JP2000001016A - Ink-jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify a set, separation work for a carriage loading a recording unit to a guide member and also simplify a fixation work for a timing belt to the carriage. SOLUTION: A carriage 3 is constituted of separate parts, i.e., a sliding body 6 which is mounted to a guide member 2A to slide and a carriage main body 7 which is detachably coupled to the sliding body 6 and carries a recording unit 4. The sliding body 6 is provided with a belt hold part 67 for receiving an optional part of a timing belt 5 thereby holding the belt. The carriage main body 7 has a belt press part 86 which can press the timing belt 5 held by the belt hold part 67 when the carriage main body 7 is fixed to the sliding body 6, thereby fixing the belt in a state while holding the belt together with the belt hold part 67.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a recording (printing) unit for forming an image by ejecting ink droplets on a recording sheet in accordance with image information, and more particularly to mounting the recording unit. More particularly, the present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that improves the workability of attaching and detaching a carriage to a guide member and also improves the workability of fixing a timing belt to a carriage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an ink jet recording apparatus of this type has a pair of guide members in which a recording unit is disposed in parallel with a direction perpendicular to the direction of conveyance of a recording sheet conveyed in a certain direction. Is mounted on a carriage that is slidably supported and travels, and the carriage is advanced and retracted at a predetermined timing along the guide member by an endless timing belt that is rotationally driven by a drive motor. A desired image is recorded by scanning while approaching the surface.

In such an ink jet recording apparatus, minute ink droplets are ejected from a plurality of minute ink ejection nozzles provided in a print head constituting a part of a recording unit in accordance with image information. Since the image is recorded by attaching the ink droplets to the recording sheet, the ink ejection nozzles may be clogged due to, for example, adhesion of paper dust, dust, etc., or solidification of the residual ink. As a result, there is a problem that the ejection of the ink from the clogged nozzle is not performed normally and causes a poor image quality.

For this reason, a maintenance mechanism for removing dirt on the print head and eliminating clogging of the ink discharge nozzles is usually provided in a part of the recording apparatus, and recording is performed in a portion where the maintenance mechanism is provided. A measure is taken to prevent a trouble caused by clogging of the nozzle or the like by executing a predetermined maintenance work after moving the unit via the carriage.

However, in some cases, clogging of the ink discharge nozzles of the print head may not be sufficiently eliminated by the maintenance mechanism, and the print head itself may fail, and the maintenance mechanism may remove the cause of the failure. In some cases, such a situation may not be possible, and in such a situation, it is necessary to remove the recording unit or the like and then perform full-scale repair or replace it with a new recording unit.

Therefore, in order to repair or replace such a recording unit, a technique has been proposed in which the recording unit and its carriage can be easily removed from the guide member or vice versa. Have been.

For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-147300, as shown in FIG. 11, a guide member for slidably supporting the carrier frame 100 is provided at one end of the carrier frame 100 on which the recording unit is mounted. The insertion type carrier unit has a structure in which an insertion portion 102 for inserting the guide shaft 101 into the guide shaft 101 from the radial direction is provided. When the carrier unit is mounted, the guide plate 10 as a guide member has a plate insertion portion 103 provided at an end of the carrier frame opposite to the end at which the insertion portion 102 is provided.
4 and then can be easily attached by inserting the insertion portion 102 into the guide shaft 101 from its radial direction.
By pulling out the insertion portion 102 from the guide shaft 101, it can be easily removed.

However, in this case, since the insertion portion 102 of the carrier frame 100 also serves as a sliding portion for the guide shaft 101, only a portion (see FIG. 3) of the entire carrier frame is used. Even if the insertion part) requires high processing accuracy and is expensive, and if the insertion part has poor processing accuracy and creates a gap between it and the guide shaft, In addition, there is a problem that the carrier is easily detached from the guide shaft, or the carrier is not smoothly slid, and the image quality of an image recorded by the recording unit mounted on the carrier is easily deteriorated.

When the recording unit is to be detached or attached, the carrier frame 100 must always be detached or attached from the guide shaft 101, and the attaching / detaching operation is unexpectedly troublesome. As the work of attaching and detaching the carrier increases, a gap is easily generated between the insertion portion and the guide shaft, and thus, there is a problem that the aforementioned slidability of the carrier and the deterioration of the image quality are also easily induced.

Further, the insertion portion 102 is more excellent in abrasion resistance and low in frictional resistance, from the viewpoint of avoiding as much as possible abrasion deformation and reduction in slidability due to sliding with the guide shaft 101. It is desirable to form the carrier frame 100 using such a material. However, since a material having such characteristics is relatively expensive, when the entire carrier frame 100 is formed using the material, there is a problem that a significant increase in cost is caused. is there.

On the other hand, when attaching or detaching the carrier frame when repairing or replacing such a recording unit, it is necessary to remove and attach the timing belt partially fixed to the carrier frame. Depending on whether the workability of the timing belt is good or bad, the workability of attaching and detaching the carrier frame may be greatly affected.

For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 5-5014, as a method of fixing the timing belt to the carrier, as shown in FIG. 12, an endless endless tooth 201 is formed on a head carrier 200 on which a print head is mounted. A technique is provided in which a projection 204 having a coupling groove 203 into which a timing belt 202 having a shape of a belt can be inserted and fixed is provided, and a tooth-shaped concave portion 205 corresponding to the tooth profile 201 of the belt is formed on the inner wall surface of the coupling groove 203. .

When such a timing belt fixing method is adopted, the belt 202 is connected to the protrusions 204.
Work to insert it into the coupling groove 203 is unexpectedly troublesome,
There is a problem that the workability is poor. This is because the timing belt 202 is formed by laminating a sheet-like material generally made of rubber, urethane, or the like and a core material made of a fibrous material for the purpose of suppressing belt elongation.
It is surprisingly difficult to delicately deform or shrink it.
03 cannot be easily inserted while adjusting the tooth profile 201 of the belt so as to match the tooth profile recess 205, so that skill is required. Therefore, in the above fixing method, the carrier 200 of the timing belt 202
It is difficult to easily and quickly fix it to the device.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has as its object to cause an extra cost increase or unnecessary image quality deterioration. An ink jet recording apparatus capable of simplifying the work of attaching and detaching the carriage on which the recording unit is mounted to and from the guide member, and also facilitating the work of fixing the timing belt to the carriage without inducing the recording unit. To provide.

[0015]

An ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention (the invention according to claim 1), which can achieve the above object, forms an ink droplet on a recording sheet conveyed in a predetermined direction according to image information. A recording unit for recording an image by ejecting the recording sheet, and the recording unit is mounted and slidably supported by a pair of guide members arranged in parallel in a direction perpendicular to the recording sheet conveyance direction. And an endless timing belt that rotates and drives the carriage along the guide member while a part of the carriage is fixed to the carriage. A sliding member slidably attached to at least one of the pair of guide members, and a detachably connected and attached to the sliding member. A carriage holding unit for mounting the unit, and the sliding body is provided with a belt holding portion that receives and holds an arbitrary part of the timing belt, and the carriage body has a carriage. When the main body is attached to the sliding body and fixed, a belt pressing portion which presses the timing belt held by the belt holding portion and can be fixed while being sandwiched between the belt holding portion and the belt holding portion is provided. It is assumed that.

Further, according to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus having the above-mentioned configuration, when a tooth profile is formed on one surface of the timing belt, the tooth profile has a shape corresponding to the tooth profile of the timing belt. The joining portion is provided on the belt holding portion or the belt pressing portion.

Further, according to the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus having the same structure as described above, a plurality of engagement projections are provided on the upper side of the sliding body, and the lower side thereof is directed toward the carriage body. A sliding member provided with a projecting locking projection, and having a fitting portion into which the engagement projection is fitted on the carriage main body side and a locking portion to which the locking projection is locked; Are provided.

According to such an ink jet recording apparatus, basically, when the carriage on which the recording unit is mounted is attached to and detached from the guide member, the carriage body is attached to the slide member attached to the guide member, or the carriage body is attached to the slide member. It is only necessary to remove the carrier, and there is no need to attach and detach the entire carrier to and from the guide member. In fixing the timing belt to the carriage, the carriage main body is attached to the sliding body and fixed, so that at the same time as this attaching and fixing work, an arbitrary part of the timing belt and the belt holding portion of the sliding body and the carriage are fixed. It is fixed while being sandwiched between the belt holding portion of the main body.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a color ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This ink jet recording apparatus is mainly loaded into the housing 1 in which the entrance 1a of the recording sheet P made of various types of recording paper conveyed from the predetermined conveyance direction A is opened through the entrance 1a of the housing 1. Recording sheet P
Sheet transport mechanism 10 composed of a plurality of transport rolls 11, transport guide plates 12 and the like for transporting the inside of the housing 1 at a constant speed along the transport direction A, and the housing 1 An image is recorded on a recording sheet P conveyed inside by ejecting ink droplets according to image information while moving forward and backward in a direction B (hereinafter, also referred to as “sub-scanning direction”) perpendicular to the conveying direction A. And a recording unit 4 to be used.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the recording unit 4 moves the recording sheet P in the housing 1 in the transport direction A.
A carriage 3 slidably supported by a guide shaft 2A and a guide plate 2B as a pair of guide members disposed in a state parallel to a direction B perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction and facing the sheet conveyance path. It is installed in. The recording head 4 is stretched around a pulley 13, and is partially fixed to a predetermined portion of the carriage 3. Is slid along the guide members 2A and 2B so as to move in the sub-scanning direction B to a predetermined position in the housing 1 at a predetermined timing.

Further, the recording unit 4 basically has the configuration shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 4, two types of ink tanks 40 and 41 of a cartridge type which are detachably mounted on the carriage 3 (7), and are fixedly disposed on the carriage 3 and each of these ink tanks 40 , 41, and a pair of recording heads 45a, 45b for ejecting each ink supplied as minute ink droplets according to image information.

One of the ink tanks 40 stores only black (K) ink, and the other ink tank 41 stores yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) inks. Each is stored in a divided small tank. On the other hand, the recording heads 45a and 45b
In each case, a head support substrate 46 disposed on the carriage 3 (7) and a plurality of ink ejection ports disposed below the support substrate 46 so as to protrude from the open bottom surface of the carriage 3 are arranged. And an ink introduction section 48 for guiding ink supplied from each ink tank to the ink ejection nozzle section 47.
Are integrated with the support substrate 46 as a center. Reference numerals 49K, 49Y, 49M, 49C in the figure
Is an ink receiving port connected to each ink supply port of each ink tank 40, 41. A drive signal, which is image information, is sent to the ink discharge nozzle section 47 from the flexible wiring board 16 connected via the connector 15 (see FIGS. 7 and 10). The ejection nozzle unit 47 is driven based on the information signal to eject minute ink droplets toward the recording sheet P. In FIG. 2, the plurality of ink ejection ports are illustrated as one large ejection port for convenience in the ink ejection nozzle section 47.

In this ink jet recording apparatus,
A home position HP is set at one end of the movement range of the carriage 3 on which the recording unit 4 is mounted, and a maintenance station 17 is provided in the housing 1 at the home position HP. Further, a home position detection sensor 18 is provided at a portion of the housing 1 where the maintenance station 17 is provided, and the recording head 4 (actually, the carriage 3) moves to the home position HP without fail. It is supposed to.

The recording unit 4 stands by at the home position HP during non-image recording. Upon receiving an instruction for image recording, the recording unit 4 exits the home position HP and enters the transport area (recording operation area) of the recording sheet P. The recording head moves to enter an image recording operation, and predetermined ink droplets are ejected onto the recording sheet P from the recording heads 45a and 45b corresponding to a monochrome image or a color image. Further, when the series of image forming operations is completed, it is set to return to the home position HP again in preparation for the next image forming instruction. On the other hand, for the recording unit 4 at the home position HP, maintenance processing necessary for maintaining the recording performance of the recording unit 4 itself by the maintenance station 17, for example, a recording head (ink ejection nozzle 48) using a wiper member Cleaning, storage of a recording head using a cap member, and the like are performed.

In this ink jet recording apparatus, the carriage 3 is mounted on the drive shaft 2A so as to slide, as shown in FIGS. It is freely connected and attached, and is divided into a carriage body 7 on which the recording unit 4 is mounted.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the sliding body 6 is composed of a substantially cylindrical body 60 having shaft through holes 61 into which the drive shaft 2A is inserted, formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction. Things. And this sliding body 6
The main body 60 is provided with a coupling projection 63 having a screw hole 62 formed in the upper central portion thereof, and positioning pins 64 a and 64 b provided on both sides of the projection 63. The two locking arms 65a, 6 projecting toward the carriage body 7 and having their distal ends bent upward are generally L-shaped in cross section.
5b is provided at a substantially central portion of a vertical surface of the main body 60 between the two locking arms 65a and 65b, when the carriage main body 7 is connected to the carriage main body 7 (the connecting portion of the carriage main body 7). (Outer wall surface of the projection) 66 is provided. The sliding body 6 is formed of a plastic material having both abrasion resistance and low friction resistance.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the sliding body 6 receives and holds an arbitrary part of the timing belt 5 on a side surface of the main body 60 opposite to the convex portion 66. A belt holding arm 67 is provided. A receiving groove 68 having a groove width equal to the belt width is formed in the belt holding arm 67 so that the timing belt 5 is securely received and supported. Therefore, when the sliding body 6 is slidably attached to the drive shaft 2A, a part of the timing belt 5
And is held so as to be naturally (not intentionally deformed) in the receiving groove 68 of the belt holding arm 67.

On the other hand, the carriage body 7 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in the figures, the entirety of the upper portion and the bottom portion, which are partially open, is substantially in the shape of a box. When roughly classified, a mounting portion 70 on which the recording unit 4 is mounted and a guide for the mounting portion 70 On the shaft 2A side, a coupling portion 80 for coupling with the sliding body 6 is formed. The mounting section 70
Has such a dimension that it is supported by being interposed between the guide shaft 2A and the guide plate 2B.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the recording heads 45a and 45b integrated around the support substrates 46a and 46b are mounted on the mounting portion 70 in a state where they are arranged side by side in the sub-scanning direction B. Have been. At this time, each of the recording heads 45a and 45b is
b is projected downward from the bottom of the carriage body 7, and the ink introduction portions 48a and 48b are mounted so as to be in a horizontal state orthogonal to the support substrates 46a and 46b disposed vertically. (See FIGS. 2 and 8).

Each of the recording heads 45 is mounted on the mounting section 70.
Two accommodation spaces for mounting the ink tanks 40 and 41 are formed above the ink introduction portions 48a and 48b of the a and 45b. Reference numeral 71 in the figure denotes a holding plate for holding the attached ink tank. Further, in the mounting portion 70, in order to enable the ink tanks 40 and 41 to be easily attached and detached, a concave portion 43 (FIGS. 4 and 9) formed on the inner wall surface of the joint portion 71 on the front surface side of the ink tank.
And a locking projection 72 that locks when the tank is mounted. On the other hand, a convex portion 44 (see FIG. 9) formed on the back surface of the ink tank on the inner wall surface opposite to the coupling portion 71 is mounted on the tank. A leaf spring 73 that is sometimes elastically locked is provided. The leaf spring 73 has a fixed end fixed to the carriage body at the lower end, and is bent into a wedge shape such that the upper end 73a is locked by the convex portion 44. It is a free end that is locked after being elastically deformed by being pushed by the convex portion 44.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the guide plate 2 is provided on the rear wall surface of the housing 70 opposite to the joint 8.
The sliding support plates 74 and 75 that slidably support by inserting B in a state of being sandwiched from above and below are provided in a state protruding rearward and separated in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the home position described above. The detection target plate 76 detected by the detection sensor 18 is provided so as to protrude rearward.

The connecting portion 80 of the carriage body 7 includes a side wall surface 81 of the mounting portion 70 facing the guide shaft 2A, and a horizontal protruding plate 82 protruding horizontally from the upper end of the side wall surface toward the guide shaft 2A. The base is formed (see FIG. 6).

Of these, the horizontal protruding plate 82 has a structure shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 7, a projecting coupling space having a fitting internal space 83a and a screw through hole 83b which is fitted into the coupling projection 63 provided on the upper part of the main body 60 of the sliding body 6 from above. A lid portion 83 is provided, and insertion holes 84a and 84b into which positioning pins 64a and 64b provided on the upper portion of the main body 60 of the sliding body 6 are inserted are provided on both sides of the coupling lid portion 83. . The one insertion hole 84a has a hole structure (a hole having the same diameter and the same shape as the outer diameter and the outer shape of the pin) into which the pin 64a inserted into the hole is fitted without looseness. Reference numeral 84b denotes an elongated hole into which the pin 64b inserted into the hole is fitted with a margin in the sub-scanning direction B (see FIG. 7 or 8).

The side wall surface 81 is substantially vertical, and locking arms 65a and 65b provided at both lower ends of the main body 60 of the sliding body 6 are provided on both lower ends thereof. Locking plate 8 locked when coupled to carriage body 7
5a and 85b are formed. These locking plates 85a, 8
Reference numeral 5b denotes an opening formed by cutting a part of the side wall surface 81 in a substantially U-shape, and utilizing a part of the cut-away wall member. The lower ends of the locking plates 85a and 85b are free ends that can be slightly elastically deformed, so that the lower ends of the lower ends of the locking arms 65a and 65b are hooked. (See FIG. 10).

Further, the horizontal protruding plate 82 is provided on the sliding body 6 when the sliding body 6 and the carriage main body 7 are connected to each other, in a form protruding forward from the vicinity of the connection lid 83. A belt holding arm 86 is provided opposite to the belt holding arm 67 so as to be able to press and fix the timing belt 5 supported by the holding arm 67 so as to sandwich the timing belt 5 therebetween. The belt holding arm 86 is formed so that its tip end portion 86 a is bent downward and faces the receiving groove 68 of the belt holding arm 67.

Next, a description will be given of a mode of use of the carriage 3 which is divided into the above-described sliding body 6 and carriage body 7.

First, the carriage 3 is mounted by connecting and mounting the carriage body 7 to a slide 6 slidably mounted on the drive shaft 2A (at this time, the belt holding of the slide 6). Arm 67
Holds any part of the timing belt 5 as described above).

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the mounting portion 7 of the carriage main body 7 on which the recording heads 45a and 45b are mounted.
After the slide support plates 74 and 75 on the rear surface side are inserted into the guide plate 2B and supported, the connecting portion 80 of the carriage body is placed on the sliding body 6 from above so that the connecting portion 80 And the sliding body 6 are connected. The coupling at this time is performed by lowering the coupling portion 80 toward the sliding body 6 so that the coupling lid portion 83 on the horizontal protruding plate 82 of the coupling portion 80 is fitted into the coupling projection 63 on the sliding body 6 side. The insertion holes 84a, 84 in the horizontal protruding plate 82
b are inserted into the positioning pins 64a and 64b on the sliding body 6 side, and at the same time, the locking arms 65a and 65b on the sliding body 6 side are locked by the locking plates 85a and 85a on the side wall surface 81 of the coupling portion 80. This is done by engaging with 85b.

And, by this connection being made,
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the belt holding arm 86 in the connecting portion 80 of the carriage main body 7 presses the timing belt 5 held on the belt holding arm 67 of the sliding body 6 and the belt holding arm 67 It is designed to be fixed while sandwiched between them.

Finally, the fixing screw 9 is inserted through the screw through hole 83a of the connecting lid 83 on the carriage body 7 into the sliding body 6 and the carriage main body 7 connected in this manner, and the coupling on the sliding body 6 side is performed. The projection 63 is hinged to the screw hole 62 (see FIGS. 4 and 8). As a result, the sliding body 6 and the carriage body 7 are firmly fixed and integrated. The belt holding arm 6 is fixed by the fixing screw 9.
A part of the timing belt 5 held between the belt 7 and the belt pressing arm 86 is firmly fixed.

As a result, the carriage main body 7 can be attached to the sliding body 6 at a correct position by fitting and coupling with the positioning pins 64. The sliding body 6 and the carriage main body 7 are fitted with the above-mentioned respective projections and positioning pins, and as shown in FIG. By being pressed against the wall surface 81 and making contact therewith, the locking arms 65a and 65b of the sliding body 6 are brought into contact with the locking plates 85a and 85b.
Since b is locked in an elastically deformed state so as to be slightly pulled, the two are firmly connected without rattling. Then, by combining the carriage body 7 and the sliding body 6, the timing belt 5 is fixed to the carriage 3 at the same time and extremely easily.

In this manner, the carriage main body 7 can be easily attached to the sliding body 6, and at the same time, the timing belt 5 can be fixed. The carriage 3 in which the sliding body 6 and the carriage body 7 are integrated as described above is in a state of being slidably supported by the guide shaft 2A and the guide plate 2B.
The timing belt 5 can be moved by the rotational drive.

After the attachment is completed, the ink tank 4
If 0 and 41 are not mounted, they are mounted. That is, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 10, the ink tanks 40 and 41 are firstly lowered with respect to the tank mounting space formed in the mounting portion 70 of the carriage main body 7 by lowering the front side of each tank. After the recess 43 on the side is inserted into the tank mounting space in such a manner as to be hooked on the locking projection 72 on the mounting portion 70, the rear portion of the tank is pushed into the mounting space, whereby the protrusion on the tank rear surface is raised. The part 44 is elastically locked to the leaf spring 73. As a result, the ink tanks 40 and 41 are fixed in the tank mounting space.

As described above, the ink tanks 40 and 41 can be easily attached. When removing the tank, the tank can be easily removed by first lifting the rear portion of the tank upward to release the locking by the leaf spring 73, and then taking it out of the tank mounting space.

When the recording head 45 or the like of the recording unit has a failure and needs to be removed for repair or replacement, it can be easily dealt with by removing the carriage body 7 from the sliding body 6. .

When the carriage body 7 is removed, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 10, after the fixing screw 5 is removed, the connecting portion 80 of the carriage body 7 is lifted up to thereby fit each of the fittings described above. The engaged state and the locked state are naturally released, and the slide body 6 can be easily separated from the slide body 6. Thereafter, the rear of the mounting portion 70 of the carriage body 7 may be pulled out from the guide plate 2B. Thus, the carriage body 7 can be very easily removed from the recording apparatus with the recording unit mounted thereon while the sliding body 6 is attached to the guide shaft 2A. Therefore, repair and replacement of the recording head 45 and the like can be performed easily and quickly.

By removing the carriage body 7 in this manner, the fixing of the timing belt 5 by the belt holding arm 67 and the belt pressing arm 86 can be easily released at the same time. By the way,
When the carriage body 7 is removed, the ink tanks 40 and 41 can be removed without any trouble whether they are attached or detached.

When the timing belt 5 has, for example, a tooth shape on its inner peripheral surface,
On the surface of the distal end portion 86a of the belt pressing arm 86, a tooth-shaped engaging portion (uneven surface) having a shape corresponding to the tooth shape is formed. As a result, the timing belt 5 can be more reliably fixed by the belt holding arm 67 and the belt pressing arm 86 in a favorable state without any deviation in the belt rotation direction. Such a tooth-shaped engaging portion may be formed in accordance with the shape and position of the tooth shape of the timing belt 5 and whether the tooth shape of the belt comes into contact with the belt holding arm 67 or the belt pressing arm 86.

In the above-described embodiment, the sliding member 6 has been described as having a substantially cylindrical main body 60, but may have any other shape.
Further, the shapes, arrangement positions, numbers, and the like of the coupling projections 63, the positioning pins 64, the locking arms 65, and the like provided on the sliding body 6 are not limited to those in the above-described embodiment. Further, if necessary, in addition to the guide shaft 2A, the guide plate 2B may be slidably attached to the guide plate 2B via a sliding body.

[0051]

As described above, according to the present invention,
As described above, the carriage on which the recording unit is mounted is divided into a sliding body and a carriage body, and a belt holding portion for the timing belt is provided on the sliding body side, and a belt holding portion for the timing belt is provided on the carriage body side. With this arrangement, when the carriage is attached or detached, it is sufficient to carry out the attachment / detachment work with the slide body of only the carriage body without directly attaching / detaching the guide member. In addition, in addition to this, at the same time as the work of attaching and detaching the carriage main body to and from the sliding body, any part of the timing belt is sandwiched between the belt holding portion and the belt pressing portion. Since the timing belt is fixed, the workability of fixing the timing belt to the carriage can be simplified.

Also, in this case, the carriage body is formed of an inexpensive plastics material, and only the slide body is formed of a relatively expensive material having abrasion resistance and low resistance friction. Therefore, it can be provided at a relatively low price without incurring extra cost increase. Further, a plurality of engaging projections and locking projections for engaging with the carriage body are provided on the sliding body, and a fitting portion corresponding to the engagement projection and locking corresponding to the locking projection are provided on the carriage body. By providing the portion, it is possible to realize a strong and accurate connection between the sliding body and the carriage main body. As a result, the carriage composed of the sliding body and the carriage main body is loose or misaligned with respect to the guide member. Because of good sliding without any trouble, it is possible to perform good image recording without inducing unnecessary image quality deterioration due to poor sliding of the carriage.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relationship between a carriage, a recording unit, and a sheet conveying mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a main part perspective view showing a relationship among a carriage, a recording unit, and a timing belt.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a relationship between a sliding body constituting the carriage, a carriage main body, and an ink tank.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a sliding body.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway cross-sectional side view showing a carriage main body.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a carriage main body and a recording head.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional front view showing a coupled state of the sliding body and the carriage body.

FIG. 9 is a side view illustrating a configuration of an ink tank.

FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional explanatory view showing a combined state of a sliding body and a carriage main body and a detached state of an ink tank.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a conventional detachable carriage.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a conventional timing belt fixing means.

[Explanation of symbols]

2A, 2B: guide member, 3: carriage, 4: recording unit, 5: timing belt, 6: sliding body, 7: carriage body, 67: belt holding arm (holding portion), 86
... Belt holding arm (pressing portion), 63 ... Protrusion for connection (protrusion for engagement), 64 ... Pin for positioning (protrusion for engagement), 65 ... Arm for locking (protrusion for locking), 83 ... Lid for connection Part (fitting part), 85 ... insertion hole (fitting part), 85
... Locking plate (locking portion), P: recording sheet, A: sheet conveyance direction.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A recording unit for recording an image by ejecting ink droplets on a recording sheet conveyed in a certain direction in accordance with image information, and a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the recording sheet on which the recording unit is mounted. A carriage that is slidably supported by a pair of guide members disposed in parallel along the traveling direction, and that the carriage is rotated and driven with the carriage partially fixed to the guide member. An ink jet recording apparatus provided with an endless timing belt that moves along with the sliding member, wherein the carriage is slidably attached to at least one of the pair of guide members, and is detachably coupled to the sliding member. And a carriage main body on which the recording unit is mounted. A belt holding portion for receiving and holding an arbitrary part is provided, and the carriage main body presses the timing belt held by the belt holding portion when the carriage main body is attached to the slide body and fixed. An ink jet recording apparatus, comprising: a belt holding portion that can be fixed while being sandwiched between the belt holding portion. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when a tooth profile is formed on one surface of the timing belt, a tooth profile engaging portion having a shape corresponding to the tooth profile of the timing belt is held by the belt holding portion or the belt retainer. An ink jet recording apparatus provided in a unit. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of engagement projections are provided on an upper side of the sliding body, and a locking projection protruding toward the carriage body is provided on a lower side thereof. The carriage body is provided with a connecting portion of the sliding body having a fitting portion in which the engaging projection is fitted and a locking portion in which the locking projection is locked. Ink jet recording device.