Inkjet recording apparatus

• US 9,321,283 B2
• Filed: 05/28/2015
• Issued: 04/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Ito, Tsuyoshi, Sugiyama, Wataru, Koga, Yuji, Omura, Takashi, Samoto, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, HUAN HUU
• Application Number:
  US14/724,145
• Publication Number:
  US 20150258812A1
• Time in Patent Office: 334 Days
• Field of Search: 347/104, 347/218
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/00 Devices or arrangements of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in sheet or web form script supports connected to the typewriter or printer B41J29/15
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0025 Handling copy materials differing in width
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/006 Means for preventing paper jams or for facilitating their removal
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/007 Conveyor belts or like feeding devices
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/06 Flat page-size platens or smaller flat platens having a greater size than line-size platens B41J11/0085 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 13/08 Conveyor bands or like feeding devices
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 13/103 for the sheet feeding section

Abstract

An inkjet recording apparatus may include a corrugate mechanism configured to form a sheet into a corrugated shape. The inkjet recording apparatus may be configured to receive sheets of various sizes and shapes. Accordingly, in some examples, the inkjet recording apparatus may include differently configured portions to handle sheets of different sizes or shapes. According to one arrangement, the inkjet recording apparatus may be configured to receive passage of sheets of a first size through multiple ones of the differently configured portions while receiving passage of sheets of a second size though limited ones of the differently configured portions.

Claims

1. An inkjet recording apparatus, comprising:

a recording head comprising nozzles configured to eject ink onto a first sheet and a second sheet, the second sheet having a shorter length in a first direction than the first sheet, the first direction being perpendicular to a conveying direction and a vertical direction;

a plurality of discharge conveyors disposed downstream of the nozzles in the conveying direction and spaced from each other in the first direction, the plurality of discharge conveyors being configured to discharge a sheet having received the ink; and

a plurality of pressing portions disposed downstream of the nozzles and upstream of the plurality of discharge conveyors in the conveying direction and spaced from each other in the first direction, the plurality of pressing portions being configured to contact, at lower ends thereof, an upper surface of the sheet,

wherein the inkjet recording apparatus defines a first zone configured to receive passage of the first sheet but not passage of the second sheet, and a second zone configured to receive passage of the first sheet and the second sheet, and

wherein the plurality of pressing portions comprise first pressing portions positioned in the first zone and second pressing portions positioned in the second zone, and a pressing force per unit area to be applied to the sheet by the second pressing portions is less than a pressing force per unit area to be applied to the sheet by the first pressing portions.

2. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first pressing portions positioned in the first zone and the second pressing portions positioned in the second zone are arranged in a single row.

3. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a number per unit area of the second pressing portions is less than a number per unit area of the first pressing portions.

4. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of pressing portions comprise a plurality of spurs and a plurality of springs each urging a corresponding one of the spurs toward the sheet.

5. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of springs comprises a coil spring.

6. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of springs functions as a shaft which rotatably supports a corresponding spur.

7. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a spring constant of a spring urging a corresponding spur positioned in the second zone is less than a spring constant of a spring urging a corresponding spur positioned in the first zone.

8. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of pressing portions comprise a plurality of pairs of spurs and a plurality of springs each urging a corresponding pair of spurs.

9. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of pressing portions comprise pressing portions each offset in the first direction relative to a corresponding one of the plurality of discharge conveyors.

10. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of discharge conveyors are configured to nip the sheet at nip points which are higher than the lower ends of the plurality of pressing portions.

11. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of discharge conveyors comprises a roller and a spur.

12. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of third pressing portions arranged in the first direction in a row with the plurality of discharge conveyors, the plurality of third pressing portions being configured to contact, at lower ends thereof, the upper surface of the sheet.

13. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the plurality of discharge conveyors are positioned in the first zone and the second zone, and the plurality of third pressing portions are positioned in the first zone but not positioned in the second zone.