Feeding device

Abstract

Provided is a feeding device that is capable of handling rolled recording media having different diameters while suppressing component costs with a simple configuration.　A printing device includes a shaft 30 and holders 81, 82. The shaft 30 is inserted into a paper tube of an original wound roll. The original wound roll is constituted by winding a long printing medium around the paper tube. The holders 81, 82 are attached to the shaft 30, and come into contact with respective ends of the paper tube to support the original wound roll from both sides. Each of the holders 81, 82 is provided with a decreased diameter part 85. The decreased diameter part 85 is tapered with a decreasing diameter toward the center in the axial direction of the shaft 30, and press-fit into a hole of the paper tube. Thus, the printing device can handle paper tubes of original wound rolls having different diameters while suppressing costs with a simple configuration.

Description

feeding device

[0001] The present invention relates to a feeding device.

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-102663 discloses a rolled recording medium holding device that can accommodate a variety of core tubes for roll paper with different shaft diameters. The rolled recording medium holding device includes a flange body, and the flange body is provided with a pressure-receiving displacement portion. The pressure-receiving displacement portion has multiple plate portions formed at predetermined intervals around the circumference of the tube body. When pressure is applied to the pressure-receiving displacement portion, the plate portions expand and are pressed against the core tube of the rolled recording medium.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-4128

[0004] The above-mentioned roll-shaped recording medium holding device has a complicated structure, which causes a problem of high component costs.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a feeding device that has a simple configuration, reduces component costs, and is capable of handling roll-shaped recording media of different diameters.

[0006] The feeding device of claim 1 includes a shaft inserted into a tubular body of a rolled recording medium, the tubular body being formed by wrapping a long sheet around the tubular body, a first holder attached to the shaft and contacting one of the two ends of the tubular body to support the rolled recording medium, and a second holder attached to the shaft and contacting the other of the two ends of the tubular body to support the rolled recording medium, wherein each of the first holder and the second holder has a tapered portion that tapers toward the center of the axial direction of the shaft and is press-fitted into a hole in the tubular body. The rolled recording medium is supported on the shaft by press-fitting the respective reduced diameter portions of the first holder and the second holder into the hole in the tubular body of the rolled recording medium. This allows the feeding device to accommodate rolled recording medium tubular bodies of different diameters with a simple configuration and low costs.

[0007] The maximum diameter of the tapered portion of the feeding device of claim 2 may be the same as the maximum diameter of each of the first holder and the second holder. Therefore, by press-fitting the tapered portions of the first holder and the second holder into both ends of the hole in the tubular body of the rolled recording medium, a portion of each tapered portion is exposed from the hole. When this state is reached, it can be determined that the first holder and the second holder are properly attached.

[0008] A cylindrical spacer may be attached to the shaft of the feeding device of claim 3 between the first holder and the second holder, and the spacer may be located inside the hole. This allows the spacer to fill the gap between the tube and the shaft, thereby suppressing eccentricity between the shaft and the tube. This ensures uniform rotation of the rolled recording medium, and also suppresses bending of the tube in the feeding device.

[0009] The spacer of the feeding device of claim 4 may be provided with a protrusion, and the shaft may be provided with a plurality of fitting holes spaced apart in the axial direction, into which the protrusion can be fitted. This allows the feeding device to easily change the position of the spacer relative to the shaft.

[0010] A plurality of ribs extending in the axial direction may be provided at intervals in the circumferential direction on an outer peripheral surface of the reduced diameter portion of the feeding device of claim 5. Thus, the feeding device can prevent the reduced diameter portion from sliding in the circumferential direction relative to the tubular body.

[0011] The feeding device of claim 6 may have a fixing hole at one axial end of the shaft for fixing the first holder with a fixing device, and a ring-shaped jig may be fixed to the shaft, contacting the second holder from the side opposite the one end to fix the position of the second holder. Thus, the first holder is fixed to the shaft with the fixing device, and the position of the second holder can be changed depending on the width of the rolled recording medium, and the position can be fixed with the ring-shaped jig. Therefore, the feeding device can fix the first holder and the second holder to the shaft depending on the width of the rolled recording medium.

[0012] 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the textile printing machine 1. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the periphery of a support beam 15 that supports the master winding unit 3 and the like. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the shaft 30 to which holders 81, 82 and the like are attached. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the holder 81. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the holder 81 as viewed from a different angle from that of FIG. 4. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the spacer 70. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a procedure for attaching the holders 81, 82 and the cardboard tube 45 to the shaft 30. FIG. 10 is a simplified diagram showing a state in which the holders 81, 82 are attached to both sides of the cardboard tube 45 into which the shaft 30 is inserted. FIG. 11 is a simplified diagram showing a state in which the holders 81, 82 are attached to both sides of the cardboard tube 46 into which the shaft 30 is inserted. FIG. 12 is a simplified diagram showing a state in which the cardboard tube 47 into which the shaft 30 is inserted is bent downward. FIG. 13 is a simplified diagram showing a state in which two spacers 70A, 70B are arranged in the hole 471 of the cardboard tube 47 into which the shaft 30 is inserted.

[0013] An embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, various directions such as front / rear, up / down, left / right, as indicated by arrows in the drawings, will be used. The right side, left side, upper side, lower side, front side of the paper, and rear side of the paper in Fig. 1 correspond to the rear side, front side, upper side, lower side, right side, and left side of the textile printing machine 1.

[0014] The configuration of a textile printing machine 1 will be described with reference to Figure 1. The textile printing machine 1 shown in Figure 1 is a printing device that is long in the left-right direction. The textile printing machine 1 prints characters, figures, etc. on a printing surface M1 of a sheet-like printing medium M, such as cloth, fabric, paper, PVC sheet, tarpaulin, polyester film, etc. The textile printing machine 1 includes a printing section 2, a master winding unit 3, and a winding unit 4.

[0015] The printing unit 2 is provided at the top of the textile printing machine 1 and includes a platen 21 and a print head 22. The platen 21 extends in the front-to-back and left-to-right directions and supports the print medium M from below. The print head 22 is supported above the platen 21 and faces the print surface M1 of the print medium M across a predetermined gap. The print head 22 is a piezo-type print head that performs printing by ejecting ink onto the print surface M1 of the print medium M transported along a transport path in the F1 direction. The transport path extends from the master winding unit 3 to the winding unit 4 via the printing unit 2. The transport path bends in a roughly U-shape that opens downward in a side view. The F1 direction is the transport direction of the print medium M, from the master winding unit 3 to the winding unit 4 via the printing unit 2.

[0016] The master winding unit 3 is provided at approximately the middle position on the rear side of the printing machine 1. The master winding unit 3 includes a shaft 30, holders 81 and 82 (see FIG. 3; only the right-side holder 81 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), and a master winding motor 35 (see FIG. 2).

[0017] The shaft 30 extends in the left-right direction and is supported substantially horizontally by a pair of left and right support beams 15 (only the right support beam 15 is shown in Figures 1 and 2) provided on both the left and right sides of the middle position of the textile printing machine 1. The shaft 30 supports the master roll 100. The master roll 100 is a roll of unprocessed (before printing) printing medium M wound around a cardboard tube 45. The printing medium M is wound around the cardboard tube 45 with the printing surface M1 facing outwards.

[0018] The holders 81 and 82 are attached integrally to the shaft 30. The holders 81 and 82 are press-fitted into the left and right ends of a hole 451 (see FIG. 8 ) in a cardboard tube 45 inserted through the shaft 30, thereby supporting the master roll 100. Therefore, the master roll 100 rotates integrally with the shaft 30. The specific shapes of the shaft 30 and the holders 81 and 82, and the method of supporting the master roll 100 will be described later.

[0019] A master winding motor 35 (see FIG. 2) is provided near the right end of the shaft 30 and drives the shaft 30 to rotate via a drive transmission unit 36. The drive transmission unit 36 ​​has, for example, a plurality of gears or a belt, and transmits the driving force of the master winding motor 35 to the shaft 30. The master winding motor 35 rotates the shaft 30 in the A1 direction (see FIG. 1), thereby unwinding the printing medium M from the master roll 100 supported by the shaft 30 toward the printing unit 2.

[0020] The winding unit 4 is provided at a lower position on the front side of the textile printing machine 1. The winding unit 4 includes a shaft 40, a pair of left and right holders 41 (only the right holder 41 is shown in FIG. 1 ), and a winding motor (not shown). The shaft 40 extends in the left-right direction and is supported approximately horizontally by the support beam 16. The shaft 40 supports a paper tube 48. The pair of left and right holders 41 are attached to the shaft 40 and hold the paper tube 48 from both the left and right sides. Therefore, the paper tube 48 rotates integrally with the shaft 40. The winding motor rotates the shaft 40 in the D1 direction via a gear mechanism (not shown). Therefore, after printing by the print head 22 is completed, the winding unit 4 winds the printing medium M transported in the F1 direction onto the paper tube 48 so that the printed surface M1 faces outward.

[0021] Arranged in this order from the upstream side on the transport path from the master winding unit 3 to the printing unit 2 are an upstream tension bar 5, registration rollers 6, and upstream intermediate rollers 7. Arranged in this order from the upstream side on the transport path from the printing unit 2 to the winding unit 4 are transport rollers 8, downstream intermediate rollers 9, and downstream tension bar 10.

[0022] The upstream tension bar 5 is positioned diagonally above and behind the shaft 30 of the master winding unit 3. The upstream tension bar 5 extends in the left-right direction. The upstream tension bar 5 comes into contact with the back surface M2 of the printing medium M. The upstream tension bar 5 is supported by a swing arm 25, and swings under its own weight around a rotation shaft 26 along an arc-shaped trajectory Q1 in accordance with the tension applied to the printing medium M. The swing arm 25 is supported by the right support beam 15 so as to be rotatable around the rotation shaft 26.

[0023] The registration roller 6 is positioned diagonally above and in front of the upstream tension bar 5. The registration roller 6 extends in the left-right direction. A pair of left and right support members 17 (only the right support member 17 is shown in Figure 2) is fixed to the upper end portions 153 of each of the pair of left and right support beams 15. The registration roller 6 is supported substantially horizontally and rotatably by this pair of left and right support members 17. The registration roller 6 contacts the printing surface M1 of the print medium M. The right support member 17 rotatably supports the right end of the rotation shaft 61 of the registration roller 6. The left support member rotatably supports the left end of the rotation shaft 61 of the registration roller 6.

[0024] A torque limiter 66 is attached to the left end of the rotating shaft 61. The torque limiter 66 is fixed to the right support member 17. When a rotational load exceeding a predetermined torque is applied, the torque limiter 66 rotates while slipping, thereby transmitting tension to the printing medium M via the rotating shaft 61. Therefore, the registration roller 6 rotates in the B1 direction together with the printing medium M at the predetermined torque.

[0025] The upstream intermediate roller 7 is disposed slightly forward of and directly above the registration roller 6. The upstream intermediate roller 7 extends in the left-right direction and has a smaller diameter than the registration roller 6. The upstream intermediate roller 7 comes into contact with the back surface M2 of the print medium M.

[0026] The transport roller 8 is provided in front of the platen 21, on the upper front end side of the textile printing machine 1. The transport roller 8 extends in the left-right direction and is driven to rotate by a feed motor (not shown). The transport roller 8 comes into contact with the back surface M2 of the printing medium M and rotates forward in the direction C1, thereby transporting the printing medium M in the direction F1 and guiding it downward toward the winding unit 4.

[0027] The downstream intermediate rollers 9 are disposed in the middle position of the textile printing machine 1 and below the transport rollers 8. The downstream intermediate rollers 9 extend in the left-right direction and come into contact with the printing surface M1 of the print medium M. The downstream intermediate rollers 9 guide the print medium M straight downward from the transport rollers 8.

[0028] The downstream tension bar 10 is positioned diagonally above and in front of the shaft 40 of the winding unit 4. The downstream tension bar 10 extends in the left-right direction. The downstream tension bar 10 comes into contact with the back surface M2 of the printing medium M. The downstream tension bar 10 is supported by a swing arm 27 and swings under its own weight around the rotation shaft 28 along an arc-shaped trajectory Q2 in response to the tension applied to the printing medium M.

[0029] In the transport path downstream of the printing unit 2, a heater 13 is disposed between the transport roller 8 and the downstream intermediate roller 9. The heater 13 faces the printing surface M1 of the print medium M transported from the transport roller 8 toward the downstream intermediate roller 9. The heater 13 dries the printing surface M1 after printing.

[0030] Referring to Figure 3, the specific shape of the shaft 30 of the master winding unit 3 and its support structure will be described. Plate-shaped connected portions 31 are provided at both left and right ends of the shaft 30 (only the right connected portion 31 is shown in Figure 3). A fixing hole (not shown) penetrating in the thickness direction is provided approximately at the center of each connected portion 31. In the central portion of the shaft 30 excluding both left and right ends, 15 fitting holes 32 are provided at predetermined intervals in the axial direction. The number of fitting holes 32 is not limited. The fitting holes 32 penetrate in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the shaft 30. Furthermore, a pair of left and right fixing holes 34 (only the right fixing hole 34 is shown in Figure 3) are provided at both left and right ends of the central portion of the shaft 30. The fixing holes 34 penetrate in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the shaft 30.

[0031] A pair of left and right support shafts 51 (see FIG. 3) are rotatably supported on a pair of left and right support beams 15 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The pair of left and right support shafts 51 protrude toward the center in the left-right direction. The right support shaft 51 is driven to rotate by the master winding motor 35 via the drive transmission unit 36. A substantially cylindrical connecting portion 52 is provided at the tip of each of the pair of left and right support shafts 51. A U-shaped groove 53 and a fixing hole 54 are provided in the connecting portion 52. The U-shaped groove 53 is provided on the tip side of the connecting portion 52 and has a substantially U-shape in side view that opens toward the center in the left-right direction. The fixing hole 54 penetrates the portion of the connecting portion 52 where the U-shaped groove 53 is provided, in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction.

[0032] The connected portions 31 provided on both left and right ends of the shaft 30 fit into U-shaped grooves 53 provided in the connecting portions 52 of each of a pair of support shafts 51 that protrude toward the center in the left-right direction from the pair of left and right support beams 15. In this state, the fixing holes 54 provided in the connecting portions 52 overlap with fixing holes (not shown) provided in the connected portions 31. Screws 91 are fastened into the fixing holes 54 and the fixing holes. Therefore, the connected portions 31 provided on both left and right ends of the shaft 30 are integrally connected to the connecting portions 52 of each of the pair of left and right support shafts 51.

[0033] The shapes of the holders 81 and 82 will be described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Since the holders 81 and 82 are common components, only the specific shape of the holder 81 will be described here. The holder 81 is made of resin and includes a cylindrical portion 84 and a reduced diameter portion 85, which are arranged coaxially. The cylindrical portion 84 has a short axis cylindrical shape. The cylindrical portion 84 includes an outer cylinder 841, an inner cylinder 842, and eight ribs 843. The inner cylinder 842 is arranged coaxially inside the outer cylinder 841 and has a shorter diameter than the outer cylinder 841. The eight ribs 843 are arranged between the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 842 and the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder 841, and are equally spaced circumferentially. The outer cylinder 841 is provided with fixing holes 88. The fixing holes 88 penetrate the outer cylinder 841 and the inner cylinder 842 in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction.

[0034] The reduced diameter portion 85 is connected to one axial end of the cylindrical portion 84, and tapers from the outer edge of that end toward the opposite side of the cylindrical portion 84. In other words, when attached to the shaft 30, the reduced diameter portion 85 tapers toward the center of the shaft 30 in the axial direction. Therefore, the reduced diameter portion 85 is approximately conical. The angle at which the reduced diameter portion 85 reduces is, for example, 30° with respect to the axis. Note that a reduced diameter angle of 10° or 20°, for example, would be more effective in preventing slippage in the circumferential direction. However, in that case, the axial size of the holders 81, 82 would increase, so the angle is set to 30° in this embodiment.

[0035] The tip end of the reduced diameter portion 85 where the diameter is reduced is a flat portion perpendicular to the axial direction of the reduced diameter portion 85. Therefore, the reduced diameter portion 85 has a generally trapezoidal shape in side view. A plurality of ribs 87 are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral surface of the reduced diameter portion 85. The ribs 87 protrude radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of the reduced diameter portion 85 and extend from the rear end on the cylindrical portion 84 side toward the tip end. The height of the ribs 87 is greatest at the base end and decreases toward the tip end. Therefore, the ribs 87 have a generally triangular shape in side view.

[0036] The holder 81 having the above configuration has a shaft hole 86. The shape of the shaft hole 86 when viewed in the axial direction is circular. The shaft hole 86 is provided along the axis of the holder 81 and passes through the front end of the reduced diameter portion 85 and the rear end of the cylindrical portion 84. Therefore, in the cylindrical portion 84, the shaft hole 86 extends along the axis inside the inner tube 842. The shaft 30 is inserted into the shaft hole 86.

[0037] Regarding the size of the reduced diameter portion 85, it is preferable to design at least the maximum diameter of the rear end portion of the reduced diameter portion 85 to be larger than the inner diameter of the hole 451 of the cardboard tube 45. Furthermore, in order to correspond to the diameter of the hole 451 of the cardboard tube 45, it is preferable to set the diameter of the front end portion of the reduced diameter portion 85 to 25.4 mm or less and the diameter of the rear end portion to 50.8 mm or more, for example.

[0038] The configuration of the spacer 70 will be described with reference to Figure 6. The spacer 70 is formed in a cylindrical shape and can be attached to the shaft 30 in accordance with the inner diameter of the hole 451 of the cardboard tube 45 attached to the shaft 30. The material of the spacer 70 in this embodiment is resin, and the length of the spacer 70 is, for example, 10 cm. As will be described later, by arranging the spacer 70 inside a cardboard tube 47 whose inner diameter of the hole 471 is larger than that of the shaft 30, it is possible to suppress deflection caused by the weight of the cardboard tube 47 (see Figure 11).

[0039] The spacer 70 includes a first member 71 and a second member 72. The first member 71 and the second member 72 are common components. The first member 71 is semi-cylindrical, and a cylindrical protrusion 75 is provided at approximately the center of its inner circumferential surface so as to protrude radially inward. The protrusion 75 is a boss that can fit into a fitting hole 32 provided in the shaft 30. Reinforcing ribs 76 are provided in a lattice pattern on the inner circumferential surface of the first member 71. Although not shown, the inner circumferential surface of the second member 72 is also provided with protrusions and ribs having the same shapes as the protrusions 75 and ribs 76 of the first member 71.

[0040] An example of a method for attaching the master roll 100 and the holders 81 and 82 to the shaft 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 7. Note that FIG. 7 simply illustrates only the reduced-diameter portions 85 of the holders 81 and 82, and the cylindrical portions 84 are omitted. Also, FIGS. 7 to 11 illustrate the shaft 30 as viewed from the rear of the textile printing machine 1. First, as shown in FIG. 3, the holder 81 is attached to the right end of the shaft 30 with the cylindrical portion 84 of the holder 81 facing right and the reduced-diameter portion 85 facing left. At this time, the fixing hole 88 of the cylindrical portion 84 of the holder 81 is aligned with the fixing hole 34 of the right end of the shaft 30. Screws 92 are fastened to the fixing holes 88 of the holder 81 and the fixing holes 34 of the shaft 30. Thus, the holder 81 is fixed to the right end of the central portion of the shaft 30.

[0041] 7(1), the cardboard tube 45 of the master roll 100 is inserted into the shaft 30 from the side opposite to the holder 81. Then, by pushing the cardboard tube 45 toward the holder 81, the reduced diameter portion 85 of the holder 81 is pressed into the right end of the hole 451 of the cardboard tube 45.

[0042] 7(2), the holder 82 is inserted into the shaft 30 from the opposite side to the holder 81. At this time, the reduced diameter portion 85 of the holder 82 is oriented to the right and the cylindrical portion 84 is oriented to the left (see FIG. 3), and the reduced diameter portion 85 is pressed into the left end of the hole 451 of the cardboard tube 45.

[0043] Finally, as shown in FIG. 7 (3), the position of the holder 82 is fixed with the stopper 38. As shown in FIG. 3, the stopper 38 is formed in a ring shape, and a cutout 381 having a shape cut in the radial direction is provided in part of the ring. The cutout 381 has two ends that face each other in the circumferential direction, and a gap is formed between them. The shaft 30 is inserted inside the stopper 38. The stopper 38 has an adjustment hole 382, ​​and by tightening the screw 93 provided in the adjustment hole 382, ​​the gap of the cutout 381 is reduced, thereby reducing the diameter of the stopper 38. Therefore, the stopper 38 is fixed to the shaft 30, and the holder 82 is fixed to the shaft 30 with the reduced diameter portion 85 press-fitted into the hole 451 of the cardboard tube 45.

[0044] In this manner, the master roll 100 can be attached to the shaft 30. Since the reduced diameter portions 85 of the holders 81 and 82 are press-fitted into both ends of the hole 451 of the cardboard tube 45, the master roll 100 is stably supported by the holders 81 and 82.

[0045] As described above, the maximum diameter of the rear end of the reduced diameter portion 85 is the maximum diameter of the holders 81, 82, and is designed to be larger than the inner diameter of the hole 451 of the cardboard tube 45. Therefore, when the holders 81, 82 are accurately attached to the cardboard tube 45, the outer circumferential surface of the reduced diameter portion 85 is exposed to the outside from the hole 451 of the cardboard tube 45. Therefore, the user can easily check the attachment state of the holders 81, 82 by checking the exposed surface.

[0046] Furthermore, a plurality of ribs 87 provided on the reduced diameter portion 85 extend in the axial direction, and these ribs 87 abut against the inner peripheral surface of the cardboard tube 45. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the reduced diameter portion 85 from slipping in the circumferential direction when the shaft 30 rotates, and therefore it is possible to rotate the master roll 100 integrally with the shaft 30.

[0047] Differences in the inner diameter of the hole in the cardboard tube and the holding structure by the holders 81, 82 will be described with reference to Figures 8 and 9. Note that the master roll 100 is omitted from Figures 8 and 9. As described above, the holders 81, 82 hold the master roll 100 from both sides by press-fitting the reduced diameter portions 85 into both ends of the hole 451 in the cardboard tube 45. Here, various inner diameters of the hole 451 in the cardboard tube 45 are used, for example, 1 inch, 2 inches, 3 inches, etc.

[0048] For example, the hole 451 of the cardboard tube 45 shown in Fig. 8 has an inner diameter of 1 inch. In this case, the tip portions of the reduced diameter portions 85 of the holders 81 and 82 are inserted into both ends of the hole 451 and press-fitted.

[0049] On the other hand, the hole 461 of the cardboard tube 46 shown in Fig. 9 has an inner diameter of 4 inches. In this case, the reduced diameter portions 85 of the holders 81, 82 are inserted deeper into the hole 461 of the cardboard tube 46 than in the case of the cardboard tube 45 having an inner diameter of 1 inch, and are press-fitted against both ends of the hole 461.

[0050] In this way, the reduced diameter portions 85 of the holders 81, 82 can be press-fitted into both ends of paper tubes having holes of any inner diameter, from the paper tube 45 with a small inner diameter to the paper tube 46 with a large inner diameter. Therefore, the textile printing machine 1 can accommodate paper tubes of the master roll 100 with different diameters while keeping costs down with a simple configuration.

[0051] A method of using the spacer 70 will be described with reference to Figures 3, 10, and 11. Note that the master roll 100 is omitted from Figures 10 and 11. For example, as shown in Figures 8 and 9, when cardboard tubes 45, 46 are attached to the shaft 30, the cardboard tubes 45, 46 are usually attached straight and parallel to the shaft 30, supporting the weight of the master roll 100 itself.

[0052] However, some cardboard tubes have low rigidity. For example, as shown in Figure 10, if a cardboard tube 47 with low rigidity is attached to the shaft 30, the cardboard tube 47 may not be able to support the weight of the master roll 100 and may bend downward. The bending of the cardboard tube 47 may cause wrinkles or the like to occur in the printing medium M when the printing medium M is transported. In addition, if a cardboard tube 47 with a large inner diameter of the hole 471 is attached to the shaft 30, there is a large gap between the shaft 30 and the inner circumferential surface of the hole 471 of the cardboard tube 47. In this case, too, the cardboard tube 47 may not be able to support the weight of the master roll 100 and may bend downward.

[0053] Therefore, when attaching a cardboard tube 47 or the like with low rigidity to the shaft 30, it is preferable to attach a spacer 70 before attaching the cardboard tube 47. As shown in FIG. 3, the shaft 30 is provided with 15 fitting holes 32. Therefore, it is preferable to attach the spacer 70 to the fitting holes 32 that correspond to the positions of the cardboard tube 47. At this time, the respective convex portions 75 (see FIG. 6) of the first member 71 and the second member 72 are fitted together. This makes it possible to easily attach the cylindrical spacer 70 to the shaft 30.

[0054] Figure 11 shows a state in which a cardboard tube 47 with a large inner diameter of a hole 471 is attached to a shaft 30 to which spacers 70A and 70B have already been attached. Note that Figure 11 simply illustrates the spacers 70A and 70B. The spacers 70A and 70B can fill the gap between the shaft 30 and the inner peripheral surface of the hole 471 of the cardboard tube 47. Therefore, the textile printing machine 1 can effectively prevent the cardboard tube 47 from bending downward due to the weight of the master roll.

[0055] Furthermore, the spacers 70A and 70B can fill the gap between the shaft 30 and the inner peripheral surface of the hole 471 of the cardboard tube 47, thereby suppressing eccentricity that occurs between the shaft 30 and the cardboard tube 47. This makes the rotation of the master roll 100 uniform, and the textile printing machine 1 can also suppress bending of the cardboard tube 47.

[0056] In the above description, the textile printing machine 1 is an example of a feeding device of the present invention. The paper tube 45 is an example of a tube body of the present invention. The master roll 100 is an example of a roll-shaped recording medium of the present invention. The holder 81 is an example of a first holder of the present invention, and the holder 82 is an example of a second holder of the present invention. The fixing hole 88 is an example of a fixing hole of the present invention. The screw 92 is an example of a fixture of the present invention. The stopper 38 is an example of a jig of the present invention.

[0057] As described above, the textile printing machine 1 of this embodiment includes the shaft 30 and the holders 81 and 82. The shaft 30 is inserted into the cardboard tube 45 of the master roll 100. The master roll 100 is configured by winding a long print medium M around the cardboard tube 45. The holders 81 and 82 are attached to the shaft 30 and contact both ends of the cardboard tube 45 to support the master roll 100 from both sides. Each of the holders 81 and 82 includes a reduced diameter section 85. The reduced diameter section 85 tapers toward the center of the axial direction of the shaft 30 and is press-fitted into the holes 451 at both ends of the cardboard tube 45. Therefore, the textile printing machine 1 can accommodate cardboard tubes 45 of master rolls 100 of different diameters while keeping costs down with a simple configuration.

[0058] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. In this embodiment, the textile printing machine 1 is a printing device equipped with a print head 22 that mainly ejects ink, but it may also be a recording device equipped with a recording head that ejects liquid other than ink, such as a pretreatment liquid for double printing (overprinting). It may also be a transport device that transports a recording medium such as the print medium M, or a feed device that feeds the recording medium. The print head 22 is a piezo-type print head, but it may be of a different type, such as a thermal head.

[0059] The holders 81 and 82 are made of resin, but may be made of a material other than resin, such as metal. The axial length of the holders 81 and 82, the diameter of the tip end of the reduced diameter portion 85, and the diameter of the rear end of the reduced diameter portion 85 may also be changed appropriately depending on the length of the cardboard tube 45 and the diameter of the hole 451.

[0060] The holders 81 and 82 are attached to the shaft 30 of the master winding unit 3, but may be attached to other shafts, for example, the shaft 40 of the winding unit 4. The shaft 30 to which the holders 81 and 82 are attached is driven by the master winding motor 35, but may also be attached to a shaft that simply rotates.

[0061] The number of ribs 87 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the reduced diameter portion 85 of the holders 81, 82 is not limited, but a plurality of ribs are preferably provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The ribs 87 may also be omitted from the outer peripheral surface of the reduced diameter portion 85. Instead of the ribs 87, the outer peripheral surface of the reduced diameter portion 85 may be subjected to a non-slip treatment, for example, an uneven surface.

[0062] The holder 81 is fixed by fastening a screw 91 into the fixing hole 34 provided on the left end side of the shaft 30, but the method of fixing the holder 81 to the shaft 30 is not limited to this, and for example, the holder 81 may be attached to the shaft 30 using a stopper similar to that on the holder 82 side.

[0063] The spacer 70 is made of resin, but may be made of a material other than resin, for example, metal. The length and outer diameter of the spacer 70 can also be changed appropriately depending on the length of the master roll 100 attached to the shaft 30 and the inner diameter of the cardboard tube 45. There is no limit to the number of spacers 70 attached to the shaft 30, but it is preferable to attach two or more spacers 70 depending on the length of the cardboard tube 45, for example. For example, it is more preferable to attach spacers 70 at three locations, on the right side, in the center, and on the left side, along the length of the cardboard tube 45.

[0064] The cardboard tube 45 of the master roll 100 is a tube made of paper, but may also be a tube made of resin or metal, for example.

[0065] 1, the sizes of the shaft 30, holder 81, upstream tension bar 5, registration roller 6, transport roller 8, downstream intermediate roller 9, downstream tension bar 10 of the master winding unit 3, and the shaft 40 and holder 41 of the winding unit 4 are merely examples and may be changed as appropriate. The upstream intermediate roller 7 and downstream intermediate roller 9 may be omitted, or the number of these intermediate rollers may be increased.

[0066] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Textile printing machine 30 Shaft 32 Fitting hole 34 Fixing hole 38 Stopper 45 Paper tube 70 Spacer 75 Convex portion 81, 82 Holder 85 Diameter-reducing portion 87 Rib 88 Fixing hole 92 Screw 100 Master roll 451 Hole M Printing medium

Claims

1. A feeding device comprising: a shaft inserted into a tube for a rolled recording medium formed by wrapping a long sheet around the tube; a first holder attached to the shaft and contacting one of the two ends of the tube to support the rolled recording medium; and a second holder attached to the shaft and contacting the other of the two ends of the tube to support the rolled recording medium, wherein each of the first holder and the second holder has a tapered portion that tapers in diameter toward the center of the axial direction of the shaft and is press-fitted into a hole in the tube.

2. The feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the maximum diameter of said reduced diameter portion is the same as the maximum diameter of each of said first holder and said second holder.

3. A feeding device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a cylindrical spacer is attached to the shaft between the first holder and the second holder, and the spacer is positioned inside the hole.

4. The feeding device according to claim 3, wherein the spacer is provided with a protrusion, and the shaft is provided with a plurality of fitting holes spaced apart in the axial direction, into which the protrusion can be fitted.

5. A feeding device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a number of ribs extending in the axial direction are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer circumferential surface of the reduced diameter section.

6. A feeding device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a fixing hole is provided on one end side of the shaft in the axial direction for fixing the first holder with a fixing device, and a ring-shaped jig is fixed to the shaft, which comes into contact with the second holder from the side opposite to the one end side and fixes the position of the second holder.

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