JP2000301794A - Recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a carriage scanning mechanism high in accuracy and excellent in durability holding the lubrication between the thrust bearing of a carriage and the guide shaft inserted in the bearing to a good state, enhancing the stability and durability of carriage scanning and preventing the unbalanced abrasion of the thrust bearing and the guide shaft at the same time. SOLUTION: A recording apparatus has the thrust bearing 102 provided to a carriage 101 and the guide shaft 103 inserted in the thrust bearing 102 in a slidable manner. One of or both of the thrust bearing 102 and the guide shaft 103 are made rotationally drivable in a rotary driection by a motor 106 to relatively move the thrust bearing 102 and the guide shaft 103 in a rotary direction intermittently or continuously.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a printing apparatus for printing on a printing medium by printing means mounted on a carriage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording apparatus having functions such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile or the like, or a recording apparatus used as an output apparatus such as a composite electronic apparatus including a computer or a word processor, or a workstation is provided with image information (recording information). Is configured to record an image (including characters and symbols) on a recording medium (recording material) such as paper, cloth, plastic sheet, OHP sheet, or the like. The recording apparatus can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, a laser beam type and the like according to a recording method.

[0003] In a serial type recording apparatus that performs recording while performing main scanning in a direction crossing the recording medium conveyance direction (paper feeding direction and sub-scanning direction), a recording means mounted on a carriage that moves along the recording medium. An image is formed (recorded) by a (recording head), and after a line of image formation is completed, a predetermined amount of paper is fed (pitch conveyance as sub-scanning)
Then, the operation of printing (main scanning) the image of the next row on the stopped printing medium is repeated, thereby printing the entire printing medium. On the other hand, in a line-type printing apparatus that performs printing only in the sub-scanning direction in the transport direction of a printing medium (such as printing paper), the printing medium is set at a predetermined printing position, and printing is performed for one line at a time. ,
By repeating the operation of performing a predetermined amount of paper feed (pitch feed) and collectively recording the next line,
Recording of the entire recording medium is performed.

Among them, an ink jet type recording apparatus (ink jet recording apparatus) performs recording by ejecting ink from a recording means (recording head) to a recording medium. High-definition images can be recorded at high speed, recording can be performed on plain paper without requiring special processing, running costs are low, non-impact methods reduce noise, and various types of ink can be used. (For example, it is easy to form a color image using (for example, color ink)).

As an energy generating element for generating energy used for discharging ink from a discharge port of an ink jet recording head, an element using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element, or heating by irradiating an electromagnetic wave such as a laser. Then, an ink droplet is ejected by the heat generation function, or a liquid is heated by an electrothermal converter having a heat generating resistor. Among them, an ink jet type recording head that discharges ink as droplets by using thermal energy can perform high-resolution recording because discharge ports can be arranged at high density. In particular, among them, a recording head using an electrothermal transducer as an energy generating element is easy to miniaturize, and has recently achieved a remarkable improvement in reliability and IC technology and micromachining technology in the field of semiconductor technology. This is advantageous because the advantages can be fully utilized, high-density mounting is easy, and manufacturing costs are low.

There are various requirements for the material of the recording medium. In recent years, developments have been made to meet these requirements, and paper (including thin paper and processed paper) which is a general recording medium has been developed.
In addition to paper and resin thin plates (OHP and the like), recording devices using cloth, leather, nonwoven fabric, metal, or the like as a recording medium have come to be used.

The present invention relates to a printer, a copier, a word processor,
A recording device such as a personal computer or a facsimile, comprising: a carriage on which recording means is mounted; and a recording medium transport means, and performing recording on a recording medium by moving the carriage in a direction intersecting a transport direction of the recording medium. ,
The present invention relates to a so-called serial printing type recording device (serial recording device). In this serial recording apparatus, a guide support mechanism including a thrust bearing and a bearing is usually used as a carriage moving mechanism.

In the serial recording apparatus, a large number of carriage reciprocating movements (reciprocating movements) are required even when an image is recorded on one recording medium (recording paper), and the carriage reciprocating movement until the end of the life of the recording apparatus. The number of times will be enormous. Further, among serial recording apparatuses, in an ink jet recording apparatus which forms an image by discharging fine ink droplets on a paper surface, in recent years, image quality has been improved, and one line of data is scanned by carriage scanning using a plurality of carriages. Since the mask technology for filling is also generalized, the number of carriage reciprocations tends to increase more and more.

Therefore, wear between the thrust bearing provided on the carriage and the guide shaft slidably inserted into the bearing becomes severe, causing dimensional changes due to wear and sliding load due to the generation of sludge. And the durability of the recording apparatus has become a problem. Also,
Ensuring slidability between the guide shaft and the thrust bearing is also indispensable for stable reciprocation of the carriage. For example, if the oil runs out during recording, the carriage does not slide smoothly and a slight vibration occurs in the carriage. As a result, the speed and position of the microscopic carriage fluctuate, so that the speed fluctuation also appears in the formed image as image unevenness, which is one of the causes of deterioration in image quality. Therefore, lubricating oil such as grease or oil is applied to the bearing part, a sintered bearing impregnated with lubricating oil is used to improve durability, and an oil-impregnated felt for lubricating the bearing part is installed. The method is adopted.

[0010]

However, in such a conventional method, since the sliding point of the guide shaft and the thrust bearing is the same, uneven wear occurs in the absence of lubricating oil, In addition, even when lubricating oil is present, the bias of lubricating oil between sliding and non-sliding parts,
Due to the lubricating oil flowing into the lower part of the bearing due to gravity, etc., although the lubricating oil amount is sufficient as a whole, the required lubricating oil is not locally supplied to the sliding part, and the sliding property is poor. In some cases, inconvenience such as lowering or uneven wear of the sliding portion occurs.

The present invention has been made in view of such a technical problem, and an object of the present invention is to improve lubrication between a thrust bearing of a carriage and a guide shaft inserted into the bearing. This makes it possible to improve the stability of carriage scanning and the durability of the recording apparatus, and also to prevent uneven wear of the thrust bearing and the guide shaft at the same time. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus having an excellent carriage bearing mechanism.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising: a carriage on which recording means is mounted; and a recording medium conveying means, wherein the carriage is moved in a direction crossing a recording medium conveying direction. In a recording apparatus for performing recording on a recording medium by moving, a thrust bearing provided on the carriage, and a guide shaft slidably inserted in the thrust direction in the bearing to guide and support the carriage. One or both of the thrust bearing and the guide shaft are rotatable, and the thrust bearing and the guide shaft are relatively moved in the rotation direction.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the guide shaft is rotatable and an actuator for rotating the guide shaft is provided, and the guide shaft is rotated periodically or intermittently. With the configuration, the invention according to claim 3 is the same as the above-described claim 1,
The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the thrust bearing is rotatable, an actuator for rotating the thrust bearing is provided, and the thrust bearing is rotated periodically or intermittently. In the configuration, the actuator mainly controlling operations other than the rotation of the guide shaft is configured to also serve as an actuator for rotating the guide shaft. The above object is achieved by a configuration in which an actuator mainly controlling operations other than the rotation of the thrust bearing also serves as an actuator for rotating the thrust bearing.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, a structure in which a relative phase in a rotational direction between the guide shaft and the thrust bearing is shifted by the rotation, or by the rotation. By providing a configuration in which the relative rotation angle between the guide shaft and the thrust bearing is shifted by 360 degrees or more, in addition to the above object, a recording device capable of more effectively preventing uneven wear of the guide shaft and the thrust bearing is provided. It is.

According to the invention of claims 8 to 11, in addition to the configuration of claim 1, a counting means for counting the use time of the recording apparatus or a count number corresponding to the use time, and for comparing the counted value. Or a counting means for counting the number of recordings or the number of recording data transfer, and a threshold for comparing with the counted value, or the number of scanning or scanning of the carriage. It has a counting means for counting the number of counts corresponding to the number of times, and a threshold for comparing with the counted value, or counts a continuous non-use time of the recording apparatus or a count number corresponding to a continuous non-use time. And a threshold for comparing with the counted value. With the structure for performing the rotation when the count number becomes equal to or greater than the threshold value, in which more efficiently to achieve the above object.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus which comprises a carriage having a recording unit mounted thereon and a recording medium conveying unit, and performs recording on the recording medium by moving the carriage in a direction crossing the conveying direction of the recording medium. A thrust bearing provided on the carriage, a rotatable guide shaft slidably inserted in the thrust bearing in the thrust direction for guiding and supporting the carriage, and an actuator for rotating the guide shaft. The above-described object is achieved by continuously rotating the guide shaft, and the thrust bearing and the guide shaft are prevented more efficiently from uneven wear at the same time, so that the carriage has high accuracy and excellent durability. And a recording device provided with the above bearing mechanism.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus, comprising: a carriage on which a recording unit is mounted; and a recording medium conveying unit, wherein the recording is performed on the recording medium by moving the carriage in a direction crossing the conveying direction of the recording medium. A rotatable thrust bearing provided on the carriage, a guide shaft slidably inserted in the thrust direction in the thrust bearing for guiding and supporting the carriage, and an actuator for rotating the thrust bearing. The above-mentioned object is achieved by making the thrust bearing rotate continuously, and the thrust bearing and the guide shaft are prevented more efficiently from uneven wear at the same time, so that the carriage has high accuracy and excellent durability. And a recording device provided with the above bearing mechanism.

According to the invention of claims 14 and 15, in addition to the constitution of the above-mentioned claim 1, a constitution in which lubricating oil is interposed between the guide shaft and the thrust bearing, or the lubricating oil is The above object can be achieved more efficiently by adopting a structure of a sintered bearing impregnated with.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. Further, in the following embodiment, the recording apparatus uses a cartridge type recording unit in which a recording head and an ink tank are integrated, and further includes the recording unit (recording head) and a carriage (a member that moves by mounting the recording unit). The description will be made by taking as an example the case of an ink jet recording apparatus having a configuration in which is integrated. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, partially cut away.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a carriage in which recording means (recording head) having an ink tank is integrally incorporated (or also serves as recording means). In the following, the recording means (recording head) will be referred to by the reference numeral 101 together with the carriage. A through hole for inserting the guide shaft 103 is formed in the carriage 101, and a thrust bearing 102 through which the guide shaft 103 is slidably inserted in the thrust direction is fixed to a portion of the through hole. As the thrust bearing 102, for example, a sintered bearing impregnated with lubricating oil is used in addition to a normal metal.
Both ends of the guide shaft 103 are connected to the chassis 10 of the recording apparatus.
4 and rotatably supported by the carriage 101.
Is moved (main scanning) along the guide shaft 103 in a direction intersecting (usually orthogonal to) the conveying direction of a recording medium such as recording paper, and the recording head mounted on the carriage 101 is moved based on the recording data. The recording is performed on the recording medium by driving the recording medium.

A guide shaft driving gear 105 is press-fitted and fixed to an end of the guide shaft 103, and the guide shaft 1 is driven by a driving force of a guide shaft motor (actuator) 106.
03 can be driven to rotate. The carriage 10
Reference numeral 1 denotes a drive belt 107 serving as a carriage drive transmission unit.
Is locked. The drive belt 107 is stretched between a motor pulley of a carriage drive motor (actuator) 108 and an idle pulley 109 provided on the opposite side. The carriage 101 can reciprocate in the main scanning direction via the drive belt 107 by the driving force of the carriage drive motor 108.

During standby for recording, the recording medium 111 such as recording paper is stacked on the sheet feeding means 110, and the recording medium 1 is picked up by a pickup means (not shown) at the start of recording.
11 is fed into the recording apparatus. Next, the recording medium 111 fed by driving the transport roller 112
Is fed in the sub-scanning direction, and the recording head 101 is driven based on the recording data in synchronization with the reciprocating movement (main scanning) of the carriage 101, thereby performing recording on the recording medium. A transport drive gear 113 is provided at an end of the transport roller 112.
Is press-fitted and fixed, and the transfer motor (actuator)
The transport roller 112 is rotationally driven by the 114 via the transport drive gear 113. After the end of the recording, the recording medium 111 is discharged by the transport roller 112 and a discharge unit (discharge roller or the like) (not shown). Here, the carriage drive motor (actuator) 108, guide shaft motor (actuator) 106, transport motor (actuator) 114, pickup means (not shown) of the paper feeding means 110, and driving of the recording head in the carriage 101 , And is controlled by the controller 115.

The recording head (recording means) 101 is an ink-jet recording head that selectively discharges ink from a plurality of discharge ports to perform recording by applying energy according to a recording signal. The recording head 101 is an ink jet recording unit that discharges ink using thermal energy, and includes an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy. Further, the recording head 101 performs recording by discharging ink from a discharge port using a pressure change generated by growth and shrinkage of bubbles caused by film boiling caused by thermal energy applied by the electrothermal transducer. It is. The electrothermal transducer is provided corresponding to each of the discharge ports,
By applying a pulse voltage to a corresponding electrothermal transducer according to a recording signal, ink is ejected from a corresponding ejection port.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of an ink ejection section (one ejection port array) of the recording head 101. In FIG. 2, a plurality of discharge ports 82 are formed at a predetermined pitch on a discharge surface 81 facing the recording medium 111 at a predetermined gap (for example, about 0.3 to 2.0 mm). An electrothermal converter (heat generating resistor or the like) 85 for generating energy for ink ejection is provided along a wall surface of each liquid path 84 that connects the liquid chamber 83 and each ejection port 82. The recording head 101 is guided and supported in a positional relationship such that the discharge ports 82 are arranged in a direction crossing the main scanning direction (the moving direction of the carriage 101 in this embodiment mounted on the carriage 101). Thus, the corresponding electrothermal transducer 85 based on the image signal or the ejection signal
Is driven (pulse voltage is applied) to cause the ink in the liquid passage 84 to film boil, and the pressure generated at that time causes the ejection port 8 to discharge.
A recording head 101 for ejecting ink droplets from No. 2 is configured.

In FIG. 1, when print data is sent, the guide shaft 103 is driven to rotate by the guide shaft motor 106 before the recording medium 111 is fed. FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a state of the guide shaft 103 and the thrust bearing when the guide shaft 103 is driven to rotate. Guide shaft 1
By the rotational drive of 03, the guide shaft 103 is driven 405 degrees (360 degrees + 45 degrees) in the rotational direction from the left state to the right state in FIG. Due to the operation before the recording, the relative position in the rotation direction of the sliding portion between the guide shaft 103 and the thrust bearing 102 changes (because the phase is shifted by 45 degrees as described above), and the rotation of one rotation (360 degrees) or more is performed. Due to the rotation, the lubricating oil in the sliding portion spreads over the entire circumference of the guide shaft 103 and the thrust bearing 102. That is, no matter how long the elapsed time from the previous printing is, when printing is started, stable carriage reciprocation and durability are always guaranteed. Here, the rotation of the guide shaft 103 is an independent operation, but the reciprocating movement of the carriage 101 and the guide shaft 10
By simultaneously driving the rotation of No. 3 and the lubricating oil impregnated in the bearing 102, it can be spread over the entire area of the guide shaft 103, which is more effective.

The timing for rotating the guide shaft 103 is triggered by the transfer of the print data in the above-described embodiment. Instead, the guide shaft 103 may be rotated every predetermined number of reciprocations of the carriage 101 (every predetermined scan). Further, in order to realize the optimum timing, the time interval may be set as described below.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the controller 15 in FIG. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 301 denotes a CPU that controls the operation of the printing apparatus in a centralized manner;
Reference numeral 304 denotes a RAM that stores data in a hard power-on state, and 304 denotes a ROM that stores programs and setting values.
Reference numeral 306 denotes a counter for counting the number of carriage scans, and reference numeral 307 denotes a guide shaft motor driver for driving the guide shaft motor 106. The RA
A count value 303 of the number of scans of the carriage 101 is held in M302. In addition, the ROM
304 stores a preset threshold value 305 for comparison with the carriage scan count value 303.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure when the guide shaft 103 is rotated. In FIG.
The sequence for rotating the guide shaft starts by hard power-on. The count value 303 of the number of scans of the carriage 101 is reset (step 401). When a carriage scan (reciprocal movement of the carriage 101) is performed by a recording operation or a maintenance operation (step 4).
02), the number of scans by the carriage 101 is counted by the counter 306, and the count value 303 is rewritten (step 403). Next, the count value 303 is set to the threshold value 3
05 (step 404). Here, the comparison between the count value 303 and the threshold value 305 may be performed for each scan, or may be performed after each grouped operation, for example, for each recording page. If the count value 303 is less than the threshold value 305, the carriage scan is performed again (step 40).
2) Repeat the scan count (procedure 403).

When the count value 303 becomes equal to or larger than the threshold value 305, the guide shaft motor driver 307 drives the guide shaft motor 106 to rotate the guide shaft 103 (step 405). Thereafter, the count value 303 is reset again (procedure 401), and the above procedure is repeated. The sequence in FIG. 5 can be terminated by an interrupt such as hard power-off by a higher-order sequence. As described above, by intermittently rotating the guide shaft 103 at the timing controlled by the threshold value 305 of the number of carriage scans, it is possible to prevent unnecessary rotation operation and maintain the performance of the printing apparatus. Rotation (in this embodiment, rotation of the guide shaft 103) can be performed at an appropriate frequency.

According to the first embodiment described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, since the thrust bearing 102 and the guide shaft 103 are relatively moved in the rotational direction, the lubrication therebetween is maintained in a good state. Therefore, it is possible to improve the stability of carriage scanning and the durability of the recording apparatus, and furthermore, the thrust bearing 102 and the guide shaft 103.
A recording apparatus having a highly accurate and highly durable bearing mechanism for the carriage 101 can be provided.

In the above-described embodiment, the number of carriage scans is counted. Instead, the use time of the printing apparatus, the number of prints, the number of times of transfer of print data, and the like are counted, and the threshold set according to each case. The configuration may be such that the timing of the rotation operation is controlled by comparing with a value. Further, in the case where unevenness of the lubricating oil (for example, gathering under the bearing 102) due to leaving the recording apparatus or the like occurs, instead of the above-described count target (counting element), the continuous recording apparatus pause time or equivalent thereto. Preferably, the amount is counted. Furthermore, two or more of the above-mentioned plurality of elements may be counted in parallel, and they may be combined as appropriate. With such a combination count, it is possible to easily guarantee always good carriage operation even in various situations. Will be possible.

In the above embodiment, the guide shaft 103
Is described as having a rotation amount of 405 degrees, but it is needless to say that this rotation amount can be appropriately set to another value. In this case, in order to prevent uneven wear of the thrust bearing 101 and the guide shaft 103, the frequency of rotation is increased, and the rotation is performed at a finer phase pitch (the pitch is 45 degrees in this embodiment).
It is preferred that In this embodiment, the lubricating oil is supplied to the guide shaft 1.
03 and the bearing 102, but even when no lubricating oil is used, the guide shaft 103
Since the rotational position of the wear surface changes, the durability of the bearing mechanism can be improved.

In order to prevent uneven distribution of the lubricating oil, it is preferable that the frequency of rotation is similarly set to be large and the amount of rotation is increased, and the phase pitch is set close to 180 degrees. However, if the lubricating oil can only be spread over the bearing portion, the guide shaft 103 may be simply rotated an integer number of times, and it is not always necessary to shift the phase in the rotational direction with respect to the partner (the thrust bearing 102). Also, instead of rotating the guide shaft 103 periodically or intermittently as described above,
The guide shaft 103 may be constantly rotated during the recording operation.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, partially cut away. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a guide shaft is fixed to the chassis 104 and a thrust bearing can be rotated instead of the guide shaft. That is, in FIG. 6, reference numeral 501 denotes a thrust bearing mounted on the carriage 101 so as to be rotatable and not to move in the thrust direction, and 502 denotes the thrust bearing 501.
Is a bearing motor (actuator) mounted on the carriage 101 to rotationally drive the motor.

A driven gear meshing with a drive gear on the bearing motor 502 side is formed on the outer periphery of the thrust bearing 501, and the thrust bearing 501 is rotated by the operation of the bearing motor 502. In this embodiment, the guide shaft 5 is slidably inserted into the thrust bearing 501.
Numeral 03 is fixed to the chassis 104 at both ends thereof, and is fixed so as not to move in the rotational direction and the thrust direction. The second embodiment shown in FIG. 6 differs from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in the above points, and has substantially the same configuration in other points. Corresponding portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their details are described. Description is omitted.

In FIG. 6, when print data is sent in the same manner as in the first embodiment, the thrust bearing 501 is driven to rotate by the bearing motor (actuator) 502 prior to the feeding of the print medium 111. . FIG. 7 shows the thrust bearing 501 when the thrust bearing 501 is rotationally driven.
5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state of a guide shaft 503. FIG. By the rotational drive of the thrust bearing 501, the bearing 501 is driven 405 degrees (360 degrees + 45 degrees) in the rotational direction from the left state to the right state in FIG. This thrust bearing 5
The rotation drive of 01 is performed, for example, at a timing every time recording data is sent.

By the operation before the recording, the guide shaft 503 is operated.
The relative position in the rotational direction of the sliding part between the bearing and the thrust bearing 501 changes (because the phase is shifted by 45 degrees as described above), and the lubricating oil in the sliding part is guided by one or more rotations (360 degrees). The entire circumference of the shaft 503 and the thrust bearing 501 is distributed. That is, no matter how long the elapsed time from the previous printing is, when printing is started, stable carriage reciprocation and durability are always guaranteed. Here, the rotation of the thrust bearing 501 is an independent operation, but the reciprocation of the carriage 101 and the rotation of the thrust bearing 501 are performed.
When the rotation of the bearing 501 is simultaneously performed, the lubricating oil impregnated in the bearing 501 can be spread over the entire area of the guide shaft 503, which is more effective.

In particular, when a sintered bearing is employed as the thrust bearing 501 and the lubricating oil is impregnated with the lubricating oil, the lubricating oil accumulates in the lower portion of the bearing 501 due to gravity when used for a long time. In order to prevent this phenomenon, it is more effective to rotate the thrust bearing impregnated with a large amount of lubricating oil than to rotate the guide shaft as in the first embodiment. Further, since the sliding area of the thrust bearing is small with respect to the guide shaft, the thrust bearing is more likely to be unevenly worn. From this, it can be said that the merit of this embodiment in which the thrust bearing is rotated is very large.

The thrust bearing 5 according to the second embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 is also similar to the first embodiment.
01 and the guide shaft 503, the lubrication therebetween can be maintained in a good state, thereby improving the carriage scanning stability and the durability of the recording apparatus. In addition, a recording apparatus having a highly accurate and highly durable bearing mechanism for the carriage 101 is provided, which can also prevent uneven wear of the thrust bearing 501 and the guide shaft 503 at the same time.

The timing at which the thrust bearing 501 is rotated may be triggered by the number of times of transfer of print data or the number of carriage scans as in the first embodiment.
The trigger of the rotation timing of the thrust bearing 501 may be used for each carriage scan, the number of prints, the printing apparatus usage time, the continuous printing stop time, and the like. Also, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
Although the degree is a degree, this amount of rotation may be another value. In order to prevent uneven wear, it is preferable that the frequency of rotation is set to be high and the rotation is performed at a finer phase pitch (the pitch is 45 degrees in this embodiment).

In this embodiment, the guide shaft 503 and the bearing 50
Although lubricating oil is interposed between the bearings 1, even when no lubricating oil is used, the relative position of the wear surface of the bearing 501 changes due to the rotation described above, so that the durability of the bearing mechanism is improved. In order to prevent uneven distribution of the lubricating oil, it is preferable that the frequency of rotation is set to be large, the amount of rotation is increased, and the phase pitch approaches 180 degrees. However, if only the lubricating oil is to be spread, the thrust bearing 501 need only be rotated an integer number of times, and it is not always necessary to shift the phase. Instead of rotating the thrust bearing 501 periodically or intermittently as described above, the thrust bearing 501 may be constantly rotated during recording. Further, in order to effectively prevent uneven wear of both the guide shaft and the thrust bearing, by combining with the first embodiment in which the guide shaft is rotated, both the guide shaft and the thrust bearing may be rotatable. .

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing a third embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, partially cut away. In this embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the thrust bearing 102 is fixed to the carriage 101, and the guide shaft 103 is rotatably supported by the chassis 104. In FIG.
Reference numeral 701 denotes a conveyance transmission gear for transmitting the driving force of the conveyance motor (actuator) 114, 702 denotes a switching arm, and 703 denotes a switching gear. These elements 701, 702, and 703 reduce the driving force of the conveyance motor 114. The transport drive gear 113 and the guide shaft drive gear 105 are configured to be selectively switched to one of them.

FIG. 9 is a partial side view showing the operation of switching the driving force of the transport motor 114 to one of the transport drive gear 113 and the guide shaft drive gear 105. 9 shows a case where the transport drive gear 113 is driven, and FIG.
The figure on the right side of FIG. 7 shows a case where the guide shaft drive gear 105 is driven. In the state on the left side in FIG. 9, the driving force of the transport motor 114 is determined by the transport transmission gear 701 and the switching gear 703.
Is transmitted to the transport drive gear 113 through the recording medium 11.
Convey 1. Even when the recording medium 111 is not being conveyed, it normally waits in this left state. FIG. 8 shows a case where the recording apparatus is in a state on the left side in FIG. 9, that is, a case where the transport driving gear 113 is driven.

Here, a spring, which is a friction mechanism (not shown), is mounted between the switching gear 703 and the switching arm 702, and the switching gear 703 is rotated by an idle rotation of the transport transmission gear 701. The friction is set so that the revolution of the switching gear 703 (rotation about the conveyance transmission gear 701) has priority.

8 and 9, when print data is sent, the transport motor 114 operates (reversely rotates) in the direction opposite to the direction in which the recording medium 111 is transported, and the transport transmission gear 70
1 is reversed. Then, the switching gear 703 supported by the switching arm 702 is moved to the guide shaft driving gear 105.
And revolves around the conveyance transmission gear 701 until the transmission gear 701 is engaged with the transmission transmission gear 701, and the state shown in the right side in FIG. 9 is obtained. As a result, the driving force of the transport motor (actuator) 114 is
And the guide shaft 103 is continuously driven to rotate. By providing such switching means, the guide shaft 103 can be continuously rotated using the existing transport motor 114 without adding an actuator (motor) for rotating the guide shaft 103. The objective can be achieved at low cost.

In the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the transport motor 114 is used to rotate the guide shaft 103, but instead of this transport motor, a paper feed motor (actuator) (not shown) The guide shaft 103 may be rotated using an actuator such as the illustrated recovery motor (actuator) that mainly performs operations other than the rotation of the guide shaft 103. Note that the recovery motor is a recording head 10 in an ink jet recording apparatus.
In order to maintain and recover the ink discharge performance in the normal state, a mechanism for pumping ink and wiping (wiping and cleaning) the recording head is driven.

In this case, the guide shaft 103 can be rotated while the recording medium 111 such as recording paper is being conveyed. Further, the carriage 101 is moved out of the recording area by the carriage drive motor 108 so that the carriage 101
The force in the thrust direction (the force moving along the guide shaft) may be converted into the force in the rotation direction of the guide shaft 103 to rotate the guide shaft 103.

According to the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, since the thrust bearing 102 and the guide shaft 103 are continuously moved in the rotational direction continuously, it is possible to maintain good lubrication therebetween. Thus, the stability of carriage scanning and the durability of the recording apparatus can be improved, and the uneven wear of the thrust bearing 102 and the guide shaft 103 can be effectively prevented at the same time. A recording apparatus having a carriage 101 bearing mechanism with excellent durability is provided.

FIG. 10 shows a fourth embodiment of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
It is a typical perspective view which shows an Example partially broken and shown. In this embodiment, as in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the thrust bearing 501 is rotatably mounted on the carriage 101, and the guide shaft 503 is attached to the chassis 10 at both ends.
4 is fixed. A gear is formed on the outer periphery of the thrust bearing 501 of the carriage 101. On the other hand, a guide shaft transmission gear 901 is supported at one end of the chassis 104 of the recording apparatus. The guide shaft transmission gear 901 is gear-engaged with a drive gear provided on the output shaft of the transport motor 114 so as to be able to transmit the drive. In addition,
The transport motor 114 is provided with a drive gear provided on the output shaft of the transport motor 114 and a transport drive gear 113 fixed to one end of the transport roller 112 so that the transport motor 114 is different from the first and second embodiments. Similarly, it is connected to the transport roller 112 so as to be able to transmit a rotational driving force.

Then, when the recording data is sent, the carriage 101 is moved to the right end in the drawing while the transport motor 114 is stopped, and the outer peripheral gear portion of the thrust bearing 501 provided on the carriage 101 is moved by the guide. It is configured to mesh with the shaft transmission gear 901 so as to be able to transmit driving. By driving the transport motor 114 in a state where the outer peripheral gear portion of the thrust bearing 501 is engaged with the guide shaft transmission gear 901, the thrust bearing 501 is continuously rotated via the guide shaft transmission gear 901. Can be done. The fourth embodiment of FIG. 10 is different from the above-described first embodiment or the second embodiment in the points described above, and has substantially the same configuration as these embodiments in the other points. Corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

According to the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the relative movement between the thrust bearing 501 and the guide shaft 503 is continuously made in the rotational direction, so that the lubrication therebetween can be maintained in a good state. This makes it possible to improve the stability of carriage scanning and the durability of the recording apparatus,
Further, a recording apparatus having a highly accurate and highly durable bearing mechanism for the carriage 101, which can effectively prevent uneven wear of the thrust bearing 501 and the guide shaft 503 at the same time, is provided.

According to the fourth embodiment shown in FIG.
In comparison with the embodiment, an actuator (motor) for rotating and driving the thrust bearing 501 is further provided on the carriage 101.
The effect that the weight increase of the carriage 101 can be suppressed is provided by providing the carriage 101 outside. As a result, the stability of the behavior of the carriage 101 can be improved, vibrations during the reciprocation of the carriage 101 can be suppressed, and the driving efficiency of the carriage 101 can be improved. Also, the thrust bearing 501
Rotation and conveyance of the recording medium 111 can be covered by the same actuator (common conveyance motor 114). In addition to the basic effects of the present invention, the effect of suppressing an increase in power consumption and an increase in cost can be obtained. can get.

In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG.
01 was used to rotate the transport motor 114,
Instead of this transport motor, an actuator (motor) that mainly performs operations other than the rotation of the thrust bearing 501 such as a paper feeding motor (actuator) not shown or a recovery motor (actuator) not shown is used. The thrust bearing 501 may be configured to rotate continuously. The recovery motor drives a mechanism that performs pumping of ink and wiping (wiping and cleaning) of the recording head in order to maintain and recover the ink ejection performance of the recording head 101 in the inkjet recording apparatus to a normal state. Things.

In this case, the thrust bearing 501 can be rotated while the recording medium 111 such as recording paper is being conveyed. Further, the carriage 101 is moved out of the recording area by the carriage driving motor 108 so that the carriage 10
1 thrust force (force moving along the guide axis)
May be converted into a force in the rotational direction of the thrust bearing 501 to rotate the thrust bearing 501.

In the above embodiment, the recording apparatus in which the recording means (recording head) is an ink jet recording head has been exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited to a wire dot type, a thermal type, a laser beam type or the like. The same effect can be achieved in a recording apparatus using a recording method, and similar effects can be achieved.

Further, the present invention is not limited to a recording apparatus using one recording means, but a color recording apparatus using a plurality of recording heads for recording in different colors, or a plurality of recording apparatuses for recording the same color at different densities. The present invention can be similarly applied to a gradation recording apparatus using the above recording head, and a recording apparatus of a system combining these, and can achieve the same effect.

Further, in the case of an ink jet recording apparatus, the present invention provides a configuration using a replaceable ink cartridge in which a recording head and an ink tank are integrated, a configuration in which an ink cartridge and a carriage are integrated, a recording means recording head and an ink tank. The recording head and the ink tank can be similarly applied in any case, such as a configuration in which the recording head and the ink tank are connected separately, and a similar effect can be obtained. is there.

The present invention can be applied to a case where the ink jet recording apparatus uses a recording means using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element.
In particular, the present invention brings about an excellent effect in an ink jet recording apparatus using a recording means of a method of discharging ink by using thermal energy. According to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

[0059]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a carriage on which recording means is mounted and a recording medium transport means, and the carriage is moved in a direction intersecting with the transport direction of the recording medium. In a recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium, a thrust bearing provided on the carriage, and a guide shaft slidably inserted in the thrust direction in the bearing to guide and support the carriage, Since one or both of the thrust bearing and the guide shaft are rotatable and the thrust bearing and the guide shaft are relatively moved in the rotation direction, the relative movement in the rotation direction between the thrust bearing and the guide shaft is made. The lubrication during that time can be kept in good condition,
As a result, it is possible to improve the stability of carriage scanning and the durability of the recording apparatus, and also to prevent uneven wear of the thrust bearing and the guide shaft at the same time,
A recording apparatus having a carriage bearing mechanism with high accuracy and excellent durability is provided.

According to the second to fifth aspects of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, an actuator for rotating the guide shaft and rotating the guide shaft is provided.
A configuration for periodically or intermittently rotating the guide shaft, a configuration for enabling the thrust bearing to rotate, an actuator for rotating the thrust bearing, and a configuration for periodically or intermittently rotating the thrust bearing, A configuration in which an actuator mainly controlling an operation other than rotation of the shaft also serves as an actuator for rotating the guide shaft, or a configuration in which an actuator mainly controlling an operation other than rotation of the thrust bearing also serves as an actuator for rotating the thrust bearing As a result, a recording apparatus capable of achieving the above effects more efficiently is provided.

According to the sixth and seventh aspects of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, a structure in which the relative phase in the rotational direction between the guide shaft and the thrust bearing is shifted by the rotation, or Since the relative rotation angle between the guide shaft and the thrust bearing is shifted by 360 degrees or more by the rotation, in addition to the above-described effects, an effect is obtained in which uneven wear of the guide shaft and the thrust bearing can be more effectively prevented. .

According to the invention of claims 8 to 11, in addition to the configuration of claim 1, a counting means for counting the use time of the recording apparatus or a count corresponding to the use time, and comparing the counted value with the counted value A counting means for counting the number of prints or the number of transfer of the print data, and a threshold value for comparing the counted value, and the number of scans or scanning of the carriage. A configuration having a counting means for counting the number of counts corresponding to the number of times, and a threshold for comparing the counted value, or
Counting means for counting a continuous non-use time of the recording device or a count number corresponding to the continuous non-use time,
A configuration having a threshold value for comparison with the counted value, and in each configuration, the rotation is performed when the count number becomes equal to or greater than the threshold value, so that the above-described configuration is more efficiently performed. A recording device capable of achieving the effect is provided.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus which comprises a carriage having a recording means mounted thereon and a recording medium transport means, and performs recording on the recording medium by moving the carriage in a direction intersecting the transport direction of the recording medium. A thrust bearing provided on the carriage, a rotatable guide shaft slidably inserted in the thrust direction in the thrust bearing for guiding and supporting the carriage, and an actuator for rotating the guide shaft. Since the guide shaft is configured to be continuously rotated, since the thrust bearing and the guide shaft are relatively moved in the rotational direction, the lubrication therebetween can be maintained in a good state. It is possible to improve the stability of the carriage scanning and the durability of the recording apparatus, and further, since the guide shaft is continuously rotated. Uneven wear of the thrust bearing and the guide shaft can also be more effectively prevented simultaneously recording apparatus is provided with a bearing mechanism of the carriage with excellent durability with high accuracy.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus which includes a carriage having a recording means mounted thereon and a recording medium transport means, and performs recording on the recording medium by moving the carriage in a direction intersecting the transport direction of the recording medium. A rotatable thrust bearing provided on the carriage, a guide shaft slidably inserted in the thrust bearing in the thrust direction for guiding and supporting the carriage, and an actuator for rotating the thrust bearing. Since the thrust bearing is configured to be continuously rotated, since the thrust bearing and the guide shaft are relatively moved in the rotational direction, the lubrication therebetween can be maintained in a good state. It is possible to improve the stability of carriage scanning and the durability of the recording device. From Rukoto, uneven wear of the thrust bearing and the guide shaft can also be more effectively prevented simultaneously recording apparatus is provided with a bearing mechanism of the carriage with excellent durability with high accuracy.

According to the fourteenth and fifteenth aspects of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, a configuration in which lubricating oil is interposed between the guide shaft and the thrust bearing, or the thrust bearing has Since the bearing is configured as a sintered bearing impregnated with a lubricating oil, in addition to the above-described effects, a recording apparatus that can more efficiently prevent the wear of the guide shaft and the thrust bearing is provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, partially cut away.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view schematically illustrating a structure of an ink ejection unit of a recording unit in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a state of the guide shaft and a thrust bearing before and after rotation of the guide shaft in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a controller in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure when a guide shaft is rotated in the recording apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied;

7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of the thrust bearing and a guide shaft before and after rotation of the thrust bearing in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing a third embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied;

9 is a partial side view showing an operation of switching transmission of a driving force of a transport motor in FIG. 8 between a transport drive gear and a guide shaft drive gear.

FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of a recording apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, partially cut away.

[Explanation of symbols]

 81 Discharge port surface 82 Discharge port 84 Liquid path 85 Electrothermal transducer 101 Carriage (recording means) 102 Thrust bearing 103 Guide shaft (rotatable) 104 Chassis 105 Guide shaft drive gear 106 Guide shaft motor (actuator) 107 Drive belt 108 Carriage Drive motor (actuator) 110 Paper feed means 111 Recording medium (recording paper) 112 Transport roller 113 Transport drive gear 114 Transport motor (actuator) 115 Controller 301 CPU 302 RAM 303 Carriage scan count value 304 ROM 305 Threshold value 306 Counter 307 Guide Shaft motor driver 501 Thrust bearing (rotatable) 502 Bearing motor (actuator) 503 Guide shaft 701 Transporting gear 702 Switching arm 703 Switching gear 901 Guide shaft transmission gear

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus, comprising: a carriage on which a recording unit is mounted; and a recording medium transport unit, wherein the recording apparatus performs recording on a recording medium by moving the carriage in a direction intersecting a transport direction of the recording medium. A thrust bearing, and a guide shaft slidably inserted in the thrust direction in the bearing to guide and support the carriage, one or both of the thrust bearing and the guide shaft are rotatable, A recording device, wherein the thrust bearing and the guide shaft are relatively moved in a rotational direction. 2. A recording apparatus, comprising: a carriage on which a recording unit is mounted; and a recording medium conveying unit, wherein the recording apparatus performs recording on the recording medium by moving the carriage in a direction crossing a conveying direction of the recording medium. A thrust bearing, a rotatable guide shaft slidably inserted in the thrust direction in the thrust bearing to guide and support the carriage,
A recording apparatus, comprising: an actuator for rotating the guide shaft, wherein the guide shaft is rotated periodically or intermittently. 3. A recording apparatus comprising: a carriage on which recording means is mounted; and a recording medium transport means, wherein the carriage is moved in a direction intersecting with a transport direction of the recording medium to perform recording on the recording medium. A rotatable thrust bearing, a guide shaft slidably inserted in the thrust direction in the thrust bearing to guide and support the carriage, and an actuator for rotating the thrust bearing. A recording apparatus characterized in that the recording apparatus is rotated periodically or intermittently. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an actuator mainly controlling operations other than rotation of the guide shaft also serves as an actuator for rotating the guide shaft. 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein an actuator mainly controlling operations other than rotation of the thrust bearing also functions as an actuator for rotating the thrust bearing. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a relative phase in a rotation direction between the guide shaft and the thrust bearing is shifted by the rotation. 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the relative rotation angle between the guide shaft and the thrust bearing is shifted by 360 degrees or more by the rotation. 8. A recording apparatus, comprising: a counting means for counting a use time of the recording apparatus or a count number corresponding to the use time; and a threshold value for comparing the counted value with the count value. The recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the rotation is performed in the case described above. 9. A recording apparatus comprising: a counting means for counting the number of recording sheets or a count number of recording data transfer; and a threshold value for comparing with the counted value, wherein the count number is equal to or larger than the threshold value. 9. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotation is performed. And a counting means for counting the number of scans of the carriage or a count corresponding to the number of scans, and a threshold for comparing the counted value, wherein the count is equal to or greater than the threshold. Wherein the rotation is performed when the following condition is satisfied.
10. The recording device according to any one of items 9. 11. A printing apparatus, comprising: a counting means for counting a continuous non-use time of the recording apparatus or a count number corresponding to the continuous non-use time; and a threshold value for comparing the counted value, wherein the count number is 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rotation is performed when the threshold value is exceeded.
The recording apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 10. 12. A recording apparatus, comprising: a carriage on which recording means is mounted; and a recording medium transport means, wherein the carriage is moved in a direction intersecting with the transport direction of the recording medium to perform recording on the recording medium. A thrust bearing, a rotatable guide shaft slidably inserted in the thrust direction in the thrust bearing to guide and support the carriage,
An actuator for rotating the guide shaft, wherein the guide shaft is continuously rotated. 13. A recording apparatus, comprising: a carriage on which a recording unit is mounted; and a recording medium conveying unit, wherein the recording apparatus performs recording on the recording medium by moving the carriage in a direction intersecting a conveying direction of the recording medium. A rotatable thrust bearing, a guide shaft slidably inserted in the thrust bearing in the thrust direction for guiding and supporting the carriage, and an actuator for rotating the thrust bearing, the thrust bearing comprising: A recording device which is continuously rotated. 14. The lubricating oil is interposed between the guide shaft and the thrust bearing.
14. The recording device according to any one of claims 13 to 13. 15. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thrust bearing is a sintered bearing impregnated with a lubricating oil. 16. A recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recording means is an ink jet recording means for performing recording by discharging ink from a discharge port. 17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said ink jet recording means includes an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy used for discharging ink.
The recording device according to claim 1. 18. The recording apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said ink jet recording means discharges the ink from a discharge port using film boiling generated in the ink by thermal energy generated by the electrothermal transducer. .