SHEET MEMBER TRANSPORTING APPARATUS AND RECORDING APPARATUS HAVING SHEET MEMBER TRANSPORTING APPARATUS

Abstract

A sheet member transporting apparatus in which increase in number of components is restrained to reduce time and effort for assembly even when a curved route portion having a level difference in the direction of gravitational force is provided in a midsection of a transporting route, and a recording apparatus having the sheet member transporting apparatus are provided. A pivotable member configured to be capable of supporting a printing surface of a sheet fed by a sheet feed roller toward the downstream side pivots about a pivot shaft extending along the width direction of the sheet intersecting the direction of transport of the sheet so as to draw a curved trajectory having the level difference in the direction of gravitational force to receive the sheet pivoted together with the pivoting member and transport the sheet toward the downstream side in the direction of transport.

Description

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-053370, filed Mar. 10, 2010 is expressly incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a sheet member transporting apparatus configured to transport a sheet member subjected to printing along a transporting route including a curved route portion having a level difference in the direction of gravitational force, and a recording apparatus having the sheet member transporting apparatus.

2. Related Art

In the related art, an ink-jet printer is widely known as a recording apparatus configured to perform recording by causing a recording material to adhere to a sheet member. Such a printer is configured to perform printing (image formation) on a sheet as the sheet member by ejecting ink (recording material) supplied to a recording head from nozzles formed in the recording head.

Recently, as one of the printers configured as described above, there is a type of printer having a curved U-turn transporting path having a level difference in the direction of gravitational force in a midsection of the transporting route as described in JP-A-2006-197179. In other words, in the printer described in JP-A-2006-197179, space saving is achieved by causing sheets supplied from a sheet feed tray to be inverted in a portion of the U-turn transporting path and the sheets transported through the U-turn transporting path to be discharged onto a sheet discharge tray provided at a position above the sheet feed tray.

In the curved route portion having a level difference in the direction of gravitational force in a midsection of the transporting route as the U-turn transporting path described above, the sheet is transported while curving in the direction of gravitational force. Therefore, for example, when transporting a sheet having no elasticity, the sheet may fail to be transported because the sheet collapses under its own weight. Accordingly, in the case of the printer disclosed in JP-A-2006-197179, a plurality of pairs of rollers are provided in the U-turn transporting path, which is a curved route portion of the transporting route, to pinch the sheet at a plurality of positions along the U-turn transporting path and transport the sheet.

However, when the plurality of pairs of rollers are provided in the curved route portion in the transporting route, there arise problems such that the number of components is increased and assembly is complicated because mounting of the rollers at a plurality of positions is required.

SUMMARY

An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that a sheet member transporting apparatus in which increase in number of components is restrained to reduce time and effort for assembly even when a curved route portion having a level difference in the direction of gravitational force is provided in a midsection of a transporting route, and a recording apparatus having the sheet member transporting apparatus are provided.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a sheet member transporting apparatus configured to transport a flexible sheet member, including: a feeding device configured to feed the sheet member toward the downstream side in the direction of transport; a supporting device having a supporting member which is capable of supporting one of the surfaces of the sheet member fed by the feeding device, the supporting member being pivotable about a pivoting shaft extending along the width direction of the sheet member intersecting the direction of transport of the sheet member, and a transporting device configured to receive the sheet member pivoted together with the supporting member in a state of being supported by the supporting member of the supporting device from the supporting device and transport the sheet member toward the downstream side in the direction of transport.

In this configuration, by the pivotal movement of the supporting member about the pivot shaft, the sheet member also pivots together with the supporting member in a state in which one of the surfaces thereof is supported by the supporting member, and is transported so as to draw a curved trajectory having a level difference in the direction of gravitational force. Therefore, even when the sheet member is transported along the transporting route including the curved route portion having a level difference in the direction of gravitational force, the sheet member can be transported irrespective of the elasticity thereof. Therefore, the sheet member can be transported without providing a mechanism such as a roller pair for pinching the sheet member in the transporting route, and hence increase in number of components is restrained to reduce time and effort for assembly.

It is preferable that the supporting member includes an abutting portion which is capable of coming into abutment with the sheet member fed by the feeding device at a downstream side end thereof in the direction of transport from an upstream side end thereof in the direction of transport.

In this configuration, when the sheet member is fed by the feeding device, the downstream side end of the sheet member in the direction of transport comes into abutment with the abutting portion of the supporting member, so that a feeding force of the feeding device is transmitted to the supporting member via the sheet member. Therefore, the supporting member pivots as if it is pushed by the sheet member. Accordingly, even though a pivoting device for causing the supporting member to pivot is not provided specifically, the supporting member can be pivoted using the feeding force of the feeding device which feeds the sheet member.

It is preferable that the supporting member includes a curved surface portion which is capable of coming into surface contact with one of the surfaces of the sheet member.

In this configuration, the sheet member can be transported in a stable position in a state in which the curved surface portion of the supporting member and one of the surfaces of the sheet member in a state of being in surface contact with each other. In other words, the probability of separation between the supporting member and the sheet member can be reduced by increasing a frictional force acting between the supporting member and the sheet member by securing a large contact surface area between the supporting member and the sheet member.

It is preferable that the transporting device includes a transporting roller extending along the width direction, and a rotating device configured to rotate the transporting roller, the supporting member is formed with a depression at a downstream side end in the direction of transport, and the depression opposes the transporting roller when the supporting member is pivoted toward the transporting device.

In this configuration, the supporting member is formed with the depression which opposes the transporting device when the supporting member is pivoted toward the transporting device. Therefore, part of the sheet member supported by the supporting member is positioned so as to oppose the depression and hence come into abutment with the transporting roller in association with the pivotal movement of the supporting member. Then, the sheet member is transported further toward the downstream side in the direction of transport so as to be entangled with the rotating transporting roller. Since the supporting member supports the sheet member with a portion where the depression is not formed at the downstream side end in the direction of transport at this time, the supporting member can transport the sheet member so as to push the sheet member toward the transporting roller.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a recording apparatus including a recording device configured to perform recording by causing a recording material to adhere to a sheet member; and the sheet member transporting apparatus described above.

In this configuration, the same effects and advantages as the invention according to the sheet member transporting apparatus described above are achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like numbers reference like elements.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic front view of a printer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a pivotable member positioned at an upstream position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the pivotable member positioned at a downstream position.

FIG. 4 is a drawing showing an operation when the pivotable member in an inverting mechanism is positioned at the upstream position.

FIG. 5 is a drawing showing an operation in a state of transporting a sheet in the inverting mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a drawing showing an operation of the pivotable member in the inverting mechanism in a state of pivoting.

FIG. 7 is a drawing showing an operation when the pivotable member in the inverting mechanism is positioned at the downstream position.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1 to FIG. 7, an embodiment in which an aspect of the invention is applied to an ink-jet printer, which is one of recording apparatuses will be described below. In the following description, expressions “vertical direction” and “lateral direction” indicate directions based on the directions indicated by arrows in FIG. 1. An expression “fore-and-aft direction” indicates a direction orthogonal to a sheet plane in FIG. 1, and a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, a printer 11 as the recording apparatus includes a sheet feed tray 13 configured to allow sheets 12 as flexible sheet members to be stored in a stacked manner. The printer 11 also has an inverting mechanism 14 as a supporting device configured to invert the sheet 12 fed from the sheet feed tray 13 at a position up and to the left of the sheet feed tray 13. Above the sheet feed tray 13, a printing unit 15 configured to perform printing (recording) on the sheet 12 inverted in the inverting mechanism 14 by causing ink to adhere to the sheet 12 as a recording material to adhere is disposed.

In other words, when the sheet 12 is fed from the sheet feed tray 13 arranged on the upstream side in the direction of transport, the sheet 12 passes through the inverting mechanism 14, which constitutes a curved route portion having a level difference in the direction of gravitational force, and is further transported to the printing unit 15 positioned on the downstream side in the direction of transport. The sheet 12 printed by the printing unit 15 is discharged into a sheet discharge tray, not shown, provided further along on the downstream side of the printing unit 15 in the direction of transport and upward of the sheet feed tray 13 in the direction of gravitational force (vertical direction).

As shown in FIG. 1, provided at a position corresponding to a sheet feed port of the sheet feed tray 13 (the position in the upper left portion in FIG. 1) is a sheet feed roller 17 as a feeding device which is integrally rotatable with a first rotating shaft 16 (see FIG. 4) configured to rotate on the basis of a drive force from a motor, not shown. The sheet feed roller 17 is disposed in contact with a surface of the sheets 12 (specifically, a topmost sheet) stored in the sheet feed tray 13. Therefore, the sheets 12 in the sheet feed tray 13 are fed toward the inverting mechanism 14 on the downstream side (left side) in the direction of transport one by one by the rotation of the sheet feed roller 17 in a clockwise direction when viewed from the front side (the direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, the inverting mechanism 14 includes a pivot shaft 18 fixed to a frame, not shown, so as to extend along the direction of width (fore-and-aft direction) orthogonal to the direction of transport of the sheet 12. A pivotable member 19 (supporting member) is pivotably supported by the pivot shaft 18. The pivotable member 19 is formed of resin and is freely pivotable between an upstream position and a downstream position (see FIG. 3 and FIG. 7) in the direction of transport of the sheet 12 (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) so as to draw a curved trajectory having a level difference in the direction of gravitational force about the pivot shaft 18.

The pivotable member 19 includes a peripheral wall portion 20 having a supporting surface 20a as a curved surface portion curved into an arcuate shape in cross-section and have a substantially quarter cylindrical shape and side wall portions 21 formed at both front and rear ends of the peripheral wall portion 20 so as to extend orthogonal to the peripheral wall portion 20. The pivot shaft 18 is pivotably inserted into insertion holes 22 formed in the vicinity of the pivot points on the substantially fan-shaped side wall portions 21.

The pivotable member 19 is arranged in such a manner that a supporting surface 20a of the pivotable member 19 at an upstream side end 19a (an end on the upstream side in the direction of transport), which is an end of the peripheral wall portion 20 in a counterclockwise direction, is aligned flush with a printing surface 12a, which is a lower surface of the sheet 12 fed by the sheet feed roller 17. In other words, the supporting surface 20a is configured to support an surface (the printing surface 12a) of the sheet 12 fed from the sheet feed tray 13 so as to be capable of coming into surface contact with the sheet 12 with rotation of the sheet feed roller 17.

Furthermore, in the interior of the pivotal trajectory of the pivotable member 19 (the curved trajectory having a level difference in the direction of gravitational force), a shock-absorbing member 23a is provided between the pivotable member 19 and the sheet feed tray 13 and, furthermore, a stopper 23b is provided between the pivotable member 19 and the printing unit 15. A position upstream of the pivotable member 19 is a position at which the counterclockwise pivotal movement (that is, toward the upstream side direction of transport) of the pivotable member 19 is restricted by the sheet feed tray 13 via the shock-absorbing member 23a. In contrast, a position downstream of the pivotable member 19 is a position where the clockwise pivotal movement (that is, toward the downstream side in the direction of transport) of the pivotable member 19 is restricted by abutment of an end of the side wall portion 21 in the clockwise direction with the stopper 23b.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the pivotable member 19 is formed with at least one (four in this embodiment) depression 24 formed by being notched along the vertical direction on a downstream side end 19b (a downstream end in the direction of transport), which is the end of the peripheral wall portion 20 in the clockwise direction, along the fore-and-aft direction. In other words, the downstream side end 19b of the pivotable member 19, which corresponds to the end of the peripheral wall portion 20 in the clockwise direction, is formed with at least one (five in this embodiment) projection 25 along the fore-and-aft direction. Formed on each of the projections 25 at a distal end (the downstream side end in the direction of transport) thereof is a hook-shaped abutting portion 26 projecting from the supporting surface 20a toward the pivot shaft 18. In other words, the abutting portion 26 is configured to be capable of coming into abutment with a leading end 12b of the sheet 12 (a downstream side end in the direction of transport, see FIG. 4) from the upstream side in the direction of transport when the sheet 12 is fed from the sheet feed tray 13 and transported on the downstream side along the peripheral wall portion 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printing unit 15 includes a transporting unit 28 configured to transport the sheet 12 and a recording head 29 as a recording device configured to perform printing (recording) by ejecting ink toward the sheet 12 in the course of being transported by the transporting unit 28.

The transporting unit 28 includes rectangular-shaped platens 30, and also includes a drive shaft 31 (see FIG. 4) configured to rotate in association with driving of the motor (not shown) and a drive roller 32 configured to be capable of rotating integrally with the drive shaft 31 arranged on the left side of the platens 30. In contrast, a driven roller 33 extending in the fore-and-aft direction is rotatably arranged on the right side of the platens 30. A tension roller 34 extending in the fore-and-aft direction is arranged on the lower side of the respective platens 30. An endless transporting belt 35 (illustration is omitted with the sheet 12 in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3) formed with a number of air-ventilating holes (not shown) is entrained about the drive roller 32, the driven roller 33, and the tension roller 34 so as to surround the platen 30.

Then, by driving the drive roller 32 to rotate in the clockwise direction when viewed from the front, the transporting belt 35 is configured to run in the clockwise direction when viewed from the front on the outer side of the drive roller 32, the driven roller 33, and the tension roller 34. Each of the platens 30 is provided with a sucking device (not shown) configured to be capable of sucking the sheet 12 via the air-ventilating holes formed on the transporting belt 35. Therefore, when the sheet 12 is at a position opposing upper surfaces of the platens 30, the sheet 12 is transported from the left side as the upstream side in the direction of transport toward the right as the downstream side in a state of being adhered to the transporting belt 35.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a transporting roller 36 as a transporting device extending in the fore-and-aft direction is provided upward of the drive roller 32. The transporting roller 36 includes a second rotating shaft 37 configured to rotate on the basis of driving of a transporting motor 39 as a rotating device and divided rollers 38 provided so as to be rotatable integrally with the second rotating shaft 37. The divided rollers 38 oppose the depressions 24 formed in the peripheral wall portion 20 when the pivotable member 19 is rotated, and provided in the same number as the depressions 24 so as to allow the projections 25 to enter between the divided rollers 38. rotating in the counterclockwise direction on the basis of the drive force of the transporting motor 39, the sheet 12 transported by the inverting mechanism 14 is transported toward the platens 30. In this embodiment, the sheet feed roller 17, the inverting mechanism 14, and the transporting roller 36 described above constitute the sheet transporting apparatus as the sheet member transporting apparatus.

Subsequently, an operation when printing is performed in the printer 11 provided with the inverting mechanism 14 as described above will be described.

When the sheet feed roller 17 rotates in a state in which the sheets 12 are stored in a stacked manner on the sheet feed tray 13 as shown in FIG. 1, the sheets 12 are fed from the sheet feed tray 13 one by one and are transported toward the inverting mechanism 14 beyond the shock-absorbing member 23a as shown in FIG. 4. Then, the sheet 12 is fed so that the printing surface 12a slides over the supporting surface 20a of the pivotable member 19 at a downstream position on the basis of a feeding force in association with the rotation of the sheet feed roller 17, and is deformed along the curved shape of the supporting surface 20a (see FIG. 5). Then, when the sheet feed roller 17 is rotated and the sheet 12 is fed further toward the downstream side in the direction of transport, the leading end 12b of the sheet 12 comes into abutment with the abutting portion 26 of the pivotable member 19.

The pivotable member 19 is rotatably supported with respect to the pivot shaft 18. Therefore, when the sheet feed roller 17 further rotates and feeds the sheet 12 toward the downstream side in the direction of transport in the state in which the leading end 12b is in abutment with the abutting portion 26, the feeding force of the sheet feed roller 17 is transmitted to the pivotable member 19 via the sheet 12. Then, the pivotable member 19 positioned on the downstream side as shown in FIG. 5 pivots in the clockwise direction (toward the downstream side in the direction of transport) about the pivot shaft 18 together with the sheet 12 as shown in FIG. 6.

The sheet 12 is supported by the peripheral wall portion 20 in a state in which the printing surface 12a as one of the surfaces thereof is in surface contact with the peripheral wall portion 20, and moves toward the downstream side in the direction of transport in a state of being integrated with the peripheral wall portion 20 by a frictional force generated between the printing surface 12a and the supporting surface 20a and hence is reinforced thereby. Therefore, the sheet 12 can be transported through the curved route portion having a level difference in the direction of gravitational force as long as the sheet 12 has elasticity such extent that the feeding force of the sheet feed roller 17 can be transmitted to the pivotable member 19 between the sheet feed roller 17 and the pivotable member 19.

Then, since the distance of movement in the vertical direction is shorter from the sheet feed roller 17 to the pivotable member 19 than from the sheet feed roller 17 to the transporting roller 36, sheets having less elasticity can be transported.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7, when the pivotable member 19 is moved to the downstream position, the respective projections 25 of the pivotable member 19 enter between the divided rollers 38 at a position lower than an axial line of the second rotating shaft 37. At this time, the leading end 12b of the sheet 12 is in abutment with the abutting portion 26. Therefore, portions of the leading end 12b at the positions of the depressions 24 come into abutment with the transporting roller 36.

The transporting roller 36 rotates in the counterclockwise direction when viewed from the front. Therefore, the sheet 12 coming into abutment with the transporting roller 36 is received so that the leading end 12b contacts with the transporting roller 36 and is transported further toward the downstream side in the direction of transport. When the sheet 12 is transported to a position over the platens 30, the sheet 12 is transported in a state of being adhered to the transporting belt 35. Then, ink is ejected from the recording head 29, whereby printing onto the sheet 12 is achieved.

When the end of the sheet 12 on the upstream side in the direction of transport (the end on the opposite side from the leading end 12b) passes through the position of the sheet feed roller 17 toward the downstream side in the direction of transport, a pressing force of the sheet 12 against the peripheral wall portion 20 which has been generated on the basis of a restoration force of the sheet 12 deformed thus far is reduced, and the contact surface area between the printing surface 12a and the supporting surface 20a is reduced. Therefore, the frictional force between the printing surface 12a and the supporting surface 20a is lowered, and the pivotable member 19 pivots again toward the upstream side in the direction of transport under its own weight, and is moved to the upstream position where the pivotable member 19 comes into abutment with the shock-absorbing member 23a.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects are achieved.

(1) Due to the pivotal movement of the pivotable member 19 about the pivot shaft 18, the sheet 12 also pivots together with the pivotable member 19 in a state in which the printing surface 12a being one of the surfaces of the sheet 12 is supported by the pivotable member 19, and is transported so as to draw the curved trajectory having a level difference in the direction of gravitational force. Therefore, even when the sheet 12 is transported along the transporting route including the curved route portion having a level difference in the direction of gravitational force, the sheet 12 can be transported irrespective of the elasticity thereof. Therefore, the sheet 12 can be transported without providing a mechanism such as a roller pair for pinching the sheet 12 along the transporting route, and hence an increase in number of components is restrained to reduce time and effort for assembly.

(2) When the sheet 12 is fed by the sheet feed roller 17, the leading end 12b of the sheet 12 on the downstream side in the direction of transport comes into abutment with the abutting portion 26 of the pivotable member 19, whereby the feeding force of the sheet feed roller 17 is transmitted to the pivotable member 19 via the sheet 12. Therefore, the pivotable member 19 is pivoted as if it were pushed by the sheet 12. Therefore, even though a pivoting device for causing the pivotable member 19 to pivot is not provided specifically, the pivotable member 19 can be pivoted using the feeding force of the sheet feed roller 17 which feeds the sheet 12.

(3) The sheet 12 can be transported in a stable posture in a state in which the curved peripheral wall portion 20 of the pivotable member 19 and the printing surface 12a, which is one of the surfaces of the sheet 12, are in surface contact with each other. In other words, the probability of separation between the pivotable member 19 and the sheet 12 can be reduced by securing a large contact surface area between the pivotable member 19 and the sheet 12 and increasing a frictional force acting between the pivotable member 19 and the sheet 12.

(4) The pivotable member 19 is formed with the depressions 24 which oppose the transporting roller 36 when the pivotable member 19 is pivoted toward the transporting roller 36. Therefore, part of the sheet 12 supported by the pivotable member 19 is positioned so as to oppose the depressions 24 and hence come into abutment with the transporting roller 36 in association with the pivotal movement of the pivotable member 19. Then, the sheet 12 is transported further toward the downstream side in the direction of transport so as to contact with the rotating transporting roller 36. Since the pivotable member 19 supports the sheet 12 with the projections 25 at this time, the pivotable member 19 can transport the sheet 12 so as to push the sheet 12 toward the transporting roller 36.

(5) With the provision of the shock-absorbing member 23a between the sheet feed tray 13 and the pivotable member 19, an impact sound of the pivotable member 19 generated when the pivotable member 19 makes the pivotal movement can be reduced.

The embodiment described above may be modified as follows.

In the embodiment described above, a configuration in which the depressions 24 are not provided on the pivotable member 19 and a mechanism which sends the sheet 12 transported by being supported by the supporting surface 20a toward the transporting roller 36 while keeping away from the supporting surface 20a is provided may also be employed. Alternatively, a configuration in which the side wall portion 21 is not provided in the vicinity of the downstream side end 19b of the pivotable member 19, and the pivotable member 19 is pivoted so as to cause the surface of the sheet 12 opposite from the printing surface 12a to come into abutment with the transporting belt 35 to send the sheet 12 onto the transporting belt 35 may also be employed. When a configuration without the transporting belt 35 is employed, the sheet 12 may be brought into abutment with the drive roller 32. Therefore, by causing the transporting unit 28 or the drive roller 32 to function as the transporting device, a configuration without the transporting roller 36 may also be employed.

In the embodiment described above, a configuration in which the pivotable member 19 is not provided with the abutting portion 26 may also be employed. In other words, when the sheet 12 having elasticity to an extent which generates the sufficient frictional force between the supporting surface 20a of the peripheral wall portion 20 and the printing surface 12a of the sheet 12 is transported, the pivotable member 19 can be pivoted without causing the abutting portion 26 and the leading end 12b of the sheet 12 into abutment with each other.

In the embodiment described above, the easier the pivotal movement of the pivotable member 19, the less elastic sheet 12 can be transported. Therefore, a weight may be provided on the opposite side of the pivotable member 19 with respect to the pivot shaft 18 to aid the pivotal movement of the pivotable member 19. Alternatively, weight reduction of the pivotable member 19 may be achieved by forming holes or depressions on the pivotable member 19 or forming the pivotable member 19 by extending or knitting wire or string. Even when the printing surface 12a of the sheet 12 and the supporting surface 20a are in partly contact with each other, it is considered to be in surface contact when the sheet 12 is supported to an extent which can restrain the deformation in the direction other than the direction of gravitational force.

In the embodiment described above, a configuration in which the pivoting device (for example, motor) for causing the pivot shaft 18 to pivot is provided and the pivotable member 19 is provided so as to be rotatable integrally with the pivot shaft 18 may be employed. When providing the pivoting device, the shape of the peripheral wall portion 20 can be modified arbitrarily such as forming the supporting surface 20a into a flat shape.

In the embodiment described above, the inverting mechanism 14 may be used arbitrarily as long as it is a curved transporting route portion. In other words, the inverting mechanism 14 may be provided in a reading apparatus such as a scanner or between the printing unit 15 and the sheet discharge tray. The transporting route does not necessarily have to be a route which inverts the sheet 12 as long as it is curved. For example, the inverting mechanism 14 may be provided in a printer which is configured to feed the sheet 12 from a sheet feed tray provided obliquely and transport the sheet 12 in the curved routes so that the sheet 12 is positioned horizontally and perform printing thereon.

In the embodiment described above, the recording apparatus is applied to the ink-jet printer 11. However, a recording apparatus which ejects or discharges liquid other than ink may also be employed. The liquid ejecting apparatus in this embodiment may be applied to various liquid ejecting apparatuses including a liquid ejecting head for discharging a minute amount of liquid drop. The term “liquid drop” indicates a state of liquid discharged from the liquid ejecting apparatus, and includes particle state, tear drop state, and thready state. The term “liquid” used here may be any material as long as it can be ejected by the liquid ejecting apparatus. For example, it may be a substance in the state of liquid phase, and includes not only liquid-state substances having a high or low viscosity, fluid state substances such as inorganic solvent such as sol and gel water, organic solvent, solution, liquid state resins, liquid state metals (melted metal), or liquids as a state of the substance, but also those obtained by dissolving, dispersing, or mixing particles of functional material formed of solid state substance such as pigment or metal particles in solvent. Representative examples of the liquid include ink as described in the embodiment and liquid crystal. The term “ink” here includes various liquid compositions such as general water-based ink, oil-based ink, gel ink, or hot-melt ink. Detailed examples of the liquid ejecting apparatus include liquid ejecting apparatuses which eject liquid containing materials such as electrode material or colorant in the form of dispersion or dissolution used for manufacturing, for example, liquid crystal displays, EL (electroluminescence) displays, surface emission-type displays, or color filters, liquid ejecting apparatuses which eject biological organic substance used for manufacturing biochips, liquid ejecting apparatuses which are used as accurate pipettes and eject liquid as a sample, text printing apparatuses, or microdispensers. Furthermore, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting lubricant for pinpoint lubrication for precise machines such as watches or cameras, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting transparent resin liquid such as UV-cured resin on a substrate for forming a micro-semispherical lens (optical lens) used for optical communication elements or the like, and a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting etching liquid such as acid or alkali for etching the substrate or the like may be employed. The invention may be applied to any one of these liquid ejecting apparatuses.

Claims

1. A sheet member transporting apparatus configured to transport a flexible sheet member, comprising:

a feeding device configured to feed the sheet member toward the downstream side in the direction of transport;

a supporting device having a supporting member which is capable of supporting one of the surfaces of the sheet member fed by the feeding device, the supporting member being pivotable about a pivoting shaft that extends along the width direction of the sheet member that intersect the direction of transport of the sheet member, and

a transporting device configured to receive the sheet member that is pivoted together with the supporting member in a state of being supported by the supporting member of the supporting device from the supporting device and transport the sheet member toward the downstream side in the direction of transport.

2. The sheet member transporting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the supporting member includes an abutting portion which is capable of coming into abutment with the sheet member fed by the feeding device at a downstream side end thereof in the direction of transport from an upstream side in the direction of transport.

3. The sheet member transporting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the supporting member includes a curved surface portion which is capable of coming into surface contact with one of the surfaces of the sheet member.

4. The sheet member transporting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transporting device includes a transporting roller extending along the width direction, and

a rotating device configured to rotate the transporting roller,

the supporting member is formed with a depression at a downstream side end in the direction of transport, and

the depression opposes the transporting roller when the supporting member is pivoted toward the transporting device.

5. A recording apparatus comprising:

a recording device configured to perform recording by causing a recording material to adhere to a sheet member; and

the sheet member transporting apparatus according to claim 1.