of a door of a housing of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4B is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the conveyance path and the position of the door of the housing of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is an external view of the image forming apparatus for illustrating a configuration of the housing of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6 is an external view of the image forming apparatus for illustrating the configuration of the housing of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the conveyance path and the position of the door of the housing of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8A is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the conveyance path and the position of the door of the housing of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8B is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the conveyance path and the position of the door of the housing of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the conveyance path and the position of the door of the housing of the image forming apparatus according to a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the conveyance path and the position of the door of the housing of the image forming apparatus according to the modification of the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11A is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the conveyance path and the position of the door of the housing of the image forming apparatus according to another modification of the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11B is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the conveyance path and the position of the door of the housing of the image forming apparatus according to another modification of the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 12A is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the conveyance path and the position of the door of the housing of the image forming apparatus according to the other modification of the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 12B is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the conveyance path and the position of the door of the housing of the image forming apparatus according to the other modification of the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 13A is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a relationship between thickness of continuous recording medium and the position of the door of the housing of the image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 13B is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the thickness of continuous recording medium and the position of the door of the housing of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to embodiments to execute the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that, in the drawings, a size, a positional relationship, and the like of members in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity, and shapes of the members may be simplified. In addition, in the following description, the same or similar members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be appropriately omitted.[First embodiment]

[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, to show a configuration when viewed from a side. An image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is an inkjet image forming apparatus (inkjet textile printer) capable of printing on cloth, and forms an image on a surface of a long and wide recording medium (continuous recording medium) 9, such as cloth, with an unwinder 81 and a winder 82 externally attached. Further, the image forming apparatus 10 is a scanning type image forming apparatus and can form an image on the recording medium 9 that is long in a conveyance width direction as described below. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a housing 1, a conveyance device (conveyance means) 3 that conveys the recording medium 9 accommodated in the housing 1, an image forming section 4 that forms an image on the recording medium 9, a conveyance belt cleaning device 5, a sensor 6 (61 and 62) (not shown in FIG. 3), and a controller 7 that controls the conveyance device 3 and the image forming section 4. The image forming apparatus 10 may further include an imaging device that captures the image printed on the recording medium 9 in the housing 1, an operation panel installed on an outer surface of the housing 1, a thermometer that measures a room temperature or a temperature in the housing 1, and the like.(Recording medium)

[0012] The recording medium (continuous recording medium) 9 to be printed by the image forming apparatus 10 is a long sheet-like member. The image forming apparatus 10 is capable of printing on, for example, the recording medium 9 that is less than 1800 mm wide and 3 mm thick. The recording medium 9 is supplied in a length of several tens of meters or more, depending on the material, thickness, and the like. The recording medium 9 may be, for example, cloth, paper, or a plastic film of polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or the like, or a tack paper further coated with an adhesive on a rear surface and releasably bonded to release paper. The recording medium 9 is supplied to the image forming apparatus 10 in a form corresponding to a material, a length, or the like. As an example, the recording medium 9 is wound around a spool as a jig, and is fed from an outer peripheral side of the wound recording medium 9 by the unwinder 81. As described above, the image forming apparatus 10 can print on cloth as the recording medium 9. Hereinbelow, regarding each element forming the image forming apparatus 10, the conveyance device 3, the image forming section 4, and the like, which are mechanical units (printer engines) of the image forming apparatus 10, will be described.(Conveyance device)

[0013] The conveyance device (conveyance means) 3 conveys the recording medium 9 in a direction indicated by a white arrow in FIGS. 1 and 3 and causes the recording medium 9 to pass through a region (image forming region) facing inkjet heads 42 of the image forming section 4. The conveyance device 3 includes a conveyance belt 31, a drive roller 32 for stretching the conveyance belt 31, a driven roller 33, belt guide rollers 34, a pressing roller 35, an intermediate roller 36, guide rollers 37 and 38, and a motor (not shown) for rotationally driving the drive roller 32 and the like.

[0014] The conveyance belt 31 is an endless belt, and is stretched around the drive roller 32, the driven roller 33, and the belt guide rollers 34 that rotate on rotary shafts in the conveyance width direction (Y direction) and is fed in a predetermined direction (counterclockwise in the cross section of FIG. 3). The conveyance belt 31 has viscosity on an outer surface (upper surface) and has the recording medium 9 affixed on the upper surface to convey the recording medium 9. The drive roller 32 is an active roller that is rotated by the motor, is disposed in the vicinity of an end on a downstream side (front) in the conveyance direction to move the conveyance belt 31. Further, in the present embodiment, the motor operates intermittently so that the conveyance device 3 repeats conveyance and stop at a predetermined cycle. The driven roller 33 is disposed in the vicinity of an end on an upstream side (rear) in the conveyance direction, stretches the conveyance belt 31 in the front-rear direction together with the drive roller 32, and is rotated with the rotation of the drive roller 32 via the conveyance belt 31. Note that in the present specification, upstream, downstream, front, and rear indicate the conveyance direction of the recording medium 9. In FIG. 3, the rotation directions of the drive roller 32, the driven roller 33, and the pressing roller 35 to be described below are indicated by thick arrows. The driven roller 33 may be an active roller that is directly rotated by the motor similar to the drive roller 32. The belt guide rollers 34 each is a driven shaft that has a smaller diameter than the drive roller 32 and the driven roller 33, is rotatably supported, and rotates with movement of the conveyance belt 31, and is provided as necessary at a position to come in contact with the inner surface of the conveyance belt 31. In the present embodiment, two belt guide rollers 34 are disposed at the front and rear of the image forming region and further at the lower side so that the conveyance belt 31 does not sag due to its own weight particularly at the upper side supporting the recording medium 9. With such a configuration, the conveyance device 3 can cause the recording medium 9 such as cloth to pass through the image forming region in a flat state without slack, wrinkles, or the like.

[0015] The pressing roller 35, the intermediate roller 36, and the guide rollers 37 and 38 are driven shafts that are, similar to the belt guide rollers 34, rotatably supported in the conveyance width direction and rotate with the conveyance of the recording medium 9. The pressing roller 35 is provided on the upstream side of the image forming region to hold the recording medium 9 on the conveyance belt 31. In the present embodiment, the pressing roller 35 is disposed in front of and near the driven roller 33. The recording medium 9 supplied into the housing 1 is attached to a front surface of the conveyance belt 31 by the pressing roller 35. The pressing roller 35 may have a displaceable structure so that a distance from the conveyance belt 31 can be changed based on the thickness of the recording medium 9. The intermediate roller 36 is disposed above and near the pressing roller 35, and stretches the recording medium 9 supplied into the housing 1 with the pressing roller 35 so as to wind the recording medium 9 in an S-shape, thereby eliminating slack or wrinkle.

[0016] The guide rollers 37 and 38 are provided as necessary, and a necessary number of guide rollers are disposed at positions corresponding to a conveyance path of the recording medium 9. In the present embodiment, the guide rollers 38 and 37 are disposed such that upper ends of the guide rollers 38 and 37 substantially coincide with the conveyance belt 31 in the vicinity of the front and rear sides of the conveyance belt 31. The guide roller 38 at the front side is disposed outside the housing 1. In the conveyance device 3, the guide roller 38 is disposed below the recording medium 9 (conveyance path) and contacts the rear surface of the recording medium 9 to support the recording medium 9 so that the guide roller 38 does not contact a front surface (printing surface) of the recording medium 9 in the image forming region and on the downstream side thereof in the present embodiment.

[0017] Here, in FIGS. 1 and 3, as described above, the recording medium 9 sequentially passes through the intermediate roller 36 and the pressing roller 35 and is bonded to the conveyance belt 31, and the guide roller 37 near the rear of the conveyance belt 31 is not used. FIG. 4A is a partial enlarged view of FIG. 3. In contrast, in a case where the recording medium 9 is a thick and stretched material, the recording medium 9 is less likely to be slack or wrinkled even without being wound around the pressing roller 35 and the intermediate roller 36, and may be preferable to be conveyed without being in a posture with a high curvature. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 4B, the recording medium 9 is moved onto the conveyance belt 31 through the upper side of the guide roller 37 in a substantially flat posture, and is pressed against the conveyance belt 31 by the pressing roller 35. Therefore, the conveyance device 3 has two conveyance paths on the upstream side of the image forming region, and the conveyance path is selected according to a type (thickness, material) of the recording medium 9. A height position at which the recording medium 9 passes through the housing 1 when being supplied into the housing 1 is different for each conveyance path.(Image forming section)

[0018] The image forming section 4 forms an image by ejecting ink on the front surface of the recording medium 9. The image forming section 4 includes a carriage 41 on which the inkjet heads 42 are mounted, a guide rail 43 for supporting the carriage 41, a motor for scanning the carriage 41 in the conveyance width direction of the recording medium 9, and a cleaning device (not shown) for cleaning nozzle surfaces of the inkjet heads 42. The carriage 41 includes the inkjet heads 42 for respective colors so as to be arranged in a main scanning direction (conveyance width direction). FIG. 3 shows five inkjet heads 42. Each nozzle surface of the inkjet head 42 has a nozzle hole that opens to face the recording medium 9, and for example, inks of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black) are ejected from the nozzle holes. The carriage 41 further includes the inkjet head 42 that ejects, for example, a pretreatment agent according to a printing method of the image forming apparatus 10. The guide rail 43 is provided so as to extend in the conveyance width direction and overhang to both outer sides of the conveyance device 3 (conveyance belt 31), and supports the carriage 41 movably in the conveyance width direction. The cleaning device is arranged below the guide rail 43 and an outer side in the conveyance width direction of the conveyance belt 31, and removes ink adhering to the nozzle surfaces of the inkjet heads 42. With the configuration described above, the image forming section 4 can form an image over an entire width of the recording medium 9 that is longer than the inkjet heads 42 in the conveyance width direction by scanning the carriage 41 during a stop period in intermittent conveyance of the recording medium 9 by the conveyance device 3. Further, the image forming section 4 can allow the inkjet heads 42 to face the cleaning device for cleaning.(Conveyance belt cleaning device)

[0019] The conveyance belt cleaning device 5 is arranged below the conveyance belt 31 of the conveyance device 3 to remove ink or foreign matters adhering to the front surface of the conveyance belt 31. The conveyance belt cleaning device 5 includes a roll brush that rubs the front surface of the conveyance belt 31, a cleaning tub that stores a cleaning liquid so that a lower portion of the roll brush is immersed, a motor that rotatably drives the roll brush against a moving direction of the conveyance belt 31, and the like.(Sensor)

[0020] The sensors 61 and 62 detect a position of the recording medium 9 in the vicinity of a supply port 1s of the housing 1. Specifically, the sensors 61 and 62 detect the position of the recording medium 9 in a height direction (Z direction) immediately after the recording medium 9 enters the housing 1 from the outside. As the sensors 61 and 62, a known device such as a mechanical type (contact type) or an optical type capable of detecting the recording medium 9 stretched by the intermediate roller 36 or the guide roller 37 of the conveyance device 3 can be applied. In the image forming apparatus 10, two conveyance paths of the recording medium 9 by the conveyance device 3 are provided as described above, and the sensors 61 and 62 are arranged at positions where the recording medium 9 on the respective conveyance paths can be detected. For example, the sensor 61 is arranged at the center in the conveyance width direction in the vicinity of the upper side and the upstream side of the intermediate roller 36. For example, the sensor 62 is arranged at the center in the conveyance width direction in the vicinity of the upper side or the lower side of the guide roller 37, or in the vicinity of the upper side of the driven roller 33. Note that, in a case where the sensor 61 and the sensor 62 are not distinguished from each other, they are referred to as the sensor 6 (see FIG. 2). The sensor 6 may be a medium sensor that detects physical properties (thickness, basis weight, surface property, and the like) of the recording medium 9 in order to specify the type of the recording medium 9. The medium sensor may be provided separately from the sensor 6, or may be provided between the image forming apparatus 10 and the unwinder 81 as an external device when the medium sensor is not installed in the image forming apparatus 10.(Housing)

[0021] The housing 1 is an exterior member that houses a printer engine of the image forming apparatus 10, such as the conveyance device 3 and the image forming section 4, and is formed in any three dimensional shape such as a box shape with an open bottom. In the image forming apparatus 10, the housing 1 has a cross shape in plan (top) view, which is a combination of a rectangular parallelepiped that covers the conveyance device 3 to be long in the conveyance direction (X direction) and a rectangular parallelepiped that covers the image forming section 4 to be long in the conveyance width direction (Y direction). Further, a portion of the housing 1 protruding to the downstream side (front) is formed lower than other portions in accordance with the height of the conveyance device 3. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an appearance of the housing 1 from the upstream side. Also, in the housing 1, the supply port 1s and a discharging port 1d, which are elongated openings in the conveyance widthwise direction for allowing the recording medium 9 to pass therethrough, are formed on vertical surfaces at both ends in the conveyance direction. In order that the recording medium 9 does not respectively contact the supply port 1s and the discharging port 1d, a length in the conveyance width direction is set larger than the maximum width of the recording medium 9, and a gap (short-side length and opening length) is set larger than the maximum thickness t MAX of the recording medium 9 in the image forming apparatus 10. The gap is preferably equal to or larger than (t MAX + 2 mm) and more preferably equal to or larger than (t MAX + 3 mm). Regarding the supply port 1s, a gap e is preferably equal to or smaller than 6 mm (JIS B9718). The housing 1 is arranged in the vicinity of the supply port 1s. An inner surface thereof is arranged to be separated by 10 mm or more from components that operate during operation, specifically, the conveyance belt 31, the pressing roller 35, the intermediate roller 36, and the guide roller 37 of the conveyance device 3 (JIS B9718). The housing 1 includes a main body 11 and doors 12 and 13, each of which is formed of a metal plate or the like. The vertical surfaces (plates) at both ends of the main body 11 in the conveyance direction are referred to as a front surface 11f (downstream side) and a rear surface 11b (upstream side). The doors 12 and 13 are attached to an outer side of the rear surface 11b of the main body 11.

[0022] The front surface 11f of the main body 11A has the discharging port 1d. In addition, the rear surface 11b of the main body 11 is formed with an opening 11o served as the supply port 1s and used for operation such as replacement of the recording medium 9. In the image forming apparatus 10, as shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, two conveyance paths for the recording medium 9 by the conveyance device 3 are formed so that the opening 11o is located at a position and has dimensions that include all the conveyance paths in the front surface 11f. Further, the opening 11o is formed to have a size and a position such that an inner side of the housing 1 can be viewed from an outer side in a necessary range and an upper limb can reach to a necessary range so that an operator can work. Therefore, the opening 11o is formed such that a length in the conveyance width direction (long-side length) is larger than the maximum width of the recording medium 9 and a length in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance width direction, that is, a height is set at 0. 1 m to 1 m, for example. In the present embodiment, the opening 11o is formed entirely in the conveyance width direction of the rear surface 11b, and is also formed to both side surfaces that are continuous with the rear surface 11b of the main body 11.

[0023] The door 12 and the door 13 are provided for opening the supply port 1s and for closing the other portions of the opening 11o of the main body 11. Therefore, the doors 12 and 13 are formed in a plate shape bent to be a U-shape in top plan view so as to cover the rear surface 11b and the outer sides of the side surfaces contiguous thereto of the main body 11. The door 12 and the door 13 are sliding doors (divided sliding doors) that slide in the vertical direction, and for example, both edges thereof are fitted to a guide rail (not shown) provided in the main body 11. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper door 12 can be slid upward and the lower door 13 can be slid downward respectively to fully open the opening 11o of the main body 11. In contrast, a notch having a shape of the supply port 1s is formed at a lower edge of the door 12 so that the supply port 1s is formed when the door 12 and the door 13 are abutted against each other (closed). The notch may be formed in an upper edge of the door 13 or may be formed in both the door 12 and the door 13.

[0024] Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6, the housing 1 may be configured to include the doors 12A and 13A without a notch. In the housing 1 as above, the opening 11o is formed only in the rear surface 11b of the main body 11A. Then, during operation, the door 12A and the door 13A are not completely closed, but are closed while maintaining the gap e. The length in the conveyance width direction of the supply port 1s is the length of the opening 11o of the main body 11A in the conveyance width direction.

[0025] Each of the doors 12 and 13 has a handle or a pull tab (not shown) attached to an outer surface thereof, and is configured to be manually opened and closed. In the present embodiment, the handles may be attached to not only the rear surfaces of the doors 12 and 13 but also the side surfaces thereof, so that the operator can open and close the doors 12 and 13 while standing on the side of the image forming apparatus 10. The doors 12 and 13 may be attached to an inner side of the rear surface 11b of the main body 11. In a case of being in fully opened, the handles attached to a lower end of the door 12 and an upper end of the door 13 are exposed from the opening 11o of the main body. The housing 1 may have a motor (not shown) to electrically slide the doors 12 and 13, and the doors 12 and 13 may be opened and closed by a switch provided on the outer surface of the housing 1 (main body 11 or doors 12 and 13). Alternatively, the doors 12 and 13 may be controlled by the controller 7, and are opened and closed by an opening or closing instruction input to the operation panel. The drive source of the doors 12 and 13 is not limited to a motor, and may be an air cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, or the like.

[0026] Further, in the image forming apparatus 10, the door 12 and the door 13 may be closed at various positions so that the supply port 1s can be positioned at an upper position or a lower position. As shown in FIG. 4A, in a case where the recording medium 9 is stretched between the intermediate roller 36 and the pressing roller 35 to be supplied onto the conveyance belt 31, the door 12 and the door 13 are closed at an upper portion of the opening 1o so as to form the supply port 1s in accordance with an upper end of the intermediate roller 36. As shown in FIG. 4B, in a case where the recording medium 9 is supplied substantially flatly through an upper end of the guide roller 37 onto the conveyance belt 31, the door 12 and the door 13 are closed at a lower portion of the opening 1o so as to form the supply port 1s in accordance with the upper end of the guide roller 37. For this purpose, the door 12 and the door 13 are formed to have dimensions capable of opening the supply port 1s and closing the opening 1o when the door 12 and the door 13 are closed at the upper portion and the lower portion of the opening 1o, respectively. In addition, each of the door 12 and the door 13 may be provided with a stopper so as to be locked at each of the positions shown in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, and FIG. 5, and may be configured to be movable stepwise. Further, the door 12 and the door 13 may be configured not to be moved together in a closed state.

[0027] The housing 1A may include an interlock switch 21. By the interlock switch 21, the image forming apparatus 10 is set to be able to operate (print) in a state where the door 12 and the door 13 are completely closed. Therefore, when the door 12 and the door 13 are not closed, the image forming apparatus 10 does not operate even if the operation panel or the like is operated. Further, that the door 12 and the door 13 are not closed may be notified. Further, the doors 12 and 13 cannot be moved (opened) during operation. With the structure above, the opening (supply port 1s) of the housing 1 can be reliably narrower than a predetermined value during operation.(Controller)

[0028] The controller 7 is a printer controller of the image forming apparatus 10, and as shown in FIG. 2, drives and controls a printer engine that is an element other than the controller 7 in the image forming apparatus 10. The controller 7 may be further configured to close the doors 12 and 13 at appropriate positions as a drive section for the doors 12 and 13 of the housing 1, when instructed to close the doors 12 and 13 in accordance with the position of the recording medium 9 detected by the sensor 6 (61 and 62). In order to include these elements, the controller 7 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a memory that stores software and temporarily stores input job data, and the like.(Unwinder)

[0029] The unwinder 81 is a device (feeder) that supplies the recording medium 9 wound around a spool in a roll shape to the image forming apparatus 10 and is installed on the side of the supply port 1s of the image forming apparatus 10. The unwinder 81 includes a feeding roller 83, guide rollers 84, moving guide rollers 85, a housing 86, and a motor (not shown) that rotationally drives the feeding roller 83. The unwinder 81 may further include a cutter to cut the recording medium 9 as necessary. The feeding roller 83 is an active shaft that is transmitted with rotational movement by a motor and rotates in the conveyance width direction and is a support member that externally fits and engages with the spool. The feeding roller 83 supports the recording medium 9 wound around the spool, rotates the spool at an appropriate rotation speed, and feeds the recording medium 9 from the outer peripheral side of the recording medium 9. The guide roller 84 is a driven shaft that is rotatably supported and rotates with movement of the recording medium 9, and a necessary number of guide rollers 84 are installed at positions corresponding to the conveyance path of the recording medium 9. In FIG. 1, two guide rollers 84 on the upstream side are disposed inside the housing 86, and three guide rollers 84 on the downstream side are disposed outside the housing 86, respectively. The moving guide rollers 85 are driven shafts like the guide rollers 84, but are attached to ends of a tension arm that is rotatable within a predetermined angle and is displaced within a predetermined range. In FIG. 1, the tension arm has an L-shape, rotates around a corner, and has the moving guide rollers 85 attached to both ends, respectively. The moving guide rollers 85 are disposed in the housing 86 to sag the recording medium 9 between the two guide rollers 84 and 84, and suppresses the sag in the recording medium 9 between the image forming apparatus 10 and the unwinder 81. With the configuration above, even when the feeding roller 83 is continuously operated, the sag of the recording medium 9 can be suppressed between the unwinder 81 and the image forming apparatus 10 intermittently conveyed by the conveyance device 3. Further, the recording medium 9 is wound such that the front surface (printing surface) faces inward, by which the unwinder 81 feeds the recording medium 9 so that the front surface faces upward. Note that the feeding roller 83 may be a driven shaft and rotates together with the spool when the recording medium 9 is fed by the conveyance device 3 from the outer peripheral side of the wound recording medium 9. The feeding roller 83 above preferably has a structure, such as a torque limiter, that applies an appropriate load to rotation so as not to sag the recording medium 9 by excessive rotation.(Winder)

[0030] The winder 82 is a device that winds and stores the recording medium 9 on which images was formed by the image forming apparatus 10, and is installed on a side of the discharging port 1d of the image forming apparatus 10. Further, in the present embodiment, the winder 82 also serves as a dryer for post-processing of printing. For this purpose, the winder 82 includes heaters 87, a winding roller 88, guide rollers 84, moving guide rollers 85, a housing 89, and a motor (not shown) for rotatably driving the winding roller 88. The winder 82 may further include a cutter for cutting the recording medium 9 as necessary. The heaters 87 face the entire width of the recording medium 9 in the housing 89, and in FIG. 1, four heaters 87 are provided side by side in the conveyance direction to dry the recording medium 9. The winding roller 88 has the same structure as the feeding roller 83 of the unwinder 81, and rotates an externally fitted spool at an appropriate rotational speed to wind the recording medium 9 on the spool with the front surface (printing surface) of the recording medium 9 facing inward. The guide rollers 84 and the moving guide rollers 85 may have the same structures as the guide rollers 84 and the moving guide rollers 85 of the unwinder 81, respectively. In FIG. 1, four guide rollers 84 are disposed in the housing 89, and the first and second guide rollers 84 and 84 from the upstream side are disposed with the heater 87 therebetween, so as to stretch the recording medium 9 and cause the recording medium 9 to face the heater 87. In the winder 82, the guide rollers 84 are disposed below the recording medium 9 (conveyance path) on the upstream side of the heaters 87 to come into contact with the rear surface and support the recording medium 9, so as to avoid coming into contact with the front surface (printing surface) of the recording medium 9 before drying.(Operation of image forming apparatus)

[0031] Referring to FIGS. 3, 4A, and 4B, opening and closing of the housing and operation of the conveyance device of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described. First, the operation when the recording medium 9 easily wrinkled is printed will be described.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 4A, in a case where the recording medium 9 is wound in an S-shape from the intermediate roller 36 to the pressing roller 35 to enter between the pressing roller 35 and the conveyance belt 31, the height position of the conveyance path is set at the upper end of the intermediate roller 36. Therefore, when the recording medium 9 is set in a fully opened state (see FIG. 5), the door 12 is moved downward and the door 13 is moved upward such that the supply port 1s comes to this position. In a case of manual operation, the door 12 is stopped by the stopper at a first stage, and the door 13 is stopped by the stopper at a second stage. When the doors 12 and 13 are closed, the operation is started.

[0033] Next, a description will be given of the operation when the recording medium 9 is replaced with a relatively thick recording medium 9 that is less likely to be wrinkled. After the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 is stopped, the doors 12 and 13 are fully opened, the recording medium 9 is replaced. Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, the recording medium 9 is made to enter between the pressing roller 35 and the conveyance belt 31 from on the guide roller 37. At this time, the height position of the conveyance path is set at the upper end of the guide roller 37. Therefore, when the recording medium 9 is set, the door 12 is moved downward and the door 13 is moved upward, respectively, such that the supply port 1s comes to this position. In the case of manual operation, the door 12 is stopped by the stopper at the second stage, and the door 13 is stopped by the stopper at the first stage. Note that the conveyance path in the unwinder 81 is preferably switched such that a take-out position of the recording medium 9 in the unwinder 81 is aligned with the upper end of the guide roller 37. In FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the unwinder 81 is configured to switch the conveyance path at the guide rollers 84 outside the housing 86 according to a type of the recording medium 9.

[0034] In a case where the doors 12 and 13 are electrically driven, the doors 12 and 13 are opened and closed by a switch or an operation panel. Further, the sensors 61 and 62 may detect the position of the recording medium 9 in the vicinity of the opening 1o, and the doors 12 and 13 may be moved such that the position of the supply port 1s is aligned with the recording medium 9.

[0035] The doors 12 and 13 may be configured to be able to be closed by changing the position in a stepless manner. For example, in a case where the unwinder 81 is configured not to arbitrarily change the take-out position of the recording medium 9, as shown in FIG. 7, the recording medium 9 is inclined between the unwinder 81 and the image forming apparatus 10 (between the pressing roller 35 and the conveyance belt 31). The doors 12 and 13 can be moved in accordance with the recording medium 9 in such a posture. Further, as described above, the doors 12 and 13 are electrically driven and the position of the recording medium 9 is detected by the sensors 61 and 62, which causes the doors 12 and 13 to be moved and closed such that the supply port 1s is located at an appropriate position.

[0036] Further, in a case where the take-out position of the recording medium 9 in the unwinder 81 shifts during operation, the doors 12 and 13 can correspond to the shift of the take-out position. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, a simple configuration in which the unwinder 81 includes only a feeding roller 83A that is a driven shaft, and the recording medium 9 attached to the feeding roller 83A is directly supplied to the image forming apparatus 10. With the lapse of operation, a remaining amount of the recording medium 9 attached to the feeding roller 83A decreases and a diameter becomes smaller so that the take-out position of the recording medium 9 shifts. Then, the image forming apparatus 10 detects the position of the recording medium 9 by the sensor 61 or the sensor 62 during operation, and moves the doors 12 and 13 being closed in the direction indicated by arrows with a dot pattern in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, to follow the recording medium 9. Accordingly, the gap e in the supply port 1s can be maintained without the doors 12 and 13 contacting the recording medium 9.(Modification)

[0037] The recording medium 9 preferably has a posture in which the recording medium 9 is preferably closer to a direction perpendicular to the rear surface 11b of the main body 11, the doors 12 and 13, and most preferably perpendicular, to avoid contact with the housing 1 (doors 12 and 13) when the recording medium 9 passes through the supply port 1s. Specifically, although depending on a difference between the gap e of the supply port 1s and the thickness of the recording medium 9, the posture of the recording medium 9 is preferably within ± 15 °. As shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, if the unwinder 81 has a structure in which the take-out position of the recording medium 9 can be changed, the recording medium 9 is preferably adjusted before operation in accordance with the conveyance path of the image forming apparatus 10 such that the recording medium 9 is horizontal between the unwinder 81 and the image forming apparatus 10. However, in a structure in which the take-out position cannot be changed (see FIG. 7) or a structure in which the take-out position is changed during operation (see FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B), the recording medium 9 may incline greatly to enter the supply port 1s, and may have a risk to be brought in contact with the housing 1. To avoid contact of the housing 1 with the recording medium 9, the image forming apparatus 10 may have the following configuration.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 9, an image forming apparatus 10A according to a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention includes, in contrast to the image forming apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment, a guide roller 23 attached to the outer surface of the door 13 of the housing 1. The guide roller 23 may have the same structure as the guide rollers 37 and 38 of the conveyance device 3. In addition, the guide roller 23 is disposed such that an upper end thereof is positioned higher than an upper end of the door 13 (upper end of the supply port 1s). FIG. 9 shows a state (refer to FIG. 8A) in which the recording medium 9 is supplied from the unwinder 81 including only the feeding roller 83A, in contrast to FIG. 4A illustrating the image forming apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment. According to the embodiment, the recording medium 9 is greatly inclined to enter the supply port 1s so that there is a risk that the recording medium 9 is brought in contact with the doors 12 and 13. In contrast, according to the present modification, the recording medium 9 enters the supply port 1s substantially horizontally, and thus are unlikely to be brought in contact with the housing 1. Note that, depending on the take-out position of the recording medium 9 of the unwinder 81, a guide roller 22 (see FIG. 10) may be attached to the outer surface of the door 12. The guide roller 22 is disposed such that a lower end thereof is positioned lower than a lower end of the door 12 (lower end of the supply port 1s).

[0039] Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the guide rollers 22 and 23 may be attached to both of the doors 12 and 13. The gap between the guide rollers 22 and 23 is set to be narrower than the gap e of the supply port 1s and larger than or equal to the maximum thickness t MAX of the recording medium 9. Alternatively, a structure may be employed in which the guide roller 22 (or the guide roller 23) is movable with the gap adjusted to a thickness t of the recording medium 9 such that the guide rollers 22 and 23 hold the recording medium 9. According to the present modification, as described above, the recording medium 9 is less likely to come in contact with the housing 1, and regardless of the take-out position of the recording medium 9 of the unwinder 81, the operation can be performed with the doors 12 and 13 (supply port 1s) fixed at predetermined positions corresponding to the conveyance path of the recording medium 9 by the conveyance device 3.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B, the guide rollers 22 and 23 may be attached to inner surfaces of the doors 12 and 13. An image forming apparatus 10B according to another modification of the first embodiment of the present invention aligns the doors 12 and 13 (supply port 1s) with the take-out position of the recording medium 9 from the unwinder 81 such that the recording medium 9 enters the supply port 1s substantially horizontally. Further, during operation, the doors 12 and 13 are moved to follow the recording medium 9 in the direction indicated by the arrows with a dot pattern shown in FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B. According to the present modification, the guide rollers 22 and 23 rotating during operation are disposed in the housing 1, which complies with JIS B9718.

[0041] In the housing 1, an opening may be formed in the rear surface of the main body 11 for each conveyance path of the recording medium 9 by the conveyance device 3. As shown in FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B, in an image forming apparatus 10C according to the other modification of the first embodiment of the present invention, openings 11 o1 , 11 o2 are formed at two positions in the rear surface of the main body 11B of the housing 1. The door 12B is provided to close the upper opening 11 o1 , and the door 13B is provided to close the lower opening 11 o2 , respectively. More specifically, in the conveyance path through which the recording medium 9 passes the upper end of the intermediate roller 36 in the same manner as in FIG. 4A, the door 12B closes the opening 11 o1 while opening the supply port 1s and the door 13B completely closes the opening 11 o2 as shown in FIG. 12A. In contrast, in the conveyance path in which the recording medium 9 enters between the pressing roller 35 and the conveyance belt 31 through the upper side of the guide roller 37 similarly to FIG. 4B, the door 12B completely closes the opening 11 o1 , and the door 13B closes the opening 11 o2 while opening the opening the supply port 1s. Therefore, the supply port 1s of the image forming apparatus 10C is provided in the gap (FIG. 12A) between the door 12B and the main body 11B or the gap between the door 13B and the main body 11B (FIG. 12B).

[0042] In the housing 1, the rear surface of the main body 11 is not limited to a vertical surface and may be inclined, and further, is not limited to a planar surface and may be a cylindrical surface that forms an arc in side view (XZ plane). The doors 12 and 13 are formed in a shape corresponding to the shape of the rear surface of the main body 11. Also in this case, when the recording medium 9 passes through the supply port 1s, the posture thereof is preferably closer to a direction perpendicular to the doors 12 and 13 (imaginary plane in the gap), and most preferably perpendicular.[Second embodiment]

[0043] When the image forming apparatus prints on thick cloth or the like that is greater than 3 to 4 mm thick, the gap of the supply port is preferably wider than 6 mm. However, if the gap of the supply port is wide, a wide opening that exceeds 6 mm is formed in the supply port when a thin recording medium having equal to or lower than 1 mm thickness. This does not comply with JIS B9718. Therefore, according to the following configuration, the gap of the supply port is changed to prevent the recording medium from coming into contact with the supply port while the opening of the supply port during operation is suppressed to 6 mm or less.

[0044] FIGS. 13A and 13B are partial enlarged views of FIG. 3. An image forming apparatus 10D according to the second embodiment of the present invention is different from the image forming apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment in that the housing 1 includes the main body 11A and doors 12A and 13A shown in FIG. 6. Further, the doors 12A, 13A are closed with a gap, and the gap can be changed. The image forming apparatus 10D shown in FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B has the conveyance path in which the recording medium 9 enters between the pressing roller 35 and the conveyance belt 31 from the upper side of the guide roller 37, similarly to the image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 4B. Note that the conveyance path along which the recording medium 9 passes above the intermediate roller 36 is the same as that in FIG. 4A. In a case where the thickness t of the recording medium 9 is equal to or less than a predetermined value (for example, 3 mm), as shown in 13A, the door 12A and the door 13A are closed to form a gap therebetween to have the minimum value e MIN as the gap e of the supply port 1s (for example, 6 mm).

[0045] In contrast, in a case where when the recording medium 9 is replaced with having a thickness exceeding a predetermined value, the door 12A and the door 13A are closed to form the gap e corresponding to the thickness t as shown in FIG. 13B. Specifically, the gap e of the supply port 1s is preferably larger than the thickness t of the recording medium 9 (t + 2 mm) or more, and more preferably (t + 3 mm) or more. Also, the gap e of the supply port 1 s is preferably (t + 6 mm) or less (JIS B9718). With the configuration above, the gap of the supply port 1s during operation is suppressed to be equal to or smaller than the 6 mm, regardless of the thickness of the recording medium 9. The gap e of the supply port 1s may be adjusted in a stepless manner, for example, to be (t + 6 mm), or may be adjusted in a stepwise manner for each thickness t in a predetermined range, for example, 6 mm (= e MIN ), 8 mm, 10 mm, and the like. The thickness of the recording medium 9 may be detected by the sensors (medium sensors) 61 and 62 or may be input to the controller 7 by the operator. Further, the image forming apparatus 10D may include an interlock switch 21 (see FIG. 6) and be configured not to operate unless the door 12A and the door 13A are closed with the gap e therebetween to correspond to the thickness t of the recording medium 9.

[0046] In the image forming apparatus 10D according to the present embodiment, in a state where the gap between the door 12A and the door 13A is maintained to the gap e of the supply port 1s, similarly to the first embodiment, the door 12A and the door 13A may be closed to change the position of the gap (see FIG. 7) to correspond to a take-out position of the recording medium 9 in the unwinder 81, or the position of the gap may be moved during operation (FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B). Further, similarly to the modification of the first embodiment, the guide rollers 22 and 23 may be attached to the outer surfaces or the inner surfaces of the doors 12A and 13A (FIGS. 9, 10, 11A, and 11B). Furthermore, similarly to the modification of the first embodiment, a configuration may be adopted in which an opening is formed in the rear surface of the main body 11A for each conveyance path of the recording medium 9 by the conveyance device 3, and each opening is closed by the doors (FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B).

[0047] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications can be changed for implementation without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0048] For example, in the above embodiment, the conveyance device has two conveyance paths, but three or more conveyance paths may be formed, and the housing may be configured such that the supply port can be moved to positions corresponding to the respective conveyance paths. In contrast, the conveyance device may have one conveyance path. In this case, the housing may have only one door. Further, in the above embodiment, the conveyance path in the image forming region is set to be horizontal and the image forming section is arranged thereon. However, the arrangement of the image forming section, an orientation of the conveyance path, and a configuration of the conveyance device accompanied therewith are not limited.

[0049] Further, the conveyance device may have a configuration corresponding to a type and a size of the recording medium. Instead of using the conveyance belt, a plurality of pairs of two rollers may be provided to hold and convey the recording medium. In addition, the image forming apparatus may be a single-pass type. That is, the image forming section does not include the guide rail and does not scan the carriage, and the conveyance device conveys the recording medium continuously. Still further, the image forming apparatus is not limited to an ink jet type, and may be an electrophotographic type such as a laser printer.[Description of Symbols]

[0050] 10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D Image forming apparatus 1 Housing 1S Supply port 11, 11A, 11B Main body (housing) 11 o , 11 o1 , 11 o2 Opening 12, 12A, 12B Door 13, 13A, 13B Door 21 Interlock switch 22, 23 Guide roller 3 Conveyance means (conveyance device) 31 Conveyance belt 32 Drive roller 33 Driven roller 34 Belt guide roller 35 Pressing roller 36 Intermediate roller 37, 38 Guide roller 4 Image forming section 41 Carriage 42 Inkjet head 43 Guide rail 5 Conveyance belt cleaning device 61, 62 Sensor 7 Controller 81 Unwinder 82 Winder 9 Recording medium (continuous recording medium)

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus (10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) comprising: conveyance means (3) that convey a continuous recording medium (9); an image forming section (4) that forms an image on a front surface of the continuous recording medium (9); a housing (11,11A, 11B) that houses the conveyance means (3) and the image forming section (4) and has an opening (11o, 11o1, 11o2) through which the continuous recording medium (9) is supplied from an outer side; and a door (12, 12A, 12B, 13, 13A, 13B) that is slidable in a direction orthogonal to a conveyance width direction on a surface of the housing (11, 11A, 11B) in which the opening (11o, 11o1, 11o2) is formed, characterized in that, during operation, the continuous recording medium (9) is inserted into a gap (e) formed by the door (12, 12A, 12B, 13, 13A, 13B) closing a part of the opening (11o, 11o1, 11o2) so as to be conveyed by the conveyance means (3).

2. The image forming apparatus (10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) according to claim 1, wherein the door (12, 12A, 12B, 13, 13A, 13B) is adjustable to a position at which the door (12, 12A, 12B, 13, 13A, 13B) is not brought into contact with the continuous recording medium (9) during operation.

3. The image forming apparatus (10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) according to claim 2, wherein two of the doors (12, 12A, 12B, 13, 13A, 13B) are provided in a slide movement direction, and the gap (e) is formed between the doors (12, 12A, 12B, 13, 13A, 13B).

4. The image forming apparatus (10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) according to claim 3, wherein the conveyance means (3) have two or more conveyance paths on an upstream side in a conveyance direction with respect to the image forming section (4), and the gap (e) is adjustable to a position corresponding to selection of the conveyance path by slide movement of the doors.

5. The image forming apparatus (10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) according to claim 2, wherein the gap (e) is adjustable in accordance with thickness of the continuous recording medium (9).

6. The image forming apparatus (10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) according to claim 2, wherein the gap (e) is adjustable within a range that is wider than thickness of the continuous recording medium (9) and is equal to or smaller than a value obtained by adding 6 mm to the thickness of the continuous recording medium (9).

7. The image forming apparatus (10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) according to claim 2, wherein one guide roller (22, 23) to contact with a surface of the supplied continuous recording medium (9) is provided, or two guide rollers (22, 23) to contact with each surface of the supplied continuous recording medium (9) are provided, which is / are movable in conjunction with the door (12, 12A, 12B, 13, 13A, 13B) in the vicinity of the opening (11o, 11o1, 11o2).

8. The image forming apparatus (10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) according to claim 7 comprising the two guide rollers (22, 23), wherein a position of the one guide roller (22, 23) or positions of the two guide rollers (22, 23) is / are adjustable in accordance with thickness of the continuous recording medium (9) to hold the continuous recording medium (9) between the guide rollers (22, 23).

9. The image forming apparatus (10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the door (12, 12A, 12B, 13, 13A, 13B) is provided with an interlock switch so that the gap has a predetermined value during operation.

10. The image forming apparatus (10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a position of the door (12, 12A, 12B, 13, 13A, 13B) is steplessly adjustable.

11. The image forming apparatus (10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) according to claim 10 comprising: a sensor (6) that detects a position of the continuous recording medium (9) at the opening (11o, 11o1, 11o2); and a drive section (7) that moves the door (12, 12A, 12B, 13, 13A, 13B) in accordance with the position of the continuous recording medium (9) at the opening (11o, 11o1, 11o2).

12. The image forming apparatus (10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the continuous recording medium (9) is cloth.

13. The image forming apparatus (10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) according to claim 12, wherein the conveyance means (3) include a plurality of rollers (32, 33) and a conveyance belt (31) stretched by the plurality of rollers (32, 33), and the conveyance belt (31) supports and conveys the continuous recording medium (9).

14. The image forming apparatus (10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) according to claim 13, wherein the conveyance means (3) include, on an upstream side of the image forming section (4) in the conveyance direction, a pressing roller (35) that presses the continuous recording medium (9) against the conveyance belt (31) to support the continuous recording medium (9).

15. The image forming apparatus (10, 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) according to claim 14, wherein the conveyance means include, on the upstream side of the pressing roller (35) in the conveyance direction, an intermediate roller (36) that stretches the continuous recording medium (9) together with the pressing roller (35).

Images