Mounting mechanism, device equipped with mounting mechanism, belt device, conveying device, cooling device, and printing device

Abstract

To provide a fitting mechanism capable of suppressing deterioration in a degree of parallelization of each part of a module in a state where the module is built in a built-in device.SOLUTION: Fitting mechanisms 450, 460, which fit one module side plate 412 out of a pair of side plates of a module 400a to a body side plate 311 of a device in which the module 400a is built, includes a holding member 450 for holding the one module side plate 412, and, when assembling the module 400a, is capable of adjusting an attitude of the one module side plate 412 with respect to the body side plate 311.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an attachment mechanism, an apparatus provided with the attachment mechanism, a belt apparatus, a conveyance apparatus, a cooling apparatus, and a printing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a belt apparatus has been known in which an endless belt supported by a plurality of rollers is disposed between a pair of side plates that support both ends of the plurality of rollers. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a sheet conveyance apparatus with a cooling function including a cooling member inside an endless belt circulation path of such a belt apparatus.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] In a belt apparatus, the parallelism of a plurality of support rollers is important to prevent the belt from shifting. Further, from the viewpoint of assembly workability, it is preferable that the belt apparatus is made into a module and the parallelism of the plurality of support rollers is adjusted in the state of the module. However, when the module side plate is attached to the main body side plate of the apparatus incorporating the module by an attachment mechanism, the parallelism of the plurality of support rollers may deteriorate. The deterioration in the state where the module is incorporated into the apparatus is not limited to the parallelism of the plurality of rollers. The parallelism of a pair of side plates of the module may also deteriorate.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an attachment mechanism for attaching one of a pair of side plates of a module to a main body side plate of an apparatus incorporating the module, the attachment mechanism having a holding member for holding the one module side plate, and being capable of adjusting the posture of the one module side plate with respect to the main body side plate when the module is assembled. Further, the holding member includes an adjustment holding member that maintains the adjusted posture even when the module is removed. It is characterized in that.

Effects of the Invention

[0005] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress deterioration of parallelism of each part of the module in a state where the module is incorporated into the incorporating device.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0007] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the overall configuration of the printing apparatus. [Overall Description] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the schematic configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus in the present embodiment. The inkjet recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment mainly includes a paper feeding unit 100, an image forming unit 200, a drying unit 300, and a paper discharging unit 500. The inkjet recording apparatus 1 forms an image on a sheet material P as a recording material fed from the paper feeding unit 100 with ink which is a liquid for image formation in the image forming unit 200. Then, the inkjet recording apparatus 1 dries the ink adhering to the paper in the drying unit 300 and then discharges the paper to the paper discharging unit 500.

[0008] [Paper feeding unit] The paper feeding unit 100 mainly includes a paper feed tray 110 on which a plurality of sheets of paper P are stacked, a paper feeding device 120 that separates and feeds out the paper from the paper feed tray 110 one by one, and a registration roller pair 130 that feeds the paper into the image forming unit 200. The paper feeding device 120 can be any type of paper feeding device, such as a device using rollers or cylinders, or a device using air suction. The paper sent out from the paper feed tray 110 by the paper feeding device 120 is fed into the image forming unit 200 when the leading edge reaches the registration roller pair 130 and the registration roller pair 130 is driven at a predetermined timing. The paper feeding unit 100 is not limited in its configuration as long as it can send out the paper P to the image forming unit 200.

[0009] [Image forming unit] The image forming unit 200 includes a receiving cylinder 201 that receives the fed paper P, and a paper carrying drum 210 that carries and conveys the paper P conveyed by the receiving cylinder 201 on its outer peripheral surface. The image forming unit 200 also includes an ink ejection unit 220 that ejects ink toward the paper P carried on the paper carrying drum 210, and a delivery cylinder 202 that delivers the paper P conveyed by the paper carrying drum 210 to the drying unit 300. The paper P conveyed from the paper feeding unit 100 to the image forming unit 200 has its leading edge gripped by a paper gripper provided on the surface of the receiving cylinder 201 and is conveyed along with the surface movement of the receiving cylinder 201. The paper conveyed by the receiving cylinder 201 is delivered to the paper carrying drum 210 at the opposing position with the paper carrying drum 210.

[0010] The paper carrying drum 210 has paper grippers on its surface. The leading edge of the paper is gripped by the paper grippers. The paper carrying drum 210 also has a plurality of suction holes formed dispersedly on its surface. An inward suction airflow is generated in each suction hole toward the inside of the paper carrying drum 210 by a suction device 211. The paper P delivered from the receiving cylinder 201 to the paper carrying drum 210 has its leading edge gripped by the paper grippers and is adsorbed onto the surface of the paper carrying drum 210 by the suction airflow and is conveyed along with the surface movement of the paper carrying drum 210.

[0011] The ink ejection unit 220 ejects four colors of ink, namely C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black), to form an image, and includes individual liquid ejection heads 220C, 220M, 220Y, and 220K for each color of ink. The liquid ejection heads 220C, 220M, 220Y, and 220K are not limited in their configuration as long as they can eject liquid, and any configuration can be adopted. If necessary, a liquid ejection head for ejecting special inks such as white, gold, and silver may be provided, or a liquid ejection head for ejecting a liquid that does not constitute an image, such as a surface coating liquid, may be provided.

[0012] The liquid ejection heads 220C, 220M, 220Y, and 220K of the ink ejection unit 220 are each controlled in their ejection operation by a drive signal according to the image information. When the paper P carried on the paper carrier drum 210 passes through the facing area with the ink ejection unit 220, inks of each color are ejected from the liquid ejection heads 220C, 220M, 220Y, and 220K, and an image corresponding to the image information is formed. The image forming unit 200 is not limited in its configuration as long as it can form an image by attaching a liquid onto the paper P.

[0013] [Drying Unit] The drying unit 300 includes a drying mechanism 301 for drying the ink adhered onto the paper P by the image forming unit 200, and a transport mechanism 302 for transporting the paper P conveyed from the image forming unit 200. The paper P conveyed from the image forming unit 200 is received by the transport mechanism 302 and then transported so as to pass through the drying mechanism 301, and is delivered to the paper discharge unit 500. When the paper P passes through the drying mechanism 301, the ink on the paper P is subjected to a drying process, whereby the liquid components such as moisture in the ink evaporate, the ink adheres firmly onto the paper P, and the curling of the paper P is suppressed.

[0014] [Cooling Unit] The cooling unit 400 includes a transport belt 401 for transporting the paper and a cooling member 402 for cooling the paper. By passing through the cooling unit, the temperature of the paper is lowered to a temperature at which it can be stacked.

[0015] [Paper discharging unit] The paper discharging unit 500 has a paper discharge tray 410 on which a plurality of sheets P are stacked. The sheets P conveyed from the drying unit 300 are sequentially stacked and held on the paper discharge tray 510. The paper discharging unit 500 is not limited in its configuration as long as it discharges the sheet P.

[0016] [Other functional units] The inkjet recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is composed of a paper feeding unit 100, an image forming unit 200, a drying unit 300, and a paper discharging unit 500, but other functional units may be appropriately added. For example, a pre-processing unit for performing pre-processing of image formation may be added between the paper feeding unit 100 and the image forming unit 200, or a post-processing unit for performing post-processing of image formation may be added between the drying unit 300 and the paper discharging unit 500.

[0017] Examples of the pre-processing unit include those that perform a treatment liquid application process of applying a treatment liquid that reacts with the ink to suppress bleeding to the sheet P. There is no particular limitation on the content of the pre-processing. Also, examples of the post-processing unit include a paper reverse conveyance process of reversing the sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming unit 200 and sending it again to the image forming unit 200 to form an image on both sides of the sheet, and a process of binding a plurality of sheets on which images are formed. The post-processing unit also includes a correction mechanism for correcting paper deformation and a cooling mechanism for cooling the paper. There is no particular limitation on the content of the post-processing.

[0018] In this embodiment, the printing apparatus is described as an example of an inkjet recording apparatus. The "printing apparatus" is not limited to one that includes a liquid ejection head that ejects a liquid toward the surface of the sheet material to be dried, and in which a significant image such as characters and graphics is visualized by the ejected liquid. For example, those that form patterns or the like that do not have a meaning by themselves are also included. The sheet material is not limited in terms of its material, and any material to which a liquid can adhere, even temporarily, such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, etc., may be used. For example, it may be used for film products, cloth products such as clothing, building materials such as wallpaper and floor materials, leather products, and the like. Further, the "printing apparatus" can also include means related to the feeding, conveying, and paper discharging of materials to which a liquid can adhere, as well as a pretreatment apparatus, a post-treatment apparatus, and the like.

[0019] Also, the "liquid" may be any liquid that has a viscosity and surface tension that can be ejected from the head and is not particularly limited, but it is preferably one that has a viscosity of 30 mPa·s or less at normal temperature and pressure, or by heating or cooling. More specifically, it includes solutions, suspensions, emulsions, etc. containing solvents such as water and organic solvents, colorants such as dyes and pigments, polymerizable compounds, resins, functional additive materials such as surfactants, biocompatible materials such as DNA, amino acids, proteins, and calcium, and edible materials such as natural pigments. These can be used, for example, in applications such as inkjet inks and surface treatment liquids.

[0020] Also, the "printing apparatus" includes apparatuses in which the liquid ejection head and the sheet material move relative to each other, but is not limited thereto. Specific examples include serial type apparatuses that move the liquid ejection head and line type apparatuses that do not move the liquid ejection head.

[0021] In addition, the "liquid ejection head" is a functional component that ejects and sprays liquid from ejection holes (nozzles). As an energy source for ejecting the liquid, a piezoelectric actuator (a laminated piezoelectric element and a thin-film piezoelectric element), a thermal actuator using an electrothermal conversion element such as a heating resistor, an ejection energy generation means such as an electrostatic actuator composed of a diaphragm and a counter electrode, etc. can be used. The ejection energy generation means to be used is not limited.

[0022] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example of a sheet cooling device that constitutes the cooling unit 400. The illustrated sheet cooling device has a conveying belt 401, which is an endless belt, for conveying the sheet 2 as a sheet conveying mechanism, and a driven roller 408 and a driving roller 405, which are a plurality of support rollers for supporting it. In addition, the sheet cooling device has a cooling member 402 and a pressing roller 406 for pressing the sheet 2 against the cooling member 402.

[0023] The cooling member 402 is disposed inside the loop of the conveying belt 401 so as to be in contact with the back surface of the conveying belt 401. The cooling member 402 has a flow path pipe 403 through which a coolant as a refrigerant flows. The flow path pipe 403 is connected to a refrigerant cooling device 409 via a tube, and the coolant is caused to flow by a pump. In the present embodiment, the conveying belt 401, the driving roller 405, the driven roller 408, and the cooling member 402 in the sheet cooling device are modularized.

[0024] FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the belt module 400a. FIG. 3(a) is a perspective view of the belt module 400a alone, and FIG. 3(b) is a left side view showing the belt module 400a in a state assembled with the drying unit housing. Unlike the example of FIG. 2, in the belt device shown in FIG. 3, one cooling member is arranged at the center in one conveyance direction inside the circumferential path of the lower conveyance belt 401. Cooling members are arranged upstream and downstream in the conveyance direction inside the circumferential path of the upper conveyance belt 401. And a pressure roller is arranged at a position facing the cooling member of the other belt. The belt module 400a only needs to have the conveyance belt 401 wound around it. The conveyance belt 401 may be, for example, only one on the lower side, or two on the upper and lower sides as in the illustrated example. Three or more may also be used.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 3(a), the module front side plate 412 and the module rear side plate 413 support both ends of the drive roller 405, the driven roller 408, and the cooling member 402 for the lower conveyance belt 401. The front side plate and the rear side plate for supporting both ends of the drive roller 405, the driven roller 408, and the cooling member 402 for the upper conveyance belt 401 will be described later with reference to FIG. 8. The front side plate and the rear side plate for the upper conveyance belt 401 are separate from the module front side plate 412 and the module rear side plate 413 for the lower conveyance belt 401, and can be said to be a module separate from the module for the lower conveyance belt 401. The two are attached to the drying unit housing via the module front side plate 412 and the module rear side plate 413 as an integrated module.

[0026] The cooling member 402 has a certain rigidity and functions as a stay member between a pair of side plates (such as 412, 413). A dedicated stay member can also be added in addition to the cooling member. The attachment positions of the ends of the drive roller 405 and the driven roller 408 on a pair of side plates (such as 412, 413) are adjusted to be parallel in the module assembly process. The stay member maintains the parallel relationship between the drive roller 405 and the driven roller 408.

[0027] As shown in Fig. 3(b), the front module plate 412 and the rear module plate 413 are fixed to the front drying unit housing plate 311 and the rear drying unit housing plate 312, respectively. The front drying unit housing plate 311 and the rear drying unit housing plate 312 are erected on the drying unit housing bottom plate 313. The front module plate 412 of the belt module 400a is fixed to the front drying unit housing plate 311 by a removable front holding member 450 as a holding member.

[0028] When assembling the belt module 400a into the drying unit, assemble it in the direction indicated by arrow B, that is, in the direction from the front side to the rear side in the direction of the distance between the front drying unit housing plate 311 and the rear drying unit housing plate 312. When assembling, the front holding member 450 can be engaged with the front module plate 412 and the front drying unit housing plate 311 with the rear module plate 413 attached to the rear drying unit housing plate 312. The engaging portion of the front holding member 450 with the front module plate 412 and the engaging portion with the front drying unit housing plate 311 can be engaged with the corresponding engaging portions by an attachment operation from the direction of arrow B during assembly. This direction of arrow B is also the direction from the front side to the back side in the direction of the distance between the pair of side plates of the belt module 400a.

[0029] Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram of the basic fixing method of the belt module 400a. Figure 4 shows the details of the attachment part to the drying unit main body as a device for incorporating the module. Figure 4(a) is a perspective view, and Figure 4(b) is a plan view. The belt module 400a is supported at four points on the front side plate 311 and the rear side plate 312 of the drying unit housing. From the belt module 400a side, positioning pins protrude two by two to the front and back sides. These are designated as the front right pin 414, front left pin 415, rear right pin 416, and rear left pin 417 of the module. Holes 316 (see Figure 4(b)), 317, 453, and 454 are formed in the rear side plate 312 of the drying unit housing and the front holding member 450 so that these can be attached. Their shapes do not necessarily have to be circular. Also, the side where the pins and holes are formed may be the opposite of the illustrated example. That is, pins may stand on the rear side plate 312 of the drying unit housing and the front holding member 450 side, and holes may be formed on the belt module 400a side.

[0030] On the front holding member 450, the front holding positioning right pin 451 and the front holding positioning left pin 452 stand. Holes 314 and 315 for attaching these pins 451 and 452 are formed in the front side plate 311 of the drying unit housing. If it is completely fixed like this, distortion on the drying unit housing side and displacement of the hole positions will twist the belt module 400a. In this case, the belt side will be different from the values confirmed individually. In particular, "twisting" caused by raising or lowering one of the four fixing points significantly affects the belt side according to the investigation results. Especially in the belt module 400a with a plurality of belts arranged vertically as shown in Figure 3(a), both the upper and lower belts are affected by the twisting.

[0031] Generally, when driving an endless belt, the belt snakes. To solve this, a mechanism is provided to automatically correct the belt deviation. However, for large belt deviations, the automatic adjustment mechanism alone cannot make the adjustment, so it is necessary to keep it within a certain deviation range during the process. However, when the adjusted module is mounted on the main body structure after assembly, due to a slight deviation of the positioning pins, the module is distorted and belt deviation occurs. Especially when replacing in the market, delicate belt deviation adjustment must be performed on-site. In an embodiment for solving such problems, the following mounting mechanism is used as a mounting mechanism for attaching one of the module side plates of a pair of side plates of the module to the main body side plate of the device for incorporating the module. That is, it has a holding member for holding one of the module side plates, and the posture of one of the module side plates with respect to the main body side plate can be adjusted when assembling the module.

[0032] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a fixing method using a belt deviation adjustment mechanism as a mounting mechanism according to an embodiment. In order not to be affected by distortion on the drying unit housing side as described above, a mechanism for adjusting the hole position on the drying unit housing side (main body side) for the belt module 400a is provided as shown in FIG. 5. The module front right pin 414 provided on the module front side plate 412 is changed to be fixed to an adjustment holding member 460 provided separately. The adjustment holding member 460 can rotate about the rotation center axis 461. Also, it can be fixed to the front holding member 450 with screws or the like at an arbitrary angle.

[0033] The adjustment holding member 460 is formed with an insertion hole 462 for fixing the module front right pin 414, a horizontally long through hole 463 through which the screw shaft passes, and a vertically long through hole 464 through which the screw shaft passes. A relatively large through hole 456 is formed at the location of the module front right pin 414 on the front holding member 450. The front holding member 450 is also formed with a hole 455 into which the rotation center axis 461 of the adjustment holding member 460 is inserted, and two screw holes 457, 458 for fixing.

[0034] FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an adjustment method by a belt-side adjustment mechanism and is a view of FIG. 5 as viewed from A. FIG. 6(a) shows a state where the adjustment holding member 460 is not tilted with respect to the front holding member 450. FIG. 6(b) shows a state where the adjustment holding member 460 is tilted with respect to the front holding member 450. By rotating the adjustment holding member 460 as shown in FIG. 6(b), the insertion hole 462 for fixing the module front right pin 414 moves upward (in the arrow direction).

[0035] As shown in FIG. 6, the fixing hole of the module front right pin 414 among the four positioning pins 414, 415, 416, and 417 of the belt module 400a is moved. As a result, the front surface of the belt module 400a is twisted with respect to the back surface. Due to the twisting, the alignment between the rollers is shifted. By reproducing the alignment during the assembly process for the alignment between the rollers, the amount of belt side adjustment adjusted individually before shipment can be achieved. Further, the adjustment holding member 460 can be fixed to the front holding member 450 with a screw 465. Therefore, even when the belt module 400a is removed due to maintenance or the like of the belt module 400a, it can be returned to the original adjustment position without removing the screw 465. Thus, it can be said that the fixed posture of the adjustment holding member 640 with respect to the front holding member 450 represents the adjustment amount, and the adjustment amount is recorded by fixing with the screw 465.

[0036] In the examples shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 above, the module side plate engages with the holding member at two locations, the holding member engages with the main body side plate at two locations, and the position of the holding member at one engagement portion of the module side plate is adjustable during assembly. Instead of the position of the holding member at one engagement portion of the module side plate, the position of the main body side plate at one engagement portion of the holding member with the main body side plate may be adjustable during assembly. Based on the same principle as the examples shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, it is also possible to implement by moving either the front holding position right pin 451 or the front holding position left pin 452 instead of the positioning pins 414, 415, 416, and 417 of the belt module 400a.

[0037] FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a fixing method using a belt-side adjustment mechanism according to such a modification. The illustrated example is an example in which the front holding positioning right pin 451 is movable. The front holding positioning right pin 451 is provided not on the front holding member 450 but on the adjustment holding member 460. A through hole 459 having a size large enough for the front holding positioning right pin 451 to move by the rotation of the adjustment holding member 460 is formed in the front holding member 450. The front holding positioning right pin 451 passes through this through hole 459 and is inserted into the mounting hole 314 of the front side plate 311 of the drying unit housing. Different from the examples of FIGS. 5 and 6, the through hole 456 into which the module front right pin 414 is inserted in the front holding member 450 has a size corresponding to the diameter of the pin. When the tip of the module front right pin 414 passes through the through hole 456 and reaches the adjustment holding member 460, the insertion hole 462 of the adjustment holding member 460 into which this tip enters is made a larger hole so that the adjustment holding member 460 can rotate.

[0038] In this example, the belt module 400a is completely fixed to the front holding member 450. The belt module 400a moves when the front holding member 450 moves. Even in this case, since the adjustment holding member 460 is fixed to the front holding member 450, even when the belt module 400a is removed, it can be returned to the original adjustment position without removing this fixing.

[0039] FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of the opening and closing structure of the belt module 400a. The upper conveyor belt 401 has a front side plate 470 and a rear side plate 471 that support both ends of the drive roller 405, the driven roller 408, and the cooling member 402. A bracket 474 is fixed to the rear side plate 471. A bracket 475 is also fixed to the module rear side plate 413 of the lower conveyor belt 401. By these brackets 474, etc., as shown in FIG. 8(b), a pivot point for rotation is formed where the front side plate 470 of the upper conveyor belt 401 is separated from or approaches above the module front side plate 412 of the lower conveyor belt 401. A tension spring 472 is provided between the two brackets 474, 475. The front side plate 470 of the upper conveyor belt 401 is provided with a locking claw 473 that restricts the upward movement of the front side plate 470 against the biasing force of the tension spring 472.

[0040] The above embodiments relate to the conveyor device of a printing apparatus or the belt device of a cooling device, but can also be applied to belt devices used in other devices. Further, not limited to belt devices, it can be applied to devices that require ensuring the parallelism of a pair of side plates. And in the belt device, means for measuring the belt approach speed and display means for displaying the measurement result of the belt approach speed may be provided. According to this, adjustment can be carried out while confirming the belt approach speed.

[0041] FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of another example of the belt module 400a. FIG. 9(a) is a perspective view thereof, and FIG. 9(b) is a cross-sectional view of the upper conveyor roller unit thereof. The belt module 400a that constitutes the cooling unit 400 of the inkjet recording apparatus 1 that prints at high speed as shown in FIG. 1 requires a highly efficient cooling system to lower the temperature of the paper stacked after high-speed printing to the loadable temperature. Since the paper immediately after being dried by the drying mechanism 301 of the inkjet recording apparatus 1 in FIG. 1 is likely to be affected by image scratches during conveyance by rollers or the like, it is difficult to contact rollers or the like.

[0042] Since the paper is conveyed while being sandwiched between the upper and lower endless conveyor belts 401, 401, it is less likely to cause image scratches. Moreover, the paper can be pressed against the cooled cooling plate 703 by a plurality of pressure rollers 704, and the paper can be cooled by contact heat transfer. Since it can be cooled by contact heat transfer, more efficient cooling is realized. At the same time, by pressing against the belt that is being driven, the conveying function due to the friction of the belt is exerted. The cooling plate 703 has a liquid flowing inside, and by cooling this liquid, it can be cooled with a large heat transfer rate, but the cooling method is not limited to liquid cooling. The upper and lower conveyor belts 401, 401 are each supported by a plurality of rollers 705 to 709. In the figure, the driving force is applied by the driving rollers 705 and 706 on the upper and lower sides respectively, but the functions and arrangements of each are not limited.

[0043] The belt module 400a in FIG. 9 realizes both ensuring sufficient belt centering correction force and precise control of belt centering by devising the winding method of the tensioning roller and the belt tensioning method. Hereinafter, this point will be described in detail. A method of tilting one of the tensioning rollers to suppress the meandering of the belt (hereinafter, this tilted roller is referred to as a steering roller) is known. This steering roller is automatically controlled to rotate at a predetermined rotation angle around a rotation axis when the centering of the belt is detected by a known centering detection means.

[0044] There are the following two methods for tilting the steering roller. One is a method of tilting by rotating around an axis perpendicular to the steering roller in a plane perpendicular to the belt tension direction. In this method, there is a concern that the control becomes complicated because the amount of belt centering is not proportional to the rotation angle, or the tension becomes uneven on the left and right, affecting the paper conveyance performance. The other is a method of rotating the steering roller around an axis parallel to the belt tension direction. In this method, the same amount of belt centering can be caused according to the rotated rotation angle. However, only about one-third of the belt centering can be suppressed for the same tilt angle. A comparison of both methods is as shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1

[0045] Regarding the serpentine control of a belt conveyor, generally the following requirements exist. For example, in a printing machine that conveys paper by upper and lower belts, even a slight belt deviation can cause a large deviation over the conveyance length and may result in image defects, so more precise belt deviation control is required. Also, in the case of a configuration where the conveyance surface occupies a large area during belt conveyance, the disturbance caused by paper passage is also large, and a force to correct the belt deviation is also needed. For these reasons, the serpentine suppression method requires compatibility between the belt deviation correction force and fine control. However, the conventional ones have been insufficient.

[0046] The belt module 400a in FIG. 9 rotates the upper steering roller 710 about the rotation center 711 which is an axis parallel to the tension direction as shown by the arrow C. By rotating in this direction, more precise control becomes possible. The rotation axis is preferably located at the center in the width direction of the roller, but even if it is not at the center, it is sufficient if the roller can be tilted. And by increasing the winding angle of the belt around this steering roller, the sensitivity to belt deviation is increased so that the belt deviation can be suppressed more minimally. It has been found that the sensitivity to belt deviation can be increased by increasing the winding angle of the steering roller. Approximately 60 degrees is optimal.

[0047] Also, a roller for equalizing the tension in the belt width direction among the tensioning rollers (hereinafter referred to as a tension adjustment roller) is required. In the illustrated example, the upper tension adjustment roller 712 is applied with a force by, for example, a spring 750 in the belt tensioning direction to apply a constant tension in the belt width direction. It has been found that even when the upper tension adjustment roller 712 moves so as to tilt, it affects the belt deviation. The upper tension adjustment roller 712 operates also when the upper steering roller 710 moves in order to make the belt tension in the belt width direction constant. During this operation, belt deviation also occurs due to the upper tension adjustment roller 712.

[0048] Making the winding angle θ3 of the upper tension adjusting roller 712 as small as possible can reduce the sensitivity caused by the upper steering roller 710. The winding angle θ3 of the upper tension adjusting roller 712 is made smaller than the winding angle θ2 of the upper steering roller 710. In the figure, in order to ensure the winding angle θ2 of the upper steering roller 710, the upper tension adjusting roller 712 is pressed from the outside to the inside of the belt to apply tension. Instead, it can be applied from the inside.

[0049] The winding angle θ1 of the belt of the drive roller 705 that applies the conveying force is the largest among the rollers. The upper steering roller 710 has the second largest winding angle θ2. The diameter of the upper tension adjusting roller 712 is larger than that of the upper steering roller 710. By making it larger, the winding angle of the upper tension adjusting roller 712 can be made smaller.

[0050] Similarly, it can also be implemented for the unit of the lower conveying belt 401. That is, the lower steering roller 720 and the lower tension adjusting roller 722 are configured in the same way as the upper steering roller 710 and the upper tension adjusting roller 712. The reference numeral 751 in Fig. 9(a) indicates a spring for the lower tension adjusting roller.

[0051] Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a modified example. Fig. 10(a) and Fig. 10(b) show different modified examples respectively. This modified example is provided with a manual belt alignment adjusting mechanism in addition to the serpentine control mechanism in Fig. 9. When a large number of rollers are strung up, if the belt alignment becomes even more, it may become difficult to control the belt alignment only with the upper steering roller 710. The belt alignment that cannot be adjusted by the inclination adjustment mechanism of the steering roller can be adjusted at the stage of the unit assembly process or when replacing parts. It is a manual belt alignment adjusting mechanism that can be adopted in addition to or instead of the belt alignment adjusting mechanism of the belt module described with reference to Figs. 3 to 8.

[0052] The example in Fig. 10(a) is an example of moving the pre-entry roller 707 in the adjustment direction E. In Fig. 10(a), the roller is tilted by moving only the front side of the pre-entry roller 707 in the direction of the arrow D, which is the belt tension direction. An alignment adjustment mechanism that can tilt the roller in this way is provided. The roller is rotated and tilted around a rotation axis orthogonal to the roller axis within a plane perpendicular to the belt tension located at the rear end of the pre-entry roller 707.

[0053] The adjustment direction does not necessarily have to be this direction D, but by setting it in this direction, as shown in Table 1, the adjustment amount closer to the belt is large. When this method is adopted, the winding angle of the upper tension adjustment roller 712 changes to absorb the tension fluctuation, but since the winding angle θ3 is small, the influence can be suppressed. As a control method, the adjustment closer to the belt is adjusted within the control range in advance by the adjustment roller, and the upper steering roller 710 is adjusted by its operation for other disturbances (such as temperature change, presence or absence of paper entry, differences due to paper types, etc.).

[0054] Adjustment can also be achieved with other rollers. For example, as shown in Fig. 10(b), the upper tension adjustment roller 712 is moved only on the front side in the adjustment direction E to tilt the roller. With this method, only the upper tension adjustment roller 712 needs to be moved for adjustment, so the adjustment becomes easy.

[0055] The configuration of the belt module 400a described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 above can be applied not only to the belt module that constitutes the cooling unit 400 of the inkjet recording apparatus 1 that performs printing at high speed as shown in FIG. 1, but also to a belt device that does not have a belt alignment adjustment mechanism of the belt module described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8. And specific effects can be achieved for each of the following aspects.

[0056] (Aspect A) A first endless belt supported by a plurality of rollers including a driving roller and a driven roller, a second endless belt supported by a plurality of rollers including a driving roller and a driven roller and contacting the first endless belt only in a certain section, and a belt device that is pressurized so as to be able to convey a sheet in a contact section where the first endless belt and the second endless belt contact each other and has a conveying force. At least one of the rollers that support the first endless belt and the second endless belt rotates about an axis parallel to the tension direction of the belt, and has a steering mechanism capable of adjusting the belt alignment, and a roller that automatically moves in the belt stretching direction and adjusts the tension in the belt width direction. The winding angle of the steering roller is the second largest after one roller that serves as a reference for roller parallelism. According to this, both ensuring the belt alignment correction force and precisely controlling the belt alignment are realized.

[0057] (Aspect B) In Aspect A, the tension adjusting roller is a roller that presses from the outside to the inside of the wound belt. According to this, the winding angle of the steering roller can be made larger when wound from the outside.

[0058] (Aspect C) In Aspect A or B, any one of the rollers that contact the belt immediately before and immediately after the belt touches the steering roller is a roller that automatically moves in the belt stretching direction and adjusts the tension in the belt width direction. According to this, the tension adjusting roller is adjacent, and the responsiveness of the belt alignment is good.

[0059] (Aspect D) In Aspects A to C, it has detection means for detecting the alignment of the first endless belt or the second endless belt or the alignment of one of them, and automatically controls the rotation angle of the rotating roller. According to this, the inclination of the belt alignment adjusting roller can be automatically changed according to the position of the belt.

[0060] (Aspect E) In Aspects A to D, there is at least one alignment adjustment mechanism for a roller as a manual belt side adjustment means. According to this, the belt side that cannot be fully adjusted by the tilt adjustment mechanism of the steering roller can be adjusted at the stage of the unit assembly process or when replacing parts.

[0061] (Aspect F) In Aspect E, the alignment adjustment mechanism of the manual roller is performed by a roller that automatically moves in the belt stretching direction and adjusts the tension in the belt width direction. According to this, since only the roller that moves for adjustment is the tension applying roller, the adjustment is easy.

[0062] (Aspect G) In Aspects A to F, at least one of the rollers supporting the above belt is fixed to a pair of front and rear fixing members, and the above fixing members are supported by the housing at two or more points in the front and rear, and · has a mechanism capable of adjusting the belt side by moving one or more of the above support points in an arbitrary direction, and the adjustment amount of the above adjustment can be recorded on the main body. According to this, it is possible to adjust the belt side due to the distortion of the belt conveyance unit main body. For example, it is possible to individually cope with belt side that is not due to roller alignment, such as distortion of the installation location of the housing.

[0063] (Aspect H) In Aspects A to G, in the contact section of the first endless belt and the second endless belt, there is a contact member on the inner side of either belt, and this is sliding on the inner side of the belt. For this contact member, there is a means for heating or cooling the contact member. According to this, by heating or cooling the contact member, the function of cooling / heating the conveyed object can be added.

Explanation of Signs

[0064] 1: Inkjet recording apparatus 2: Paper 100: Paper feeding unit 110: Paper feed tray 120: Feeding device 130: Registration roller pair 200: Image forming unit 201: Receiving cylinder 202: Delivery cylinder 210: Paper support drum 211: Suction device 220: Ink ejection unit 220C: Liquid ejection head 220K: Liquid ejection head 220M: Liquid ejection head 220Y: Liquid ejection head 300: Drying unit 301: Drying mechanism 302: Conveying mechanism 311: Front side plate of drying unit housing 312: Rear side plate of drying unit housing 313: Bottom plate of drying unit housing 314: Hole 315: Hole 316: Hole 400: Cooling unit 400a: Belt module 401: Conveyor belt 402: Cooling member 403: Flow path pipe 405: Driving roller 406: Pressing roller 408: Driven roller 409: Refrigerant cooling device 410: Paper discharge tray 412: Front side plate of module 413: Rear side plate of module 414: Front right pin of module 415: Front left pin of module 416: Rear right pin of module 417: Rear left pin of module 450: Front holding member 451: Front holding positioning right pin 452: Front holding positioning left pin 455: Hole 456: Through hole 457: Screw hole 458: Screw hole 459: Through-hole 460: Adjustment and retention member 461: Rotation center axis 462: Insertion hole 463: Through-hole 464: Through-hole 465: Screw 470: Front side plate 471: Rear side plate 472: Tension spring 473: Lock claw 474: Bracket 475: Bracket 500: Paper discharge unit 510: Paper discharge tray 640: Adjustment and retention member B: Arrow P: Paper

Prior art documents

Patent documents

[0065]

Patent Document 1

Claims

1. An attachment mechanism for attaching one of a pair of module side plates of a module to a main body side plate of a device for incorporating the module, comprising: a holding member for holding the one module side plate, and being capable of adjusting the posture of the one module side plate with respect to the main body side plate when assembling the module; The attachment mechanism is characterized in that the holding member includes an adjustment holding member that maintains the adjusted posture even when the module is removed.

2. The attachment mechanism according to claim 1, wherein: the one module side plate engages with the holding member at two locations, the holding member engages with the main body side plate at two locations, and at least one of the position of the holding member at one engagement portion of the one module side plate and the position of the main body side plate at one engagement portion of the holding member with the main body side plate is adjustable during the assembly.

3. The attachment mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: the holding member is capable of engaging with the one module side plate and the main body side plate when the other module side plate of the pair of side plates is attached to the main body side plate during the assembly.

4. The attachment mechanism according to claim 3, wherein: the engagement portions of the holding member with the one module side plate and the main body side plate are capable of engaging with the counterpart engagement portions by an attachment operation from the same direction in the interval direction between the pair of side plates during the assembly.

5. An apparatus having a module including a pair of module side plates, and comprising an attachment mechanism for attaching one of the pair of module side plates of the module to a main body side plate, wherein: the attachment mechanism is the attachment mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. A belt device having a module including an endless belt supported by a plurality of rollers and a pair of module side plates, and comprising an attachment mechanism for attaching one of the pair of module side plates of the module to a main body side plate, wherein: the attachment mechanism is the attachment mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A belt device having a module including an endless belt supported by a plurality of rollers and a pair of module side plates, and having an attachment mechanism for attaching one of the pair of side plates of the module to a main body side plate, The attachment mechanism is, It has a holding member for holding the one module side plate, and the posture of the one module side plate with respect to the main body side plate can be adjusted when assembling the module, At least one of the plurality of rollers rotates about an axis parallel to the belt tension direction and has a steering mechanism capable of adjusting the belt side, and at least one other roller automatically moves in the belt stretching direction to adjust the tension in the belt width direction. A belt device characterized in that the winding angle of the belt of the roller having the steering mechanism is larger than the winding angle of the roller for adjusting the tension.

8. A conveying device for conveying a sheet using a belt device, As the belt device, a conveying device including the belt device according to claim 6 or 7.

9. A cooling device having a cooling member inside the circumferential path of the endless belt of the belt device, As the belt device, a cooling device including the belt device according to claim 6 or 7.

10. A printing device including at least one of the conveying device according to claim 8 and the cooling device according to claim 9.

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