Automatic roll-in take-up reel and multi-color image recording apparatus using the same

摘要

An improved automatic roll-in take-up roller for winding and unwinding a continuous sheet-like recording medium is disclosed, which comprises a plurality of cams disposed inside a hollow cylindrical body of the take-up roller for releasably holding a leading end of the recording medium inside the take-up roller, and a switching guide unit disposed immediately upstream of take-up roller for guiding the recording medium toward the take-up roller or a cutter. After the leading end of the recording medium is retained on the take-up roller, the guide unit can be displaced to a position spaced far distant from an outer peripheral surface of the take-up roller so that a large number of turns of the recording medium can be wound around the take-up roller. The cams are arranged along a longitudinal axis of the take-up roller at such a distribution that the recording medium is automatically aligned even when the leading end of the recording paper is inserted into the take-up roller in an obliquely displaced condition. An automatic multi-color image recording apparatus incorporating such a take-up roller is also disclosed.