JP2002086821A - Platen and ink jet recording apparatus provided with platen - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a leading edge of a printing paper from being caught when the printing paper passes over a platen having a slot for ink discarding, and to provide a distance between a recording head portion and the printing paper. To provide a platen that can be maintained as constant as possible. SOLUTION: On a platen surface of a platen 50, slots 10 and 11 for discarding ink are formed. The sheet P is supported from below by ribs 7, 8, 9 formed on the platen surface, and the distance from the recording head unit 1 is regulated. The upstream end of the rib 8 in the transport direction is formed on an inclined surface, and the leading end of the sheet P passes through without being caught. The downstream end of the rib 8 in the transport direction is formed at a right angle.
Is formed on the inclined surface at the upstream end in the transport direction. As a result, the leading end of the sheet P that has left the rib 8 does not immediately fall into the slot 11, and even if it falls, it is immediately lifted upward by the inclined surface of the rib 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a platen for supporting a recording material from below in an ink jet recording apparatus, thereby defining a position of the recording material with respect to a recording head. Further, the present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus provided with the platen.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet recording apparatus includes a recording head having a plurality of nozzle rows for ejecting ink toward a printing sheet on a surface opposite to a recording surface of a printing sheet as a recording material, and a printing sheet. And a platen for defining the position of the printing paper with respect to the recording head by supporting the printing paper from the recording head. On the platen surface of the platen, a plurality of ribs are arranged at regular intervals in the main scanning direction. During recording, printing paper ejects ink from the nozzle row while being supported by the flat top surface of the ribs. It is ejected, and recording is performed by this.

[0003] Here, a slot may be formed on the platen surface of the platen in order to perform printing with no margin on the printing paper. If an attempt is made to print on the printing paper without blank spaces without forming the groove, the ink that has come off the edge of the printing paper and is discarded adheres to the platen surface, and the ink re-adheres to the printing paper and becomes Because it pollutes. Therefore, the slot is formed in the platen surface, and the ink is discarded inside the slot, thereby preventing the platen surface from being stained by the ink.

If the slot size is large in the sub-scanning direction, the leading end of the conveyed printing paper falls into the slot, causing paper jam. In addition, since the position of the printing paper is hardly supported and defined at the position facing the nozzle row, the distance (PG) between the recording head and the printing paper is not determined, and there is a possibility that the printing quality may be deteriorated. Therefore, to prevent the leading edge of the printing paper from falling into the slot, and to prevent the printing paper from being dented at the slot, provide an island portion that supports the portion of the printing paper that is approaching the slot from below. Is desirable.

Accordingly, when such an island portion is provided, the rib formed on the platen surface includes a first rib located on the upstream side in the transport direction from the island portion, a second rib located on the island portion, A third rib located downstream of the island in the transport direction,
The slot is divided into a first slot located upstream from the island in the transport direction and a second slot located downstream from the island in the transport direction. Therefore, when the leading end of the printing paper is conveyed to the downstream side in the conveying direction, the leading end of the printing paper passes in the order of the first rib → the first slot → the second rib → the second slot → the third rib. .

[0006]

However, at this time, the following problem may occur. That is, when the leading end of the printing paper passes through the second slot, the ink is ejected from the downstream end of the second rib in the transport direction to the portion protruding above the second slot, A phenomenon occurs in which the rigidity of the leading edge of the printing paper decreases, and the leading edge of the printing paper falls downward. When the leading edge of the printing paper falls downward in this manner, the leading edge of the printing paper enters the slot and causes paper jam, and the distance between the recording head and the printing paper (P
G) is not determined, which leads to a decrease in print quality. In addition, when the printing paper is a roll paper as a continuous paper, these problems tend to occur more remarkably due to the curl.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to prevent the leading edge of the printing paper from being caught when the printing paper passes over a platen having a slot for discharging ink. Instead, it is an object of the present invention to provide a platen capable of maintaining the distance between the recording head unit and the printing paper as constant as possible and a recording apparatus including the platen.

[0008]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a platen for recording on a recording material by a recording head having a plurality of nozzle arrays for discharging ink toward the recording material. When performing, the ribs extending in the sub-scanning direction, which define the position of the recording material with respect to the recording head by supporting the recording material from below, are provided on the surface facing the recording head at a predetermined interval in the main scanning direction. In the platen that has been formed, a slot for guiding ink discarded from the edge of the recording material is formed in the sub-scanning direction on a surface facing the recording head in order to record the edge of the recording material without blanks. An island portion is formed so as to extend and supports the recording material approaching the slot from below, inside the slot, whereby the rib is located upstream from the island portion in the transport direction. The first re And a second rib located on the island portion and a third rib located on the downstream side in the transport direction from the island portion, and the slot is located on the upstream side in the transport direction from the island portion. A first slot and a second slot located downstream from the island in the transport direction,
The second rib is positioned such that the downstream end of the recording material supporting surface of the second rib in the transport direction is located at the same position as the upstream side wall surface of the second slot in the transport direction or on the downstream side in the transport direction. The third rib is formed such that the upstream end of the third rib in the transport direction is directed upward such that the tangent toward the downstream in the transport direction at the corresponding contact point when the leading end of the recording material abuts. It is characterized by being formed.

According to the present invention, even if a slot for discarding ink is formed in the platen, the leading end of the recording material does not enter the slot to cause paper jam, and the leading end of the recording material is inserted into the slot. The change in the gap between the recording section and the recording material due to the fall can be minimized. Hereinafter, this will be described in detail. First, on the platen surface, a groove for discarding ink for printing without blanks on the recording material is formed. Further, a groove of the recording material is formed so that the recording material does not fall in the groove portion. An island is provided to support the part approaching the hole from below. A plurality of ribs are formed on the platen surface in the main scanning direction. Therefore, the ribs formed on the platen surface by the island portion include a first rib located on the upstream side in the transport direction from the island portion, a second rib located on the island portion, and a downstream side in the transport direction from the island portion. And a first rib located on the upstream side in the transport direction from the island portion.
It is divided into a second slot located downstream from the island in the transport direction.

When the leading end of the recording material passes through the platen surface in such a state, ink is ejected from the downstream end of the second rib in the conveying direction to a portion protruding above the slot. Accordingly, the rigidity of the leading end of the recording material is reduced, and the leading end of the recording material falls downward, so that the leading end of the recording material is easily caught on the third rib. The second rib is formed so that the end on the downstream side in the direction is located on the same side as the upstream side wall surface of the second slot in the transport direction or on the downstream side in the transport direction. It is possible to prevent such a phenomenon that the rib immediately drops into the second slot after leaving the end of the recording material supporting surface on the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording material.

Here, the "recording material supporting surface of the second rib" means that the distance between the recording material and the recording head, that is, the paper gap (hereinafter abbreviated as "PG") can be kept constant. For example, a flat surface parallel to the recording head portion is the “recording material support surface” here.

However, even if the fall of the second rib at the leading end of the recording material immediately after leaving the recording material supporting surface is prevented as much as possible, a certain amount of the second rib passes through the second slot. Fall down. However, the third rib is formed such that the upstream end in the transport direction of the third rib is directed upward at the tangent line toward the downstream in the transport direction at the corresponding contact point when the leading end of the recording material abuts. As a result, the leading end of the recording material does not catch on the third rib and falls further into the second slot, so that the leading end of the recording material immediately faces upward when it comes into contact with the third rib. As we go,
It is possible to immediately recover the PG that has changed in an attempt to fall into the second slot, thereby obtaining stable printing quality.

The platen according to the second aspect of the present invention is the first aspect.
Wherein the upstream end of the second rib in the transport direction is formed such that a tangent toward the downstream in the transport direction at the corresponding contact point when the leading end of the recording material abuts is directed upward. It is characterized by having been done. According to the present invention, when the leading end of the recording material leaves the first rib and passes through the first slot and abuts on the second rib, the tangent at the corresponding contact points toward the downstream side in the transport direction. 2nd to rise
Is formed, whereby the leading end of the recording material is caught by the second rib and falls into the first slot,
The problem that paper jam occurs can be prevented.

The platen according to the third aspect of the present invention is the first aspect.
(2) In the method (2), a chamfering or a rounding process is performed between two adjacent third ribs on the downstream side wall surface in the transport direction of the second slot.
According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the leading end of the recording material whose rigidity has been reduced due to the ejection of the ink from the recording head unit from being caught due to the drooping of the width direction end. That is, the recording material is supported from below by the first to third ribs formed at predetermined intervals in the main scanning direction. This is to reduce non-uniformity of PG due to a phenomenon that the recording material absorbs ink and undulates in the main scanning direction, a so-called “cockling phenomenon”, thereby maintaining a constant print quality. . However, since the first to third ribs are arranged at predetermined intervals in the main scanning direction, the ribs may not be present at the width direction end of the recording material. In such a case, the widthwise end of the recording material hangs downward. In particular, when the end of the recording material in the width direction at the leading end, that is, the corner of the recording material is conveyed while hanging down in this manner, it is caught on the upper edge of the downstream side wall surface in the conveyance direction of the second slot, and is smooth. There is a possibility that conveyance will not be performed. However, according to the present invention, since the upper edge portion (between the third rib and the rib) of the downstream side wall surface in the transport direction of the second slot is chamfered or rounded, the corner of the leading end of the recording material. Can be smoothly passed over the leading end of the recording material without being caught.

The platen according to claim 4 of the present application is claim 1.
In any one of the first to third aspects, an ink absorbing material that absorbs ink is loaded inside the first and second slots. According to the present invention, since the ink absorbing material that absorbs ink is loaded inside the slot, it is possible to obtain good print quality without generating ink mist even when the ink is vigorously discarded in the slot. Can be.

The platen according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is the fourth aspect.
In the above, the ink absorbing material avoids the island portion, and is loaded into the slot in a state where an elastic force is applied to the island portion from the outside, and a slit having a size smaller than the island portion size. Is formed, and is made of a compressible deformable elastic absorber. According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. First, because the ink absorbing material is made of an elastic absorber that can be compressed and deformed,
The ink absorbing material can be freely deformed and loaded into the slot in the deformed state regardless of the shape of the slot at the loading destination. Next, since a slit is formed for loading the elastic absorber in the slot while avoiding the island, the island is formed even if the island is formed inside the slot. It is not necessary to load the elastic absorbers as the plurality of short-cut ink absorbing materials one by one so as to surround the platen, so that the loading operation of the ink absorbing material can be simplified in the entire platen.

Further, since the slit to be formed is formed so as to be smaller than the size of the island portion, the elastic absorber as the ink absorbing material is placed inside the slot while avoiding the island portion. It is loaded in a state where the island is pressed from the surroundings, that is, in a state where an elastic force is applied. In other words, since the elastic absorber comes into a state of being pressed against the island portion, the elastic absorber is more reliably loaded inside the slot. That is, the island can be used as an auxiliary member for securely loading the elastic absorber into the slot.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus comprising the platen according to any one of the first to fifth aspects. According to the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus, it is possible to obtain the same operation and effect as the above-described invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5 of the present application.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. [Configuration of Recording Unit, Configuration and Effect of Platen]
A configuration of a recording unit of an ink jet printer (hereinafter, referred to as a “printer”) as a “recording device” according to the present invention, and a configuration and an effect of a platen will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a printer according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of a recording unit, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of a platen. 3 (A) and 3 (B) are a zz sectional view and a ww sectional view in FIG. 2, respectively.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a recording head. The recording head unit 1 is provided at the bottom of a carriage (not shown), and is configured to reciprocate in a main scanning direction (a front-back direction on the paper surface of FIG. 1) by a drive motor (not shown). The recording head unit 1 is disposed at a position facing a platen surface (a generic name of the upper surface of the platen 50; hereinafter, this will be referred to as a “platen surface”). On the surface facing the platen surface, a nozzle array 2 for discharging ink is provided. Is provided.

A sheet P as a “recording material” is fed from a paper feeding device (not shown) from the upstream side in the transport direction (the right side in FIG. 1) and reaches the transport drive roller 3 and the transport driven roller 4. I do. The transport drive roller 3 is rotated by a drive motor (not shown), and the transport driven roller 4 having no drive source is driven to rotate by being pressed against the transport drive roller 3. Accordingly, the paper P is nipped by the transport driving roller 3 and the transport driven roller 4, and
Is fed to the lower portion of the recording head unit 1, that is, the platen surface.

On a platen surface on which the paper P is transported, a "first rib" for defining a distance between the recording surface of the paper P and the nozzle array 2 (paper gap: hereinafter referred to as "PG").
, A rib 8 as a “second rib”, and a rib 9 as a “third rib”, and the sheet P conveyed to the lower portion of the recording head unit 1 8,9
The ink is ejected from the nozzle array 2 in a state where the PG is adjusted (a state in which the PG is supported from below), thereby performing printing.

In order to ensure that the PG is kept constant, more specifically, in order to prevent the paper P from floating from the top surfaces of the ribs 7, 8, and 9, that is, the support surface of the paper P, the transport drive is performed. The nip point between the roller 3 and the transport driven roller 4 is set so as to be located slightly downstream in the transport direction.
The transport drive roller 3 and the transport driven roller 4 are disposed so as to be pressed against the top surfaces of the rollers 8 and 9. Further, in order to obtain the same effect, the nip point between the discharge roller 5 and the discharge driven roller 6 for discharging the sheet P, which is further downstream from the recording head unit 1 in the conveyance direction, is slightly upstream in the conveyance direction. The paper discharge roller 5 and the paper discharge driven roller 6 are disposed so as to be located on the side.

Next, the configuration of the platen 50 will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the platen 50 has a substantially rectangular shape extending in the main scanning direction, and the above-described ribs 7, 8, and 9 are formed on the platen surface so as to be continuous from upstream to downstream in the transport direction. , And are formed at regular intervals in the main scanning direction.

Here, all the ribs 7 slightly protrude from the main body of the platen 50 to the upstream side in the conveying direction (upper side in FIG. 2). 2 (a lower side in FIG. 2). The rib 9 that protrudes largely downstream in the transport direction plays a role as a bearing part whose protruding end 9a supports the discharge roller shaft 5a.
That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the discharge roller shaft 5a is supported by the protruding end portion 9a and the bearing lower portion 12 similarly formed to protrude from the platen 50 body toward the downstream side in the transport direction. It is like. A paper discharge roller 5 is disposed on the paper discharge roller shaft 5a, and a paper discharge driven roller 6 is provided above the paper discharge roller 5, and the sheet P is placed between the paper discharge roller 5 and the paper discharge driven roller 6. It is discharged by being caught between.

A slot is formed on the platen surface of the platen 50 so as to extend in the main scanning direction, and an island is formed in the slot, so that a slot having a shape as shown in FIG. , 11 and 13 to 17) and an island (reference numeral 1)
8a to 18d) are formed. Actually, in the present embodiment, the platen 50 is integrally formed by resin molding (for example, ABS resin).

The shape of the slots 10 and 11 is such that they extend in the main scanning direction in a plan view, and have a predetermined depth from the recording head section 1 as shown in FIG. Is formed. Note that FIG.
It is -x sectional drawing. Further, the shape of the slots 13 to 17 is substantially rectangular, and in cross-sectional view, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2B, it is formed so as to have a predetermined depth from the recording head unit 1 like the slots 10 and 11. still,
FIG. 3A shows a cross section of the slot 14, and FIG.
7 shows a cross section of FIG.

Next, referring to FIG. 4 to FIG.
Operational effects of 0, 11, and 13 to 17 will be described.
Here, FIGS. 4 and 6 are plan views of main parts of the recording unit, and FIGS. 5 and 7 are cross-sectional views of main parts of the recording unit. 4 and 6, the horizontal direction of the drawing is the main scanning direction,
Further, the upper side of the figure is the upstream side in the carrying direction, and the lower side of the figure is the downstream side in the carrying direction, and the paper P is carried from the top to the bottom of the figure.

The slots 10, 11, and 13 to 17 are
This is a slot for cutting off ink for printing without margins, and the ink ejected from the nozzle array 2 is discarded in the slot. First, in printing the leading edge of the sheet P, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the leading edge of the sheet P approaches the upper part of the slot 11 located on the downstream side in the transport direction, only a part 2b of the nozzle array 2 is used. Is driven to eject ink onto the paper P. As a result, the ink that has not landed on the start end of the sheet P is discarded into the slot 11, so that the platen surface is not stained with the ink. Further, at the width direction end of the sheet P, the slots 13 to 17 play the role (in the size of the sheet P shown by the phantom line in FIGS. 4 and 6, the slots 13 and 17 play the role). Fulfill). On the other hand, at the end of the sheet P, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, when the end of the sheet P approaches the upper part of the slot 10 located on the upstream side in the transport direction, only the part 2a of the nozzle array 2 is driven. Then, ink is ejected onto the paper P. As a result, the ink that has not landed on the end of the sheet P is discarded into the slot 10, so that the platen surface is not stained with the ink.

By the way, returning to FIG.
Are formed with insertion holes 13a, 14a, 16a, and 17a, respectively. Hereinafter, this will be described using the insertion hole 14a as an example, but the same applies to other insertion holes. Slot 1
In FIG. 3A showing the cross section of No. 4, the insertion hole 14a is
It is formed so as to penetrate from the platen surface to the lower surface of the platen 50. At this point, the slot 14 is
11 and its functions are different. That is, the insertion hole 14a
Is a discharge port for discharging the discarded ink to the lower part of the platen 50 in order to prevent the ink discarded in the slots 10 and 11 (and the slots 13 to 17) from accumulating over a certain amount and overflowing. It fulfills the function of The slots 10 to 17 are loaded with an ink absorbing material to be described later. In practice, the discarded ink is temporarily absorbed by the ink absorbing material and then inserted into the insertion holes 14a (and 13a, 1a, 1a).
6a, 17a), and is discharged below the platen 50.

Next, the shapes and operational effects of the ribs 7, 8, and 9 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
FIG. 11 to FIG. 11 are cross-sectional views of the main part of the recording unit, and show the transport state of the paper P. In addition, the platen 50 has shown the cross section cut | disconnected by the yy line shown in FIG. FIG. 8 shows a state where the leading end of the paper P has reached the rib 7. Rib 7
The upstream end of the sheet P in the transport direction is formed in a gentle slope (indicated by reference numeral 7a) so that the leading end of the sheet P does not get caught when it reaches the rib 7. Therefore, even if the leading end of the sheet P comes into contact with the inclined surface 7a in the state of the broken line shown in FIG. 8, the flat surface 7b as the "recording material support surface" formed smoothly on the top surface of the rib 7 by the inclined surface 7a. Be guided.

FIG. 9 shows a state where the leading end of the sheet P has reached the rib 8. The rib 8 has a gentle slope like the rib 7 (indicated by reference numeral 8a) at the upstream end in the transport direction so that the leading end of the paper P does not get caught when reaching the rib 8.
Is formed. Therefore, even if the leading end of the sheet P comes into contact with the inclined surface 8a in the state of the broken line shown in FIG. 9, the "recording material supporting surface" formed smoothly on the top surface of the rib 8 by the inclined surface 8a.
As a flat surface 8b.

FIG. 10 shows a state in which the leading end of the sheet P has reached the rib 9. The leading end of the sheet P is a rib 9
Is formed in a gentle slope (indicated by reference numeral 9b) like the ribs 7 and 8 so as not to be caught when it reaches. Therefore, the leading edge of the sheet P is
Is in contact with the slope 9b in the state of the broken line shown in FIG.
Accordingly, it is smoothly guided downstream in the transport direction.

Here, the ribs 8 and 9 are linked to each other,
The sheet P has one effect. This will be described below. First, when the leading end of the sheet P passes through the rib 8, ink is ejected from the nozzle array 2 to a portion protruding above the slot from the downstream end of the rib 8 in the transport direction. As a result, the rigidity of the leading end of the paper P is reduced,
Although the leading end falls toward the slot 11, in the present invention, the downstream end 8c in the transport direction of the flat surface 8b of the rib 8
Is the upstream side wall surface 1 of the slot 11 in the transport direction with respect to the transport direction.
1a, the rib 8 is formed at the same position as that of the slot 11 from the flat surface 8b at the leading end of the paper P.
The fall into the inside is suppressed as much as possible. The flat surface 8
FIG. 11 shows, as an example, the shape of the rib 8 that easily falls into the slot 11 after leaving b. As shown in FIG. 11, the downstream end of the flat surface 8 b of the rib 8 in the transport direction is
By d, it is located on the upstream side in the transport direction from the wall surface 11a. Therefore, the leading end of the sheet P away from the end of the flat surface 8b immediately falls into the slot 11. Conversely, when the rib 8 is formed such that the downstream end of the flat surface 8b in the transport direction is located downstream of the wall surface 11a in the transport direction, the rib 8 is separated from the flat surface 8b at the leading end of the sheet P. It is possible to further suppress the falling into the slot 11 from the end.

On the other hand, even if dropping into the slot 11 immediately after the tip of the sheet P separates from the flat surface 8b is prevented as much as possible, the tip of the sheet P still passes through the slot 11, so 11 tries to fall inside. However, rib 9
When the leading end of the sheet P abuts on the upstream end in the carrying direction,
Since the rib 9 is formed such that the tangent line toward the downstream side in the transport direction at the corresponding contact point is directed upward, the leading end of the sheet P that has fallen is caught by the rib 9 and the slot 1 is formed.
In addition, since the leading edge of the sheet P immediately moves upward when the sheet P abuts on the rib 9, it is possible to immediately return the changed PG in order to fall into the slot 11. Thus, stable printing quality can be obtained.

By the way, at the widthwise end of the leading end of the paper P, there is a possibility that the upper edge of the downstream side wall surface of the slot 11 may be caught. The upper edge of the downstream side wall surface in the direction is rounded, thereby preventing the above-mentioned catching. This is indicated by reference numeral 23 in FIGS. 2 and 3 (A). That is, in FIG. 2, since the ribs 7, 8, and 9 are arranged at regular intervals in the main scanning direction, the widthwise end of the sheet P is not necessarily supported from below by the ribs 7, 8, and 9. Not limited to this, and in some cases, it is located between adjacent ribs. In such a case, when the ink is ejected on the paper P and the rigidity of the paper P is reduced, the widthwise end of the paper P hangs down, so that the widthwise end of the paper P is moved in the conveying direction of the slot 11. Although the smooth transfer is hindered by being caught by the upper edge 23 of the downstream side wall, such a problem can be avoided because the upper edge 23 is rounded.

[Structure and Operation and Effect of Ink Absorbing Material] Next, the ink absorbing material to be loaded into the above-described slots 10 to 17 will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13 and also to FIG. explain. Here, FIG. 12 is a plan view of a main part of the ink absorbing material 19, and FIG. 13 is a plan view of a main part of the platen 50 loaded with the ink absorbing material.

The slots 10, 11 and 1 shown in FIG.
An ink absorbing material 19 is loaded in 3 to 17. The ink absorbing material 19 is loaded in the slots 10, 11 and 13 to 17, absorbs the ink when the ink is vigorously discarded from the nozzle array 2 (see FIG. 1), and generates a so-called ink mist. To prevent the print quality from deteriorating In the present embodiment, a sponge material is used as the “elastic absorber” as the ink absorbing material 19. However, the ink absorbing material 19 can be elastically deformed and flexibly receives the ink when the ink is discarded. Any material that does not generate mist may be used.

The slots 10, 11 and 13 to 17 have a complicated shape as a whole as shown in FIG.
That is, as a space in which the ink absorbing material 19 is to be loaded, the slots 10 and 1 are formed by a simple shape and one elastic absorber.
Normally, it is impossible to fill the insides 1 and 13 to 17, and a plurality of thinly cut ink absorbing materials 19 are used.
Although it is generally conceivable to load the slots 10, 11 and 13 to 17 one by one, according to the present invention, the ink absorbing material 19 is formed of one sponge material. This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 (A)
As shown in FIG. 12A, the sponge material 19 has a contour shape along the outer contour shape of the slots 10, 11 and 13 to 17 in a plan view, and the projection-like portion 1 shown in FIG.
5a, 16a and 17a are the slots 1 shown in FIG.
It has a shape that fits into 5, 16, and 17. And
The islands 18a to 18d are denoted by reference numerals 20, 21 in FIG.
This is avoided by cutting as a "slit" as shown by. That is, as shown in FIG. 12B, the cuts 20 and 21 are expanded outward to form a space, and the cut 20 is fitted with the island 18d, and the cut 21 is fitted with the island 18c. I have. By forming such cuts, the island portions 18a to 18d are formed.
And the slots 10-1 by one elastic absorber
7, so that the work of loading the ink absorbing material 19 into the slot can be easily performed.

Here, the slit for avoiding the island portions 18a to 18d may not be a simple cut shape as in this embodiment, but may be a slit along the contour shape of the island portions 18a to 18d. In this case, the dimensions of each slit are formed so as to be smaller than the dimensions of each island. That is, by making the slit smaller in size than the island portion dimension, the island portion receives elastic force from the outside by the ink absorbing material 19 when the ink absorbing material 19 is loaded in the slot.
In other words, this causes the ink absorbing material 19 to move to the island portion 18a.
To 18d, so that the ink absorbing material 19 can be reliably held inside the slot. In addition, as shown in FIG. 13, protrusions 22 for appropriately holding the ink absorbing material 19 in the slots are appropriately formed in the slots 13 to 17. Further, in the present embodiment, the slit is formed to have a simple notch shape as in the present embodiment, so that the cost of forming the slit in the ink absorbing material 19 is suppressed, and the ink is more strongly absorbed into the island portions 18a to 18d. The material is crimped to increase the holding force inside the slot.

By making the contour shape of the ink absorbing material 19 inconsistent with the outer contour shape of the slots 10, 11 and 13 to 17, the ink absorption rate of the ink absorbing material 19 can be changed. That is, the ink absorbing material 19
Since it is made of an elastically deformable elastic absorber (in this embodiment, a sponge material), its compressive deformation rate can be changed for each slot, and therefore, the most optimal ink absorption rate in each slot. It can be.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, an ink cut-off slot for printing on a recording material without blanks is formed, and an island portion for supporting the recording material is formed in the groove. In the platen, the shape of the ribs formed on the platen surface is such that the leading end of the recording material is prevented from falling into the inside of the slot and is prevented from being caught, so that the recording material passes smoothly through the recording material. In addition, the distance between the recording head and the recording material can be maintained within a certain range.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a recording unit of a printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a platen according to the present invention.

3 (A) is a zz sectional view in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 (B) is a ww sectional view in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a main part of a recording unit.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part of a recording unit.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a main part of a recording unit.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part of a recording unit.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a main part of a recording unit.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a main part of a recording unit.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a main part of a recording unit.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a main part of a recording unit.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a main part of an ink absorbing material.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a main part of a platen.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording head 2 Nozzle array 3 Conveyance drive roller 4 Conveyance driven roller 5 Discharge roller 6 Discharge driven roller 7 Rib (first rib) 8 Rib (second rib) 9 Rib (third rib) 10, 11 Slot 12 Bearing 13-13 Slot 18a-18d Island 19 Ink absorber 20,21 Cut 22 Projection 50 Platen P Printing paper

Claims (6)

[Claims] When recording is performed on a recording material by a recording head having a plurality of nozzle arrays that eject ink toward the recording material, the recording material is supported from below by supporting the recording material from below. A platen having ribs extending in the sub-scanning direction defining the position of the platen formed on the surface facing the recording head at predetermined intervals in the main scanning direction. A slot for guiding ink discarded from the end of the recording material is formed on the surface facing the recording head so as to extend in the sub-scanning direction,
And, inside the slot, an island portion for supporting the recording material approaching the slot from below is formed, whereby the rib is located on the upstream side in the transport direction from the island portion with a first rib,
The first rib is divided into a second rib located on the island portion and a third rib located on the downstream side in the transport direction from the island portion, and the slot is located on the upstream side in the transport direction from the island portion. And a second slot located on the downstream side in the transport direction from the island portion, wherein a downstream end in the transport direction of the recording material supporting surface of the second rib in the transport direction is The second rib is formed so as to be located on the same side as the upstream side wall surface in the transport direction or on the downstream side in the transport direction of the second slot, and the upstream end of the third rib in the transport direction is a recording material. The platen, wherein the third rib is formed such that a tangent toward the downstream side in the transport direction at the corresponding contact point when the leading end abuts is directed upward. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the upstream end of the second rib in the transport direction is configured such that a tangent toward the downstream side in the transport direction at the corresponding contact point when the leading end of the recording material abuts is upward. Wherein the second rib is formed on the platen. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second groove is chamfered or rounded at an upper portion of a downstream side wall surface in the transport direction and between two adjacent third ribs. A platen characterized by: 4. The platen according to claim 1, wherein an ink absorbing material that absorbs ink is loaded in the first and second slots. 5. The island portion according to claim 4, wherein the ink absorbing material is loaded in the slot while avoiding the island portion and applying elastic force to the island portion from outside. A platen comprising a compression-deformable elastic absorber having a slit having a size smaller than the size. 6. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising the platen according to claim 1. Description: