JP4614719B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus using a carriage.

  An ink jet recording apparatus used as various image forming apparatuses such as a printer, a facsimile, a copying apparatus, and a plotter has a liquid droplet discharge head that discharges liquid recording liquid (for example, ink) from fine nozzles mounted on the carriage. Is moved from the recording head to the recording medium while moving in the main scanning direction (hereinafter referred to as “paper”, but the material is not limited to paper, and the recording medium may be recording paper, transfer paper, recording medium, etc.) A serial type image forming apparatus that forms (records) an image.

  Such an ink jet recording apparatus has been often used as a single function, for example, as a printer for personal use. Therefore, if there is a problem with the carriage on which the recording head is mounted, take it back to the factory. Disassembling and exchanging the carriage are performed.

  However, recently, since a so-called multifunction type image forming apparatus having two or more functions of a printer, a facsimile machine, and a copying apparatus has been developed and put into practical use, like a single-function image forming apparatus, Once brought back to the factory, it is practically impossible to do so, and it is necessary for the service person to be able to handle the carriage exchange under the user's request.

Conventionally, a part of an image forming apparatus that can be replaced is an image forming apparatus that includes a plurality of removable blocks, as described in Patent Document 1, for example. Connection means having specific functions and connecting to each other are provided, and the blocks are divided into a plurality of groups according to the configuration of the connection means, and the blocks in the same group have the same configuration of the connection means. There has been proposed an image forming apparatus in which blocks selected according to functions from each group are connected by a connecting means.
JP 2001-219618 A

  In such a conventional image forming apparatus, the carriage supports a recording head that performs recording by attaching ink to a recording medium, a carriage that holds the recording head, and a carriage that can reciprocate. A carriage block including a guide shaft, and the carriage is configured to be taken out from the apparatus main body integrally with the guide shaft.

In addition, as described in Patent Document 2, the guide rod for exchanging the carriage can be removed from the apparatus main body, and the guide rod is divided into three parts so that the divided central part can be removed. Are known.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-180072

  By the way, in the above-described image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the recording head, the carriage, and the guide shaft are taken out integrally, and even in the recording apparatus described in Patent Document 2, the carriage is removed. Since the recording head is mounted on the recording head, the recording head and the carriage are integrally taken out.

  In this case, since the recording head is integrally fixed to the carriage, it is practically impossible to remove only the carriage separately from the recording head. Therefore, when removing the carriage, the recording head is also taken out from the apparatus main body.

  However, when the recording head is also taken out in this way, since the discharge port (nozzle) for discharging the recording liquid of the recording head remains open, liquid dripping occurs from the discharge port of the recording head when removing the carriage, There is a risk of contaminating the inside or outside of the device. For this reason, the ejection port of the recording head must be covered and taken out by some means, which causes a problem that maintenance is poor.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an image forming apparatus with improved maintainability.

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention provides:
A plurality of recording heads that discharge recording liquid, and a sub-tank that supplies recording liquid to each of the plurality of recording heads, and a carriage that is moved in a main scanning direction;
An ink cartridge provided on the apparatus main body side and containing a recording liquid to be supplied to the sub tank;
Disposed in the non-printing area in the main scanning direction of the carriage and provided with openings corresponding to the plurality of recording heads, accepts droplets that do not contribute to image formation discharged from the recording heads through the openings. An empty discharge receiving member
The carriage and the idle discharge receiving member are provided with connecting means for connecting the carriage and the idle discharge receiving member in a state where the plurality of recording heads face the openings of the idle discharge receiver,
When the carriage is taken out from the apparatus main body, the carriage and the idle discharge receiving member are connected by the connecting means so that the carriage and the idle discharge receiving member are integrated, and the recording liquid is discharged from the recording head. It was set as the structure which can be taken out in the state received by the said empty discharge receiving member, when dripping .

Here, the image reading unit may be provided.

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, a carriage that is mounted with a plurality of recording heads that discharge recording liquid and a sub tank that supplies the recording liquid to each of the plurality of recording heads and that moves in the main scanning direction, and the apparatus An ink cartridge that is provided on the main body side and contains a recording liquid to be supplied to the sub tank, and is arranged in a non-printing area in the main scanning direction of the carriage, and has openings corresponding to a plurality of recording heads, and is discharged from the recording head A blank discharge receiving member that receives and accommodates liquid droplets that do not contribute to image formation through the opening, and a plurality of recording heads are provided in each opening of the blank discharge receiving member in the carriage and the blank discharge receiving member. connecting means is provided on the opposite state for connecting the carriage and the idle ejection receiving member, when taking out the carriage from the apparatus main body, a carriage and a blank ejection receiving member By linking with sintering means, and integral with the carriage and idle ejection receiving member, since the said idle ejection receiver put out taken in a state to be received by the member configuration when the recording liquid from the recording head is added dropwise, the carriage Even when liquid is dripped from the ejection port of the recording head when taking out the ink, it can be received by the idle ejection receptacle, preventing the inside and outside of the apparatus main body from being soiled, and the maintainability is improved.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. An example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus, FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of an image forming unit and a sub-scanning conveyance unit, and FIG. 3 is a side explanatory diagram of the sub-scanning conveyance unit. is there.

  This image forming apparatus has an image forming part (means) 2 for forming an image, a sub-scanning conveying part (means) 3, etc. in the inside (enclosure) of the apparatus main body 1. A recording medium (hereinafter referred to as “paper”, but the material is not limited to paper) 5, which is a transported member, is separated and fed one by one from a paper feeding unit (means) 4 provided, While the sheet 5 is intermittently conveyed by the scanning conveyance unit 3 at a position facing the image forming unit 2, droplets are ejected onto the sheet 5 by the image forming unit 2 to form (record) a desired image, and then discharged. The paper 5 is discharged onto a paper discharge tray 7 formed on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 1 through the paper transport unit 6.

  The image forming apparatus also has an image reading unit (scanner) for reading an image above the discharge tray 7 above the apparatus main body 1 as an input system for image data (print data) formed by the image forming unit 2. Part) 11. The image reading unit 11 includes a scanning optical system 15 including an illumination light source 13 and a mirror 14 and a scanning optical system 18 including mirrors 16 and 17. The scanned document image is read as an image signal by the image reading element 20 disposed behind the lens 19, and the read image signal is digitized and subjected to image processing, and the image-processed print data is printed. be able to. A pressure plate 10 is provided on the contact glass 12 for pressing the document.

  Further, this image forming apparatus uses an information processing apparatus such as an external personal computer, an image reading apparatus such as an image scanner, and an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera as an input system for image data (print data) formed by the image forming unit 2. For example, print data including image data from the host side can be received via a cable or a network, and the received print data can be processed and printed.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the image forming unit 2 of the image forming apparatus holds the carriage 23 movably in the main scanning direction by a carriage guide 21 and a guide stay (not shown), and is driven by a main scanning motor 27. It moves and scans in the main scanning direction via a timing belt 29 spanned between the pulley 28a and the driven pulley 28b.

  A recording head 24 including a droplet discharge head for discharging droplets of each color is mounted on the carriage 23, the carriage 23 is moved in the main scanning direction, and the sheet 5 is transferred to the sheet by the sub-scanning conveyance unit 3. A shuttle type is used in which droplets are ejected from the recording head 24 while feeding in the transport direction (sub-scanning direction) to form an image.

  The recording head 24 has two droplet discharge heads 24k1 and 24k2 that discharge black (Bk) ink, respectively, and one each that discharges cyan (C) ink, magenta (M) ink, and yellow (Y) ink. A total of five liquid droplet ejection heads (hereinafter simply referred to as “heads”), ie, liquid droplet ejection heads 24 c, 24 m, and 24 y, and each color ink is supplied from each sub tank 25 mounted on the carriage 23.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, recording liquid containing black (K) ink, cyan (C) ink, magenta (M) ink, and yellow (Y) ink from the front of the apparatus main body 1 to the cartridge mounting portion 26A. Each color ink cartridge 26 can be detachably mounted as a cartridge, and ink is supplied from each color ink cartridge 26 to each color sub-tank 25. The black ink is supplied from one ink cartridge 26 to the two sub tanks 25.

  The recording head 24 uses a piezoelectric element as a pressure generating means (actuator means) for pressurizing the ink in the ink flow path (pressure generation chamber) to deform the vibration plate that forms the wall surface of the ink flow path. A so-called piezo type that discharges ink droplets by changing the volume in the flow channel, or discharges ink droplets with a pressure generated by heating the ink in the ink flow channel using a heating resistor to generate bubbles. The so-called thermal type, the diaphragm that forms the wall surface of the ink flow path and the electrode are placed opposite to each other, and the diaphragm is deformed by the electrostatic force generated between the vibration plate and the electrode, thereby the ink flow path inner volume It is possible to use an electrostatic type or the like that discharges ink droplets by changing the above.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a maintenance / recovery device 121 including a head cleaning device for maintaining and recovering the nozzle state of the recording head 24 is disposed in the non-printing area on one side of the carriage 23 in the scanning direction. ing. The maintenance / recovery device 121 includes five moisturizing caps 122k2, 122k1, 122c, 122m, and 122y for capping the nozzle surfaces of the five recording heads 24 (“moisturizing caps” when colors are not distinguished). 122 ”), a single suction cap 123, a wiper blade 124 for wiping the nozzle surface of the recording head 24, and discharge (empty discharge) of droplets that do not contribute to recording (image formation). For example, an empty discharge receptacle 125 is provided.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in the non-printing area on the other side of the carriage 23 in the scanning direction, droplets that do not contribute to recording (image formation) (empty discharge) are discharged from the five recording heads 24. An empty discharge receiver (an empty discharge receiving member) 126 is provided. In the idle discharge receptacle 126, five openings 127k2, 127k1, 127c, 127m, and 127y (referred to as “openings 127” when colors are not distinguished) are formed corresponding to the recording head 24.

  The sub-scanning conveyance unit 3 includes a conveyance roller 32 and a tension roller that are driving rollers for conveying the paper 5 fed from below by facing the image forming unit 2 by changing the conveyance direction by approximately 90 degrees. An endless transport belt 31 spanned between the driven rollers 33, a charging roller 34 which is a charging means to which a high voltage as an alternating voltage is applied from a high voltage power source to charge the surface of the transport belt 31, and a transport A guide member 35 that guides the belt 31 in a region opposite to the image forming unit 2, a pressing roller (pressure roller) 36 that presses the paper 5 against the conveying belt 31 at a position facing the conveying roller 32, and the image forming unit 2. A separation claw 37 for separating the sheet 5 on which the image is formed from the conveyance belt 31 and a conveyance roller 38 for sending the separated sheet 5 to the paper discharge conveyance unit 6 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the conveyance belt 31 of the sub-scan conveyance unit 3 rotates the conveyance roller 32 through the timing belt 132 and the timing roller 133 from the sub-scanning motor 131, thereby conveying the sheet in FIG. 2. It is configured to go around in the direction (sub-scanning direction). The transport belt 31 includes, for example, a surface layer that is a sheet adsorption surface formed of a pure resin material that is not subjected to resistance control, such as ETFE pure material, and a back layer that is subjected to resistance control using carbon with the same material as the surface layer. Although a two-layer structure (medium resistance layer, earth layer) is used, the present invention is not limited to this, and a one-layer structure or a structure of three or more layers may be used.

  In addition, a cleaning unit (mylar is used here) 135 for removing paper dust and the like adhering to the surface of the conveyor belt 31 between the driven roller 33 and the charging roller 34, and the surface of the conveyor belt 31. And a static elimination brush 136 for removing electric charges.

  The paper feed unit 4 can be inserted into and removed from the apparatus main body 1, and a paper feed cassette 41 for stacking and storing a large number of papers 5 and a paper feed for separating and feeding the papers 5 in the paper feed cassette 41 one by one. A paper roller 42 and a friction pad 43, and a paper feed conveyance roller 44 that conveys the fed paper 5 to the sub-scanning conveyance unit 3 are provided. The paper feed roller 42 is rotated by a paper feed motor (drive source) 45 including an HB type stepping motor via a paper feed clutch (not shown), and the paper feed transport roller 44 is also rotationally driven by the paper feed motor 45.

  The paper discharge conveyance unit 6 includes a pair of paper discharge conveyance rollers 61 and 62 for conveying the paper 5 on which image formation has been performed, a paper discharge conveyance roller pair 63 and a paper discharge roller 64 for sending the paper 5 to the paper discharge tray 7. And.

Next, an outline of the control unit of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
The control unit 300 includes a CPU 301 that controls the entire apparatus, a ROM 302 that stores programs executed by the CPU 301 and other fixed data, a RAM 303 that temporarily stores image data, and the like, while the apparatus is powered off. 1 includes a non-volatile memory (NVRAM) 304 for holding data, an image processing for performing various signal processing and rearrangement on image data, and an ASIC 305 for processing input / output signals for controlling the entire apparatus. Yes.

  The control unit 300 also includes an I / F 307 for transmitting / receiving data and signals to / from the host side, a head drive control unit 308 and a head driver 309 for driving and controlling the recording head 24, and the main scanning motor 27. A main scanning motor driving unit 311 for driving the sub scanning motor 131, a sub scanning motor driving unit 312 for driving the sub scanning motor 131, a paper feeding motor driving unit 313 for driving the paper feeding motor 45, and a maintenance and recovery device. A maintenance / recovery system drive unit 314 for driving a motor 431, which will be described later, that operates 121, and an AC that applies an alternating voltage (here, a rectangular wave) that is a high voltage for charging the conveying belt 31 to the charging roller 34. Although not shown, the bias supply unit 316 is provided with a portion for driving the ink supply system motors and clutches such as a paper feed clutch.

  In addition, the control unit 300 includes a printing start sensor that detects the sheet 5 that has passed through the conveyance roller 32 and the pressing roller 36 on the upstream side of the recording head 24, and a mark that detects the sheet 5 on the downstream side of the conveyance roller 38. An I / O 317 for inputting detection signals from various sensors such as a copy end sensor, a home position sensor (not shown) of the maintenance / recovery device 121, a sensor for detecting environmental temperature and humidity, and a sensor for detecting the cover open of the device. In addition, an operation panel 318 for inputting and displaying information necessary for the apparatus is connected.

  The control unit 300 receives print data and the like from the host side such as an information processing device such as a personal computer, an image reading device such as an image scanner, and an imaging device such as a digital camera, via the cable or the network, via the I / F 307.

  The CPU 301 reads and analyzes the print data in the reception buffer included in the I / F 307, performs necessary image processing, data rearrangement processing, and the like in the ASIC 305, and transfers the image data to the head drive control unit 308. To do. The generation of dot pattern data for image output may be performed by storing font data in the ROM 302, for example, or image data is developed into bitmap data by a host-side printer driver and transferred to this apparatus. You may do it.

  When the head drive control unit 308 receives image data (dot pattern data) corresponding to one line of the recording head 24, the dot pattern data for one line is serialized to the head driver 309 in synchronization with the clock signal. Data is sent out, and a latch signal is sent to the head driver 309 at a predetermined timing. The head drive control unit 308 includes a ROM (which can also be configured by the ROM 302) that stores pattern data of a drive waveform (drive signal), and a D / A converter that D / A converts the drive waveform data read from the ROM. A waveform generation circuit including an A converter and a drive waveform generation circuit including an amplifier and the like are included.

  The head driver 309 is a shift register that inputs a clock signal from the head drive control unit 308 and serial data that is image data, and a latch circuit that latches a register value of the shift register using a latch signal from the head drive control unit 308. A level conversion circuit (level shifter) that changes the output value of the latch circuit, an analog switch array (switch means) that is controlled to be turned on / off by the level shifter, and the like, and controls on / off of the analog switch array. In this way, a required drive waveform included in the drive waveform is selectively applied to the actuator means of the recording head 24 to drive the head.

  Further, the control unit 300 controls the AC bias supply unit 316 to generate an alternating voltage having a voltage value for causing charging to generate a required suction force when the sheet 5 is sucked and transported by the transport belt 31. It is applied to the charging roller 34. In addition, a voltage value (or frequency) that generates an attractive force smaller than an attractive force that is generated when an alternating voltage is applied from a state in which an alternating voltage that generates the required attractive force is applied at a required timing. Is applied to the charging roller 34 to reduce the suction force of the conveyor belt 31.

  In the image forming apparatus configured as described above, the charging roller 34 is applied to the charging roller 34 from the AC bias supply unit 316 by applying a high voltage of a positive and negative rectangular wave, which is an alternating voltage, to the insulating layer of the conveying belt 31. Since it is in contact with the (surface layer), positive and negative charges are alternately applied to the surface layer of the transport belt 31 in a band shape in the transport direction of the transport belt 31, and the transport belt 21 has a predetermined charging width. Charging is performed to generate an unequal electric field.

  Therefore, the conveyance belt in which an unequal electric field is generated by the sheet 5 being fed from the sheet feeding unit 4 and fed between the conveyance roller 32 and the pressing roller 36 to form positive and negative charges. When fed onto the paper 31, the paper 5 is instantly polarized according to the direction of the electric field, and is attracted onto the transport belt 31 by the electrostatic attraction force, and is transported as the transport belt 31 moves.

  Then, while the paper 5 is intermittently transported by the transport belt 31, recording liquid droplets are ejected from the recording head 24 onto the paper 5 to record (print) an image, and the front end of the paper 5 on which printing is performed The side is separated from the conveyance belt 31 by the separation claw 37 and sent to the paper discharge conveyance unit 6 by the conveyance roller 38.

  A configuration for removing the carriage 23 from the apparatus main body 1 in this image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 is a perspective explanatory view of the carriage held by the guide rod, FIG. 6 is a perspective explanatory view of the idle discharge receiver, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory perspective view showing a state in which the carriage and the idle discharge receiver are connected. .

  On the side surface (side surface in the scanning direction) of the carriage 23, as shown in FIG. 5, a recess (engagement recess) 231 for engaging the connecting member 261 provided in the idle ejection receiver 126 is formed. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, a connection member 261 whose tip is bent in an L shape is pivotally supported by a support shaft 262 on the side surface of the idle discharge receiver 126. A holding member 263 for holding the lower surface of the carriage 23 with a gap from the upper surface 126 a when connecting to the carriage 23 is provided on the upper surface 126 a of the idle discharge receiver 126.

  Therefore, when removing the carriage 23 from the apparatus main body 1, the carriage 23 is moved to above the idle discharge receptacle 126 in FIG. 2, and then the connecting member 261 of the idle discharge receptacle 126 is rotated as shown in FIG. The front end portion is engaged with and engaged with the engagement recess 231 on the side surface of the carriage 23. As a result, the carriage 23 and the idle discharge receptacle 126 are connected.

  Therefore, the carriage 23 can be removed from the apparatus main body 1 by moving the guide rod 21 from the side plate (not shown) of the apparatus main body 1 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. At this time, since the lower surface of the carriage 23 including the recording head 24 faces the empty discharge receiver 126, the empty discharge receiver 126 receives this even when the recording liquid drops from the discharge port of the recording head 24 due to shaking or the like. Therefore, the recording liquid does not drip outside and become dirty inside the apparatus main body 1 or after being taken out.

  As described above, when the carriage is taken out from the apparatus main body, the empty discharge receiving member that receives the recording liquid that does not contribute to the image formation discharged from the recording head and the carriage can be integrally taken out, thereby discharging the recording head. Even if liquid dripping occurs from the outlet, there is no risk of contaminating the inside or outside of the apparatus main body, and the maintainability is improved.

  In this case, by providing a connecting member for the carriage on the idle discharge receiving member side, the idle discharge receiving member and the carriage can be easily connected without impeding the scanning performance of the carriage.

Next, an example of a configuration for removing the guide rod 21 from the apparatus main body 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 is an explanatory side view of the holding portion of the guide rod, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory sectional view of the holding portion.
A holding plate 213 that holds the end portion 21a of the guide rod 21 that is processed into a half-moon shape is rotatably held in a hole 212 provided in an adjustment plate 211 that is attached to the left and right side plates 210 (only one is shown in FIG. 9). ing. The rotation center O1 of the holding plate 213 and the rotation center O2 of the guide rod 21 are decentered so that the guide rod 21 moves up and down in the direction of the arrow AB by rotating the holding plate 213, and the guide rod 21 moves up and down. By moving, the distance between the carriage 23 and the paper 5 transported on the transport belt 31 can be adjusted.

  Here, the holding plate 213 is fitted into the notch 214 formed on the outer periphery of the hole 212 of the adjustment plate 211 by fitting the convex piece 215 of the holding plate 213 together, and then the holding plate 213 is rotated to rotate the side plate 210. And the adjustment plate 211 are held so as not to fall off.

In addition, a lever 216 is integrally provided on the holding plate 213 in order to adjust the height position of the guide rod 21 (adjustment between the carriage 23 and the paper 5). The lever 216 protrudes through the opening 218 of the restricting member 217 such as a cover so that the lever 216 can swing within the opening range of the opening 218.

  Here, in the swing range (adjustment range) θ1 of the lever 216 for adjusting the paper gap, the notch portion 214 of the adjustment plate 211 and the convex piece 215 of the holding plate 213 do not overlap. 211 and the side plate 210 are held. Further, in the present embodiment, the lever 216 can be swung in the direction indicated by the arrow C beyond the adjustment range θ1 so that the holding plate 213 can be removed by operating the lever 216 for adjusting the sheet interval. An opening 218 is formed in the guide rod 21 so that the guide rod 21 can rotate beyond the rotation range for adjusting the interval between the recording head 24 of the carriage 23 and the paper 5.

  Further, the guide rod 21 is set to such a length that the end 21a can be taken out between the left and right side plates 210 without interfering with the left and right side plates 210 in a state where the holding plate 213 is removed.

  With this configuration, when the carriage 23 is taken out from the apparatus main body 1, the carriage 23 is connected to the idle discharge receptacle 126 by the connecting member 261 as described above (the state shown in FIG. 7), and the lever 216 is indicated by an arrow C. The holding plate 213 is rotated to the position where the notch 214 of the adjustment plate 211 and the convex piece 215 of the holding plate 213 overlap with each other. Accordingly, the fitting between the end 21a of the guide rod 21 and the holding plate 213 can be released by pulling out the holding plate 213 in the direction indicated by the arrow D in FIG.

  In this state, since the guide rod 21 remains inserted through the guide hole of the carriage 23, the guide rod 21 can be removed from the carriage 23 after the carriage 23 is taken out from the apparatus body 1 with the guide rod 21. .

  Thus, the guide rod can be easily removed from the apparatus main body by adopting a configuration in which the guide rod can be rotated beyond the rotation range for adjusting the distance between the carriage and the recording medium.

Next, another example of the configuration for removing the guide rod 21 from the apparatus main body 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory front view of the holding portion of the guide rod, and FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective explanatory view for explaining the holding portion.
Holding members 241 and 241 for holding both ends of the guide rod 21 are attached to the left and right side plates 210 and 210, and fitting protrusions 245 are formed on the holding members 241 and 241, respectively. Are formed with fitting recesses 246 and 246 that can be inserted and fitted into the fitting protrusions 245 of the holding members 241 and 241 from above.

  In this case, the fitting recess 246 of the guide rod 21 does not penetrate the guide rod 21 in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the guide rod 21 and leaves a part 246a so that the fitting recess 246 is fitted into the fitting projection 245. The guide rod 21 does not fall. In addition, screw holes 248 including through holes for mounting screw members 247 as fixing means are formed in portions corresponding to the fitting recesses 246 at both ends of the guide rod 21, and the holding members 241 and 241 are fitted. A through hole 249 through which the screw member 247 can be inserted is formed in the convex portion 245.

  Therefore, the guide rod 21 can be held between the side plates 210 and 210 by fitting the fitting concave portion 246 of the guide rod 21 to the fitting convex portion 245 of the holding members 241 and 241 and tightening the screw member 247. .

  With this configuration, when the carriage 23 is taken out from the apparatus main body 1, the carriage 23 is connected to the idle discharge receptacle 126 by the connecting member 261 as described above (the state shown in FIG. 7), and the screw member 247 is removed. Thus, the guide rod 21 can be detached from the holding members 241 and 241, so that the guide rod 21 can be detached from the carriage 23 after the carriage 23 is taken out from the apparatus main body 1 with the guide rod 21.

  This also facilitates removal of the guide rod from the apparatus main body.

Next, a configuration for moving the carriage to the idle discharge receiving side will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the maintenance and recovery device, and FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram on the left side of FIG.
As described above, the maintenance / recovery device 121 includes the cap holders 421A to 421D including the holding mechanism for holding the moisturizing cap 122 and the suction cap 123 (the cap holders 421A and 421C hold the two moisturizing caps 122). And wiper blade 124, which is a blade made of an elastic body as a cleaning means for cleaning (wiping) the nozzle surface of recording head 24, and droplets that do not contribute to printing are discharged from recording head 24. An empty discharge receptacle 125 for performing an empty discharge operation is disposed.

  Here, a tubing pump (suction pump) 423 serving as a suction means is connected to the suction cap 123 held by the cap holder 221D closest to the printing area via a flexible tube 422. Therefore, when performing the maintenance recovery operation of the recording head 24, the recording head 24 performing the recovery operation is selectively moved to a position where it can be capped by the suction cap 123.

  A cam shaft 412 rotatably supported by the frame 411 is disposed below the cap holders 421A to 421D, and cap cams 413A to 413D for moving the cap holders 421A to 421D up and down are disposed on the cam shaft 412. And a wiper cam 414 for moving the wiper blade 124 up and down. The cam positions at which the moisturizing cap 122 and the suction cap 123 reach the top dead center are not the same, but for the convenience of illustration, the moisturizing cap 122, the suction cap 123 and the cams 413A to 413D are shown at the same height. Yes.

  Further, a carriage lock 415 that engages with the carriage 23 and locks the movement of the carriage 23 is provided. The carriage lock 415 is urged upward (in the lock direction) by a compression spring (not shown), and is provided on the cam shaft 412. The carriage is moved up and down via a carriage lock arm 417 driven by a lock cam 416.

  In order to rotationally drive the tubing pump 423 and the camshaft 412, the rotation of the motor 431 is meshed with the motor gear 432 provided on the motor shaft 431 a and the pump gear 433 provided on the pump shaft 423 a of the tubing pump 423 is meshed. An intermediate gear 436 with a one-way clutch 437 is engaged with an intermediate gear 434 integral with 433 via an intermediate gear 435, and the intermediate gear 438 coaxial with the intermediate gear 436 is fixed to the camshaft 412 via the intermediate gear 439. The cam gear 440 is engaged.

  In the maintenance / recovery device 121, when the motor 431 rotates in the forward direction, the motor gear 432, the intermediate gear 433, the pump gear 434, the intermediate gears 435 and 436 rotate, and the shaft 423 a of the tubing pump 423 rotates to rotate the tubing pump 423. Is activated to suck the inside of the suction cap 123 (this operation is referred to as “in-cap suction”). Since the other gears 438 and thereafter are blocked by the one-way clutch 437, they do not rotate (activate).

  Further, since the one-way clutch 437 is connected by the reverse rotation of the motor 431, the rotation of the motor 431 is transferred to the cam gear 440 via the motor gear 432, the intermediate gear 433, the pump gear 434, the intermediate gears 435, 436, 438, and 439. As a result, the cam shaft 412 rotates. At this time, the tubing pump 423 has a structure that does not rotate by the reverse rotation of the pump shaft 423a.

  In the maintenance / recovery device 121 configured as described above, during standby or when the power is turned off, the recording head 24 of the carriage 23 moves to a position facing each of the moisturizing caps 122 and rotationally drives the cam shaft 412. The nozzle surface of each recording head 24 is capped with a moisturizing cap, and the carriage lock cam 416 is rotated by the rotation of the cam shaft 412, and the carriage lock 415 is raised via the carriage lock arm 417. Engage and lock in the required position.

  Therefore, in this image forming apparatus, when the power is turned off, the carriage 23 is automatically moved to the maintenance / recovery apparatus 121 side and the carriage lock 415 is in a state where the carriage lock is applied.

  Therefore, in this state, in order to replace the carriage 23, as described above, it is on the side opposite to the maintenance / recovery device 121. Therefore, even if the carriage 23 is moved to the discharge receiver 126 side, the carriage is locked and the recording head 24 is used. Since the cap 122 is in close contact with the cap 122, the carriage 23 cannot be moved.

  Therefore, in the maintenance and recovery device 121, the carriage lock can be manually released (released). That is, as shown in FIG. 14, one end of an intermediate shaft 441 provided with a clutch 437 for transmitting a driving force to a cam shaft 412 for moving the cap 122 and the like up and down is exposed on the surface of the frame 411, and the outer side Forming a groove 442 (in addition to this, a recess or a protrusion may be fitted) into which the rotary operation member can be fitted.

  As a result, the camshaft 412 can be rotated by fitting a rotation operation member such as a screwdriver into the groove 442 provided in the intermediate shaft 441 and manually rotating it by repair or the like, so the carriage lock 415 is lowered. Thus, the carriage lock can be released and the close contact state between the recording head 24 and the cap 122 can be forcibly released, and the carriage 23 can be manually moved to the idle ejection receiver 126 side.

  In this case, in order to prevent a possibility that the maintenance / recovery device 121 is damaged due to a mistake in the rotation direction, a mark 443 indicating the rotation direction is provided around the intermediate shaft 441 on the surface of the frame 411. Further, one end of the cam shaft 412 is also exposed on the surface of the frame 411, a mark 444 is provided on one end surface of the cam shaft 412, and a mark 445 is provided around the cam shaft 412 on the surface of the frame 411. In other words, the rotation amount of the cam shaft 412 is indicated.

  This makes it possible to know in which direction and to what extent it should be rotated, and it can be easily rotated correctly to release the carriage lock and to release the contact state between the recording head 24 and the cap 122. It becomes like this.

  As described above, the maintenance mechanism that maintains the state of the recording head has the lock member that locks the carriage, and the cam shaft provided in the maintenance mechanism that raises and lowers the lock member or the shaft end of the shaft connected to the cam shaft. By adopting a structure in which grooves or projections are formed, the camshaft can be manually rotated to release the carriage lock even when the power is turned off, and the carriage can be moved to the idle discharge receiving member side. Become.

Next, another example of a mechanism for holding the carriage will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 is an explanatory perspective view of the carriage holding portion, and FIG. 15 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG.
In this example, the carriage 23 is connected to the guide stay 22 for engaging the carriage 23 together with the guide rod 21 in the main scanning direction by engaging with the upper part of the front end of the carriage 23.

  That is, holes 502 and 503 are formed in the carriage 23 and the guide stay 22 to engage both ends of the connecting member 501 respectively. In this case, the place where the carriage 23 is connected to the guide stay 22 is preferably a portion corresponding to the idle discharge receptacle 126 as described above.

  With this configuration, when the carriage 23 is to be repaired or replaced, as described above, the carriage 23 is moved above the idle discharge receptacle 126 and then the connecting member 501 is connected between the carriage 23 and the guide stay 22. And the carriage 23 is locked and held on the guide stay 22.

  The carriage 23 can be removed from the apparatus main body 1 by removing the guide rod 21 from the guide hole 23 a of the carriage 23 from a side plate (not shown) of the apparatus main body 1. At this time, when the lower surface of the carriage 23 provided with the recording head 24 is opposed to the idle ejection receiver 126 as described above and is taken out together with the idle ejection receiver 126, the recording liquid drops from the ejection port of the recording head 24 due to shaking or the like. However, since the empty discharge receptacle 126 receives this, the recording liquid does not drip outside and become dirty inside the apparatus main body 1 or after being taken out.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus having a multi-function (MFP) configuration has been described. However, other image forming apparatuses and image forming using a recording liquid other than ink are used. The same applies to the device.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory plan view of an image forming unit and a sub-scanning conveyance unit of the image forming apparatus. It is expansion explanatory drawing of the same subscanning conveyance part. FIG. 2 is a block explanatory diagram illustrating an overview of a control unit of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a perspective explanatory view of a carriage in the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a perspective explanatory view of an idle discharge receiver in the image forming apparatus. It is a perspective explanatory view of the state where the carriage and idle discharge receiver are connected. FIG. 4 is a side explanatory view for explaining an example of a guide rod holding portion in the image forming apparatus. It is a front section explanatory drawing similarly. It is side surface explanatory drawing used for description of the other example of the holding | maintenance part of the guide rod in the image forming apparatus. It is a perspective explanatory view similarly. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the maintenance recovery apparatus in the image forming apparatus. It is left side explanatory drawing of FIG. FIG. 10 is a perspective explanatory view for explaining another example of a carriage holding unit in the image forming apparatus. Similarly, it is principal part cross-sectional explanatory drawing of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Apparatus main body 2 ... Image formation part 3 ... Sub-scanning conveyance part 4 ... Paper feed part 5 ... Paper (Recording medium, to-be-conveyed member)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 6 ... Paper discharge conveyance part 7 ... Paper discharge tray 11 ... Image reading part 23 ... Carriage 24 ... Recording head 31 ... Conveyance belt 32 ... Conveyance roller 34 ... Charging roller 121 ... Maintenance recovery device 126 ... Discharge receptacle 261 ... Connection member

Claims (2)

A plurality of recording heads that discharge recording liquid, and a sub-tank that supplies recording liquid to each of the plurality of recording heads, and a carriage that is moved in a main scanning direction;
An ink cartridge provided on the apparatus main body side and containing a recording liquid to be supplied to the sub tank;
Disposed in the non-printing area in the main scanning direction of the carriage and provided with openings corresponding to the plurality of recording heads, accepts droplets that do not contribute to image formation discharged from the recording heads through the openings. An empty discharge receiving member
The carriage and the idle discharge receiving member are provided with connecting means for connecting the carriage and the idle discharge receiving member in a state where the plurality of recording heads face the openings of the idle discharge receiver,
When the carriage is taken out from the apparatus main body, the carriage and the idle discharge receiving member are connected by the connecting means so that the carriage and the idle discharge receiving member are integrated, and the recording liquid is discharged from the recording head. An image forming apparatus , wherein when dropped , the image forming apparatus can be taken out in a state of being received by the idle discharge receiving member .   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an image reading unit configured to read an image.

Images