MEDIUM TRANSPORT DEVICE AND RECORDING DEVICE

Description

The present application is based on, and claims priority from JP Application Serial

Number 2024-213036, filed Dec. 6, 2024, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a medium transport device and a recording device.

2. Related Art

In the related art, various medium transport devices including a transport roller that transports a medium are used in a recording device or the like. In such a transport device, a jam may occur, and when a jam occurs, it is necessary to remove the medium that has caused the jam. Therefore, for example, JP-A-2024-77112 discloses a medium transport device including a lever for facilitating removal of a medium that has caused a jam. The lever of the medium transport device of JP-A-2024-77112 is a lever for pulling out the medium that has jammed and become stuck between a transport roller pair.

In the medium transport device of JP-A-2024-77112, since the medium that has been stuck due to the jam can be pulled out to the front, the user can easily hook their finger or the like on the medium and easily remove the medium. However, when the jammed medium is removed, there is a concern that foreign matter, such as paper dust that accumulated around the lever by operating the lever, may fall and adhere to the transport roller pair, which are provided below the lever.

SUMMARY

A medium transport device includes a transport path along which a medium is transported; a deflection forming member that is configured to form a deflection in the medium by contacting the medium in the transport path at a contact section, and that is configured to displace between an advanced state of being advanced to the transport path and a retracted state of being retracted from the transport path; a transport roller that is positioned below a distal end of the deflection forming member provided with the contact section and that is configured to transport the medium; and a cover section configured to cover the transport roller between the transport roller and the distal end, wherein the cover section is configured to follow the displacement of the deflection forming member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating an internal configuration of a recording device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating a periphery of a deflection forming member in a medium transport device having the deflection forming member having the same configuration as that of a medium transport device of the recording device of FIG. 1, and is a diagram illustrating a state in which a medium is transported from a medium accommodation section.

FIG. 3 is a front view illustrating the periphery of the deflection forming member in the medium transport device having the deflection forming member having the same configuration as that of the medium transport device of the recording device of FIG. 1, and is a diagram illustrating a state in which a jam occurs and a door section is opened.

FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating the periphery of the deflection forming member in the medium transport device having the deflection forming member having the same configuration as that of the medium transport device of the recording device of FIG. 1, and is a diagram illustrating a state in which the deflection forming member is changed from a retracted state illustrated in FIG. 3 to an advanced state.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the periphery of the deflection forming member of the medium transport device of the recording device of FIG. 1, and is a diagram illustrating a state in which the deflection forming member is in the retracted state.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the periphery of the deflection forming member of the medium transport device of the recording device of FIG. 1, and is a diagram illustrating a state in which the deflection forming member is in the advanced state.

FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating the periphery of the deflection forming member of the medium transport device of the recording device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a periphery of a deflection forming member of a medium transport device of a recording device according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure, and illustrates a state in which the deflection forming member is in the retracted state.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the periphery of the deflection forming member of the medium transport device of the recording device of FIG. 8, and is a diagram illustrating a state in which the deflection forming member is in the advanced state.

FIG. 10 is a front view illustrating a periphery of a deflection forming member of a medium transport device of a recording device according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be schematically described.

To overcome the above problem, a medium transport device according to a first aspect of the present disclosure includes a transport path along which a medium is transported; a deflection forming member that is configured to form a deflection in the medium by contacting the medium in the transport path at a contact section, and that is configured to displace between an advanced state of being advanced to the transport path and a retracted state of being retracted from the transport path; a transport roller that is positioned below a distal end of the deflection forming member provided with the contact section and that is configured to transport the medium; and

• • a cover section configured to cover the transport roller between the transport roller and the distal end, wherein the cover section is configured to follow the displacement of the deflection forming member.

According to the present aspect, it provided the cover section that is configured to follow the displacement of the deflection forming member and that is configured to cover the transport roller between the transport roller and the distal end of the deflection forming member. Therefore, with a cover section configured in this manner, even if the foreign matter moves from the medium to the area around the deflection forming member, the foreign matter adhering to the deflection forming member can be prevented from moving to the transport roller even if the deflection forming member is displaced. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the foreign matter attached to the medium from adhering to the transport roller.

A second aspect of the medium transport device is an aspect according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, wherein the cover section is provided over an entire width of the transport path in a width direction, which intersects a transport direction of the medium.

According to the present aspect, the cover section is provided over the entire width of the transport path in the width direction, which intersects the transport direction of the medium. With such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the movement of the foreign matter to the transport roller over the entire width of the transport path, and thus it is possible to suppress the foreign matter from coming around from the outside in the width direction and adhering to the transport roller.

A third aspect of the medium transport device is an aspect according to the first aspect of the present disclosure, wherein the cover section is provided over an entire width of the transport roller in a width direction, which intersects a transport direction of the medium.

According to the present aspect, the cover section is provided over the entire width of the transport roller in the width direction, which intersects the transport direction of the medium. With such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the movement of the foreign matter to the transport roller over the entire width of the transport roller, and thus it is possible to effectively suppress the adhesion of the foreign matter to the transport roller.

A fourth aspect of the medium transport device is an aspect according to any one of the first aspect to the third aspect of the present disclosure, wherein the cover section is a flexible sheet member.

According to the present aspect, the cover section is the flexible sheet member. With such a configuration, the cover section can be easily handled by the user, and the cover section can be downsized.

A fifth aspect of the medium transport device is an aspect according to any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, wherein one end of the cover section in a displacement direction of the deflection forming member is attached to the deflection forming member, and the cover section is configured to follow the displacement of the deflection forming member.

According to the present aspect, one end of the cover section in a displacement direction of the deflection forming member is attached to the deflection forming member, and the cover section is configured to follow the displacement of the deflection forming member. With such a configuration, the cover section can easily follow the deflection forming member.

A sixth aspect of the medium transport device is an aspect according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure, further including a frame member positioned above the transport roller, wherein an other end of the cover section in the displacement direction of the deflection forming member is configured to slide with respect to the frame member.

According to the present aspect, the frame member positioned above the transport roller is provided and the other end of the cover section in the displacement direction of the deflection forming member is configured to slide with respect to the frame member. With this configuration, the other end of the cover section can slide on the frame member, and a gap can be prevented from being formed between the frame member and the deflection forming member.

A seventh aspect of the medium transport device is an aspect according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure, further including a frame member positioned above the transport roller, wherein an other end of the cover section in the displacement direction of the deflection forming member is attached to the frame member and the cover section is configured to expand and contract.

According to the present aspect, the other end of the cover section in the displacement direction of the deflection forming member is attached to the frame member and the cover section is configured to expand and contract. With such a configuration, the cover section can be expanded and contracted in a state where the other end of the cover section is fixed to the frame member, and a gap can be prevented from being formed between the frame member and the cover section.

An eighth aspect of the medium transport device is an aspect according to the sixth aspect or the seventh aspect of the present disclosure, wherein the deflection forming member in the retracted state contacts the frame member.

According to the present aspect, the deflection forming member in the retracted state contacts the frame member. With this configuration, the deflection forming member can be positioned in the retracted state by contacting the deflection forming member to the frame member.

A ninth aspect of the medium transport device is an aspect according to any one of the fifth aspect to the eighth aspect of the present disclosure, further including a guide section configured to guide a guided section of the cover section and a cleaning section configured to clean the cover section by contacting the cover section, wherein the guide section has a first guide section configured to guide the guided section when the deflection forming member is displaced from the retracted state to the advanced state and a second guide section configured to guide the guided section when the deflection forming member is displaced from the advanced state to the retracted state, the first guide section is configured to guide the guided section such that the cover section contacts the cleaning section, and the second guide section is configured to guide the guided section such that the cover section does not contact the cleaning section.

According to the present aspect, the guide section and the cleaning section are provided, the guide section has the first guide section that guides the guided section when the deflection forming member is displaced from the retracted state to the advanced state and the second guide section that guides the guided section when the deflection forming member is displaced from the advanced state to the retracted state, a first guide section guides the guided section such that the cover section contacts the cleaning section, and a second guide section guides the guided section such that the cover section does not contact the cleaning section. Therefore, the cover section can be cleaned by the cleaning section. That is, when the deflection forming member moves to the advanced state, the cleaning section and the cover section come into contact with each other, and thus, it is possible to collect the foreign matter by the cleaning section. The deflection forming member does not contact the cleaning section when the deflection forming member is in the retracted state, and thus it is possible to suppress scattering of foreign matter by the cleaning section.

A tenth aspect of the medium transport device is an aspect according to any one of the first aspect to the ninth aspect of the present disclosure, wherein the transport path includes a path configured to transport the medium in a direction including a vector component in an up-down direction.

According to the present aspect, the transport path includes the path configured to transport the medium in the direction including the vector component in the up-down direction. Since the transport path including the vector component in the up-down direction does not have a member constituting the transport path in the up-down direction, the foreign matter is likely to adhere to the transport roller due to falling of the foreign matter to the transport roller below by gravity. However, with such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the adhesion of the foreign matter to the transport roller.

An eleventh aspect of the medium transport device is an aspect according to any one of the first aspect to the tenth aspect of the present disclosure, further including a separation roller pair configured to separate the medium, wherein the transport roller is one roller of the separation roller pair.

According to the present aspect, the separation roller pair configured to separate the medium is provided and the transport roller is one roller of the separation roller pair. The rollers of the separation roller pair are more likely to cause a transport failure such as multi-feed due to a decrease in frictional force caused by adhesion of the foreign matter than a general transport roller pair. However, with such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the adhesion of the foreign matter to the roller of the separation roller pair, and to suppress the occurrence of the transport failure.

A recording device according to a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure includes the medium transport device according to any one of the first aspect to the eleventh aspect and a recording section configured to perform recording on the medium transported by the medium transport device.

According to the present aspect, it is possible to execute the recording operation while suppressing the foreign matter adhering to the medium from adhering to the transport roller.

First Embodiment

Hereinafter, a medium transport device 7 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure and a recording device 1 including the medium transport device 7 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, three axes orthogonal to each other are referred to as an X-axis, a Y-axis, and a Z-axis, respectively, as shown in each drawing. The direction indicated by the arrows of the three axes (X, Y, and Z) is the +direction of each direction, and the opposite direction is the −direction. The Z-axis direction corresponds to a vertical direction, that is, a direction in which gravity acts, a +Z direction indicates a vertically upward direction, and a −Z direction indicates a vertically downward direction. The X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction correspond to horizontal directions. The +Y direction indicates the direction to the front of the device and the −Y direction indicates the direction to the rear of the device. The +X direction indicates the direction to the right of the device and the −X direction indicates the direction to the left of the device.

First, an overview of the recording device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The recording device 1 according to the present embodiment is an inkjet printer, which is an example. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the recording device 1 includes a recording section 5 that performs recording by ejecting ink onto a medium 3 such as a paper sheet, the medium transport device 7, and a medium accommodation section 11. The recording execution operation of the recording section 5 on the medium 3 and the transport operation of the medium 3 by the medium transport device are performed by a control section (not illustrated). The control section includes a CPU, a flash ROM, and a RAM. The CPU performs various arithmetic processing according to the program stored in the flash ROM and controls the operation of the recording device 1 as a whole. The flash ROM, which is an example of the storage unit, is a nonvolatile memory that can be read from or written into. Various kinds of information are temporarily stored in the RAM, which is an example of the storage unit.

The recording section 5 is a line head here, but may be a serial type head or the like that reciprocates in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the medium 3. The platen that supports the medium 3 in a recording execution region 8 of the recording section 5 is an endless transport belt 2 here. The transport belt 2 is wound around a pulley 4 and a pulley 6, and the transport belt 2 is rotated by rotating both of the pulleys 4 and 6, thereby transporting the medium 3 in a transport direction F. The transport belt 2 forms a part of a transport path 9 along which the medium 3 is transported.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the recording device 1 is provided with a door section 17 that forms a part of a device exterior 34. The door section 17 is structured to be opened and closed by being pivoted in the horizontal direction. The door section 17 has a pivoting shaft extending in the Z-axis direction at a position of an end portion in the −Y direction in FIG. 1, and pivots with the pivoting shaft as a pivoting fulcrum. When the door section 17 is opened, at least a part of the transport path 9 is exposed, and a user can perform jam processing.

In the recording device 1 of the present embodiment, the medium 3 that picked up by a pickup roller 10 from the cassette-type medium accommodation section 11, which accommodates the medium 3 such as paper sheets, is transported in the transport direction F along a first transport path 91 by a feed roller pair 13. In the following description, a “roller pair” is constituted by a drive roller driven by a motor (not illustrated) and a driven roller that is in contact with the drive roller and is driven to rotate, unless otherwise specified. A second transport path 92 is joined to a downstream position of the feed roller pair 13 of the first transport path 91. The transport path 9 positioned on the recording section 5 side of a merging point P of the first transport path 91 and the second transport path 92 is referred to as a third transport path 93 in the following description.

A switching section 19 is disposed at the merging point P. The switching section 19 is configured to be displaceable between a first state in which the first transport path 91 is opened and a second state in which the second transport path 92 is opened. That is, it is configured such that, when the medium 3 is to be transported in the transport direction F along the first transport path 91, it takes a position that enables transport to the first transport path 91 and, when the medium 3 is to be transported in the transport direction F along the second transport path 92, it takes a position that enables transport to the second transport path 92. The switching section 19 is configured to be displaceable between the first state and the second state when the door section 17 is in the closed state.

A transport roller pair 15 is disposed between the merging point P and the recording section 5. The medium 3 is transported in the transport direction F along the third transport path 93 by the transport roller pair 15. In the case of single-sided recording on only the front surface of the medium 3, recording is executed on the front surface of the medium 3 in the recording execution region 8, and the medium 3 receives the transport force of transport roller pairs 12 and 14 and is discharged to a discharge tray 16. In the case of double-sided recording, the medium 3 is guided to a switchback path 20 by a flap 18 at a position downstream of the transport roller pair 12. Transport roller pairs 22 and 24 are disposed in the switchback path 20. The medium 3 guided to the switchback path 20 is guided to the second transport path 92, which is an invert path, by a guide member (not illustrated) at the branch point K by controlling the transport roller pairs 22 and 24 to be reversed. Transport roller pairs 26 and 28, an inversion roller 30, and a driven roller 32 that forms a pair with the inversion roller 30 are disposed in the second transport path 92.

That is, the first transport path 91 is a feed path for feeding the medium 3 accommodated in the medium accommodation section 11 to the third transport path 93, the second transport path 92 is an invert path for inverting the recorded medium 3 on which recording was performed by the recording section 5 and transporting the medium 3 to the third transport path 93, and the third transport path 93 is a recording time transport path including the recording position of the recording section 5. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the recording device 1 of the present embodiment includes ink containers 36 as a plurality of medium containers. Each ink container 36 is detachably attached. The ink ejected from the recording section 5 is supplied from each ink container 36 to the recording section 5 via a tube (not illustrated). The recording device 1 of the present embodiment includes a waste liquid container 38 and a detection section 42. The detection section 42 detects the presence or absence of the medium 3 in the second transport path 92, and detects the width of the medium 3 by detecting the edge portion of the medium 3 in the width direction (Y-axis direction). The recording device 1 of the present embodiment includes another medium accommodation section (not illustrated) below the medium accommodation section 11. The medium 3 in the other medium accommodation section is also picked up by the pickup roller, and is merged with the second transport path 92 by a transport roller pair 40 upstream of a nip position of the inversion roller 30.

Next, the medium transport device 7 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 7 in addition to FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4, the medium transport device 7 includes the transport path 9 through which the medium 3 is transported, and a deflection forming member 21 that forms a deflection in the medium 3 by contacting the medium 3 on the transport path 9. As illustrated in FIG. 3 to FIG. 6, an operation mechanism section 23 capable of receiving an operation from the user is provided. The deflection forming member 21 is displaceable between an advanced state in which the deflection forming member 21 is advanced to the transport path 9 and contacts the medium 3 on the transport path 9 as illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, and a retracted state in which the deflection forming member 21 is retracted from the transport path 9 as illustrated in FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 5. The operation mechanism section 23 can displace the deflection forming member 21 between the retracted state and the advanced state when receiving the operation from the user.

FIG. 2 illustrates a state where the door section 17 is “closed”. When the door section 17 is in the closed state, the switching section 19 can be displaced between the first state that opens the first transport path 91 and the second state that opens the second transport path 92. Specifically, by being pushed by the medium 3 that was transported in the transport direction F, a free end of the switching section 19 is slightly pivoted, with a pivoting shaft 44 positioned at the lower portion of the switching section 19 as a pivoting fulcrum, and, by this, the switching section 19 can be displaced between the first state and the second state.

FIG. 3 illustrates a state where the door section 17 is “open”. When the door section 17 is in the open state, the switching section 19 is largely pivoted with the pivoting shaft 44 as the pivoting fulcrum, and as illustrated in FIG. 3, the switching section 19 can be displaced to a third state in which at least a part of the first transport path 91 is opened. In the medium transport device 7, the deflection forming member 21 is provided in the first transport path 91 so as to configure a part of the transport path 9 in the retracted state illustrated in FIG. 2. When the door section 17 is in the open state as illustrated in FIG. 3 and the switching section 19 is displaced to the third state, the user moves the operation mechanism section 23 in the +X direction, and thus the deflection forming member 21 is configured to be displaceable from the retracted state illustrated in FIG. 3 to the advanced state as illustrated in FIG. 4.

In the medium transport device 7, as illustrated in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4, a rotation body 66 is provided at a position in front of the transport roller pair 15 of the third transport path 93 in the transport direction F. The rotation body 66 is provided to suppress an increase in the drawing load due to the drawn medium 3 being caught by a path component or another structural component when the deflection forming member 21 is displaced to deflect the medium 3.

The operation mechanism section 23 is movable in the +X direction as illustrated in FIG. 4 by the user gripping and operating it from the state illustrated in FIG. 3, and is connected in a state where the deflection forming member 21 is displaceable to the advanced state. The operation mechanism section 23 is connected in a state where the switching section 19 can be displaced to the third state by moving in the +X direction. With such a configuration, in the medium transport device 7 of the present embodiment, in a case where a jam occurs when the medium 3 is nipped by the feed roller pair 13 and the transport roller pair 15, or the like, the user operates the operation mechanism section 23 to displace the deflection forming member 21 to the advanced state in order to remove the medium 3, and thus, it is possible to create a space for the user to hook a finger from the Y-axis direction.

Here, in the medium transport device 7 including the operation mechanism section 23 having such a configuration, paper dust as the foreign matter T may accumulate at a position P1 of the gap between a contact section 52 of the deflection forming member 21 that contacts the medium 3 as illustrated in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 and a frame 29 by continuing to use. Here, the foreign matter T at the position P1 of the gap between the contact section 52 and the frame 29 includes the foreign matter T that is mostly on the frame 29 but partially adheres and forms a mass and reaches the gap between the contact section 52 and the frame 29. Note that such paper dust falls off from the medium 3 by being nipped by the transport roller pair 15 or the like, and thus accumulates at the position P1.

In the state illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, since the gap between the contact section 52 and the frame 29 is narrow, the paper dust forms a lump across the gap and accumulates around the position P1. When the position of the contact section 52 is moved from this state to the state illustrated in FIG. 4 by displacing the deflection forming member 21, the gap between the contact section 52 and the frame 29 is widened, and the lump of paper dust breaks and a part of it moves to a position P2 illustrated in FIG. 4 adhered to the contact section 52, and another part moves to a position P3 illustrated in FIG. 4 on the medium 3 and in contact with the feed roller pair 13.

When the state illustrated in FIG. 4 is returned to the state illustrated in FIG. 3, the paper dust at the position P2 moves to a position P4 above the vicinity of the feed roller pair 13. Therefore, there is a possibility that the paper dust at the position P4 moves to the position P3. In some cases, there is a concern that paper dust at the position P4 may directly adhere to the feed roller pair 13. When the paper dust adheres to the feed roller pair 13, the feeding capacity of the feed roller pair 13 is reduced, and there is a concern that a paper feeding failure may occur.

As described above, the medium transport device 7 includes the transport path 9 through which the medium 3 is transported, the deflection forming member 21 that can form the deflection in the medium 3 by contacting the medium 3 in the transport path 9 at the contact section 52, and the feed roller pair 13 as transport roller that are positioned below the distal end of the deflection forming member 21 provided with the contact section 52 and transport the medium 3. The deflection forming member 21 can be displaced between the advanced state in which the deflection forming member 21 is advanced to the transport path 9 as illustrated in FIG. 4 and the retracted state in which the deflection forming member 21 is retracted from the transport path 9 as illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

On the other hand, in the medium transport device 7 having such a configuration, there is a concern that the foreign matter T such as paper dust may adhere to the feed roller pair 13. Therefore, a medium transport device 7A of the medium transport device 7 according to the present embodiment includes, in addition to the configuration described above, a cover section 100 that covers the feed roller pair 13 between the feed roller pair 13 and the contact section 52 that is the distal end of the deflection forming member 21, as illustrated in FIG. 5 to FIG. 7. As can be seen from a comparison between FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the cover section 100 is configured to follow the displacement of the deflection forming member 21.

By providing the cover section 100 having such a configuration, the medium transport device 7A of the present embodiment can maintain the foreign matter T on the cover section 100 when the deflection forming member 21 is displaced as illustrated in FIG. 6, even if the foreign matter T moves from the medium 3 to the periphery of the deflection forming member 21 as illustrated in FIG. 5, and can suppress the foreign matter T adhering to the deflection forming member 21 from moving to the feed roller pair 13 even when the deflection forming member 21 is displaced. Therefore, the medium transport device 7A of the present embodiment can suppress the foreign matter T from adhering to the medium 3 from adhering to the feed roller pair 13.

Note that in the medium transport device 7A of the present embodiment, the transport roller positioned below the distal end of the deflection forming member 21 is the feed roller pair 13. Specifically, the feed roller pair 13 is the separation roller pair that separates the medium 3. Therefore, the medium transport device 7A of the present embodiment includes the separation roller pair that separates the medium 3, and the transport roller positioned below the distal end of the deflection forming member 21 is one roller of the separation roller pair.

The roller of the separation roller pair is more likely to cause a transport failure, such as multi-feed due to a decrease in frictional force caused by adhesion of the foreign matter T, than a general transport roller pair. Therefore, it is desirable to particularly suppress the foreign matter T from adhering to the roller of the separation roller pair. However, the medium transport device 7A of the present embodiment has a configuration including the cover section 100 described above, and thus it is possible to suppress the adhesion of the foreign matter T to the roller of the separation roller pair, and to suppress the occurrence of a transport failure. For example, to separate one sheet of the medium 3 to be fed, the separation roller pair is configured by a feed roller that applies a transport force in the transport direction F to a single sheet of the medium 3 to be fed and a separation roller that applies, to the medium 3 other than the single sheet of medium 3 to be fed, a force that inhibits movement in the transport direction F. At this time, by the foreign matter T adhering to the separation roller, the force that inhibits movement in the transport direction F is weakened, and there is a concern that the transport failure such as a multi-feed may occur. However, the medium transport device 7A of the present embodiment is configured to include the cover section 100 as described above, and thus it is possible to suppress the adhesion of the foreign matter T to the separation roller, and to more effectively suppress the occurrence of the transport failure.

However, the transport roller that suppresses the adhesion of the foreign matter T is not limited to the feed roller pair 13. The separation roller pair such as the feed roller pair 13 may not be provided, and even the roller pair that nips the medium 3 may not be provided. For example, a single driven roller or the like, which is not a roller pair, may be used, and as the driven roller, for example, a so-called knurled roller having a sharp contact surface may be used.

Here, from the viewpoint of the recording device, the recording device 1 of the present embodiment includes the medium transport device 7A having the above described configuration and the recording section 5 that performs recording on the medium 3 transported by the medium transport device 7A. With such a configuration, the recording device 1 of the present embodiment can execute the recording operation while suppressing the foreign matter T attached to the medium 3 from adhering to the transport roller (feed roller pair 13).

In the medium transport device 7A according to the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the width L1 of the cover section 100 is longer than the width L2 of the feed roller pair 13 in the width direction (Y-axis direction), which intersects the transport direction F of the medium 3, and the cover section 100 is provided over the entire width length of the feed roller pair 13 in the width direction. With this configuration, the medium transport device 7A according to the present embodiment can prevent the foreign matter T from moving to the feed roller pair 13 over the entire width of the feed roller pair 13, and thus can effectively prevent the foreign matter T from adhering to the feed roller pair 13.

Note that in the medium transport device 7A of the present embodiment, the feed roller pair 13 is configured by one roller facing each other, but in a case where the roller is configured to be divided into a plurality of rollers in the width direction, each roller may be covered with each cover section 100 over the entire width direction, or all the rollers may be covered with one cover section 100 over the entire width direction.

However, the configuration is not limited to the configuration of the medium transport device 7A of the present embodiment, and for example, the cover section 100 may be provided over the entire width of the transport path 9 in the width direction, as in the configuration in which the cover section 100 is provided over the width L3 region in FIG. 5. With such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the movement of the foreign matter T to the transport roller (feed roller pair 13) over the entire width of the transport path 9, and thus it is possible to suppress the foreign matter T from coming around from the outside in the width direction and adhering to the transport roller. For example, in a configuration including a gear train 25, a solenoid 27, and the like as in the medium transport device 7A of the present embodiment, there is a risk of performance decrease due to the adhesion of the foreign matter T such as paper dust to the gear train 25, the solenoid 27, and the like. Therefore, in such a configuration, the cover section 100 may be configured to be provided over the entire width of the transport path 9 in the width direction, and may cover the gear train 25, the solenoid 27, and the like together with the transport roller. Note that the entire width of the transport path 9 may be regarded as the width of the transport path 9 including gears provided therearound, or the width of the largest usable medium 3 may be regarded as the width of the transport path 9.

Here, in the medium transport device 7A of the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, the transport path 9 includes a path that transports the medium 3 in a direction including vector components in the up-down direction (Z-axis direction). The transport path 9 including a vector component in the up-down direction does not have a member constituting the transport path 9 in the up-down direction, in other words, the member constituting the path cannot suppress falling of foreign matter T. Therefore, the foreign matter T is likely to adhere to the transport roller (feed roller pair 13) due to the foreign matter T falling to the transport roller (feed roller pair 13) on the lower side due to gravity. However, by including a configuration including the cover section 100 as described above, it is possible to suppress the adhesion of the foreign matter T to the transport roller (feed roller pair 13). The transport path 9 including the vector component in the up-down direction means not only a path in a completely vertical direction but also a path in an obliquely up-down direction as in the present embodiment.

In the medium transport device 7A of the present embodiment, the cover section 100 is a flexible sheet member. With such a configuration, the cover section 100 can be easily handled by the user, and the cover section 100 can be downsized.

More specifically, one end of the cover section 100 of the present embodiment in the +X direction is attached to the contact section 52, which is the distal end of the deflection forming member 21, and both ends of the cover section 100 in the Y-axis direction are pressed from the upper direction (+Z direction) by rails 101 as illustrated in FIG. 7 and the like. The rails 101 are attached to the frame 29 with double-sided tape 102. In other words, the cover section 100 of the present embodiment is attached to the deflection forming member 21 at one end (end portion on the +X direction side) in the X-axis direction, which is the displacement direction of the deflection forming member 21, and can follow the displacement of the deflection forming member as illustrated in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. With such a configuration, the medium transport device 7A according to the present embodiment can cause the cover section 100 to follow the deflection forming member 21, and can suppress an increase in the region occupied by the cover section 100 in the up-down direction.

In other words, the medium transport device 7A according to the present embodiment includes the frame 29, which is a frame member positioned above the feed roller pair 13, and the cover section 100 is configured so that the entire cover section 100 can slide with respect to the frame 29. From another viewpoint, the other end (end portion on the −X direction side) of the cover section 100 in the X-axis direction, which is the displacement direction of the deflection forming member 21, is configured to be slidable with respect to the frame 29. With such a configuration, the medium transport device 7A according to the present embodiment can be configured such that the other end of the cover section 100 slides on the frame 29, and can prevent a gap from being formed between the frame 29 and the deflection forming member 21. Therefore, the configuration can also prevent the foreign matter T from falling on the frame 29.

Here, in the medium transport device 7A of the present embodiment, in the retracted state illustrated in FIG. 5, a part of the deflection forming member 21 contacts the frame 29. With such a configuration, the deflection forming member 21 can be positioned in the retracted state by contacting the frame 29. On the other hand, when the deflection forming member 21 collides with the frame 29, there is a concern that the foreign matter T may scatter due to the impact, but by including a configuration including the cover section 100 as in the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the adhesion of the foreign matter T to the transport roller (feed roller pair 13).

Second Embodiment

Next, a medium transport device 7B according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9. FIG. 8 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 5 of the medium transport device 7A of the first embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 6 of the medium transport device 7A of the first embodiment. In FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, constituent members that are common to those in the above described first embodiment are indicated by the same reference symbols, and detailed descriptions are omitted. Here, the medium transport device 7B of the present embodiment has the same configuration as the medium transport device 7A of the first embodiment except for the configuration of the cover section 100 described below. Therefore, the medium transport device 7B of the present embodiment has the same features as the medium transport device 7A of the first embodiment except for the parts described below.

As illustrated in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, in the medium transport device 7B of the present embodiment, the cover section 100 has a bellows shape. In other words, in the medium transport device 7B according to the present embodiment, one end (end portion on the +X direction side) of the cover section 100 in the X-axis direction, which is the displacement direction of the deflection forming member 21, is attached to the deflection forming member 21, the other end (end portion on the −X direction side) of the cover section 100 in the X-axis direction, which is the displacement direction of the deflection forming member 21, is attached to the frame 29, and the cover section 100 is expandable and contractible as illustrated in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9.

With such a configuration, the medium transport device 7B according to the present embodiment can expand and contract the cover section 100 with the other end of the cover section 100 fixed to the frame 29, and can prevent a gap from being formed between the frame 29 and the cover section 100. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the foreign matter T from falling on the frame 29. Further, since the sliding configuration between the cover section 100 and the frame 29 is not required, the device can be simplified. As a configuration in which the cover section 100 can be expanded and contracted in a state where the other end of the cover section 100 is fixed to the frame 29, for example, a configuration in which the cover section 100 is formed of an expandable and contractible rubber member or the like may be adopted in addition to the configuration in which the cover section 100 has a bellows shape as in the cover section 100 of the present embodiment.

Third Embodiment

Next, a medium transport device 7C according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 10. In FIG. 10, constituent members that are common to those in the above described first embodiment and the second embodiment are indicated by the same reference symbols, and detailed descriptions are omitted. Here, the medium transport device 7C of the present embodiment has the same configuration as the medium transport device 7 of the first embodiment and the second embodiment except for the configuration of the cover section 100 described below. Therefore, the medium transport device 7C of the present embodiment has the same features as the medium transport device 7 of the first embodiment and second embodiment, except for the parts described below.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the medium transport device 7C of the present embodiment includes a heart cam 104, and the cover section 100 moves in an arrow direction A1 and an arrow direction A2b along an advance path 104a and a retract path 104b provided in the heart cam 104 in accordance with the user operating the operation mechanism section 23. Specifically, the cover section 100 is guided to move by being fitted into the groove-shaped advance path 104a and retract path 104b provided at positions facing a protrusion 100c of a side surface 100b on both sides in the width direction of the cover section 100. A blade 103 capable of wiping off the foreign matter T accumulated on an upper surface 100a of the cover section 100 is provided at a position where the blade 103 is in contact with the upper surface 100a of the cover section 100 when the cover section 100 moves on the advance path 104a.

In other words, the medium transport device 7C according to the present embodiment includes the heart cam 104 serving as a guide section that guides the protrusion 100c of the side surface 100b, which is the guided section of the cover section 100, and the blade 103 serving as the cleaning section that cleans the cover section 100 by contacting the cover section 100. The heart cam 104 has the advance path 104a as the first guide section that guides the protrusion 100c when the deflection forming member 21 is displaced from the retracted state to the advanced state, and the retract path 104b as the second guide section that guides the protrusion 100c when the deflection forming member 21 is displaced from the advanced state to the retracted state. Here, the advance path 104a guides the protrusion 100c so that the cover section 100 contacts the blade 103, and the retract path 104b guides the protrusion 100c so that the cover section 100 does not contact the blade 103.

The medium transport device 7C of the present embodiment can clean the cover section 100 by the blade 103 as the cleaning section. Then, when the deflection forming member 21 is in the advanced state, the blade 103 and the cover section 100 are in contact with each other, and thus the foreign matter T can be collected by the blade 103, and when the deflection forming member 21 is in the retracted state, the blade 103 and the cover section 100 are not in contact with each other, and thus the foreign matter T can be prevented from being scattered by the blade 103. The cover section 100 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the other end, which is the end portion of the cover section 100 on the −X direction side, is slidable with respect to the frame 29, but a configuration in which the cover section 100 is expandable and contractible and the other end, which is the end portion of the cover section 100 on the −X direction side, is fixed to the frame 29 may be adopted.

The medium transport device 7 and the recording device 1 including the medium transport device 7 according to the present disclosure basically have the configuration of the embodiment described above, but it is needless to say that a partial configuration can be changed, omitted, or the like within a range not departing from the gist of the present disclosure. For example, the cover section 100 may be inclined such that the side opposite to the feed roller pair 13 is the lower side, and thus, the foreign matter T may be dropped to the −X direction side of the frame 29. In the case of such a configuration, for example, even if the foreign matter T adheres to the medium accommodation section 11 or the like as the destination of the falling the foreign matter T, it is possible to achieve a configuration in which the adhesion is unlikely to cause a problem. Alternatively, a paper dust box or the like may be provided above the medium accommodation section 11, which is the destination of the falling the foreign matter T, and the foreign matter T may be collected in the paper dust box.

In the above embodiment, the inkjet printer has been described as being equipped with the medium transport device 7, but printers other than this may also be used. That is, the present disclosure is also applicable to another device having a structure in which the transport path 9 for transporting the medium 3 is provided and a jam occurs in the transport path 9.