JP2000177112A - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a high print speed by enlarging the area of a print head part facing a sheet during single reciprocation period of an ink carriage thereby decreasing the number of reciprocating times of the carriage required for facing the print head part of the ink cartridge against the entire surface of a print rage. SOLUTION: In the longitudinal direction on the bottom face of an ink carriage 4, the center of a print head part 6 is shifted from the center of the bottom face of an ink carriage 4. When two ink carriages 4 are mounted, respectively, on two mounting parts of a carriage 2 while turning by 180 deg. from each other, the print head parts 6 of two ink cartridges 4 are arranged while being shifted from each other in the longitudinal direction of the ink carriage 4. The area of the print head parts 6 of two ink cartridges 4 fixed to the carriage 2 is enlarged when the carriage 2 reciprocated once as compared with the case where a single ink cartridge 4 is mounted on the carriage 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer in which a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted on a carriage which reciprocates in parallel with a sheet surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an ink-jet printer, an ink cartridge containing ink is mounted on a carriage, and while the carriage reciprocates parallel to the sheet surface, the sheet is printed by the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the carriage. The image is printed on the paper surface by relatively moving the head by the length of the head and selectively discharging ink from a plurality of nozzles constituting the print head of the ink cartridge.

As this ink jet printer, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 7-186488 and 8-2
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 07310, there is one in which a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted on a single carriage.

[0004] In these conventional ink jet printers, a plurality of ink cartridges mounted on a single carriage contain inks of different colors from each other. The print head unit of each ink cartridge is driven by an image signal obtained by separating the color image into a color corresponding to the color of the ink stored in the ink cartridge, thereby printing a color image on paper.

[0005]

However, in a conventional ink jet printer in which a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted on a single carriage, a mixture of inks of different colors discharged from each of the plurality of ink cartridges onto a sheet is used. Since a color image is formed, it is necessary to eject ink from the respective print heads of a plurality of ink cartridges mounted on a single carriage to the same position on a sheet. Each of the print heads is placed at the same position in the direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the carriage, and a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted on the carriage.The carriage is mounted on the carriage while the carriage reciprocates once parallel to the paper surface Print heads of multiple ink cartridges Range on the sheet surface is equal to the range the printing head of a single ink cartridge is opposed,
It is not possible to increase the area of the print head facing the paper surface while the carriage reciprocates once.

Therefore, when a single color image is printed on a sheet of paper, even if a plurality of ink cartridges containing inks of the same color are mounted on the carriage, the ink cartridge covers the entire printing area on the sheet of paper. However, the number of reciprocating movements of the carriage for facing the print head unit cannot be reduced, and the printing speed cannot be increased.

An object of the present invention is to arrange a plurality of ink cartridges on a single carriage by arranging the print heads of the respective ink cartridges at mutually different positions in a direction orthogonal to the direction of movement of the carriage. Enlarge the area of the print head that faces the paper surface during one reciprocating movement, and reduce the number of reciprocating movements of the carriage to make the print head of the ink cartridge face the entire printing area on the paper, thereby increasing the printing speed. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet printer that can be operated at a high speed and can shorten a printing time.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet printer having a carriage mounted with an ink cartridge having a print head portion facing a paper surface and reciprocating in parallel to the paper surface. The carriage is characterized in that a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted by arranging the respective print head units at mutually different positions in a direction orthogonal to the reciprocating direction of the carriage.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the print heads of the plurality of ink cartridges mounted on the carriage are opposed to different positions with respect to the sheet surface in a direction perpendicular to the reciprocating direction of the carriage. I do. Therefore, the area of the print head facing the paper surface during the reciprocating movement of the carriage is enlarged as compared with the case where a single ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage, and the print head is opposed to the entire printing range of the paper. The number of reciprocating movements of the carriage is reduced, and the printing time is shortened.

The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that the ink cartridge is arranged such that the center position of the print head portion is different from the center position of the ink cartridge in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage.

According to the second aspect of the invention, in each of the plurality of ink cartridges mounted on the carriage, the center position of the print head in a direction orthogonal to the direction of movement of the carriage is different from the center position of the ink cartridge. Therefore, at least two of the same shape
When one of the two ink cartridges is mounted on the carriage while being rotated by 180 degrees in the plane of the paper with respect to the other, the print heads of the two ink cartridges are at different positions in the direction orthogonal to the direction of movement of the carriage. The number of reciprocating movements of the carriage to make the print head face the paper surface is larger than when a single ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage, and the print head is made to face the entire print area of the paper. And printing time is shortened.

The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that the plurality of ink cartridges mounted on the carriage contain inks of the same color.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a plurality of ink cartridges containing inks of the same color are mounted on the carriage. Therefore, by mounting a plurality of ink cartridges on the carriage, the printing range of a single color on the paper surface during the reciprocation of the carriage once is expanded as compared with a case where a single ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage. The number of reciprocating movements of the carriage for causing the print head to face the entire printing range of the paper is reduced, and the printing time is shortened.

The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that the carriage mounts a plurality of ink cartridges arranged in the moving direction of the carriage.

In the invention described in claim 4, a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted on the carriage while being arranged in the moving direction of the carriage. Therefore, even when a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted on the carriage in a state where the area of the print head facing the paper surface is increased, the size of the carriage in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction does not increase.

The invention described in claim 5 is characterized in that the ink cartridge has a terminal portion on one side surface orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage when mounted on the carriage.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the terminal portion is formed on one side surface of the ink cartridge mounted on the carriage that is orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage. Therefore, when one of the at least two ink cartridges is mounted on the carriage while being rotated by 180 degrees in the paper plane with respect to the other, the terminal portions of the two ink cartridges are opposed to each other and located in the middle of the two ink cartridges. Terminal portions that come into contact with the terminal portions of the cartridge can be arranged on both sides of a plate-like body such as a partition plate.

[0018]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the printing section of the ink jet printer 1, a columnar guide shaft 3 is arranged with its longitudinal direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction P. The carriage 2 is fitted on the guide shaft 3. The carriage 2 has two ink cartridges 4 mounted thereon. The carriage 2 reciprocates along the longitudinal direction of the guide shaft 3 via a drive mechanism (not shown).

FIG. 2 is an external view showing the configuration of an ink cartridge used in the above-mentioned ink jet printer. The ink cartridge 4 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, includes a locking portion 4a protruding from the top surface, and a head supporting portion 4b protruding from the bottom surface, and has a terminal portion 4c on one side surface.
Is provided. The ink is stored inside the ink cartridge 4. The locking portion 4 a
The groove 41a, 41b of the same shape is formed on the front surface and the back surface at the center in the front-rear direction on the upper surface of the. The head support 4b is located on the front surface side of the bottom surface of the ink cartridge 4 with respect to the center in the front-rear direction.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the ink cartridge. As described above, on the bottom surface of the ink cartridge 4, the head support 4b protrudes forward from the center in the front-rear direction. A print head unit 6 is provided on the bottom surface of the head support unit 4b. Print head 6
Is formed with a plurality of nozzle holes 6a. The ink cartridge 4 is mounted on the mounting section 5 of the carriage 2 with the print head section 6 facing the paper surface.

FIG. 4 is a view showing the structure of the carriage of the above-mentioned ink jet printer. The carriage 2 has mounting portions 5 at two positions in the moving direction. Each of the mounting portions 5 contains inks of the same color as each other.
Each of the four ink cartridges 4 is mounted. 2
A partition plate 51 is arranged between the two mounting portions 5.
Terminal portions 51a and 51b are formed on both surfaces of the partition plate 51. Above each of the two mounting portions 5, a projection 52 protrudes from the back surface.

The two ink cartridges 4 are mounted on each of the two mounting portions 5 in such a manner that one of the two ink cartridges 4 is rotated by 180 degrees with respect to the other and the terminal portions 4c face each other. At this time, the projection 52 engages with the groove 41b on the back side of the ink cartridge 4 mounted on the left mounting section 5, and the projection 52 engages with the groove 41a on the front side of the ink cartridge 4 mounted on the right mounting section 5. Engage. The engagement state of the ink cartridge 4 with respect to the mounting portion 5 of the carriage 2 is maintained by the engagement of the projection 51 with the grooves 41 and 41b.

The terminal portion 4c of the ink cartridge 4 mounted on the left mounting portion 5 contacts the terminal portion 51a formed on the left side surface of the partition plate 51, and the ink cartridge mounted on the right mounting portion 5 The fourth terminal portion 4c contacts the terminal portion 51b formed on the right side surface of the partition plate 51. As described above, the terminal portions 51 formed on both surfaces of the partition plate 51 are provided on each of the terminal portions 4 c of the two ink cartridges 4.
When a and 51b come into contact with each other, a drive signal output from a control unit (not shown) is supplied to the print head unit 6 via the terminal units 51a and 51b and the terminal unit 4c. As described above, the two terminal portions 51a and 51b for supplying the drive signals to the respective print head portions 6 of the two ink cartridges 4 mounted on the carriage 2 are connected to one partition plate 51.
By forming the signal lines on both surfaces of the carriage 2, the structure of the signal lines for transmitting the drive signal in the carriage 2 can be simplified, and the carriage 2 can be downsized.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view showing a state where the ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage of the ink jet printer. As shown in FIG. 2, the print head 6
Is located at a position different from the center of the bottom surface of the ink cartridge 4. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, when each of the two ink cartridges 4 is mounted on each of the two mounting portions 5 of the carriage 2 in a state where the other is rotated by 180 degrees with respect to one, the two ink cartridges 4 The print head unit 6 includes the ink cartridge 4
Are arranged at different positions in the front-rear direction.

Here, the front-back direction of the ink cartridge 4 is a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage 2. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6A, the range 61 in which the print head portions 6 of the two ink cartridges 2 mounted on the carriage 2 face the paper surface when the carriage 2 reciprocates once is shown in FIG. B) Range 62 when single ink cartridge 4 is mounted on carriage 2 as shown in FIG.
It is enlarged compared to. Therefore, the number of reciprocating movements of the carriage 2 can be reduced for the same printing area, and the printing speed can be increased to shorten the printing time.

The relative positional relationship between the print head units 6 of the two ink cartridges 4 mounted on the carriage 2 depends on the position of the print head unit 6 in the front-rear direction on the bottom surface of the ink cartridge 4 as shown in FIG. As shown in (A) to (C), two ink cartridges 4 in the XX direction, which is a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage 2, are provided.
Where the position of the print head unit 6 partially overlaps,
It can take three types of states, a continuous state and a separated state. 7A to 7C, the print head units 6 of the two ink cartridges 4 mounted on the carriage 2 are located in any of the states of FIGS. By supplying a drive signal corresponding to the image at the position opposite to the print head 6 to each print head unit 6, a continuous image can be formed over the entire printing range.

In the above embodiment, the case where two ink cartridges 4 are mounted on the carriage 2 has been described.
Considering the mounting position of the ink cartridge 4 and the formation position of the terminal 51, three print heads 6 of the ink cartridges 4 are arranged at different positions in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage 2. The above ink cartridge 4 may be mounted on the carriage 2.

[0028]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the print heads of the plurality of ink cartridges mounted on the carriage are different from each other with respect to the sheet surface in a direction orthogonal to the reciprocating direction of the carriage. By opposing the position, the area of the print head facing the paper surface during the reciprocating movement of the carriage once can be enlarged as compared with the case where a single ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage, and the printing range of the paper can be increased. The printing time can be reduced by reducing the number of reciprocating movements of the carriage for facing the print head over the entire surface.

According to the second aspect of the invention, in each of the plurality of ink cartridges mounted on the carriage, the center of the print head in a direction orthogonal to the direction of movement of the carriage is located at a position different from the center of the ink cartridge. By arranging, one of at least two ink cartridges of the same shape is mounted on the carriage while being rotated by 180 degrees in the plane of the paper with respect to the other, and the respective print heads of the two ink cartridges are mounted on the carriage. It can be arranged at different positions in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction, and the area of the print head portion facing the paper surface can be enlarged as compared with the case where a single ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage. The carriage for facing the print head over the entire print area It is possible to shorten the printing time by reducing the backward movement times.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, by mounting a plurality of ink cartridges containing inks of the same color on the carriage, printing of a single color on the paper surface during the reciprocation of the carriage once. The range can be expanded compared to the case where a single ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage, and the number of reciprocating movements of the carriage to make the print head face the entire printing range of the paper is reduced and the printing time is reduced. Can be shortened.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the plurality of ink cartridges are arranged in the moving direction of the carriage and mounted on the carriage, so that the area of the print head facing the paper surface is enlarged, and the plurality of ink cartridges are expanded. It is possible to prevent the dimension in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage on which the cartridge is mounted from increasing.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, by forming a terminal portion on one side surface orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage of the ink cartridge mounted on the carriage, one of at least two ink cartridges can be connected to the other. On the other hand, when the ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage while being rotated by 180 degrees in the plane of the paper, the terminals of the two ink cartridges are opposed to each other, and the two ink cartridges are placed on both sides of a plate-like body such as a partition plate located in the middle of the two ink cartridges A terminal portion that contacts the terminal portion of the cartridge can be arranged, and the configuration of a signal line for transmitting a drive signal to the print head portion can be simplified, thereby preventing the carriage from being enlarged.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view illustrating a configuration of an ink cartridge used in the inkjet printer.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the ink cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a carriage of the inkjet printer.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view showing a state where the ink cartridge is mounted on a carriage of the ink jet printer.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a printing range of the above-described inkjet printer in comparison with a conventional inkjet printer.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between print heads of a plurality of ink cartridges mounted on the carriage.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-inkjet printer 2-carriage 3-guide shaft 4-ink cartridge 4a-engaging portion 4b-head support portion 4c-terminal portion 5-mounting portion 6-print head portion 41a, 41b-groove portion 51-partition plate 51a, 51b -Terminal section

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet printer having a carriage mounted with an ink cartridge having a print head portion facing a paper surface and reciprocating in parallel with the paper surface, wherein the carriage moves each print head portion back and forth of the carriage. An ink jet printer in which a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted at different positions in a direction orthogonal to a moving direction. 2. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein a center position of the print head unit is different from a center position of the ink cartridge in a direction orthogonal to a moving direction of the carriage. 3. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of ink cartridges mounted on the carriage contain inks of the same color. 4. The ink jet printer according to claim 3, wherein the carriage mounts a plurality of ink cartridges arranged in a moving direction of the carriage. 5. The ink jet printer according to claim 4, wherein said ink cartridge has a terminal portion on one side surface orthogonal to a moving direction of the carriage when mounted on the carriage.