Media transport devices and electronic equipment

Abstract

To suppress the increase in size of the media transport device in the radial direction of the rotation axis. [Solution] The system includes a first transport roller pair 14 for transporting the medium 6, a second transport roller pair 15 positioned downstream of the first transport roller pair in the transport direction, and a shutter unit 17 that can be displaced between a first position for correcting the skewness of the medium and a second position for retracting after correction. The shutter unit 17 comprises a first shutter unit 21 rotatably positioned on the rotation axis 20 of the second transport roller 151, a second shutter unit 22, and a third shutter unit 23. The second base portion 192 of the second shutter unit 22 and the third base portion 193 of the third shutter unit 23 are connected by a connecting portion 24, and the connecting portion 24 is positioned inside the circumferential position 25 of the maximum diameter Rm of the circle formed by the first base portion 191 of the first shutter unit 21 with respect to the center C of the rotation axis 20.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a medium conveying device and electronic devices such as printers.

Background Art

[0002] As an example of the prior art of this type of device, there is the one described in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 discloses a recording medium conveying device provided with a plurality of shutters. This recording medium conveying device has the following structure. The outer shutters are connected by a connecting member and rotate simultaneously. In the case of small-sized paper, only the inner shutter rotates. In the case of large-sized paper, after abutting against the outer shutter, it abuts against the inner shutter, and all the shutters rotate.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the recording medium conveying device, the connecting member of the outer shutter is arranged on the outer side in the radial direction of the rotation axis so as to straddle the inner shutter. For this reason, the range occupied in the radial direction of the rotation axis of the plurality of shutter portions becomes large, and thus the recording medium conveying device becomes large in the radial direction.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] To solve the above problems, the media transport device according to the present invention comprises: a first transport roller pair that transports the media downstream in the transport direction; a second transport roller pair positioned downstream of the first transport roller pair in the transport direction and transporting the media downstream in the transport direction; and a shutter unit that can be displaced between a first position in which the leading edge of the media transported by the first transport roller pair contacts the nip position of the second transport roller pair upstream in the transport direction, thereby correcting the skewness of the media; and a second position in which the shutter unit retracts from the media so that the corrected media reaches the nip position, wherein the shutter unit comprises a plurality of contact portions that the leading edge of the media contacts, and a length to which the contact portions are attached The shutter unit comprises a first shutter unit rotatably positioned on the rotation axis of one of the second transport rollers of the second transport roller pair, a second shutter unit rotatably positioned on one side of the rotation axis of the first shutter unit, and a third shutter unit rotatably positioned on the other side of the rotation axis of the first shutter unit, wherein the second base portion of the second shutter unit and the third base portion of the third shutter unit are connected by a connecting portion, and the connecting portion is positioned inside the circumferential position of the maximum diameter of the circle formed by the first base portion of the first shutter unit with respect to the center of the rotation axis.

[0006] Furthermore, the electronic device according to the present invention comprises a media transport device according to any one of the first to ninth embodiments described later, and a processing unit arranged downstream in the transport direction of the media transport device and performing processing on the media. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] A schematic diagram of the recording device of Embodiment 1, with some parts omitted. [Figure 2] Enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of the media transport device of Embodiment 1. [Figure 3] A perspective view of the shutter unit of Embodiment 1. [Figure 4] A perspective view of the shutter unit of Embodiment 1. [Figure 5] Side view of the shutter unit of Embodiment 1. [Figure 6] A perspective view illustrating the operation of the shutter unit of Embodiment 1. [Figure 7] A perspective view illustrating the operation of the shutter unit of Embodiment 1. [Figure 8] Side view illustrating the operation of the shutter unit of Embodiment 1. [Figure 9] A perspective view illustrating the operation of the shutter unit of Embodiment 1. [Figure 10] A perspective view illustrating the operation of the shutter unit of Embodiment 1. [Figure 11] Side view illustrating the operation of the shutter unit of Embodiment 1. [Figure 12] A plan view of the main part of the shutter unit of Embodiment 1. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] The present invention will now be described in general terms. To solve the above problems, a media transport device according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises: a first transport roller pair that transports a medium downstream in the transport direction; a second transport roller pair positioned downstream of the first transport roller pair in the transport direction and transporting the medium downstream in the transport direction; and a shutter unit that is displaceable between a first position in which the leading edge of the medium transported by the first transport roller pair contacts the nip position of the second transport roller pair upstream in the transport direction, thereby correcting the skewness of the medium; and a second position in which the corrected medium is moved away from the medium so that it reaches the nip position, wherein the shutter unit comprises a plurality of contact portions to which the leading edge of the medium contacts, and to which the contact portions are attached The shutter unit comprises a long base portion, and the shutter unit comprises a first shutter unit rotatably positioned on the rotation axis of one of the second transport rollers of the second transport roller pair, a second shutter unit rotatably positioned on one side of the rotation axis of the first shutter unit, and a third shutter unit rotatably positioned on the other side of the rotation axis of the first shutter unit, wherein the second base portion of the second shutter unit and the third base portion of the third shutter unit are connected by a connecting portion, and the connecting portion is positioned inside the circumferential position of the maximum diameter of the circle formed by the first base portion of the first shutter unit with respect to the center of the rotation axis.

[0009] According to this embodiment, the shutter unit comprises a first shutter unit rotatably positioned on the rotation axis of one of the second transport rollers, a second shutter unit rotatably positioned on one side of the rotation axis of the first shutter unit, and a third shutter unit rotatably positioned on the other side of the rotation axis of the first shutter unit. Furthermore, the second base portion of the second shutter unit and the third base portion of the third shutter unit are connected by a connecting portion, the connecting portion being positioned inward from the circumferential position of the maximum diameter of the circle formed by the first base portion of the first shutter unit with respect to the center of the rotation axis. This prevents the area occupied by the shutter unit in the radial direction of the rotation axis from becoming too large, thereby preventing the media transport device from becoming too large in the radial direction of the rotation axis.

[0010] A media transport device according to a second aspect of the present invention is an aspect dependent on the first aspect, characterized in that, in the first orientation, the first base portion is arranged on a straight line connecting the second base portion and the third base portion, and the connecting portion is arranged along the first base portion.

[0011] According to this embodiment, the connecting portion is arranged along the first base portion which is located on a straight line connecting the second base portion and the third base portion. This further suppresses the increase in the area occupied by the rotation axis of the shutter unit in the radial direction.

[0012] A media transport device according to a third aspect of the present invention is an aspect dependent on the second aspect, characterized in that the first base portion, the second base portion, the third base portion and the connecting portion each have a plate-shaped plane, the plane intersects the radial direction centered on the rotation axis, and in the first position, the plate-shaped plane of the connecting portion is arranged flush with the plate-shaped plane of the first base portion.

[0013] According to this aspect, in the first posture, the plate-like plane of the connecting portion is arranged flush with the plate-like plane of the first base portion. Thereby, the structural balance of the shutter unit is improved and the shutter unit can be made more compact.

[0014] The media conveyance device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is an aspect subordinate to the third aspect, wherein the second base portion and the third base portion are connected in the longitudinal direction in a shape that creates a recess at the position of the connecting portion, and in the first posture, the first base portion is located in the recess, and the first base portion, the second base portion, the third base portion, and the connecting portion are arranged such that the respective plate-like planes are flush with each other.

[0015] According to this aspect, in the first posture, the first base portion is located in the recess. Further, the first base portion, the second base portion, the third base portion, and the connecting portion are arranged such that the respective plate-like planes are flush with each other. Thereby, the structural balance of the shutter unit is further improved and the shutter unit can be made more compact.

[0016] The media conveyance device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is an aspect subordinate to the first aspect, and includes a first pressing force acting portion that applies a first pressing force to the first shutter unit to cause the first posture, and a second pressing force acting portion that applies a second pressing force to the second shutter unit and the third shutter unit to cause the first posture. Note that this aspect can also be made subordinate to any one of the second to fourth aspects.

[0017] According to this embodiment, the first shutter unit assumes the first position when the first pressing force is applied. The second and third shutter units assume the first position when the second pressing force is applied. This makes it possible to set the magnitudes of the first and second pressing forces independently. Therefore, the magnitudes of the first and second pressing forces can be set to sizes suitable for each shutter unit, and the risk of buckling occurring when correcting the skew of the medium can be reduced.

[0018] A media transport device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is an aspect dependent on the fifth aspect, characterized by comprising: a first displacement actuation unit for displacing the first shutter unit from a first position to a second position; and a second displacement actuation unit for displacing the second shutter unit and the third shutter unit from a first position to a second position.

[0019] According to this embodiment, the first displacement unit displaces the first shutter unit from the first position to the second position, and the second displacement unit displaces the second shutter unit and the third shutter unit from the first position to the second position. As a result, the first shutter unit, the second shutter unit and the third shutter unit can be individually displaced from the first position to the second position.

[0020] A media transport device according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is an aspect dependent on the fifth aspect, characterized in that the first shutter unit takes the first position by the first pressing force pressing the first base portion against the pressed portion of the connecting portion.

[0021] According to this embodiment, the first base portion of the first shutter unit is pressed against the pressed portion of the connecting portion by the first pressing force. As a result, the first shutter unit can assume the first posture using the connecting portion.

[0022] An eighth aspect of the present invention is a media transport device that is dependent on the seventh aspect, and is characterized in that it includes a second displacement unit that displaces the second shutter unit and the third shutter unit from a first position to a second position, wherein the displacement of the first shutter unit from the first position to the second position is performed by the second displacement unit.

[0023] According to this embodiment, in the first position in which the first base portion is pressed against the pressed portion of the connecting portion, the displacement of the first shutter unit from the first position to the second position is performed by the second displacement actuation portion. As a result, a dedicated component for displacing the first shutter unit from the first position to the second position is not required, thereby reducing the number of parts and making the device more compact.

[0024] A media transport device according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is an aspect dependent on the first aspect, characterized in that, in the first orientation, the contact portion of the first shutter unit is located downstream in the transport direction from the contact portions of the second shutter unit and the third shutter unit. Furthermore, this embodiment may be subordinate to any one of the second through eighth embodiments.

[0025] According to this embodiment, the contact portion of the first shutter unit is located downstream in the transport direction from the contact portions of the second and third shutter units. As a result, for example, when a medium with a large width is transported, the medium comes into contact with the contact portions of the second and third shutter units, but does not come into contact with the contact portion of the first shutter unit, and the skew correction is performed in this manner. Therefore, the skew can be corrected in a way that is less susceptible to the effects of manufacturing variations in the contact portions.

[0026] Furthermore, an electronic device according to the tenth aspect of the present invention comprises a medium transport device according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, and a processing unit arranged downstream of the medium transport device in the transport direction and performing processing on the medium. According to this embodiment, the effect of obtaining a media transport device according to any one of the first to ninth embodiments can be obtained for electronic devices such as printers.

[0027] [Embodiment] Hereinafter, a media transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention and an electronic device equipped with this media transport device will be specifically described with reference to Figures 1 to 12. In this description, the case in which the electronic device is a recording device such as an inkjet printer will be explained. In the following explanation, the three mutually orthogonal axes will be referred to as the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis, as shown in each figure. The direction indicated by the arrows on the three axes (X, Y, Z) is the positive direction, and the opposite direction is the negative direction. The Z-axis direction corresponds to the vertical direction, i.e., the direction in which gravity acts, with the +Z direction indicating vertically upwards and the -Z direction indicating vertically downwards. The X-axis and Y-axis directions correspond to the horizontal direction. The +Y direction indicates the front direction of the recording device, and the -Y direction indicates the rear direction of the recording device. The +X direction indicates the right direction of the recording device, and the -X direction indicates the left direction of the recording device.

[0028] [Embodiment 1] <Overall Overview of the Recording Device> The recording device 1 in this embodiment is an inkjet printer, as an example. As shown in Figure 1, the recording device 1 comprises a media cassette 2, a transport path T1, a recording unit 3, an ejection receiving unit 4, and a media transport device 5. The media cassette 2 contains media 6 such as paper. The media 6 in the media cassette 2 is picked up by the pick roller 7 and then transported along the transport path T1 in the transport direction F by the transport force from the media transport device 5. The recording unit 3 is an example of a processing unit that performs processing on the media 6. The recording unit 3 performs recording by ejecting ink as processing on the media 6 as it passes through the recording execution area 8 in the transport path T1. The discharge receiving unit 4 is where the media 6 that has been recorded by the recording unit 3 is discharged. The media transport device 5 will be described later.

[0029] Recording device 1 has another media cassette (not shown) below media cassette 2. Media 6 picked from the other media cassette is transported along another transport path T2. The other transport path T2 merges with transport path T1 at junction P. Recording device 1 also has inversion paths and switchback paths for recording on both sides, but these are not shown. In the recording execution area 8 of the recording unit 3, the medium 6 is supported by a conveyor belt 10, which is part of the medium transport device 5, and transported in the transport direction F. The conveyor belt 10 is an endless belt that is wrapped around pulleys 11 and 12, and rotates when at least one of the pulleys 11 and 12 is driven by a motor (not shown).

[0030] In this embodiment, the recording unit 3 is a line head that is elongated in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the medium 6. The recording unit 3 is not limited to a line head, and may also be a serial type head that moves back and forth in a direction intersecting the transport direction F. Reference numerals 13a, 13b, 13c, and 13d indicate ink reservoirs that contain ink. Ink ejected from the recording unit 3 is supplied to the recording unit 3 from each of the ink reservoirs 13a, 13b, 13c, and 13d via tubes (not shown in the illustration). The recording operation on the medium 6 by the recording unit 3 and the transport operation of the medium 6 by the medium transport device 5 are performed by a control unit (not shown). Here, the control unit comprises a CPU, flash ROM, and RAM. The CPU performs various calculations according to the program stored in the flash ROM and controls the operation of the entire recording device 1. Flash ROM, an example of a storage means, is a non-volatile memory that can be read and written to. RAM, another example of a storage means, temporarily stores various types of information.

[0031] <Media transport device> Next, the configuration of the media transport device 5 according to Embodiment 1 will be described based on Figures 1 to 12. The media transport device 5 includes a first transport roller pair 14 (Figure 1) that transports the media 6 downstream in the transport direction F, and a second transport roller pair 15 (Figure 1) positioned downstream of the first transport roller pair 14 in the transport direction F, which also transports the media 6 downstream in the transport direction F. The transport path T1 is composed of the first transport roller pair 14, the second transport roller pair 15, the transport belt 10, and other transport roller pairs 41 and 42. Although feed rollers and separation rollers are usually provided between the pick roller 7 and the first transport roller pair 14 to prevent double feeding of the media 6 and to feed them one by one in the transport direction F, these are not shown in the illustration. The transport path T2 is composed of other transport roller pairs 43, 44, etc. When the medium 6 is transported along the transport path T2 toward the recording execution area 8, the transport roller pair 44 located upstream of the second transport roller pair 15 functions as the first transport roller pair 14. Furthermore, a "conveyor roller pair" consists of a drive roller that rotates using a motor (not shown in the illustration) and a driven roller that rotates in contact with the drive roller. However, depending on the design specifications, some or all of the driven rollers may be made up of drive rollers.

[0032] ≪Shutter Unit≫ The media transport device 5 is further equipped with a shutter unit 17. The shutter unit 17 is configured to be displaceable between a first posture (Figures 2 and 5) in which the leading edge 16 (Figure 6) of the medium 6 being transported by the first transport roller pair 14 comes into contact with a contact portion 18 (described later) upstream of the nip position Np (Figure 2) of the second transport roller pair 15 in the transport direction F, thereby correcting the skewness of the medium 6, and a second posture (Figures 8 and 11) in which the shutter unit 17 retracts from the medium 6 so that the corrected medium 6 reaches the nip position Np. The nip position Np is positioned so that the leading edge 16 of the medium 6, whose skewness has been corrected by the contact portion 18, is immediately nipped by the second transport roller pair 15.

[0033] As shown in Figures 2 to 12, the shutter unit 17 comprises a plurality of contact portions 18 that the leading edge 16 of the medium 6 contacts, and a long base portion 19 to which each contact portion 18 is attached. The shutter unit 17 also comprises a first shutter unit 21 rotatably positioned on the rotation axis 20 of one of the second transport rollers 151 of the second transport roller pair 15, a second shutter unit 22 rotatably positioned on one side (-Y direction side) of the rotation axis 20 of the first shutter unit 21, and a third shutter unit 23 rotatably positioned on the other side (+Y direction side) of the rotation axis 20 of the first shutter unit 21. In other words, the shutter unit 17 is provided in three parts: the first shutter unit 21, the second shutter unit 22, and the third shutter unit 23. In Figure 2, reference numeral 152 denotes the other second transport roller of the second transport roller pair 15. Furthermore, the second base portion 192 of the second shutter unit 22 and the third base portion 193 of the third shutter unit 23 are connected by a connecting portion 24. As shown in Figure 5, the connecting portion 24 is positioned inside the circumferential position 25 of the maximum diameter Rm of the circle formed by the first base portion 191 of the first shutter unit 21 with respect to the center C of the rotation axis 20. In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the first base portion 191 and the second base portion 192 are configured to overlap when viewed in the +Y direction. Therefore, in Figure 5, the first base portion 191 is hidden by the second base portion 192 and is therefore indicated as (191).

[0034] In this embodiment, the first shutter unit 21 is for correcting the skewness of a narrow medium 6s (Figures 4, 6 to 8). The first shutter unit 21 has two first contact portions 181, 181 attached to the first base portion 191. The second shutter unit 22 and the third shutter unit 23, connected by a connecting portion 24, are for correcting the oblique angle of a wide medium 6w (Figures 9 and 10). The second shutter unit 22 has two second contact portions 182, 182 attached to a second base portion 192. The third shutter unit 23 has two third contact portions 183, 183 attached to a third base portion 193. As shown in Figures 2 and 4, each of the six contact portions 18 is attached to each of the three base portions 19 by two screws 29 via a semi-cylindrical rotating member 28. The semi-cylindrical rotating member 28 slides and rotates on the cylindrical outer surface of the rotation axis 20, allowing each contact portion 18 to be displaced between a first position (Figures 2 and 5) and a second position (Figures 8 and 11). That is, each shutter unit 21, 22, and 23 is configured to rotate around the center C of the rotation axis 20 as its center of rotation.

[0035] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, in this embodiment, in the first position of the shutter unit 17 (Figures 2 and 5), the first base portion 191 is positioned on a straight line L connecting the second base portion 192 and the third base portion 193. The connecting portion 24 is positioned along the first base portion 191. In this embodiment, the first base portion 191, the second base portion 192, the third base portion 193, and the connecting portion 24 each have plate-shaped planes P1, P2, P3, and P4. Each of these planes P1, P2, P3, and P4 intersects the radial direction R centered on the rotation axis 20. In the first position of the shutter unit 17 (Figures 2 and 5), the plate-shaped plane P4 of the connecting portion 24 is positioned flush with the plate-shaped plane P1 of the first base portion 191. Specifically, the second base portion 192 and the third base portion 193 are connected in the longitudinal direction, i.e., in the direction of a straight line L, with a shape that creates a recess 26 at the position of the connecting portion 24. In the first position of the shutter unit 17 (Figures 2 and 5), the first base portion 191 is located in the recess 26. Furthermore, the first base portion 191, the second base portion 192, the third base portion 193, and the connecting portion are arranged so that their respective plate-shaped planes P1, P2, P3, and P4 are flush with each other.

[0036] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the media transport device 5 of this embodiment includes a first pressing force acting unit 27 and a second pressing force acting unit 30. The first pressing force acting unit 27 applies a first pressing force Cp1 to the first shutter unit 21 to cause it to assume a first position (Figures 2 and 5). The second pressing force acting unit 30 applies a second pressing force Cp2 to the second shutter unit 22 and the third shutter unit 23 to cause them to assume a first position (Figures 2 and 5). The first pressing force acting part 27 and the second pressing force acting part 30 can be anything that can generate the first pressing force Cp1 and the second pressing force Cp2, and are not limited to any particular structure. Here, both the first pressing force acting part 27 and the second pressing force acting part 30 are made of elastic members such as torsion coil springs, and are configured to generate the first pressing force Cp1 and the second pressing force Cp2 by their elastic force. In Figures 3 and 4, the first pressing force acting part 27 and the second pressing force acting part 30 are simplified and shown by curved arrows.

[0037] In this embodiment, the second pressing force Cp2 is set to be greater than the first pressing force Cp1. The narrow-width medium 6s tends to have low rigidity and is prone to buckling. Taking this into consideration, the first pressing force Cp1 is set to an appropriate size from the viewpoint of preventing buckling. On the other hand, wider media 6w often have high rigidity. Therefore, the second pressing force Cp2 is set to an appropriate size that is larger than the first pressing force Cp1, from the perspective of increasing the ability to correct the skewness of the rigid media 6.

[0038] The first shutter unit 21 is configured such that the displacement of the contact portion 18 due to the first pressing force Cp1 stops at the first position (Figures 2 and 5) and is maintained at that position. Specifically, as shown in Figure 12, in this embodiment, the first shutter unit 21 is configured to assume a first position (Figures 2 and 5) when the first base portion 191 is pressed against the pressed portion 31 of the connecting portion 24 by a first pressing force Cp1. The first base portion 191 is provided with two convex pressing portions 32, and both pressing portions 32, 32 are pressed against the pressed portion 31, stopping at the position of the first position (Figures 2 and 5) and maintaining that position. The second shutter unit 22 and the third shutter unit 23 are also configured such that the displacement of the contact portion 18 due to the second pressing force Cp2 stops at the first position (Figures 2 and 5). That is, the displacement of the second shutter unit 22 and the third shutter unit 23 toward the first position (Figures 2 and 5) is pressed against a contact portion (not shown), stopping and being maintained at the first position (Figures 2 and 5).

[0039] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 3 and 5, the media transport device 5 of this embodiment includes a first displacement unit 33 and a second displacement unit 34. The first displacement actuation part 33 is configured to apply a displacement force to a part (not shown) that displaces the first shutter unit 21 from a first position (Figures 2 and 5) to a second position (Figure 8) against a first pressing force Cp1. When the displacement force is released, the first shutter unit 21 returns from the second position to the first position due to the first pressing force Cp1. The first displacement unit 33 is not limited to any particular structure, as long as it is capable of generating a displacement force that displaces the first shutter unit 21 from a first position (Figures 2 and 5) to a second position (Figure 8). In this case, a solenoid is used as the power source to generate the displacement force.

[0040] The second displacement unit 34 is configured to apply a displacement force to the actuated part 36 (Figure 5) that displaces the second shutter unit 22 and the third shutter unit 23 from the first position (Figures 2 and 5) to the second position (Figure 11) against the second pressing force Cp2. Here, the displacement force of the second displacement unit 34 is set to be greater than the sum of the first pressing force Cp1 and the second pressing force Cp2. When the displacement force is released, the second shutter unit 22 and the third shutter unit 23 also return from the second position to the first position due to the second pressing force Cp2. The second displacement unit 34 is also not limited to a specific structure, as long as it is capable of generating a displacement force that displaces the second shutter unit 22 and the third shutter unit 23 from the first position (Figures 2 and 5) to the second position (Figure 11). Here, similar to the first displacement unit 33, it is configured to generate the displacement force using a solenoid as a power source. In Figures 3 and 5, the first displacement actuation part 33 and the second displacement actuation part 34 are simplified and shown as straight arrows.

[0041] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5, in this embodiment, in the first position (Figures 2 and 5), the contact portion 181 of the first shutter unit 21 is configured to be located downstream by a distance d in the transport direction F from the contact portions 182 and 183 of the second shutter unit 22 and the third shutter unit 23. The distance d is set small so as to prevent the tip 16 of the wide medium 6w from contacting the contact portion 181 before the contact portions 182 and 183.

[0042] The displacement of each shutter unit 21, 22, and 23 from the first position (Figures 2 and 5) to the second position (Figures 8 and 11) is performed as follows. In this embodiment, after a predetermined time t has elapsed since the leading edge 16 of the medium 6 passed the first transport roller pair 14, the first displacement unit 33 and the second displacement unit 34 are configured to begin displacing each shutter unit 21, 22, 23 from a first position (Figures 2 and 5) to a second position (Figures 8 and 11). The predetermined time t is set in advance as the time from when the leading edge 16 of the conveyed medium 6 is detected by a sensor (not shown) to pass the nip position of the first conveying roller 14 until it comes into contact with the contact portion 18 and the correction of its slanted position is completed. The operations of the first displacement unit 33 and the second displacement unit 34 are performed under the control of the control unit.

[0043] <Explanation of correcting skew in narrow media> Next, we will explain the correction of skew for the narrow-width medium 6s based on Figures 4 to 8. The medium 6s receives a transport force from the first transport roller pair 14 of the medium transport device 5 and is transported in the transport direction F. Figures 4 and 5 show the state just before the leading edge 16 of the medium 6s comes into contact with the contact portion 181 of the first shutter unit 21. After that, the leading edge 16 of the medium 6s comes into contact with the contact portion 181 and the process of correcting the skew is performed. After a predetermined time t has elapsed, the first shutter unit 21 is displaced from the first position (Figures 2 and 5) to the second position (Figure 8) by the first displacement actuating part 33 (Figure 3). That is, the contacted part 181 is displaced from the position shown in Figures 4 and 5 to the position shown in Figure 7. Subsequently, as shown in Figures 6 and 8, the medium 6s that has undergone the diagonal correction process is sent in the transport direction F. The tip 16 then reaches the nip position Np (Figure 2) of the second transport roller pair 15 and is nipped, or gripped, by the second transport rollers 151 and 152 that form the roller pair.

[0044] Furthermore, the medium 6s receives a transport force from the second transport roller pair 15 and is transported in the transport direction F, and ink is ejected in the recording execution area 8 of the recording unit 3 to perform recording. The recording medium 6s is transported in the transport direction F by the transport force from other transport roller pairs 41 and 42 located downstream of the recording execution area 8, and is discharged onto the discharge receiving section 4.

[0045] <Explanation of correcting skew in wide media> Next, we will explain the correction of skew for wide media 6w based on Figures 5 and 9 through 11. The medium 6w receives a transport force from the first transport roller pair 14 of the medium transport device 5 and is transported in the transport direction F. Figure 5 shows the state just before the leading edge 16 of the medium 6w comes into contact with the contact points 182 and 183 of the second shutter unit 22 and the third shutter unit 23. Subsequently, the leading edge 16 of the medium 6w comes into contact with the contact point 181, and the process of correcting the skew is performed. After a predetermined time t has elapsed, the second shutter unit 22 and the third shutter unit 23 are displaced from the first position (Figures 2 and 5) to the second position (Figure 11) by the second displacement actuation part 34 (Figures 3 and 5). At this time, the first shutter unit 21 is also pushed by the connecting part 24 and displaced together to the second position (Figure 11). That is, the contacted parts 182 and 183 are displaced from the positions shown in Figures 4 and 5 to the positions shown in Figure 11. Subsequently, as shown in Figures 9 and 11, the medium 6w that has undergone the diagonal correction process is sent in the transport direction F. The tip 16 then reaches the nip position Np (Figure 2) of the second transport roller pair 15 and is nipped, or gripped, by the second transport rollers 151 and 152 that form the roller pair. The following explanation is the same as for the narrower 6s format, so we will omit that explanation.

[0046] <Description of the effects of Embodiment 1> (1) In this embodiment, the shutter unit 17 comprises a first shutter unit 21 rotatably positioned on the rotation axis 20 of one of the second transport rollers 151, a second shutter unit 22 rotatably positioned on one side (-Y direction side) of the rotation axis 20 of the first shutter unit 21, and a third shutter unit 23 rotatably positioned on the other side (+Y direction side) of the rotation axis 20 of the first shutter unit 21. Furthermore, the second base portion 192 of the second shutter unit 22 and the third base portion 193 of the third shutter unit 23 are connected by a connecting portion 24, and the connecting portion 24 is positioned inside the circumferential position 25 of the maximum diameter Rm of the circle formed by the first base portion 191 of the first shutter unit 21 with respect to the center of the rotation axis 20. This makes it possible to suppress the area occupied by the shutter unit 17 in the radial direction R of the rotation axis 20 from becoming large, and thereby suppress the media transport device 5 from becoming larger in the radial direction R of the rotation axis 20.

[0047] (2) In this embodiment, the connecting portion 24 is positioned along the first base portion 191, which is located on a straight line L connecting the second base portion 192 and the third base portion 193. This further suppresses the increase in the area occupied by the rotation axis 20 of the shutter unit 17 in the radial direction R. (3) In this embodiment, in the first position (Figures 2 and 5), the plate-shaped plane P4 of the connecting portion 24 is arranged flush with the plate-shaped plane P1 of the first base portion 191. This improves the structural balance of the shutter unit 17 and makes it more compact.

[0048] (4) In this embodiment, in the first position (Figures 2 and 5), the first base portion 191 is located in the recess 26. Furthermore, the first base portion 191, the second base portion 192, the third base portion 193, and the connecting portion 24 are arranged so that their respective plate-shaped planes P1, P2, P3, and P4 are flush with each other. This further improves the structural balance of the shutter unit 17 and makes it even more compact.

[0049] (5) In this embodiment, the first shutter unit 21 assumes a first position (Figures 2 and 5) when a first pressing force Cp1 is applied. The second shutter unit 22 and the third shutter unit 23 assume a first position (Figures 2 and 5) when a second pressing force Cp2 is applied. This makes it possible to set the magnitudes of the first pressing force Cp1 and the second pressing force Cp2 independently. Therefore, the magnitudes of the first pressing force Cp1 and the second pressing force Cp2 can be set to sizes suitable for each shutter unit 21, 22, and 23, and the risk of buckling occurring when correcting the skew of the medium 6 can be reduced.

[0050] (6) In this embodiment, the first displacement unit 33 displaces the first shutter unit 21 from a first position (Figures 2 and 5) to a second position (Figure 8), and the second displacement unit 34 displaces the second shutter unit 22 and the third shutter unit 23 from a first position (Figures 2 and 5) to a second position (Figure 11). As a result, the first shutter unit 21, the second shutter unit 22, and the third shutter unit 23 can be individually displaced from the first position (Figures 2 and 5) to the second position (Figures 8 and 11).

[0051] (7) In this embodiment, the first shutter unit 21 is pressed against the pressed portion 31 (Figure 12) of the connecting portion 24 by a first pressing force Cp1. As a result, the first shutter unit 21 can take a first position (Figures 2 and 5) using the connecting portion 24.

[0052] (8) In this embodiment, the contact portion 181 of the first shutter unit 21 is located downstream in the transport direction F from the contact portions 182 and 183 of the second shutter unit 22 and the third shutter unit 23 (Figure 5). As a result, for example, when a medium 6w with a large width is transported, the medium comes into contact with the contact portions 182 and 183 of the second shutter unit 22 and the third shutter unit 23, but does not come into contact with the contact portion 181 of the first shutter unit 21, and the diagonal correction is performed in this manner. Therefore, the diagonal correction can be performed in a state that is less susceptible to the influence of manufacturing variations of the contact portions 181, 182, and 183.

[0053] [Embodiment 2] Next, the media transport device 5 according to Embodiment 2 will be described based on Figures 3 to 5 and Figures 9 to 12. Parts identical to those in Embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their configurations and corresponding effects are not described. In this embodiment, the first displacement acting part 33 is not provided, which is different from Embodiment 1, but the other configurations are the same as in Embodiment 1. As shown in Figure 12, in this embodiment, the first shutter unit 21 is configured to assume a first position (Figures 2 and 5) when the first base portion 191 is pressed against the pressed portion 31 of the connecting portion 24 by a first pressing force Cp1. Therefore, when the second shutter unit 22 and the third shutter unit 23 are displaced by the second displacement portion 34, the first shutter unit 21 also displaces together from the first position (Figures 2 and 5) to the second position (Figure 11).

[0054] In this embodiment, the skew of the narrow-width medium 6s is corrected by contact with the contact portions 181, 181 of the first shutter unit 21. However, the displacement of the first shutter unit 21 from the first position (Figures 2 and 5) to the second position (Figure 11) is the same as in the case of the wide-width medium 6w (Figures 9 to 11). Specifically, as shown in Figures 5 and 11, the second displacement actuating part 34 applies a displacement force to the actuated part 36, causing the second shutter unit 22 and the third shutter unit 23 to rotate around the center C of the rotation axis 20 as the center of rotation, and to be displaced from the first position (Figure 5) to the second position (Figure 11). As a result, the first shutter unit 21 is also displaced to the second position.

[0055] In this embodiment, in the first position (Figure 5) where the first base portion 191 is pressed against the pressed portion 31 of the connecting portion 24, the displacement of the first shutter unit 21 from the first position (Figure 5) to the second position (Figure 11) is performed by the second displacement actuation portion 34. As a result, a dedicated component for displacing the first shutter unit 21 from the first position (Figure 5) to the second position (Figure 11), namely the first displacement actuation portion 33, becomes unnecessary, thereby reducing the number of parts and making the device more compact.

[0056] [Other embodiments] The media transport device 5 according to the present invention and the recording device 1 as an electronic device equipped with the media transport device 5 are based on having the configuration of the embodiments described above, but it is of course possible to make partial changes or omissions to the configuration without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The electronic device equipped with the media transport device 5 is not limited to the recording device 1. For example, it could also include an image reading device such as a scanner. In the above embodiment, the shutter unit 17 was described as consisting of three units: a first shutter unit 21, a second shutter unit 22, and a third shutter unit 23. However, four or more units may be provided. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0057] 1...Recording device, 2...Media cassette, 3...Recording unit, 4...Ejection receiving unit, 5...Media transport device, 6...Media, 6s...Narrow media, 6w...Large media 7... Pick roller, 8... Record execution area, 10... Conveyor belt, 11... Pulley, 12...Pulley, 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d...Ink reservoir, 14...First conveyor roller pair, 15...Second conveyor roller pair, 16...Tip, 17...Shutter unit, 18...Contact part, 19...Base part, 20...Rotation shaft, 21...First shutter unit, 22...Second shutter unit, 23...Third shutter unit, 24...Connecting part, 25...Circumferential position, 26...Recess, 27...First pressing force application part, 28...Rotating member, 29...Screw, 30...Second pressing force application part, 31... Pressed part, 32... Pressing part, 33... First displacement acting part, 34... Second displacement acting part, 36...Part under action, 41, 42, 43, 44...Other conveyor roller pairs, 151... One second conveyor roller, 152... The other second conveyor roller, 181...first abutted part, 182...second abutted part, 183...third abutted part, 191 Second base section, 192... Second base section, 193... Third base section, d...distance, C...center, Cp1...first pressing force, Cp2...second pressing force, F...conveying direction L...straight line, Np...nip position, P...confluence point, P1, P2, P3, P4...plate-shaped planes. R...Radial direction, Rm...Maximum diameter, T1...Conveyor path, T2...Other conveyor paths

Claims

1. A first pair of conveying rollers that convey the medium downstream in the conveying direction, A second pair of conveying rollers is positioned downstream of the first pair of conveying rollers in the conveying direction and conveys the medium downstream in the conveying direction, The system includes a shutter unit that is displaceable between a first position in which the leading edge of the medium being transported by the first transport roller pair contacts the nip position of the second transport roller pair upstream in the transport direction, thereby correcting the skewness of the medium, and a second position in which the shutter unit retracts from the medium so that the corrected medium reaches the nip position. The aforementioned shutter unit is Multiple contact portions that the leading edge of the aforementioned medium comes into contact with, It comprises a long base portion to which the contacted portion is attached, The aforementioned shutter unit is A first shutter unit is rotatably positioned on the rotation axis of one of the second transport rollers of the second transport roller pair, A second shutter unit is rotatably positioned on one side of the first shutter unit on the rotation axis, The system comprises a third shutter unit rotatably disposed on the other side of the first shutter unit on the rotation axis, The second base portion of the second shutter unit and the third base portion of the third shutter unit are connected by a connecting portion. The connecting portion is positioned inward from the circumferential position of the maximum diameter of the circle formed by the first base portion of the first shutter unit with respect to the center of the rotation axis. A media transport device characterized by the following features.

2. A media transport device according to claim 1, In the first posture, The first base portion is positioned on a straight line connecting the second base portion and the third base portion. The connecting portion is arranged along the first base portion. A media transport device characterized by the following features.

3. A media transport device according to claim 2, The first base portion, the second base portion, the third base portion, and the connecting portion each have a plate-like surface, The aforementioned plane intersects the radial direction centered on the rotation axis, In the first posture, The plate-shaped plane of the connecting portion is arranged flush with the plate-shaped plane of the first base portion. A media transport device characterized by the following features.

4. A media transport device according to claim 3, The second base portion and the third base portion are connected in the longitudinal direction with a shape that creates a recess at the position of the connecting portion. In the first posture, The first base portion is located in the recess, The first base portion, the second base portion, the third base portion, and the connecting portion are arranged so that their respective plate-shaped planes are flush with each other. A media transport device characterized by the following features.

5. A media transport device according to claim 1, A first pressing force application unit that applies a first pressing force to the first shutter unit to cause it to assume the first posture, The device comprises a second pressing force application unit that applies a second pressing force to the second shutter unit and the third shutter unit to cause them to assume the first position, A media transport device characterized by the following features.

6. A media transport device according to claim 5, A first displacement mechanism that displaces the first shutter unit from the first position to the second position, The system comprises a second displacement mechanism that displaces the second shutter unit and the third shutter unit from the first position to the second position, A media transport device characterized by the following features.

7. A media transport device according to claim 5, The first shutter unit assumes the first position when the first base portion is pressed against the pressed portion of the connecting portion by the first pressing force. A media transport device characterized by the following features.

8. A media transport device according to claim 7, The second shutter unit and the third shutter unit are provided with a second displacement mechanism that displaces them from the first position to the second position. The displacement of the first shutter unit from the first position to the second position is performed by the second displacement mechanism. A media transport device characterized by the following features.

9. A media transport device according to claim 1, In the first posture, The contact portion of the first shutter unit is located downstream in the transport direction from the contact portions of the second and third shutter units, A media transport device characterized by the following features.

10. A media transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, A processing unit is located downstream in the conveying direction of the media conveying device and performs processing on the media, Electronic devices equipped with these features.

Images