Patent Grant
11433693
The present application is based on, and claims priority from JP Application Serial Number 2019-238605, filed Dec. 27, 2019 and JP Application Serial Number 2020-131888, filed Aug. 3, 2020, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
The present disclosure relates to a recording apparatus that includes a transport portion that transports a medium, a support portion that supports the medium, and a recording head that performs recording on the medium supported by the support portion.
For example, JP-A-2016-160025 discloses a recording apparatus that includes a transport portion that transports a medium along a transport path, a recording head that discharges a liquid such as ink through nozzles to record an image on the transported medium, and a support member that supports the medium at a position in the transport path opposing the recording portion.
The transport portion includes pairs of transport rollers disposed upstream of the recording portion in the transport direction, and pairs of discharge rollers disposed downstream of the recording portion in the transport direction. The support member is configured to move between a first position, and a second position that is farther away from an imaginary plane including the nozzle surface than the first position. The support member includes first abutting members, abutting portions, and first biasing members. The first abutting members are disposed between discharge rollers adjacent to each other in the width direction. When the support member is in the first position, a protrusion end that protrudes to the transport path is positioned closer to the imaginary plane including the nozzle surface of the recording head than nip positions of the pair of discharge rollers that nip the medium. The abutting portion abuts against a discharge roller shaft while the support member is in the first position. The first biasing member biases the support member towards the first position.
The support member countering the biasing force of the first biasing member and moving from the first position to the second position changes the relative positional relationship between the nip position and the protrusion end of the first abutting member. With the above, a wave shape corresponding to the rigidity of the medium can be added to the medium. In the support member, since the position of the first position is set based on the discharge roller shaft, the positions of the nip position in the first position and the protrusion end of the first abutting member are set in an accurate manner.
However, there is an issue in the recording apparatus described in JP-A-2016-160025 in that, since the support member is a mechanism that moves up and down, the distance with the recording head is unstable and may lead to a decrease in the recording quality.
A recording apparatus that overcomes the above issue is a recording apparatus that includes a feed portion that feeds a medium, a transport portion that transports the fed medium in a transport direction, a recording portion that performs recording on the medium transported by the transport portion, a support member that includes a support surface that supports the medium on which the recording portion performs recording, and a pressing member that presses the medium towards the support member, at a position upstream of the recording position of the recording portion in the transport direction. In the recording apparatus, the pressing member is provided so as to be movable in a direction intersecting the support surface.
Hereinafter, a first exemplary embodiment of a recording apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. In
Configuration of Recording Apparatus
A recording apparatus 11 illustrated in
The recording apparatus 11 includes the operation panel 15 in a front surface thereof. The operation panel 15 includes an operation portion that includes operation buttons operated when issuing various commands to the recording apparatus 11, and a display portion that displays various menus and the operation status of the recording apparatus 11 (the operation portion and the display portion both not shown in the drawing). A power button 16 is further provided in the front surface of the apparatus body 12. Note that the display portion may be configured of a touch panel, and the operation portion may be configured of operation functions operated on the touch panel.
Furthermore, an accommodation portion 18 that accommodates at least one (six in the present exemplary embodiment) liquid supply source 17 (see
Furthermore, a feed cover 20 is provided in the upper rear portion of the recording apparatus 11 in an openable/closable manner. The feed cover 20 is opened/closed by being pivoted about a rear end thereof. A feed portion 21 is accommodated in the apparatus body 12 and on the inner side of the feed cover 20 that is in a closed position illustrated in
A recording portion 23 that performs recording on the medium M fed from the feed tray 22 is accommodated in the apparatus body 12. The recording portion 23 adopts a serial recording method, for example. The recording portion 23 adopting the serial recording method includes a carriage 24 configured to reciprocate in a scanning direction X, and the recording head 25 held below the carriage 24. A surface of the recording head 25 opposing the medium M transported along the transport path is a nozzle surface (see
The recording head 25 moving together with the carriage 24 discharges the liquid towards the medium M through the plurality of nozzles. A character or an image is recorded on the medium M by alternatively repeating a recording operation, in which the carriage 24 is moved once and in which the recording head 25 performs one-pass recording, and a transport operation in which the medium M is transported to the next recording position. Note that the recording portion 23 may adopt a line recording method. The recording portion 23 adopting the line recording method includes a recording head 25 that includes a line head including a plurality of nozzles configured to discharge the liquid simultaneously across the entire width of the medium with the largest width. Since the liquid is discharged to the medium M, which is transported at a fixed speed, through the nozzles of the recording head 25 configured of the line head in which the entire width of the medium M is subject to the discharge, high-speed recording on the image and the like can be achieved.
Furthermore, a discharge cover 26 is provided in a lower portion of the front surface of the recording apparatus 11 in an openable/closable manner. The discharge cover 26 pivots about a lower end thereof. In the apparatus body 12, a stacker 27 (see
The recording apparatus 11 includes a control portion 100 that conducts various controls. The control portion 100 conducts control of the carriage 24 and the recording head 25, transport control of the medium M, display control of the operation panel 15, power supply control, and the like.
Referring subsequently to
As illustrated in
Furthermore, a linear encoder 34 that extends in the scanning direction is provided in the main frame 30. The linear encoder 34 includes a linear scale that extends in the scanning direction, and a sensor attached to the carriage 24 (not shown). The sensor detects the linear scale and outputs pulse signals including pulses, the number of which is proportionate to the moving amount of the carriage 24.
A supply cover 18a that open/close the upper portion of the accommodation portion 18 is provided in the accommodation portion 18. In the present example, the liquid supply sources 17 are tanks in which a liquid is stored. When the user confirms, through the window portion 19, that the remaining amount of liquid in one of the liquid supply source 17 has become small, the user opens the cover 13 and the supply cover 18a and fills the liquid from a liquid bottle through a filling port (not shown) of the liquid supply source 17. Note that the liquid supply source 17 is not limited to a tank adopting a liquid filling method in which the user fills the liquid from a liquid bottle and may be a liquid pack (an ink pack, for example) or a liquid cartridge (an ink cartridge, for example) in which the liquid is stored. Furthermore, while the liquid supply source 17 is of an off-carriage type provided in the apparatus body 12, the liquid supply source 17 may be of an on-carriage type mounted on the carriage 24.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The recording apparatus 11 includes a gap adjusting mechanism 37 that adjusts the gap between the recording portion 23 and the support member 50. The gap adjusting mechanism 37 is a mechanism that changes the height position of the recording head 25. The gap adjusting mechanism 37 adjusts the gap by changing the height position of the recording head 25. The control portion 100 controls the gap adjusting mechanism 37 so that the gap is adjusted according to the type of medium M. When the medium M is a sheet, for example, the type of medium M includes plain paper (thin paper, thick paper), photographic paper, an envelope, and a disk such as a CD-Recordable (CDR) and the like. Note that a medium M such as plain paper is a first medium with low rigidity, and a medium M such as photographic paper is a second medium with rigidity that is higher than that of the first medium.
The carriage 24 illustrated in
The maintenance apparatus 60 cleans the nozzles of the recording head 25 to resolve or prevent such a type of discharge defect from occurring. The maintenance apparatus 60 includes a suction pump 63 that is in communication with the cap 61. The maintenance apparatus 60 drives the suction pump 63 under a capping state in which the cap 61 surrounding the nozzles is in contact with the nozzle surface of the recording head 25. When the suction pump 63 is driven, the liquid is forcibly suctioned and discharged from the nozzles due to the negative pressure introduced in the closed space between the nozzle surface and the cap 61. By forcibly suctioning and discharging the liquid with increased viscosity, air bubbles, and foreign matters such as paper dust from the nozzles, the nozzles recover from the discharge defect.
Furthermore, during a recording operation in which recording is performed on the medium M, by regularly or irregularly moving the recording portion to the home position HP and by performing blank discharging (also referred to as “flushing”) in which droplets that are not related to recording are discharged towards the cap 61 from all of the nozzles, discharge defects during the recording are prevented. The liquid (waste liquid) discharged from the nozzles due to cleaning and blank discharging passes through a waste liquid tube 64 and is sent to a waste liquid tank 65 with the drive of the suction pump 63. The waste liquid tank 65 is positioned above an area downstream of the transport portion 40 in the transport direction Y0. When the user opens the cover 13, the waste liquid tank 65 is positioned on the near side; accordingly, the user can replace the waste liquid tank 65 from the front side of the recording apparatus 11.
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The recording apparatus 11 of the present exemplary embodiment includes a label recording function that performs recording on a label surface of a disk such as a CDR. When the medium M is a disk and label recording that performs recording on the label surface is performed, the user sets the disk on a plate-shaped dedicated tray (not shown) and inserts the dedicated tray through the discharge opening 75. The dedicated tray is nipped between the pairs of transport rollers 41 and the pairs of discharge rollers 42. With the above, the disk is transported to the recording position where recording can be performed with the recording portion 23. The recording portion 23 records an image and the like on the label surface of the disk.
As illustrated in
The first support portion 51 includes a plurality of first ribs 54 that protrude upwards while being arranged at intervals in the width direction X. The second support portion 52 includes a plurality of second ribs 55 that protrude upwards while being arranged at intervals in the width direction X. The third support portion 53 includes a plurality of third ribs 56 that protrude upwards while being arranged at intervals in the width direction X. The first ribs 54, the second ribs 55, and the third ribs 56 are disposed at the same positions in the width direction X. Accordingly, the second ribs 55 are positioned at positions downstream of the first ribs 54 in the transport direction Y0, and the second ribs 55 are positioned at positions upstream of the third ribs 56 in the transport direction Y0. An extra second rib 55 is provided on both sides that are outside the area in which the first ribs 54 are arranged. Accordingly, the number of second ribs 55 exceeds the number of first ribs 54 by two. Note that the positions of the ribs 54 to 56 in the width direction X are set according to the width size of the medium M so that when a regular-sized medium M is supported thereby, both end portions of the medium M in the width direction X can be supported. Accordingly, both end portions of any sized medium M of a regular size in the width direction X are supported by the ribs 54 to 56 during the transportation of the medium M.
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Note that the force needed to curve the medium M to have a wave shape can be small at portions that are close to the lateral edge portions of the medium M in the width direction X, which are free ends of the medium M. On the other hand, a large force will be needed to curve the middle portion of the medium M in the width direction X that is distanced away from the free ends of the medium M. In other words, the middle portion of the medium M in the width direction X is a position where it is difficult for the pressing members 81 to curve the medium M. Furthermore, as illustrated in
Among the plurality of pressing members 81, the pair of pressing members 81 at the outermost positions in the width direction X press down the two edge portions of the medium M, which has the largest width as illustrated in
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The pressing head 812 has a hammer head-shape that protrudes to two sides in the width direction X at the distal end portion of the arm 811. The pressing head 812 includes the abutting portion 815 that abuts against the medium M so that a lower end portion of the pressing head 812 presses down the medium M. In other words, the pressing member 81 includes, at the distal end portion of the arm 811, the abutting portion 815 that abuts against the medium M when pressing down the medium M. The abutting portion 815 has, with respect to the arm 811, a wide shape that protrudes in the width direction X. Inclined surfaces that are inclined against the pressing direction PD is provided on the two sides interposing the abutting portion 815 in the transport direction Y0. The inclined surfaces form a first guiding surface 816 that guides the front end of the medium M to the abutting portion 815, and a second guiding surface 817 that guides the rear end of the medium M to the abutting portion 815. Note that a stopper portion 818 is provided on the under surface of the arm 811 and at a position between the recessed portion 813 to which the spring is hooked and the pressing head 812. When the pressing member 81 is at the standby position illustrated in
As illustrated in
An angle of the second guiding surface 817 against the transport direction Y0 when the pressing member 81 is in the standby position illustrated in
As illustrated in
Electric Configuration of Recording Apparatus
The control portion 100 performs various controls including a recording control of the recording apparatus 11. The control portion 100 includes at least one processor that operates according to a computer program (software). The processor includes a CPU, and memories such as RAM and ROM. The memories store program codes or commands that are configured to make the CPU execute processes. The control portion 100 is not limited to one that performs software processing. For example, the control portion 100 may include a dedicated hardware circuit (for example, an application specific integrated circuit or ASIC) that performs hardware processing of at least a portion of the processing that the control portion 100 executes.
The feed motor 35, the transport motor 71, the carriage motor 32, the recording head 25, and the gap adjusting mechanism 37 are, as an output system, electrically coupled to the control portion 100. The control portion 100 controls the feed motor 35, the transport motor 71, the carriage motor 32, the recording head 25, and the gap adjusting mechanism 37. Furthermore, the medium detector 76, the linear encoder 34, and the rotary encoder 74 are, as an input system, electrically coupled to the control portion 100.
The linear encoder 34 includes a linear scale (not shown), and an optical sensor (not shown) provided in the carriage 24. By having the optical sensor optically read the linear scale, a detection signal including the number of pulses proportional to the amount of movement of the carriage 24 is output. Furthermore, the rotary encoder 74 outputs a detection signal including the number of pulses proportional to the rotation amount of each pair of transport rollers 41.
Having the position of the medium M when the front end of the medium M fed from the feed portion 21 is detected by the medium detector 76 to be the position of origin, the control portion 100 counts the value corresponding to the position of the front end or the rear end of the medium M. Based on the counted position of the front end or the rear end of the medium M, the control portion 100 controls the motors 35 and 71 in a transport system, and controls the feeding, transportation, and the discharge of the medium M.
For example, when double-sided recording is instructed, the control portion 100 first drives the transport motor 71 in the normal direction when recording a first surface of the medium M and drives the pairs of transport rollers 41 and the pairs of discharge rollers 42 in the normal direction to transport the medium M in a first transport direction Y1. During the above transportation, an image and the like are recorded on the first surface of the medium M. When ending the recording of the first surface of the medium M, the control portion 100 rotates the transport motor 71 in the reverse direction and drives the pairs of transport rollers 41 and the pairs of discharge rollers 42 in the reverse direction to transport the medium M in a reversed manner in the second transport direction Y2. The medium M transported in the reversed manner passes through an inversion path (not shown) to invert the medium M so that a second surface on the side opposite the first surface becomes the recorded surface subject to recording, and the inverted medium M is fed in the first transport direction Y1 once again. As described above, when double-sided recording is performed, the control portion 100 drives the transport motor 71 in the normal direction and transports the medium M in the first transport direction Y1 to have the recording portion 23 perform recording on the first surface, and drives the transport motor 71 in the reverse direction after the recording on the first surface has ended and reverse transports the medium M in the second transport direction Y2 to invert the medium M. Subsequently, the recording portion 23 performs recording on the second surface of the medium M that has been fed once more in the first transport direction Y1. The medium M on which double-sided recording has been performed is discharged through the discharge opening 75 and is mounted on the stacker 27.
The control portion 100 acquires the position of the carriage in the scanning direction X, in which the position of origin of the carriage 24 serves as the reference, by counting the number of pulse edges of the detection signal input from the linear encoder 34 that sets the origin as the time at which the point of origin has been reached with the carriage 24 coming in contact with an end position on the home position HP side. Based on an enumerated data of the position of the carriage, the control portion 100 controls the carriage motor 32 to perform speed control and position control of the carriage 24.
The control portion 100 stores the current gap in one of the memories. Furthermore, reference data that shows the correspondence between the type of medium and the gap is stored in the memory. When the control portion 100 receives the recording data, the control portion 100 acquires information on the type of medium included in the recording data. Based on the acquired information on the type of medium, the control portion 100 acquires the gap that is to be set. When performing gap control that adjusts the gap to the gap that is to be set, the control portion 100 controls the carriage 24 and makes the carriage 24 perform gap switching control. A gap between a nozzle surface 25A of the recording head 25 and the ribs 54 and 55 of the support member 50 is adjusted to a target gap.
An action of the recording apparatus 11 will be described next.
For example, when double-sided recording is performed, the medium M fed by the feed portion 21 is, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
For example, when the front end portion of the medium M becomes lifted, the front end portion may come in contact with the recording head 25. When the front end portion of the medium M comes in contact with the nozzle surface 25A of the recording head 25, the medium M becomes stained with ink. Furthermore, when the front end portion of the medium M becomes lifted, the recording head 25 moving in the width direction X comes in contact with the front end portion of the medium M and due to such contact, jamming of the medium M occurs. Conversely, in the present exemplary embodiment, lifting of the front end portion of the medium M is suppressed; accordingly, staining and jamming of the medium M due to the front end portion of the medium M coming in contact with the nozzle surface 25A of the recording head 25 can be prevented.
Furthermore, regarding a medium M such as, for example, photographic paper that has a relatively high rigidity, the front end thereof abuts against the first guiding surfaces 816, which lifts the pressing heads 812. As a result, the pressing members 81 countering the biasing force of the elastic members 83 become lifted; accordingly, the surface of the medium M, such as photographic paper that has a high rigidity, does not become damaged. As a result, a high definition image is recorded on the photographic paper.
Incidentally, during double-sided recording, when recording on the first surface has ended, the medium M is reverse transported in the second transport direction Y2. The rear end of the medium M transported in the second transport direction Y2 abuts against the second guiding surface 817 illustrated in
Regarding a medium M such as, for example, photographic paper that has a relatively high rigidity, by having the front end thereof abut against the second guiding surfaces 817, the pressing members 81 lift the pressing heads 812 about the support shafts 471. As a result, the medium M reverse transported in the second transport direction Y2 is smoothly reverse transported without being caught by the pressing members 81. In so doing, the recorded surface on which recording has been performed is less likely to become damaged.
Subsequently, the inverted medium M is fed once more in the first transport direction Y1. In a medium M that has low rigidity such as, for example, plain paper, the wave shape is formed by the pressing members 81 in a manner similar to that when recording is performed on the first surface. Accordingly, lifting of the front end portion of the medium M is suppressed in a manner similar to when recording is performed on the first surface. Furthermore, regarding a medium M such as, for example, photographic paper that has high rigidity, the pressing members 81 are lifted in a manner similar to when recording is performed on the first surface; accordingly, the surface of the medium M is less likely to become damaged. Accordingly, a high definition image is recorded on the second surface of the photographic paper as well.
The following effects can be obtained with the first exemplary embodiment described above.
(1) The recording apparatus 11 includes the support member 50 that includes the support surfaces 54A that support the portions of the medium M on which the recording portion 23 performs recording, and pressing members 81 that press the medium M towards the support member 50 at positions upstream of the recording position of the recording portion 23 in the transport direction Y0. The pressing members 81 are provided so as to be movable in the direction intersecting the support surfaces 54A. Accordingly, lifting of the medium M can be suppressed by the pressing members 81 pressing down the medium M, and the medium M coming in contact with the recording portion 23 due to being lifted can be reduced. Furthermore, since the pre-printing positions of the medium M upstream of the recording position in the transport direction Y0 are pressed down, the recorded image does not become damaged. Furthermore, since contamination such as recording ink is not transferred to the pressing members 81, the contamination transferred to the pressing members 81 being transferred to the other mediums M and staining the other mediums M can be prevented. Furthermore, since the pressing members 81 are movable in the direction intersecting the support surfaces 54A, when the medium M has high rigidity, for example, the medium M is less likely to become damaged when the pressing members 81 are retracted in a direction away from the support surfaces 54A.
(2) The recording apparatus 11 includes elastic members 83 that bias the pressing members 81 in the pressing direction PD that is a direction approaching the support member 50. Accordingly, since the pressing members 81 that are provided so as to be movable in the direction intersecting the support surfaces 54A are biased in the pressing direction PD, when the medium M has high rigidity, for example, the medium M is less likely to become damaged when the pressing members 81 are retracted in a direction away from the support surfaces 54A.
(3) The transport portion 40 includes the pairs of transport rollers 41, each pair being formed by the driving roller 410 and the driven roller 43. The transport portion 40 includes the guide member 47 that is pivotably supported while supporting the driven rollers 43 at the downstream end portion in the transport direction Y0, and the biasing members 48 that bias the guide member 47 in the direction in which the driven rollers 43 approach the driving roller 410. The pressing members 81 are provided at the downstream end portions of the guide member 47 in the transport direction Y0 while being biased in the pressing direction PD with the elastic members 83. Accordingly, the pressing members 81 can be disposed at positions corresponding to the ribs 54 of the support member 50 by using the guide member 47 that supports the driven rollers 43.
(4) The pressing members 81 include abutting portions 815 that abut against the medium M when pressing down the medium M, and the first guiding surfaces 816 that guide the front end of the medium M, which is transported in the transport direction Y0, to the abutting portions 815. Accordingly, even when the front end portion of the medium M transported in the transport direction Y0 is lifted, the front end portion is guided along the first guiding surfaces 816 of the pressing members 81 to the abutting portions 815. Accordingly, the front end portion of the medium M being lifted and coming in contact with the recording portion 23 can be suppressed. Furthermore, in a configuration in which the abutting portions 815 are positioned below the support surfaces 54A in the vertical direction Z1, which is a direction extending away from the nozzle surface 25A, and in which the abutting portions 815 overlap the ribs 54 in the vertical direction Z1, the abutting portions 815 are positioned farther away from the nozzle surface 25A than the nip positions N1. In such a case, the front end of the medium M with low rigidity such as plain paper or the like moved along the first guiding surfaces 816 is guided to the abutting portions 815, and the medium M can be curved so as to have a wave shape. Furthermore, the front end of the medium M with high rigidity such as photographic paper or the like moved along the first guiding surfaces 816 lifts the abutting portions 815; accordingly, the medium M is less likely to become damaged.
(5) The pressing members 81 include the second guiding surfaces 817 that guide the rear end of the medium M, which is reverse transported upstream in the transport direction Y0, towards the abutting portions 815. Accordingly, even when the rear end portion of the medium M that is reverse transported is lifted, the rear end portion is guided along the second guiding surfaces 817 of the pressing members 81 to the abutting portions 815. Accordingly, even when the rear end of the medium M that is reverse transported becomes lifted, the medium M can be smoothly reverse transported.
(6) The second guiding surface 817 is set at an angle so that an upward direction orthogonal to the second guiding surface 817 at the predetermined position is above the imaginary line SL connecting the predetermined position on the second guiding surface 817 and the support shaft 471 serving as the pivot fulcrum. Accordingly, by moving the rear end of the medium M, which is reverse transported, with a high rigidity along the second guiding surfaces 817, the pressing members 81 can be lifted. Furthermore, by moving the rear end of the medium M, which is reverse transported, with a low rigidity along the second guiding surfaces 817, the rear end of the medium M can be guided to the abutting portions. Accordingly, the medium M can be smoothly reverse transported. Furthermore, since the recording portion 23 is positioned in the area downstream of the abutting portions 815 in the transport direction Y0 when the recording portion 23 is performing recording, a space to dispose the pressing members 81 cannot easily be obtained therein. In the pressing members 81, since the support shafts 471 serving as pivot fulcrums are disposed at positions that are upstream of the abutting portions 815 in the transport direction Y0, the spaces to dispose the pressing members 81 can be obtained easily.
(7) The support member 50 includes the plurality of ribs 54 including, on end surfaces thereof, support surfaces 54A that are positioned at intervals in the width direction X, and the plurality of recessed areas 59 that are areas in the support member 50 other than the plurality of ribs 54 and that are areas that are lower in height than the ribs 54. The abutting portions 815 of the pressing members 81 are disposed at positions opposing the recessed areas 59 of the support member 50. Accordingly, contact between the pressing members 81 and the ribs 54 can be prevented. For example, when the ribs 54 are stained with ink and the like, the contamination is transferred to the pressing members 81 that have come in contact with the ribs 54 and, subsequently, the contamination is transferred to the medium M from the pressing members 81. The medium M can be prevented from becoming stained due to the above type of cause. Furthermore, the medium M can be pressed deeper down with respect to the support surfaces 54A of the ribs 54. For example, the medium M can be curved into a wave shape.
(8) When the pressing members 81 are positioned at where the pressing members 81 have been moved the most in the pressing direction PD, the abutting portions 815 overlap the support surfaces 54A of the ribs 54 in the vertical direction Z1, which is orthogonal to the support surfaces 54A, and in the transport direction Y0. Accordingly, by having the plurality of pressing members 81 press down deep, with respect to the support surfaces 54A of the ribs 54, the portions of the medium M that correspond to the recessed areas 59, the medium M can be made to curve into a wave shape. Accordingly, contact between the transported medium M and the recording portion 23 can be reduced.
(9) The pressing members 81 are, at the least, provided at positions between the outermost ribs 54 that support the two edge portions of the medium M, which has the largest width, in the width direction X, and the ribs 54 positioned next to and inside the outermost ribs 54 in the width direction X. Accordingly, since the waves can be formed at the end portions of the medium M, which are portions where the waves can be formed easily, appropriate-sized waves can be formed reliably in the medium M without excessively loading the medium M, and the lifting of the transported medium M from the support surfaces can be suppressed. Note that compared with pressing down the end portions of the medium M in the width direction X, the middle portion of the medium M in the width direction X is not easily flexed when the medium M is pressed down. The medium M is flexed more easily and formation of waves is easier at portions near the end portions, which are free ends.
(10) The pressing members 81 include the arms 811 and, at the distal end portion of the arms 811, the abutting portions 815 that abut against the medium M when pressing down the medium M. The abutting portion 815 has a wide shape that protrudes in the width direction X. Accordingly, compared with a configuration in which the dimension of the abutting portion of the pressing member 81 in the width direction is the same as that of the arm, a wider portion of the medium M can be pressed down. For example, the medium M can be curved into an appropriate wave shape without creating small folds and indentations such as scratches in the medium M.
(11) For example, when the pressing member 81 is fixed to a frame or the like that cannot be deformed together with the medium guiding mechanism 46, the amount of pressing of the pressing member 81 becomes larger as the medium M becomes thicker; accordingly, thick mediums M are more likely to become damaged. Conversely, since the pressing members 81 are provided in the medium guiding mechanism 46, the medium guiding mechanism 46 becomes displaced upwards according to the thickness of the medium M nipped by the pairs of transport rollers 41. Accordingly, the amount of pressing with the pressing members 81 into the surface of the medium M becomes uniform regardless of the thickness of the medium M. Accordingly, compared with a configuration in which the pressing members 81 are fixed to a frame and the like, thick mediums M such as photographic paper and the like are not likely to become damaged.
A description of a second exemplary embodiment will be given next. In the second exemplary embodiment, the shape of the pressing head at the distal end portion of the pressing member is different from that of the first exemplary embodiment. Referring hereinafter to
As illustrated in
The pressing members 81 illustrated in
One of the features of the pressing members 81 of the present exemplary embodiment is that an issue of interference between a disk tray 28 and pressing members 81 when setting the disk tray 28, on which the disk LD is set, in the recording apparatus 11 is overcome when performing label recording on a disk LD such as a CDR, DVD, or the like. In the present example, the shape of the pressing heads 812N of the pressing members 81 is devised to resolve the issue described above that occurs when the shape of pressing heads 812 of the pressing members 81 is that of the first exemplary embodiment.
The disk tray 28 includes a square-plate shaped body 280 including a circular set portion 281 on which the disk LD can be set, and an extension portion 282 that extends to a front end portion of the body 280 in an insertion direction relative to the apparatus body 12.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Accordingly, in the present exemplary embodiment, the extension portion 282 of the disk tray 28 is configured of the plurality of extension portions 283 to 285 that have different extension lengths so that the extension portion 282 is nipped by the pairs of transport rollers 41 in a stepwise manner. In other words, the extension portion 282 includes a first extension portion 283, second extension portions 284, third extension portions 285, and the like that have different extension lengths. The first extension portion 283 is positioned at the middle portion in the width direction X and has the largest extension length. The pair of second extension portions 284 are positioned on both sides of the first extension portion 283 in the width direction X and have extension lengths that are shorter than that of the first extension portion 283. The pair of third extension portions 285 are positioned outside the pair of second extension portion 284 in the width direction X and have extension lengths that are shorter than that of the second extension portion 284. Note that the first extension portion 283 includes a plurality of recessed portions at different positions in the width direction X. The positions of the plurality of extension portions 283 to 285 in the width direction X are positioned so as to generally correspond to the plurality of driven rollers 43. When the disk tray 28 is inserted into the apparatus body 12, first, the first extension portion 283 is nipped by the pairs of transport rollers 41. Subsequently, the second extension portions 284 are nipped by the pairs of transport rollers 41. Lastly, the third extension portions 285 are nipped by the pairs of transport rollers 41. Due to the above, the load when the disk tray 28 is inserted to the recording start position is reduced.
Since the extension portions 283 to 285 are formed of shapes in which the extension lengths are different in a stepwise manner, the extension portions 283 to 285 include corner portions at the outer edge portions in the width direction X. During the insertion of the disk tray 28, corner portions 284A of the second extension portions 284 are at positions that can be in contact with the pressing heads 812N of two pressing members 81. Outer circumferential surfaces of the corner portions 284A of the present example are formed in a circular arc shape. Accordingly, when the pressing heads 812N of the two pressing members 81 come in contact with the circular arc-shaped outer circumferential surfaces of the two corner portions 284A and as the insertion of the disk tray 28 proceeds, the pressing heads 812N are pushed to the outside in the width direction X along the outer circumferential surfaces of the corner portions 284A. In
As illustrated in
The pressing member 81 includes the first surface 817A at a position above and adjacent to the second guiding surface 817. The first surface 817A is inclined in the same direction as that of the second guiding surface 817. In the present exemplary embodiment, an angle of the first surface 817A against a horizontal plane is larger than an angle of the second guiding surface 817 against a horizontal plane. The above is set for obtaining the gap required to prevent contact between the pressing head 812N and the recording portion 23 by separating the position of the upper end of the first surface 817A as far as possible to a portion upstream in the transport direction Y0. Note that the angles of the first surface 817A and the second guiding surfaces 817 may be the same.
The pressing head 812 of the pressing member 81 of the first exemplary embodiment illustrated in
On the other hand, as illustrated in
Furthermore, as illustrated in
Furthermore, as illustrated in
An action of the pressing member 81 of the second exemplary embodiment configured in a manner described above will be described next while making a comparison with the pressing member 81 of the first exemplary embodiment.
An action when inserting the disk tray 28 into the apparatus body 12 will be described first.
As illustrated in
On the other hand, as illustrated in
An action when performing recording on the medium M will be described next. While the pressing member 81 is positionally set at a position that does not come in contact with the lateral edge Ms of the medium M, when skewing occurs in the medium M, there are cases in which the lateral edge Ms of the medium M comes in contact with the lateral surface of the pressing head 812 of the pressing member 81. In particular, when double-sided recording is performed, the medium M on which recording on the front surface has been performed is switched back and transported in the second transport direction Y2, is inverted along a roller (not shown) at a position upstream of the recording head 25, and is fed once more with the back surface of the medium M facing upwards. When the medium M is refed during recording on the back surface, a large skew of the medium M tends to occur more easily when compared with when the medium M is fed during recording on the front surface.
As illustrated in
On the other hand, as illustrated in
An action during double-sided recording when the medium M is switched back and transported will be described next. During double-sided recording, when recording on the front surface of the medium M is ended, in many cases, a rear end Mr of the medium M is positioned downstream of the pressing head 812 of the pressing member 81 in the transport direction Y0. The switch-back transportation, in which the medium M is reverse transported to the second transport direction Y2, is started from the above state. In such a case, the rear end Mr of the medium M may become lifted due to curling.
As illustrated in
On the other hand, as illustrated in
Other than the effects (1) to (11) of the first exemplary embodiment, the following effects (12) to (14) can be obtained with the second exemplary embodiment.
(12) The pressing member 81 includes the first surface 817A at the position above and adjacent to the second guiding surface 817. The first surface 817A is inclined in the same direction as that of the second guiding surface 817. Accordingly, during double-sided recording, after recording on the front surface is ended and before recording of the back surface is performed, even when the rear end Mr of the medium M that is to be reverse transported is lifted higher than the second guiding surface 817 due to curling and the like, after the medium M has been guided along the first surface 817A to the second guiding surface 817, the medium M is further guided along the second guiding surface 817 to the abutting portion 815.
Accordingly, even when the rear end Mr of the medium M that is to be reverse transported is excessively lifted due to curling and the like, the medium M can be reverse transported through the normal path that passes below the pressing member 81.
(13) The disk tray 28 on which the disk LD that is subject to label recording is inserted by being reverse transported by the transport portion 40 from downstream to upstream in the transport direction Y0. The disk tray 28 includes the extension portion 282 that is extended upstream in the transport direction Y0. Each pressing member 81 is formed across the area in height including the height position at which the disk tray 28 comes in contact with the extension portion 282 inserted between the pairs of transport rollers 41, and includes the corresponding second surface 821 that is inclined in a direction approaching the width center WC of the pressing member 81 as the second surface 821 extends downwards and downstream in the transport direction Y0. Accordingly, in the course of the extension portion 282 of the disk tray 28 being nipped between the pairs of transport rollers 41 to perform label recording, the outer circumferential surfaces of the corner portions 284A of the extension portion 282 come in contact with the second surfaces 821 of the pressing members 81, which evades the pressing members 81 upwards. Accordingly, application of unreasonable force to the pressing members 81 can be prevented.
(14) Each third surface 822 is formed in the side portion adjacent to the first guiding surface 816 of the corresponding pressing member 81 in the width direction X in the area in height including the height position when the medium M is transported. The third surface 822 is inclined in a direction approaching the width center WC of the pressing member 81 as the third surface 822 extends downwards. Accordingly, the lateral edge Ms of the medium M that has been transported while being displaced in the width direction X due to skewing of the medium M comes in contact with the third surface 822 of the pressing member 81. As a result, the pressing member 81 is evaded upwards. Accordingly, force in an unreasonable direction is not applied to the pressing member 81 from the medium M, and deformation of the lateral edge Ms of the medium M can be suppressed.
Note that the exemplary embodiments described above can be modified into forms illustrated in the modification examples described below. Furthermore, an appropriate combination of the exemplary embodiments described above and the modification examples described below can yet be another modification example, and an appropriate combination of the modification examples described below may yet be another modification example.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
In the exemplary embodiments described above and the modification examples illustrated in
In
The pressing member 81 is not limited to being provided in the guide member that is an example of the pivoting member, and may be supported by a frame, for example. In such a case, the pressing member 81 is moveably supported by the frame. Furthermore, the elastic member 83 that biases the pressing member 81 in the pressing direction may be provided.
The height position of the abutting portion 815 when the pressing member 81 is in the standby position may be a position above the support surface 54A of the rib 54 with which the medium M is supported. It is only sufficient that the abutting portion 815 of the pressing member 81 is at a position that is closer to the support member 50 than the recording head 25. With the above, the medium M can be restricted from lifting up to a position where the medium M comes in contact with the recording head 25.
The pressing direction PD is not limited to a direction that presses down the medium M towards the support surface 54A and may be any direction that restricts the transported medium M from lifting.
The disposed position of the pressing member is not limited to the position where the abutting portion 815 opposes the support member 50. For example, if there are areas downstream of the nip positions N1 of the pairs of transport rollers 41 in the transport direction Y0 and upstream of the recording head 25 where the support member is not present, the areas may be the opposing positions of the abutting portions 815.
In the exemplary embodiments described above, the elastic members 83 that are closer to the middle portion in the width direction X can be made to have stronger biasing force. With such a configuration, the portion around the middle of the medium in the width direction X can also be curved into an appropriate wave shape.
The pressing members 81 may be controlled with the control portion 100. For example, the pressing members 81 may be retracted to the retracted position above the support surfaces 54A for mediums M with high rigidity. For example, the pressing members 81 are driven by motive power of an electric motor serving as a drive source. The control portion 100 controls the electric motor to move the pressing members 81 to the retracted position and a pressing position. The control portion 100 acquires information on the type of medium included in the print data and moves the pressing members to either the retracted position or the pressing position that is in accordance with the type of medium specified based on the information on the type of medium. For example, when the type of medium is photographic paper, the control portion 100 retracts the pressing members 81 to the retracted position. As a result, the pressing members are not rubbed against the photographic paper; accordingly, the photographic paper is less likely to become damaged. When the type of medium is plain paper, the pressing members 81 are disposed at the pressing position. As a result, lifting of the medium M can be suppressed.
The first guiding surfaces 816 may be provided and the second guiding surfaces 817 may not be provided in the first exemplary embodiment. For example, in the recording apparatus 11 in which the reverse transport path through which the medium M is reverse transported during double-sided recording is a path different from the transport path during recording, it is only sufficient that the first guiding surfaces 816 are provided. Furthermore, in a recording apparatus that does not possess a double-sided recording function, it is only sufficient that the first guiding surfaces 816 are provided. Note that the reverse transport path may be a path passing above the transport path or a path passing below the transport path.
The second exemplary embodiment may lose one of the second surface 821 in the pair of second surfaces 821. There may be only one second surface 821 on the side with which one of the corner portions 284A of the extension portion 282 comes in contact, or there may be only one second surface 821 in a configuration in which the corner portion 284A that comes in contact is only one of the two corner portions 284A.
The second exemplary embodiment may lose one of the third surface 822 of the pair of third surfaces 822. There may be only a single third surface 822 on the side with which the lateral edge Ms of the medium M comes in contact, or there may be only a single third surface 822 in a configuration in which the lateral edge Ms that comes in contact is only one of the two lateral edges Ms.
In the second exemplary embodiment, the pressing member 81 may be provided with only one of the first surface 817A, the second surface 821, and the third surface 822, or may be provided with two of the first surface 817A, the second surface 821, and the third surface 822. For example, the pressing member 81 may be provided with the first surface 817A alone. Furthermore, the plurality of pressing members 81 may be a mixture of the pressing member 81 with only the first surface 817A, the pressing member 81 with only the second surface 821, and the pressing member 81 with only the third surface 822.
The support member 50 may be configured without the ribs. In such a case, the positions of the abutting portions 815 of the pressing members 81 at the standby position may be any positions above the support surfaces with which the medium M is supported, and below the recording head 25.
The pressing members 81 are not limited to being disposed at positions that oppose the recessed areas, which are portions that are not the protruded portions in the support member 50 including the protruded and recessed shape in the width direction X, in the vertical direction Z1. The pressing members 81 may be disposed at positions where the abutting portions 815 oppose the ribs 54 of the support member 50.
The number of pressing members may be one. For example, the abutting portions 815 may be disposed at the standby position that is higher than the support surfaces 54A, and a plurality of pressing heads 812 may be connected in the width direction X as a single pressing head 812. Furthermore, a single pressing member 81 may be provided in the middle portion in the width direction X. Lifting of the medium M can be suppressed with the above configurations.
The transport portion 40 may be of a roller-transport type or of a belt-transport type.
The recording apparatus 11 is not limited to a serial printer in which the recording portion 23 reciprocates in the scanning direction X, and may be a lateral type printer in which the recording portion 23 is configured to move in two directions, namely, the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction. Furthermore, the recording apparatus 11 may be a line printer.
The recording apparatus 11 may be a multifunction machine on which a reading unit is mounted.
The medium M is not limited to a sheet of paper and may be a flexible plastic film, cloth, non-woven fabric, or a laminate.
The recording apparatus 11 is not limited to a recording apparatus that prints on a medium such as a sheet of paper and may be a printing machine that prints on a cloth.
The recording apparatus 11 is not limited to a recording apparatus of an ink jet type, and may be a wire impact recording apparatus or a thermal transfer recording apparatus. Such recording apparatuses can also reduce contact between the medium lifted from the support surface, and the recording head.
The recording apparatus is not limited to a printer for printing. For example, the recording apparatus may be a recording apparatus that manufactures pixels of various types of displays such as an electrical wiring pattern, liquid crystal, electroluminescence (EL), and plane emission on a substrate, which is an example of a medium, by discharging a liquid material formed by dispersing or mixing particles of a functional material into liquid.
Technical ideas ascertained from the exemplary embodiments described above and the modification examples will be described hereinafter together with the advantageous effects thereof.
(A) A recording apparatus including a feed portion that feeds a medium, a transport portion that transports the fed medium in a transport direction, a recording portion that performs recording on the medium transported by the transport portion, a support member that includes a support surface that supports the medium on which the recording portion performs recording, and a pressing member that presses the medium towards the support member, at a position upstream of the recording position of the recording portion in the transport direction. In the recording apparatus, the pressing member is provided so as to be movable in a direction intersecting the support surface.
According to the above configuration, lifting of the medium can be suppressed by the pressing member pressing down the medium, and the medium coming in contact with the recording portion due to being lifted can be reduced. Furthermore, since the pre-printing positions of the medium upstream of the recording position in the transport direction are pressed down, the recorded image does not become damaged. Furthermore, since contamination such as recording ink is not transferred to the pressing member, the contamination transferred to the pressing member being transferred to the other mediums and staining the other mediums can be prevented. Furthermore, since the pressing member is movable in the direction intersecting the support surface, which is the lifting direction of the medium, when the medium has high rigidity, for example, the medium is less likely to become damaged when the pressing member is retracted in a direction away from the support surface.
(B) The recording apparatus described above may include an elastic member that biases the pressing member in a pressing direction that is a direction approaching the support member.
According to the above configuration, since the pressing member that is provided so as to be movable in the direction intersecting the support surface is biased in the pressing direction, when the medium has high rigidity, for example, the medium is less likely to become damaged when the pressing member is retracted in a direction away from the support surface.
(C) In the recording apparatus described above, the transport portion may include a pair of transport rollers, the pair of transport rollers being a pair formed by a driving roller and a driven roller, a pivoting member that is pivotably supported while supporting the driven roller at a downstream end portion in the transport direction, and a biasing member that biases the pivoting member in a direction in which the driven roller approaches the driving roller, and the pressing member may be provided at the downstream end portion of the pivoting member in the transport direction while being biased in the pressing direction with the elastic member.
According to the above configuration, the pressing member can be disposed at a position corresponding to the rib of the support member by using the pivoting member that supports the driven roller.
(D) In the recording apparatus described above, the pressing member may include an abutting portion that abuts against the medium when pressing down the medium, and a first guiding surface that guides a front end of the medium, which is transported in the transport direction, to the abutting portion.
According to the above configuration, even when the front end portion of the medium transported in the transport direction is lifted, the front end portion is guided along the first guiding surface of the pressing member to the abutting portion. Accordingly, the front end portion of the medium being lifted and coming in contact with the recording portion can be suppressed.
(E) In the recording apparatus described above, the pressing member may include a second guiding surface that guides a rear end of the medium, which is reverse transported upstream in the transport direction, to the abutting portion.
According to the above configuration, even when the rear end portion of the medium reverse transported is lifted, the rear end portion is guided along the second guiding surface of the pressing member to the abutting portion. Accordingly, even when the rear end of the medium that is reverse transported becomes lifted, the medium can be smoothly reverse transported.
(F) In the recording apparatus described above, the pressing member may include an abutting portion that abuts against the medium when pressing down the medium, and a pivot fulcrum positioned upstream of the abutting portion in the transport direction, in which the second guiding surface may be set at an angle in which an upward direction orthogonal to the second guiding surface at a predetermined position is above an imaginary line connecting the predetermined position on the second guiding surface and the pivot fulcrum.
According to the above configuration, when the medium is reverse transported, the rear end of the reverse transported medium with high rigidity moves along the second guiding surface, which can lift the pressing member. Furthermore, by moving the rear end of the medium M, which is reverse transported, with a low rigidity along the second guiding surface, the rear end of the medium can be guided to the abutting portion. Accordingly, the medium M can be smoothly reverse transported.
(G) In the recording apparatus described above, the pressing member may include a first surface at a position above and adjacent to the second guiding surface, the first surface being inclined in a direction that is the same as that of the second guiding surface.
According to the above configuration, during double-sided recording, after recording on the front surface is ended and before recording of the back surface is performed, even when the rear end of the medium that is to be reverse transported is lifted higher than the second guiding surface due to curling and the like, after the medium has been guided along the first surface, which is adjacent and above the second guiding surface, to the second guiding surface, the medium is further guided along the second guiding surface to the abutting portion. Accordingly, even when the rear end of the medium that is to be reverse transported is excessively lifted due to curling and the like, the medium can be reverse transported through the normal path that passes below the pressing member.
(H) Regarding the recording apparatus described above, in a disk tray on which a disk that is subject to label recording that performs recording on a label surface of the disk is reverse transported from downstream to upstream in the transport direction by the transport portion, the disk tray may include an extension portion that extends upstream in the transport direction, and the pressing member may include a second surface that is formed across an area in height that includes a height position at which the disk tray comes in contact with the extension portion when the disk tray is reverse transported by the transport portion, and that is inclined in a direction that approaches a width center of the pressing member as the second surface extends downwards and downstream in the transport direction.
According to the above configuration, when inserting the disk tray on which the disk has been mounted to perform label recording, in the course of nipping the extension portion of the disk tray between the pair of transport rollers, the corner portion of the extension portion comes in contact with the second surface of the pressing member and the pressing member is evaded upwards.
(I) The recording apparatus described above further includes a third surface at a lateral portion adjacent to the first guiding surface of the pressing member in the width direction, the third surface being formed across an area in height including a height position where the medium is transported, and being inclined in a direction that approaches the width center of the pressing member as the third surface extends downwards.
According to the above configuration, the lateral edge of the medium that has been transported while being displaced in the width direction due to skewing of the medium comes in contact with the third surface of the pressing member. As a result, the pressing member is evaded upwards. Accordingly, force in an unreasonable direction is not applied to the pressing member from the medium, and deformation of the lateral edge of the medium can be suppressed.
(J) In the recording apparatus described above, the support member may include a plurality of ribs positioned at intervals in a width direction that intersects the transport direction, the ribs each including the support surface at an end surface thereof, and a plurality of recessed areas that are areas other than the plurality of ribs and that are areas lower in height than the ribs. The plurality of pressing members may each include an abutting portion that abuts against the medium when pressing down the medium, the abutting portion being disposed at a position opposing a recessed area of the plurality of recessed areas of the support member.
According to the above configuration, contact between the pressing members and the ribs can be prevented. For example, when the ribs are stained with ink and the like, the contamination is transferred to the pressing members that have come in contact with the ribs and, subsequently, the contamination is transferred to the medium from the pressing members. The medium M can be prevented from becoming stained due to the above type of cause. Furthermore, it will be possible to press the medium deeper down with respect to the support surfaces of the ribs. For example, the medium can be curved into a wave shape.
(K) In the recording apparatus described above, the support member may include a plurality of ribs each including the support surface at an end surface thereof, and when the pressing member is positioned at where the pressing member has moved the most in a pressing direction, the abutting portion may overlap the support surface of a rib of the plurality of ribs in an orthogonal direction, which is orthogonal to the support surface, and in the transport direction.
According to the above configuration, since the plurality of pressing members oppose the recessed areas that are areas other than the ribs of the support member, the medium can be curved into a wave shape by pressing down the medium to a portion deeper than the support surfaces. Accordingly, contact between the transported medium and the recording portion can be reduced.
(L) In the recording apparatus described above, the pressing member may be provided at least at positions between outermost ribs that support both edge portions of the largest-sized medium in the width direction and ribs positioned inside and next to the outermost ribs in the width direction.
According to the above configuration, since the waves can be formed at the end portions of the medium, which are portions where the waves can be formed easily, appropriate-sized waves can be formed reliably without excessively loading the medium, and the lifting of the transported medium from the support surfaces can be suppressed. Note that compared with pressing down the end portions of the medium in the width direction, the middle portion of the medium in the width direction is not easily flexed when the medium is pressed down. The medium can be flexed more easily and curved into a wave shape more easily by pressing down portions near the end portions, which are free ends of the medium.
(M) In the recording apparatus described above, the transport portion may include a pair of transport rollers, the pair of transport rollers being a pair formed by a driving roller and a driven roller, a pivoting member that is pivotably supported and that supports the driven roller at a downstream end portion in the transport direction, and a biasing member that biases the pivoting member in a direction in which the driven roller approaches the driving roller. The pressing member extends from a downstream end portion of the pivoting member in the transport direction.
According to the above configuration, the pressing member can be supported at a position corresponding to the rib of the support member by using the pivoting member that supports the driven roller. Furthermore, since the biasing force of the pressing member is applied from the biasing member, the elastic member will not be needed and the parts can be reduced.
(N) In the recording apparatus described above, the pressing member may include an arm and, at a distal end portion of the arm, an abutting portion that abuts against the medium when pressing down the medium, and the abutting portion may have, with respect to the arm, a wide shape protruded in the width direction that intersects the transport direction
According to the above configuration, since the abutting portion of the pressing member is protruded in the width direction with respect to the arm, compared with a configuration in which the dimension of the abutting portion of the pressing member in the width direction is the same as that of the arm, a wider portion of the medium M can be pressed down. For example, the medium can be curved into an appropriate wave shape without creating small folds and indentations such as scratches in the medium.
(O) In the recording apparatus described above, the pressing member may include a rotatable roller in a portion where the medium is pressed down.
According to the above configuration, since the medium is pressed down with the roller, the medium is less likely to become damaged.
(P) In the recording apparatus described above, the pressing member may be a pivotable flap.
According to the above configuration, the medium is less likely to become damaged since the medium is pressed down with the flap and the flap will pivot when pressed hard against the medium.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP2019-238605 | Dec 2019 | JP | national |
| JP2020-131888 | Aug 2020 | JP | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5808647 | Kurata | Sep 1998 | A |
| 6609791 | Miyamoto | Aug 2003 | B1 |
| 20160090254 | Iijima et al. | Mar 2016 | A1 |
| 20160243821 | Yoshida | Aug 2016 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2016-160025 | Sep 2016 | JP |
| 6390307 | Sep 2018 | JP |
| 6477018 | Mar 2019 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20210197586 A1 | Jul 2021 | US |
