Inkjet recording apparatus

• US 9,550,379 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2015
• Issued: 01/24/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Ito, Tsuyoshi, Koga, Yuji, Sugiyama, Wataru, Samoto, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, HUAN HUU
• Application Number:
  US14/939,334
• Publication Number:
  US 20160229202A1
• Time in Patent Office: 439 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0025 Handling copy materials differing in width
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0045 Guides for printing material curl smoothing B41J11/0005; platens B41J11/02, B41J11/06; guiding webs B41J15/046
• 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 11/14 Platen-shift mechanisms; Driving gear therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/01 Ink jet
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 5/068 between one or more rollers or balls and stationary pressing, supporting or guiding elements
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 9/002 changing orientation of sheet by only controlling movement of the forwarding means, i.e. without the use of stop or register wall

Abstract

An image forming apparatus may include a mechanism for forming a corrugated shape in a sheet to be conveyed. The mechanism may include various components include one or more pressing portions, one or more ribs, one or more discharge rollers, a switching mechanism and the like. In one arrangement, ribs and pressing portions configured to create the corrugated shape may be disposed at various locations upstream or downstream of the platen, recording portion and/or nozzles thereof. In one example, pressing portions may be disposed both upstream and downstream of the nozzles of the recording portion to maintain a corrugated shape in the conveyed sheet. Various other configurations may be used.

Claims

1. An inkjet recording apparatus, comprising:

a first conveyor including a first nip member and a second nip member defining a first nip point therebetween, wherein the first conveyor nips and conveys a sheet in a conveying direction through a transport path;

a recording head including nozzles that eject ink droplets onto the sheet conveyed by the first conveyor;

a corrugate mechanism disposed upstream of the nozzles with respect to the conveying direction and including at least one contact member that forms a corrugated shape in the sheet;

a plurality of second conveyors spaced apart from each other with respect to a scanning direction orthogonal to the conveying direction, wherein the plurality of second conveyors includes a first nip member and a second nip member defining a second nip point therebetween, and wherein the second nip point of the plurality of second conveyors is located downstream of the nozzles with respect to the conveying direction; and

a spur roller disposed between a pair of second conveyors with respect to the scanning direction, wherein a lower end of the spur roller is located downstream of the second nip point of the plurality of second conveyors in the conveying direction, wherein the spur roller contacts the sheet and forms the corrugated shape in the sheet in conjunction with the plurality of second conveyors, and wherein the spur roller at least partially overlaps with one of the at least one contact member of the corrugate mechanism when viewed in the conveying direction.

2. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a guide member including a guide portion disposed between the nozzles and the second nip point of the plurality of second conveyors with respect to the conveying direction and configured to guide a downstream edge of the sheet with respect to the conveying direction to the second nip point of the plurality of second conveyors.

3. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the guide portion is inclined downward along the conveying direction.

4. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the guide member is configured to support the first nip member of the plurality of second conveyors and the spur roller.

5. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lower end of the spur roller is located lower than the second nip point of the plurality of second conveyors,

wherein the inkjet recording apparatus further comprises another spur roller, wherein a lower end of the another spur roller is located downstream of the lower end of the spur roller in the conveying direction, and

wherein the another spur roller is configured to maintain the corrugated shape in the sheet in conjunction with the spur roller and the plurality of second conveyors.

6. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second nip members of the first conveyor comprise a first pair of rollers,

wherein the first and second nip members of the second conveyor comprise a second pair of rollers, and

wherein the corrugate mechanism includes a first contact member and a second contact member, the first contact member and the second contact member extending toward the transport path in opposite directions and being disposed at different positions in the scanning direction.

7. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first contact member of the corrugate mechanism comprises a plurality of platen ribs on a platen, and

wherein the second contact member of the corrugate mechanism comprises a pressing portion disposed upstream of the nozzles in the conveying direction and between a pair of platen ribs of the plurality of platen ribs with respect to the scanning direction, wherein the pressing portion forms the corrugated shape in the sheet in conjunction with the plurality of platen ribs.

8. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a first distance along the conveying direction between the second nip point of the plurality of second conveyors and the lower end of the spur roller is less than a second distance along the conveying direction between the first nip point of the first conveyor and a lower end of the pressing portion.

9. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet recording apparatus comprises a plurality of spur rollers, wherein a lower end of each of the plurality of spur rollers is located downstream of the second nip point with respect to the conveying direction, and

wherein each of the plurality of spur rollers is disposed between a different respective pair of the plurality of second conveyors with respect to the scanning direction.