Material-feeding device having direction-correcting function

An ink-jet printer comprising:

• a machine frame;
• a printing head provided reciprocatingly movably in a predetermined direction in said machine frame, said printing head including a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink-droplets and at least one nozzle surface on which said nozzles open;
• ink-supply means for supplying ink to said printing head;
• and
• a material-feeding device for feeding a material to be printed into a printing area opposed to said printing head in said machine frame;
• wherein said material-feeding device comprises:
• a base placed in said machine frame;
• a material passage formed on said base;
• at least one guide member provided in said material passage and having a material-guide surface;
• a direction-correcting roller assembly provided in said material passage, said direction-correcting roller assembly including a pair of polygonal rollers having a common rotation axis oblique to said material-guide surface of said guide member and a freely rotatable ball opposed to said pair of polygonal rollers and elastically supported in an operative position closer to said polygonal rollers to define a gap between said ball and each of said polygonal rollers for allowing the material to be printed to be inserted into said gap when said ball is in said operative position;
• a driving mechanism for driving said pair of polygonal rollers for rotation;
• and
• a conveyor roll mechanism provided downstream, in a material-feeding direction, of said direction-correcting roller assembly, for conveying the material to be printed into said printing area along said material passage.

A material-feeding device comprising:

• a base;
• a first supporting plate statically arranged above said base;
• a second supporting plate elastically supported on said base to be opposed to said first supporting plate, to form a material passage between said first and second supporting plates;
• and
• a conveyor roll mechanism provided in said material passage for conveying a material along said material passage;
• wherein said first supporting plate and said second supporting plate include an upper support face and a lower support face, respectively, which are opposed to each other to slidably hold the material therebetween, said lower support face acting to elastically urge the material against said upper support face;
• and
• wherein said conveyor roll mechanism includes a driving roll arranged at an upper side of said material passage to be rotatable about a stationary axis and a plurality of driven rolls arranged at a lower side of said material passage to be rotatable about a movable axis, said driven rolls being individually elastically biased in a direction toward said driving roll.