JP2001191608A - Carriage and recorder equipped with carriage - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make adjustable the parallelism between a dot forming element array and the carrying direction even for a carriage where the parallelism between the recording face and the head face and the paper gap can be adjusted without relying upon adjustment of the supporting position of a guide shaft. SOLUTION: A supporting shaft 10 penetrates a carriage 1 and a recording head 2 and supports the recording head 2 with respect to the carriage 1. An αangle adjusting bearing member 15 is fixed to the eccentric shaft part 10b of the supporting shaft 10 and fitted in a hole 50 in the side wall 1a of the carriage 1. When the αangle adjusting bearing member 15 is turned, the eccentric shaft part 10b is displaced to the upstream/downstream side in the carrying direction along an abutting side of the hole 50 formed in parallel with the carrying direction. Consequently, the eccentric shaft part 10b side of the recording head 2 carried on the supporting shaft 10 is displaced to the upstream/ downstream side with respect to the carriage 1 and the parallelism is adjusted between a dot forming element array and the carrying direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a carriage used for a recording apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile, a copying machine, and the like, and more particularly, to a carriage parallel to a recording surface of a recording material and perpendicular to a conveying direction of the recording material. The present invention relates to a carriage provided with a recording head that reciprocates while being guided by a guide member to be arranged and that performs recording on a recording surface of the recording material. The present invention also relates to a recording device provided with the carriage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to improve recording quality in a recording apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile, a copying machine, etc., generally, a recording surface of a recording material (paper or the like) is opposed to a recording material of a recording head. (Hereinafter referred to as “head surface”), a dot forming element (for example, nozzle) row (refers to a dot forming element row arranged in the carrying direction) and a carrying direction provided on the head face. Is required to be accurately adjusted.

The parallelism between the recording surface and the head surface is adjusted by making two of the angles shown in FIG. 3 as small as possible. That is, of the angles formed by the head surface of the recording head 2 provided on the carriage and the recording surface of the recording material 22, the angle in the reciprocating direction of the carriage (main scanning direction: Y axis) (hereinafter, "β angle") ) And the angle between the head surface and the recording surface in the transport direction of the recording material (sub-scanning direction: X axis) (hereinafter referred to as the “γ angle”) is made as small as possible. Adjusted.

The parallelism between the dot forming element row and the conveying direction is determined by the angle between the dot forming element row and the conveying direction in FIG. 3 (in FIG. 3, the front face of the recording head perpendicular to the dot forming element row). The angle is defined as an angle between the direction and the reciprocating direction, and is hereinafter referred to as “α angle”).

Here, a recording apparatus for recording on a recording material of a normal size such as A3 size, A4 size, B4 size, B5 size, etc.
A side frame provided in the recording apparatus has a structure that supports both ends of a guide shaft that guides the carriage.
To adjust the β angle, an adjusting member is provided at a supporting position of the guide shaft on the side frame, and the supporting position of the guide shaft is displaced by the adjusting member, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-300769. It is done by. Adjustment of the γ angle is generally performed by a support structure of the carriage (for example, adjustment of a mounting position of a guide shaft and a slider shaft).

On the other hand, the adjustment of the α angle is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-25883.
As disclosed in JP-A-69-6969, this is achieved by a spacer having an appropriate thickness interposed between the carriage and the recording head, or an eccentric cam attached to the carriage.

[0007]

However, for example, A2
In a large-sized recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording material having a large width such as a medium or larger, the guide shaft for guiding the carriage becomes longer and the carriage also becomes larger, so that the weight of the carriage and the weight of the guide shaft itself cause The deflection of the guide shaft increases, which causes deterioration of the recording quality.

Therefore, as a structure for suppressing this bending, a structure in which both ends of the guide shaft are supported by the side frame is not generally employed, but a portion of the guide shaft is fixedly supported by the side frame, and both ends of the guide shaft are fixed. May have a structure protruding from the side frame.

On the other hand, in the case where the intermediate portion of the guide shaft is fixedly supported by the side frame as described above,
As in the ordinary recording apparatus described above, adjustment members are provided at the support positions at both ends of the guide shaft, and the adjustment of the β angle cannot be performed by this adjustment member. No adjustments can be made. It is also conceivable to provide an adjustment member at a support position in the middle of the guide shaft in the side frame for adjustment. However, the strength of the adjustment member and the accuracy of the adjustment are problematic depending on the weight of the guide shaft and the weight of the carriage. .

The conventional adjustment of the α angle is based on the premise that the β angle is adjusted by adjusting the support position of the guide shaft as in the ordinary recording apparatus described above. It is difficult to use this conventional adjustment of the α angle in a recording apparatus that does not perform the recording.

An object of the present invention is to provide a carriage and a recording apparatus which can adjust the parallelism between the recording surface and the head surface without adjusting the support position of the guide shaft. And the degree of parallelism between them can be adjusted.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a carriage according to the present invention is provided so as to be parallel to a recording surface of a recording material and perpendicular to a conveying direction of the recording material. A carriage provided with a recording head for performing reciprocating motion guided by a guide member to be disposed and recording on a recording surface of the recording material, and disposed substantially parallel to the guide member; A support shaft that passes through the carriage and the print head and supports the print head with respect to the carriage, and the support shaft is attached to at least one first hole formed at a location passing through the carriage; And an α-angle adjustment bearing member that supports an end of the support shaft and that can adjust the position of the support shaft in the conveying direction of the recording material in the downstream direction.

Here, the "guide member" includes a rod-shaped guide shaft and a rail-shaped guide rail.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the recording head is supported by the carriage by the carriage and the support shaft passing through the recording head. The α-angle adjusting bearing member is attached to a first hole formed at a position where the support shaft passes through the carriage, and supports an end of the support shaft. The position at which the α-angle adjusting bearing member supports the support shaft can be adjusted to the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording material.

Therefore, by adjusting the supporting position to the downstream side in the transport direction, the end of the support shaft is displaced to the downstream side in the transport direction. Due to this displacement, the side of the recording head supported on the end side of the displaced support shaft is also displaced to the upstream and downstream in the transport direction. That is, the recording head is displaced in the direction of the α angle. This makes it possible to adjust the α angle,
As a result, the recording quality can be improved by making the dot forming element row parallel to the transport direction.

Further, since the .alpha. Angle is adjusted by the support shaft and the .alpha. Angle adjusting bearing member, a recording apparatus (for example, a recording head which is not supposed to adjust the .beta. Angle by adjusting the support position of the guide member). With respect to β
Also in the recording device for adjusting the angle, the α angle can be adjusted with high accuracy.

Further, the α-angle can be easily adjusted with a small number of parts such as the support shaft and the α-angle adjusting bearing member, and these parts are strong enough to support the recording head with respect to the carriage. It is not necessary to have a structure with high strength even in a large-sized recording device, and it is so small that the deflection of the support shaft and the deformation of the α-angle adjustment bearing member due to weight can be ignored. It can be.

The direction of the α angle includes both the direction of the plus angle and the direction of the minus angle.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the first aspect, the first hole has a linear contact side extending in parallel to the recording material conveying direction. The α-angle adjusting bearing member is rotatably fitted in the first hole to support an end of the support shaft;
The support shaft is made of an elastic member that presses the end of the support shaft against the contact side.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the α-angle adjusting bearing member is made of an elastic member, and the end of the support shaft is connected to the linear contact side of the first hole by the elasticity. I'm pushing. Therefore, when the α-angle adjusting bearing member is rotated, the end of the support shaft moves along the linear contact side. This makes it possible to adjust the α angle only by rotating the bearing member for adjusting the α angle, and the end of the support shaft moves only in a direction parallel to the transport direction, which facilitates the adjustment. .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the second aspect, the first hole includes a second side facing the contact side, and the contact side and the second side. And a pair of third sides facing each other, and an end of the support shaft has a first arcuate surface in contact with the contact side, and the α-angle adjusting bearing member is It is characterized in that it has a second circular arc surface in contact with the second side and a pair of third circular surfaces in contact with the third side.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the rotation of the bearing member for adjusting the α angle causes the support shaft to slide with its first arc surface abutting against the contact side, thereby adjusting the α angle. In the bearing member for use, the second arc surface comes into contact with the second side and the third arc surface comes into contact with the third side to slide, so that the turning operation is smoothly performed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the third aspect, the second arc surface is an arc surface concentric with the center of the first arc surface, and the pair of third arc surfaces is provided. Are arc surfaces having the same center and the same radius of curvature. The center of the first arc surface is O ₁ , the radius of curvature is R ₁ , and the radius of curvature of the second arc surface is R _2. the third arc surface centered O ₃ of _curvature radius R _3, when the distance between the center O ₃ of the center O ₁ and the third arcuate surface of said first arcuate surface was a, R ₁ + R ₂ = 2R ₃ and R ₃ −R ₁ =
The relationship of A is established.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the α-angle adjusting bearing member is rotated, the center O of the third circular arc surface is rotated.
₃ while moving in a direction perpendicular to the abutment side, the center O ₁ of the first arcuate surface of the end portion of the support shaft is able to move parallel to the contact edges. Since the straight contact side extends in a direction parallel to the transport direction, the end of the support shaft moves only in a direction parallel to the transport direction. That is, even if the α-angle adjusting bearing member is not necessarily formed of an elastic member, the parallelism between the dot forming element row and the conveyance direction can be adjusted only by rotating the α-angle adjusting bearing member. Since the end of the support shaft moves only in the direction parallel to the transport direction, only the α angle can be easily adjusted.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the carriage according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the α
The angle adjusting bearing member is provided with a first lever-shaped member for rotating the α angle adjusting bearing member.
Thus, by rotating the first lever-shaped member, the α angle can be easily adjusted, and the parallelism between the dot forming element row and the transport direction can be easily adjusted.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus including the carriage according to any one of the first to fifth aspects. According to the invention described in claim 6 of the present application, the same operation and effect as the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 5 can be obtained.

[0027]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A large-size recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described below as an embodiment of the present invention.

1. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a recording unit of a large recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the recording unit. This large-sized recording apparatus is configured to perform recording (printing or the like) on a recording material (paper or the like) supplied from a recording material supply unit (not shown) by reciprocating the carriage 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, this large-sized recording apparatus includes:
A main shaft 4 and a sub shaft 5, which are guide members, are disposed parallel to the recording surface of the recording material and perpendicular to the transport direction. The main shaft 4 and the sub shaft 5 are respectively provided with shaft mounting portions 32a, 33a and 32b, 33b of one side frame (left side frame) 6 and the other side frame (right side frame) 7 constituting the large recording apparatus main body.
And protrude left and right beyond the range between both side frames, and are arranged in parallel. A main shaft bearing portion 28 of the carriage 1 is slidably mounted on the main shaft 4, and a sub shaft bearing portion 27 of the carriage 1 is slidably mounted on the sub shaft 5. The carriage 1 is supported by these shafts so as to be able to reciprocate. I have.

Referring to FIG. 2, a recording head 2 is incorporated in a carriage 1. A carriage motor 9 and a driving pulley 35 are provided on the left side frame 6 side of the main shaft 4 projecting from both side frames 6 and 7, and a driven pulley 36 is provided on the right side frame 7 side. A belt 8 linked to the carriage 1 is hung between the driving pulley 35 and the driven pulley 36. The driving force of the carriage motor 9 is transmitted to the carriage 1 by the belt 8, and the carriage 1 is moved to the main shaft 4 and the sub shaft 5
Reciprocate along.

One end of the flat cable 3 is connected to a connector of the recording head 2 and is fixed so as to extend horizontally in a moving direction from a portion (side) facing the movement when the carriage 1 moves. . Since the flat cable 3 is routed following the reciprocating movement of the carriage 1, the flat cable 3 is held by the cable holder 31 at a substantially middle point of the moving range in which the carriage 1 reciprocates. A loop-shaped U-turn portion turned 180 degrees is formed between the horizontal portions.

The standby position (home position) detector 29 attached to the right side frame 7 detects that the carriage 1 is located at the standby position.

2. Adjustment Angle and Adjustment of Paper Gap FIG. 3 shows an adjustment angle for making the recording head parallel to the recording surface of the recording material and an adjustment angle for making the dot forming element row parallel to the transport direction. In the parallelism between the head surface of the recording head 2 (the surface facing the recording surface of the recording material) and the recording surface of the recording material, the β angle and the γ angle among the above-mentioned angles are made as small as possible. It is adjusted by Further, a dot forming element array provided on the head surface (in the present embodiment,
The parallelism between a nozzle row in which nozzles for ejecting ink are arranged along the transport direction) and the transport direction is adjusted by setting the α angle as small as possible.

In order to improve the recording quality, the distance between the recording surface and the head surface (hereinafter referred to as "paper gap" or simply "PG") is properly maintained. -It is preferable that the gap can be finely adjusted. Further, in order to properly record on a recording material having various thicknesses such as thick paper or thin paper, it is preferable that the paper gap can be adjusted according to the thickness of the recording material. Therefore, in the present embodiment, adjustment of these paper gaps will also be described. In the following, both the fine adjustment of the paper gap and the adjustment according to the thickness of the recording material are referred to as “paper gap adjustment”.
When only the former fine adjustment is referred to, it is referred to as "paper gap fine adjustment", and when the latter only refers to the adjustment according to the thickness of the recording material, it is referred to as "paper gap switching".

The adjustment of these angles and the adjustment of the paper gap are performed by displacing the recording head 2 with respect to the carriage 1.

3. Configuration of carriage 3.1. Outline of Carriage FIG. 4 is a front view showing details of the carriage 1 when the carriage 1 is located at the standby position, and FIG. 5 is a right side view thereof. In the right side view of FIG. 5, the arrow A direction is originally a vertical direction, and the arrow B direction is a horizontal direction. However, for convenience of explanation, the recording surface of the recording material 22 and the head surface facing the recording material 22 are shown in FIG. In FIG. Reference numeral 23 denotes a paper feed roller (drive roller and driven roller), and reference numeral 25 denotes a paper discharge roller (drive roller and driven roller).

The carriage 1 has a recording head 2 incorporated therein. The recording head 2 includes a support shaft 10 and a fixed plate 1.
1 attached to the carriage 1. The recording head 2 has an ink cartridge 2 a mounted thereon, and a head unit 2 b for discharging ink onto the recording material 22 is provided at a position facing the recording material 22. A plurality of nozzles for ink ejection are formed in a nozzle row on the head surface of the head portion 2b.

The support shaft 10 passes through the left and right side walls 1a and 1b of the carriage 1 and the left and right side walls 2c and 2d of the recording head 2, and both end portions protrude from both side walls 1a and 1b of the carriage 1, respectively. ing. Side wall 1a
An α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 is attached to an end (left end) projecting from the side, and a β-angle adjusting bearing member 16 is attached to an end (right end) projecting from the side wall 1b. Thus, the support shaft 10 is rotatably attached to the carriage 1, and the recording head 2 is supported by the carriage 1. As will be described later in detail, the α angle is adjusted by the α angle adjusting bearing member 15 and the support shaft 10.
The β angle is adjusted by the β angle adjusting bearing member 16 and the support shaft 10, respectively.

An auxiliary bearing member 13 is attached to a portion where the support shaft 10 passes through the right side wall 2d of the recording head 2.

A driven gear 17 is attached to one end (the right end in FIG. 4) of the support shaft 10, and the PG drive unit 1
8 to be engaged with the planetary gears 18c or 18d. The PG drive unit 18 (not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) is provided separately from the carriage 1, and is attached to a frame (not shown) of the large-sized recording apparatus.
The PG drive unit 18 can be attached to the carriage 1, but in order to reduce the weight of the carriage 1,
As in the present embodiment, it is preferable to be provided separately from the carriage 1.

The PG drive unit 18 includes a drive motor 18a, a sun gear mechanism 18b, and two planetary gears 18
c and 18d. Sun gear mechanism 1
8b is attached to the drive shaft of the drive motor 18a, and rotates by the drive force of the drive motor 18a. Planetary gear 1
8c and 18d engage with the sun gear mechanism 18b and revolve around this, and engage with the driven gear 17. When the carriage 1 returns to the standby position, the planetary gears 18c and 18d
Are controlled by a drive control unit (not shown) so as to be located at a neutral position that does not engage with the driven gear 17.
Thus, when the carriage 1 returns to the standby position, the driven gear 17 does not collide with the planetary gears 18c and 18d.

As will be described in detail later, when the carriage 1 is at the standby position, the PG drive unit 18 rotates the driven gear 17 (that is, the support shaft 10) by using the planetary gears 18b and 18c. Thus, the paper gap is adjusted.

The fixing plate 11 is attached to the carriage 1 together with the γ-angle adjusting lever 12 by screws 21a and 21b. As described later in detail, the γ angle is adjusted by the fixing plate 11, the support shaft 10, and the γ angle adjusting lever 12, and the recording head 2 is moved to the carriage 1
Fixed to

Hereinafter, the adjustment of the α angle, the β angle, the γ angle, and the paper gap will be described in this order.

3.2. Adjustment of α Angle The adjustment of the α angle is performed by the α angle adjustment bearing member 15 and the support shaft 10. 6A and 6B show the support shaft 10, wherein FIG. 6A is a perspective view, FIG. 6B is a front view, and FIG. 6C is a side view. The support shaft 10 is made of metal and has a large-diameter portion 10a and small-diameter portions 10b and 10c having the same diameter formed at both ends thereof.

The centers of the small diameter portion 10b, and 10c (axis) _{O 1} are both with respect to the axis _{O 0} of the large-diameter portion 10a, is eccentric in the same direction by a distance d, constitute the eccentric shaft portion ing. The central part of the large-diameter part 10a is one of its circumference.
A portion corresponding to less than / 2 has a cutting portion 10d cut so as to have three continuous planes along the circumferential direction. The cutting portion 10d is formed on the side of the cylinder of the large diameter portion 10a on the side where the eccentric shaft portions 10b and 10c are eccentric with respect to the large diameter portion 10a, and the center of the center of the three planes is the axis O _1. It is formed so as to be positioned on a line connecting the axis O ₀ and.

At the tip of the eccentric shaft portion 10c, a mounting portion 10e for the driven gear 17 is formed. This mounting part 1
In 0e, a part of the circumference of the eccentric shaft portion 10c is cut, so that the eccentric shaft portion 10c is substantially D-shaped in side view. The bearing hole of the driven gear 17 into which the mounting portion 10e is fitted is also substantially D-shaped in side view. The driven gear 17 has a substantially D-shape when viewed from the side.
Is designed not to idle with respect to the support shaft 10. A groove provided in the circumferential direction near the tip of the mounting portion 10e is provided with a claw (not shown) provided on the driven gear 17.
Is to prevent the driven gear 17 from easily falling out of the mounting portion 10e by engaging with this groove.

FIG. 7 is a left side view of the carriage 1.
Similarly to FIG. 5, for convenience of explanation, the recording surface of the recording material and the head surface facing the recording surface are illustrated as being horizontal in the drawing.

The left side wall 1a of the carriage 1 has a first hole 50 formed therein. In the first hole 50, the support shaft 10 is provided.
The eccentric shaft portion 10b penetrates, and an α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 that rotatably supports the eccentric shaft portion 10b is mounted.

The α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 is an elastic member (for example, an integral member) in which a bearing portion 15a (to be described in detail later) that fits into the hole 50 and a lever portion 15b composed of other portions are integrally formed. Synthetic resin with elasticity)
It is rotatable around the bearing 15a. The bearing portion 15a is further provided with a holding portion (described later) for holding the eccentric shaft portion 10b of the support shaft 10, and the lever portion 1
5b is further formed with a flexible piece 15e and an arc-shaped screw hole 15c. Lever part 1
The provision of 5b facilitates the turning operation of the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 and fine adjustment of the angle.

The bearing portion 15a is fitted into the hole 50 with the eccentric shaft portion 10b penetrating the hole formed therein. Then, the screw 100 is attached to the side wall 1a via the screw hole 15c. As a result, the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 is mounted on the side wall 1 a and the support shaft 10 and the recording head 2 supported by the support shaft 10.
Are supported on the carriage 1. The screw 10
The screwing by 0 is performed with such a strength that the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 can rotate around the bearing portion 15a.
After the adjustment of the angle is completed, the screw may be further strongly screwed in order to prevent the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 from shifting due to the vibration of the carriage 1 or the like.

At the tip of the flexible piece 15e, a knob 15d protruding forward in FIG. 7 is formed integrally with the flexible piece 15e. Also, the back surface of the flexible piece 15e (side wall 1a)
The surface (the surface in contact with) has projections (not shown) which are engaged with and disengaged from a plurality of graduated grooves 1e formed in an arc shape on the side wall 1a, and are integrally formed with the flexible pieces 15e. When the knob 15d is pulled toward the user, the protrusion comes off from the scale groove 1e, and the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 becomes rotatable about the bearing portion 15a. After turning to the desired position, when the pull of the knob 15d is released, the projection engages with one of the scale grooves 1e. As a result, the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 (that is, the α-angle) can be adjusted to a desired position within the range in which the scale groove 1e is provided, and after the adjustment, the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 can be adjusted. Inadvertent rotation can be prevented.

The knob 15d is formed with a hole (not shown) through which a needle-like operating tool is inserted, and the rotation operation of the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 is inserted through this hole. It can also be performed with a needle-like operating tool. Further, the turning operation of the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 (that is, the adjusting operation of the α-angle) is not normally performed by the user, but is performed at a factory.

Next, the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15
A specific mechanism for adjusting the α angle will be described. FIG.
8A is an enlarged view of a bearing portion 15a of the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15, and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 8A. The hole 50 has a substantially square hole 50a and a pair of insertion ports 50b, 50b formed at diagonal corners thereof. The substantially square hole 50a has a linear contact side a1 extending in parallel with the recording surface and a second side a2 facing the contact side a1.
And a pair of third sides a3 and a3 which are continuous with the contact side a1 and the second side a2 and face each other.

The bearing portion 15a includes a hollow rotating portion 150 rotatably fitted in the hole 50 and a bearing portion 15a.
Has a locking portion 151 on the outside and a pair of locking pieces 152 and 152 on the inside to prevent accidental removal from the hole.

The mounting of the bearing portion 15a into the hole 50 is performed by aligning the locking pieces 152, 152 with the insertion openings 50b, 50b.
After the bearing 15a is fitted into the hole 50 from the outside of the side wall 1a, the lever 15b is rotated clockwise in FIG. 8A (and FIG. 7). As a result, as shown in FIG. 8B, the locking pieces 152 and 152 come into contact with the inner surface of the side wall 1a, and the locking portion 151 moves to the side wall 1a.
The bearing portion 15a does not come out of the hole 50 by contacting the outer surface of the hole.

The rotating part 150 is an eccentric shaft part 1 of the support shaft 10.
0b is rotatably held. The eccentric shaft portion 10b has a first arc surface c1 that abuts on the abutment side a1 of the hole 50. In addition, the rotating part 150 includes a second arcuate surface c2 in contact with the second side a2 of the hole 50 and a pair of third arcuate surfaces c in contact with the third sides a3 and a3, respectively.
3 and c3.

FIGS. 9A and 9B show the eccentric shaft 10.
3 schematically shows the relationship among the hole b, the hole 50, and the rotating portion 150 of the bearing 15a. In these figures,
In order to make the explanation easy to understand,
b and 50b are omitted, and the circumferential portions of the second circular surface c2 and the third circular surfaces c3 and c3 are made longer than those of FIG. Is omitted.

In this embodiment, the eccentric shaft 10
b, the hole 50, and the shape or dimensions of the rotating portion 150
It is set almost as follows. The second arc surface c2 is
An arc surface of the center O ₁ and the concentric first arcuate surface c1, arcuate surface c3, c3 of the pair of third, the center O ₃ is the radius of curvature R ₃ in common the same arc surface. Then, the radius of curvature of the first arcuate surface c1 _{R 1,} the radius of curvature of the second arc surface c2 and _{R 2,} the center _{O 1} and the center _{O 3} of the third arcuate surface c3 of the first arcuate surface c1 When the distance (i.e., the amount of eccentricity) of A is A, R ₁ , R ₂ , R ₃ and A are represented by the following relationship: R ₁ + R ₂ = 2R ₃ (1) R ₃ -R ₁ = A (2) It is set to hold.

The first contact side a1 and the second contact side a
The distance between the 2 _R 1 + _{R 2,} the third contact side a3 interval between the are set to be 2R _3.

If the dimensions described above are obtained with high accuracy, the bearing 15a (ie, the rotating part 150)
Is rotated, the center O _{3 of} the third arc surface c3 moves in a direction (± Z-axis direction) orthogonal to the contact side a1 while the center O ₃ of the first arc surface c1 of the eccentric shaft portion 10b is moved. ₁ is the contact side a
It moves in parallel (± X axis direction) with 1. That is, when the rotating part 150 is rotated by the angle θ, the center O _{3 of} the third arc surface c3 is displaced in the Z-axis direction by z1 = A−A × cos θ, and the center O ₃ of the first arc surface c1 is displaced. ₁ is x1 = A × sin
Displaces in the X-axis direction by θ.

Therefore, when the dimensions described above are obtained with high accuracy, as shown in FIG.
Is rotated, the center O _{3 of} the third arc surface c3 moves in a direction (± Z-axis direction) orthogonal to the contact side a1 while the center O ₃ of the first arc surface c1 of the eccentric shaft portion 10b is moved. ₁ is the contact side a
It moves in parallel (± X axis direction) with 1. As a result, the support shaft 10 moves parallel to the contact side a1.

Since the linear contact side a1 extends in the direction parallel to the recording surface, the support shaft 10 moves only in the direction parallel to the recording surface with respect to the carriage 1. As will be described in detail later, the recording head 2 is fixedly supported on the support shaft 10 except when the support shaft 10 is rotated, and is configured to be displaced together with the support shaft 10. .

Therefore, the portion of the recording head 2 on the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 side is displaced only in a direction parallel to the recording surface with respect to the carriage 1 by rotating the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15. .

As shown in FIG. 17 (described in detail later),
The recording head 2 is sandwiched by the carriage spring 20 (spring cap 40) on the ceiling wall 2e between the abutting portion 11a of the fixing plate 11 provided in a direction perpendicular to the recording surface and the carriage spring 20 (spring cap 40). The α angle is adjusted against the urging force of the spring 20.

FIG. 10 shows how the α angle is adjusted. FIG. 10A shows the positions of the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 and the recording head 2 corresponding to FIG.
(B) is a bearing member 15 for α-angle adjustment corresponding to FIG. 9 (B).
And the position of the recording head 2 are shown.

The bearing member 15 for α-angle adjustment is connected to the bearing member 15 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, when the recording head 2 is rotated clockwise, the portion of the recording head 2 on the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 side (the left side in FIG. 4) is conveyed to the carriage 1 in parallel with the recording surface. Move to the upstream side (left side in FIG. 10). On the other hand, although not shown, when the α-angle adjustment bearing member 15 is rotated counterclockwise, the portion of the recording head 2 on the α-angle adjustment bearing member 15 side is parallel to the recording surface with respect to the carriage 1. Then, it moves to the downstream side in the transport direction (the right side in FIG. 10). On the other hand, the β angle adjusting bearing member 1 of the recording head 2
Since the portion on the 6th side (the side of the right side wall 1b of the carriage 1) does not move, the recording head 2 is displaced (rotated) with respect to the carriage 1 in the direction of the α angle.

Therefore, by such a rotating operation,
The α angle of the recording head 2 can be adjusted with high accuracy, and as a result, the parallelism between the nozzle row and the transport direction can be adjusted with high accuracy, and print quality can be improved.

Further, instead of interposing a spacer or an eccentric cam between the carriage 1 and the recording head 2 to adjust the α angle, the α angle is adjusted by the support shaft 10 and the α angle adjusting bearing member 15. As will be described later, even in a configuration in which the β angle, the γ angle, and the paper gap are adjusted by displacing the recording head 2 with respect to the carriage 1, the adjustment of the other angles and the paper gap is affected. And the α angle can be adjusted with high accuracy.

Further, the α-angle can be easily adjusted with a small number of parts such as the support shaft 10 and the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15, and these parts can be adjusted by the carriage 1.
It is sufficient that the recording head 2 has a strength capable of supporting the recording head 2. Even in a large-sized recording apparatus, it is not necessary to adopt a configuration having a large strength. The deformation or the like of the portion 15a can be made as small as negligible.

When the dimensions of the bearing portion 15a as described above can be obtained with high accuracy, the bearing portion 15a (rotating portion 1) is used.
50) is not necessarily composed of an elastic member, or even if it does not have sufficient elasticity, the end of the support shaft 10 moves only in the direction perpendicular to the recording surface by rotation, Adjustments can be made.

On the other hand, when the bearing portion 15a (rotating portion 150) is made of an elastic member, the dimensions need not always be high precision. Due to the elasticity of the bearing portion 15a, the end of the support shaft 10 is pressed against the contact side a1 to rotate, and the center O3 of the _third circular surface c3 moves in a direction orthogonal to the contact side a1. Center O ₁ of eccentric shaft part 10b
Move in parallel with the contact side a1. Therefore, the bearing portion 15a (rotating portion 150) made of an elastic member
Is rotatably fitted in the hole 50 and the support shaft 10
As long as the configuration of supporting the end of the support shaft 10 and pressing the end of the support shaft 10 against the contact side a1 with its elasticity is satisfied.
The configuration such as the shape of the hole 50 and the bearing portion 15a (rotating portion 150) is not limited to the illustrated one. For example, the rotating portion 150 does not have to be hollow, and may have a shape shown in FIG. 9 in addition to the shape shown in FIG.

On the other hand, if there is a second arc surface c2 abutting on the second side a2 and a pair of third arc surfaces c3 and c3 abutting on the third sides a3 and a3, respectively, A smoother turning operation can be obtained. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the rotating portion 150 is formed of an elastic member, and the radii of curvature of the second arc surface c2 and the third arc surface c3 are set to the geometrically ideal dimension R described above. ₂ and R ₃ are slightly larger than each other, and the rotating part 150 is press-fitted into the hole 50.

The α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 may be provided on the right side wall 1b or on both side walls 1a and 1b.

3.3. Adjustment of β Angle The β angle is adjusted by the β angle adjusting bearing member 16 and the support shaft 10. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 4, and similarly to FIG. 5, for convenience of description, the recording surface of the recording material and the head surface facing the recording material are illustrated as being horizontal in the drawing. .

A second hole 51 is formed in the right side wall 1b of the carriage 1. In the second hole 51, the support shaft 10 is provided.
The eccentric shaft portion 10c penetrates, and a β angle adjusting bearing member 16 that rotatably supports the eccentric shaft portion 10c is mounted.

The β angle adjusting bearing member 16 is an elastic member (for example, an integral member) formed integrally with a bearing portion 16a fitted into the hole 51 and a lever portion 16b composed of other portions.
Bearing portion 16a made of an elastic synthetic resin).
Can be rotated around the center.

The bearing portion 16a is the same as the bearing portion 15a (see FIGS. 7 and 8) of the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 described above.
7 and 8, it has a structure rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise. In accordance with this, the hole 51 has the same shape as the hole 50 described above (see FIGS. 7 and 8), but the contact side with which the eccentric shaft portion 10c contacts the upstream side in the transport direction (the right side in FIG. 11). ), The second side facing this contact side
Are arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction (left side in FIG. 11). Therefore, the eccentric shaft 1
0c is pressed by a contact side provided upstream of the hole 51 in the transport direction, and slides in a direction perpendicular to the recording surface along the contact side.

The lever portion 16b has a flexible piece 16e and an arc-shaped screw hole 16c, like the lever portion 15b. Each of these members has the same structure as the corresponding one of the lever portions 15b. Further, a scale-like groove 1c similar to the above-described scale-like groove 1e is formed in the side wall 1b.
6e is configured to engage with the projection on the back surface.

The method of fitting the bearing portion 16a into the hole 51 and mounting it is the same as that of the above-described bearing portion 15a. With this attachment, the β-angle adjusting bearing member 16 becomes
The support shaft 10 and the recording head 2 supported by the support shaft 10 are supported by the carriage 1. In addition, the rotation operation of the β-angle adjusting bearing member 16 (that is, the β-angle adjusting operation) is also performed by the α-angle adjusting bearing member 1.
This is performed in the same manner as in step 5.

Incidentally, the turning operation of the β-angle adjusting bearing member 16 is not normally performed by the user, but is performed at the factory.

Next, the β angle adjusting bearing member 16
The manner in which the β angle is adjusted will be described. When the β angle adjusting bearing member 16 is rotated counterclockwise as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the eccentric shaft portion 1 of the support shaft 10 is rotated.
0c slides along the contact side in a direction perpendicular to the recording surface of the recording material 22 (upward in FIG. 12).

The recording head 2 is fixed to and supported by the support shaft 10 except when the support shaft 10 is rotated, and is configured to be displaced together with the support shaft 10.
As the eccentric shaft portion 10c slides, the portion of the recording head 2 on the side of the β angle adjusting bearing member 16 also moves upward with respect to the carriage 1 in a direction perpendicular to the recording surface. On the other hand, although not shown, when the β angle adjusting bearing member 16 is rotated clockwise,
The portion of the recording head 2 on the side of the β-angle adjusting bearing member 16 moves downward with respect to the carriage 1 perpendicularly to the recording surface.
Further, as shown in FIG. 17 (to be described in detail later), the recording head 2 has a carriage wall and a contact portion 11a of a fixed plate 11 provided in a direction perpendicular to the recording surface on a ceiling wall 2e.
It is held between the spring 20 (spring cap 40) and is regulated so as to move in a direction perpendicular to the recording surface. On the other hand, since the portion of the recording head 2 on the side of the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 (the side of the left side wall 1a of the carriage 1) does not move, the recording head 2 is displaced (rotated) relative to the carriage 1 in the direction of β angle. Will be done.

Therefore, by such a rotating operation,
The β angle of the recording head 2 can be adjusted with high accuracy, and as a result, the parallelism between the head surface and the recording surface can be adjusted with high accuracy, and print quality can be improved.

Further, since the β angle is adjusted by displacing the recording head 2 with respect to the carriage 1,
The β angle can be adjusted also in a recording apparatus in which the sub shaft 5 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) is fixed to the side frame.

Further, the β angle can be easily adjusted with a small number of components such as the support shaft 10 and the β angle adjusting bearing member 16, and these components can support the recording head 2 with respect to the carriage 1. It is sufficient that the recording medium has high strength. Even in a large-sized recording apparatus, it is not necessary to provide a large-strength structure. In addition, the bending of the support shaft 10 and the deformation of the bearing portion 16a due to the weight can be ignored. Can be small.

The first hole 50 and the second hole 51
The mounting position where the α-angle adjusting bearing member 15 and the β-angle adjusting bearing member 16 are not rotated (FIG. 10).
12A and the position shown in FIG. 12A), the support shaft 10 is formed at a position parallel to the main shaft 5.

3.4. Adjustment of γ angle Adjustment of γ angle is performed by fixing plate 11 and lever 12 for γ angle adjustment.
And the support shaft 10.

First, before describing a specific configuration for adjusting the γ angle, a support structure of the recording head 2 by the support shaft 10 will be described. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 4, and, similarly to FIG. 5, for convenience of explanation, the recording surface of the recording material and the head surface facing the recording material are illustrated as being horizontal in the drawing. I have. 14 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 13, and FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. FIG.
FIG. 2A is a right side view of the recording head 2, and FIG. 2B is a left side view of the recording head 2.

The left side wall 2c of the recording head 2 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 (B), a left third hole (elongated hole) 2f through which the eccentric shaft portion 10b of the support shaft 10 rotatably penetrates is formed. The diameter of this long hole 2f is
In the transport direction of the recording material (the vertical direction in FIG. 14 and the horizontal direction in FIG. 16), the diameter of the eccentric shaft portion 10b is substantially the same as or slightly smaller than the diameter of the eccentric shaft portion 10b so that the eccentric shaft portion 10b can rotate. Although it is large, in the direction perpendicular to the recording surface (the vertical direction in FIGS. 15 and 16B), the diameter of the eccentric shaft portion 10b is set so that the recording head 2 can move with respect to the eccentric shaft portion 10b. It is longer than.
Therefore, the recording head 2 does not move to the eccentric shaft portion 10b (that is, the end of the support shaft 10) in the transport direction of the recording material in the downstream direction, but can move in the direction perpendicular to the recording surface. Has become.

Further, a penetrating wall 2h through which the large diameter portion 10a of the support shaft 10 penetrates is provided near the inside of the left side wall 2c.
As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the through wall 2h is formed with a left fourth hole (a long hole) 2g through which the large-diameter portion 10a of the support shaft 10 rotatably penetrates. The diameter of the elongated hole 2g is substantially the same as or slightly larger than the diameter of the large-diameter portion 10a so that the large-diameter portion 10a rotatably penetrates in the direction perpendicular to the recording surface. In the conveying direction of the recording material, the diameter of the large diameter portion 10a is longer than the diameter of the large diameter portion 10a so that the large diameter portion 10a can move. Therefore, the large-diameter portion 10a (that is, the central portion of the support shaft 10) does not move in the direction orthogonal to the recording surface,
The recording material can be moved to the upstream and downstream in the transport direction.

On the right side wall 2d of the recording head 2, FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16A, the fourth hole 2i and the fifth hole 2j on the right side are integrally formed.
The right fourth hole 2i is formed at the deepest part when viewed from the outside of the right wall 2d, and is a long hole having the same shape and the same size as the above-described left fourth hole 2g. The elongated hole 2i is a through hole through which the large diameter portion 10a of the support shaft 10 penetrates.
a is the longitudinal direction of the long hole (upstream and downstream in the transport direction of the recording material)
It is possible to move to.

Therefore, the large diameter portion 10a of the support shaft 10
Is movable in the two fourth holes 2g and 2i to the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording material. This movable structure is used in adjusting the paper gap, which will be described in detail later.

The fifth hole 2j is formed in front of the long hole 2i and around the long hole 2i when viewed from the outside of the right side wall 2d. The portion from the side closer to the recording surface of the hole 2j to the downstream side in the transport direction (the lower surface to the left side surface in FIG. 16A) is formed continuously without forming the elongated hole 2i and the step portion. On the other hand, the other portion of the hole 2j has a flat bottom near the inner peripheral portion, and continues from the bottom to the through hole of the elongated hole 2i.

An auxiliary bearing member 13 having a substantially D-shape in side view and having a linear portion in a part of its outer periphery is formed in the hole 2j.
(See FIGS. 13 to 15). Therefore, hole 2
j also has a substantially D-shape in side view having the same shape as the auxiliary bearing member 13 and having a linear portion at the upper part of the inner periphery thereof.

The auxiliary bearing member 13 is fitted into the hole 2j such that the straight line portions thereof coincide with each other. Since the linear portion on the outer periphery of the auxiliary bearing member 13 matches the linear portion of the hole 2j, the rotation of the auxiliary bearing member 13 is suppressed. In addition, since the hole 2j has a bottom, the auxiliary bearing member 13 comes into contact with the bottom, and the fitting thereof is suppressed.

The auxiliary bearing member 13 has a third hole 13a on the right side through which the eccentric shaft portion 10c of the support shaft 10 penetrates. The diameter of the hole 13a is approximately the same as or slightly larger than the diameter of the eccentric shaft portion 10c so that the eccentric shaft portion 10c penetrates in the direction parallel to the linear portion on the outer periphery of the auxiliary bearing member 13. In the direction orthogonal to the outer straight portion, the diameter of the eccentric shaft 10c is longer than the diameter of the eccentric shaft 10c so that the eccentric shaft 10c can move. As described above, the auxiliary bearing member 13 has a linear portion on its outer periphery formed by the hole 2j.
The holes 13a are elongated in the direction orthogonal to the recording surface in the mounted state. Therefore, in the hole 13a, the eccentric shaft portion 10c can move in a direction perpendicular to the recording surface, in other words, the recording head 2 can move in a direction perpendicular to the recording surface with respect to the eccentric shaft portion 10c. is there.

That is, the third hole 13a on the right is a long hole elongated in the direction perpendicular to the recording surface, like the third hole 2f on the left. Thus, the recording head 2 can move in a direction perpendicular to the recording surface with respect to the left eccentric shaft 10b and the right eccentric shaft 10c. This movable structure is used in adjusting the paper gap, which will be described in detail later.

The provision of the holes 2j and the auxiliary bearing members 13 makes it easy to assemble the carriage 1. That is, the carriage 1 is normally assembled in the order of assembling the recording head 2 into the carriage 1 and then inserting the support shaft 10 through the carriage 1 and the recording head 2. In this order, since the recording head 2 has the hole 2i having a size that allows the large-diameter portion 10a of the support shaft 10 to be inserted, the support shaft 10 can be inserted without any problem. Finally, the auxiliary bearing member 13 is fitted into the hole 2j through the hole 51 formed in the side wall 1b of the carriage 1, whereby
The bearing of the support shaft 10 can be completed.

On the other hand, a hole 13 is formed in the right side wall 2d of the recording head 2.
When a is directly formed, the support shaft 10 cannot be inserted in the order of the assembly. Conversely, when the carriage 1 has a structure in which the recording head 2 can be mounted on the carriage 1 after the support shaft 10 is inserted into the recording head 2, or the carriage 1 and / or the recording head 2. Has a configuration that can be assembled in a different order than the order of assembly,
It is not always necessary to provide the auxiliary bearing member 13, and the hole 13a may be formed directly on the right side wall of the recording head 2.

Next, a specific configuration of the γ-angle adjustment will be described. FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG.
Similarly, for convenience of explanation, the recording surface of the recording material and the head surface facing the recording material are illustrated as being horizontal in the drawing. FIG. 18 is a front view showing how the γ angle is adjusted, and FIG. 19 is a right sectional view thereof.

The recording head 2 is provided with a ceiling wall 2e. A head spring 19 is attached to the center of the end of the ceiling wall 2e on the side of the head 2b (lower side in FIG. 17) (see FIGS. 14 and 17). Head spring 19
Is configured as one surface on the upper side (outside) of the ceiling wall 2e, and is divided into three branches on the bottom side (inside). The surface on the upper surface side of the head spring 19 and the two branches on both ends on the bottom surface side are configured to sandwich the ceiling wall 2e, and one central branch on the bottom surface side is a cutting portion 10d of the support shaft 10. Is configured to bias one of the three surfaces. When the head spring 19 urges the cutting portion 10d (that is, the support shaft 10), the wobbling of the recording head 2 and the free rotation of the support shaft 10 are suppressed and fixed.

The other end of the ceiling wall 2e (the upper end in FIG. 17)
Is urged by a carriage spring 20 and a spring cap 40 provided on the carriage 1, while the protruding abutment 2 p abuts on the abutment portion 11 a of the fixed plate 11 on the inner surface thereof. . That is, the ceiling wall 2e
Are the carriage spring 20 and the spring cap 40
And the fixing plate 11.

The γ-angle adjusting lever 12 is made of an elastic member, and has a dowel 12 a and a projection 12 b integrally formed on the back surface (the surface in contact with the fixing plate 11), and a screw 21.
screw holes 1 screwed by a and 21b respectively
2c and 12d, a knob 12e, and a hole 12f for inserting a needle-shaped operation tool.

The fixing plate 11 is formed perpendicular to the recording surface.
A contact portion 11a with which the butting 2p of the ceiling wall 2e contacts,
A lever mounting portion 11d integrally formed perpendicularly to the contact portion 11a (that is, parallel to the recording surface). A hole 1 into which the dowel 12a fits is provided in the lever mounting portion 11d.
1b, a hole 11c into which the projection 12b fits, and a screw 21
Screw holes (not shown) formed by screws a and 21b are formed.

The γ-angle adjusting lever 12 is attached to the carriage 1 together with the fixing plate 11 by screws 21a and 21b. With this mounting, the mounting portion 11d of the fixing plate 11 is fitted between a pair of rib-like projections 1d, 1d formed on the carriage 1 main body in the transport direction and having substantially the same width as the width of the mounting portion 11d.

The screw hole 12c of the γ-angle adjusting lever 12 is
In FIG. 18, the hole is a vertically long hole, and the screw hole 12d is an arc-shaped hole. This gives γ
The angle adjusting lever 12 is rotatable around the dowel 12a within the range of these screw holes 12c and 12d. Therefore, screwing by the screws 21a and 21b is performed with such a strength that the γ-angle adjusting lever 12 can rotate. However, after the angle adjustment is completed, in order to prevent the carriage 1 from moving due to vibration or the like, it is further required. It may be strongly screwed.

A ratchet 1f formed on the carriage 1 is provided on the rear side near the knob 12e of the γ-angle adjusting lever 12.
A protrusion (not shown) that engages with and disengages from the body is integrally formed. Since the γ-angle adjusting lever 12 is made of an elastic member, by pulling the knob 12e to the front side, the projection on the back surface is released from the ratchet 1f and can be rotated. After turning to the desired position, when the pull of the knob 16d is released, the protrusion engages the ratchet 1f. As a result, the γ-angle adjusting lever 12 (that is, γ-angle adjustment lever 12) is moved to a desired position within the range where the ratchet
Angle) can be adjusted, and after the adjustment, careless rotation of the γ-angle adjusting lever 12 can be prevented. Further, by using the lever 12 for adjusting the γ angle as a lever-shaped member, the turning operation is facilitated, and the γ angle can be finely adjusted.

The turning operation of the γ-angle adjusting lever 12 can be performed by a needle-shaped operating tool inserted into the needle-shaped operating tool insertion hole 12f. The turning operation of the γ-angle adjusting lever 12 (that is, the γ-angle adjusting operation) is not normally performed by the user, but is performed at a factory.

The screw holes (not shown) of the fixing plate 11 and the holes 11b into which the dowels 12a fit are formed together with the fixing plate 11
Are long holes in the vertical direction so that they can move in the vertical direction (transport direction) in FIG. On the other hand, the diameter of the hole 11c into which the projection 12b fits is long in the left-right direction (reciprocating direction) in FIG. 17, but is about the same length as the projection in the up-down direction.

Therefore, in FIG. 18, when the γ-angle adjusting lever 12 is rotated clockwise, the projection 12b
The fixed plate 11 is moved downward (downstream in the conveyance direction), and γ
When the angle adjusting lever 12 is rotated counterclockwise, the fixing plate 11 is moved upward (upstream in the transport direction). Since the lever mounting portion 11d of the fixing plate 11 is fitted between the pair of rib-like protrusions 1d, 1d of the carriage 1, the movement of the fixing plate 11 is controlled by the rib-like protrusions 1d, 1d.
The processing is performed in parallel along 1d, that is, along the upstream and downstream sides in the transport direction.

By the parallel movement of the fixed plate 11, the contact portion 11a of the fixed plate 11 also moves in a parallel manner as shown in FIG. When the contact portion 11a moves in parallel, the contact portion 11a and the head spring 20 and the spring cap 40
The ceiling wall 2 e (that is, the recording head 2) sandwiched by the pivots about the support shaft 10. In this way, the recording head 2 moves with respect to the carriage 1
By rotating about the support shaft 10 as a central axis, the γ angle is adjusted,
As a result, the parallelism between the head surface and the recording surface is adjusted with high accuracy, and the printing quality is improved.

Since the γ angle is adjusted by displacing the recording head 2 with respect to the carriage 1,
In a recording apparatus in which the sub shaft 5 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) is fixed to the side frame, the γ angle can be adjusted. Further, the support shaft 10 only needs to have a strength capable of supporting the recording head 2 with respect to the carriage 1, and does not need to be configured to have a large strength even in a large-sized recording apparatus.

4. Adjustment of Paper Gap Adjustment of the paper gap is performed by rotating the support shaft 10. As described with reference to FIGS. 14, 15 and 16, the large-diameter portion 10a of the support shaft 10 is supported by the fourth holes 2g and 2i, and the eccentric shaft 1
Ob and 10c are supported by third holes 2f and 13a. The fourth holes 2g and 2i are elongated holes in the transport direction, and the third holes 2f and 13a are elongated holes in a direction orthogonal to the recording surface.

Since the support shaft 10 has an eccentric structure, the rotation of the support shaft 10 causes an eccentric motion. In this eccentric movement, the large-diameter portion 10a can move in the transport direction in the fourth holes 2g and 2i, but cannot move in the direction orthogonal to the recording surface. On the other hand, the eccentric shaft portions 10b and 10c
The holes 2f and 13a can move in the direction orthogonal to the recording material, but cannot move in the transport direction. In other words, the recording head 2 can move in the third holes 2f and 13a with respect to the eccentric shaft portions 10b and 10c in a direction orthogonal to the recording material, but cannot move in the transport direction.

That is, even if the support shaft 10 is rotated, the recording head 2 is at a fixed position with respect to the eccentric shaft portions 10b and 10c in the transport direction and does not displace. On the other hand, the eccentric shaft portions 10b and 10c are also supported and fixed by the carriage 1 (see FIG. 7). As a result, even if the support shaft 10 is rotated, the recording head 2 does not move in the transport direction with respect to the carriage 1.

On the other hand, since the large diameter portion 10a cannot move in the direction perpendicular to the recording surface in the fourth holes 2g and 2i, the eccentric movement of the large diameter portion 10a due to the rotation of the support shaft 10 causes the recording head to move. 2 acts in a direction perpendicular to the recording surface and does not act in the transport direction. That is, the force due to the eccentric movement acts only on the carriage 1 as a force for moving the recording head 2 up and down. Also, as mentioned above,
The recording head 2 can move in a direction perpendicular to the recording surface with respect to the eccentric shaft portions 10b and 10c supported and fixed to the carriage 1 by the structure of the third holes 2f and 13a. Further, as described above, the recording head 2 is provided on the ceiling wall 2e with the abutting portion 11a of the fixed plate 11 provided in a direction orthogonal to the recording surface and the carriage spring 20.
(Spring / cap 40) and is restricted so as to move only in a direction perpendicular to the recording surface (see FIG. 17).

As a result, when the support shaft 10 is rotated, the recording head 2 makes only vertical movement (that is, movement in a direction perpendicular to the recording surface) with respect to the carriage 1, whereby the recording is performed. The distance between the surface and the head surface, ie, the paper gap, is adjusted.

FIG. 20 shows how the paper gap is adjusted. The rotation of the support shaft 10 causes the large-diameter portion 1
0a raises and lowers the recording head 2 (that is, the head portion 2b) with respect to the carriage 1, whereby the paper gap is adjusted.

As described with reference to FIG. 17, the large diameter portion 10a of the support shaft 10 is formed with a cutting portion 10d having three surfaces, and any one of these three surfaces is used as a head spring. 19 is urged, and the rotation of the support shaft 10 is suppressed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the paper gap can be adjusted in three stages corresponding to these three surfaces. It is particularly effective for switching the paper gap. For example, there are three stages: a paper gap for cardboard, a medium paper gap between cardboard and plain paper, and a paper gap for plain paper. The paper gap can be switched.

By changing the cut surface 10d to two or four or more, the paper gap can be switched.
The number of stages can be increased to four or more. Further, as the number of cut surfaces increases, not only switching of the paper gap but also fine adjustment of the paper gap can be performed.

As described above, the recording head 2 is moved to the carriage 1
, The paper gap is adjusted, so that the paper gap is adjusted even in a recording apparatus in which the main shaft 4 and the sub shaft 5 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) are fixed to the side frames. Can be. Further, the support shaft 10 moves the recording head 2 with respect to the carriage 1.
What is necessary is just to have a strength capable of supporting the recording medium, and it is not necessary to adopt a configuration having a large strength even in a large recording apparatus. Further, the PG drive unit 18 described above is used.
4 (see FIG. 4), it is sufficient to have a driving force enough to move up and down only the recording head 2 of the carriage 1 instead of the entire carriage 1.

Next, the adjustment of the paper gap is referred to as P
A process when automatically performed by the G drive unit 18 (see FIG. 4) will be described. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the flow of the paper gap adjustment process by the PG drive unit 18.

The switching of the paper gap is different from the α, β and γ angles which are usually adjusted in the factory.
Immediately before recording on the recording material, the recording is performed in consideration of the thickness of the recording material. That is, the carriage 1 is placed at the standby position shown in FIG. 4 before the recording starts, and at this time, the paper gap is adjusted by the PG drive unit 18 as described above.

Before the start of recording, the paper gap is adjusted to a paper gap for plain paper (minimum paper gap) as an initial value (default value).

Driving control unit (not shown) of large recording apparatus
Is a paper thickness detection signal from a paper thickness detector (not shown), a first setting signal from an input device (operation panel: not shown) of a large recording device, or a first setting signal from an external computer, word processor, or the like. Based on the setting signal of 2, it is determined whether the thickness of the recording material is thick paper, medium thick paper, or plain paper (step S1).

In some cases, only one of the paper thickness detection signal and the first and second setting signals is supplied.
Two or more of these may be provided. If two or more signals are given and their contents conflict, a signal having a predetermined higher priority is preferentially selected.

If the content of the signal is cardboard ("cardboard" in step S1), the drive control unit drives the PG drive unit 18 to rotate the support shaft 10 by the cardboard rotation angle, and -Maximize the gap (step S2).

If the content of the signal is medium cardboard ("medium" in step S1), the PG drive unit 18 is also driven to rotate the support shaft 10 by the medium cardboard rotation angle. To make the paper gap medium (step S3).

When the content of the signal is plain paper, the adjustment of the paper gap is not performed. This is because the paper gap is already adjusted to the paper gap of plain paper as an initial value.

When the adjustment of the paper gap is completed, recording (printing) is subsequently performed (step S4). When the recording is completed, the carriage 1 returns to the standby position again, and the paper gap is adjusted. If the paper gap has been adjusted to something other than plain paper before the start of recording, the drive control unit drives the PG drive unit 18 to return the paper gap to that of plain paper. If the paper gap has been adjusted, the paper gap is not adjusted because there is no need to return (step S5).

It is not always necessary to set the initial value of the paper gap and return the paper gap to the initial value after the end of recording. For example, after the recording is completed, the paper gap is left as it is, and the paper gap is stored, and before the next recording starts, the stored paper gap and the paper recording of the next recording to be performed.
Compare them with the gap, and if they are different, adjust to a new paper gap;
Recording can also be started without adjusting the gap.

[0133]

According to the present invention, the recording head is supported on the carriage by the carriage and the support shaft passing through the recording head. The α-angle adjusting bearing member is attached to a first hole formed at a position where the support shaft passes through the carriage, and supports an end of the support shaft. The position at which the α-angle adjusting bearing member supports the support shaft can be adjusted to the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording material.

Therefore, by adjusting the supporting position to the downstream side in the transport direction, the end of the support shaft is displaced to the downstream side in the transport direction. Due to this displacement, the side of the recording head supported on the end side of the displaced support shaft is also displaced to the upstream and downstream in the transport direction. That is, the recording head is displaced in the direction of the α angle. This makes it possible to adjust the α angle,
As a result, the recording quality can be improved by making the dot forming element row parallel to the transport direction.

Further, since the α angle is adjusted by the support shaft and the α-angle adjusting bearing member, a recording device (for example, such as a recording device) which does not assume that the support position of the guide shaft is adjusted to adjust the β angle and the paper gap. The α angle can be adjusted with high accuracy even in a recording apparatus that adjusts the β angle and the paper gap by displacing the recording head with respect to the carriage.

Further, the α-angle can be easily adjusted with a small number of parts such as the support shaft and the α-angle adjusting bearing member, and these parts have a strength sufficient to support the recording head with respect to the carriage. It is not necessary to have a structure with high strength even in a large-sized recording device, and it is so small that the deflection of the support shaft and the deformation of the α-angle adjustment bearing member due to weight can be ignored. It can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a recording unit of a large recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a recording unit of FIG.

FIG. 3 shows an adjustment angle for making the recording head parallel to the recording surface of the recording material and an adjustment angle for making the dot forming element row parallel to the transport direction.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing details of the carriage when the carriage is located at a standby position.

FIG. 5 is a right side view illustrating details of the carriage when the carriage is located at a standby position.

6A and 6B show a support shaft, wherein FIG. 6A is a perspective view, FIG. 6B is a front view, and FIG. 6C is a side view.

FIG. 7 is a left side view illustrating details of a carriage.

8A is an enlarged view of a bearing portion of the α-angle adjusting bearing member, and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG.

FIGS. 9A and 9B show an eccentric shaft portion of a support shaft,
4 schematically shows a relationship between a first hole and a rotating portion of a bearing portion of the α-angle adjusting bearing member.

10A shows the positions of the α-angle adjusting bearing member and the recording head corresponding to FIG. 9A, and FIG.
The positions of the .alpha.-angle adjusting bearing member and the recording head corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 4;

FIG. 12 shows how the β-angle adjusting bearing member rotates to adjust the β-angle.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG.

16A is a right side view of the recording head, and FIG. 16B is a left side view of the recording head.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 4;

FIG. 18 is a front view showing how the γ angle is adjusted.

FIG. 19 is a right cross-sectional view showing how the γ angle is adjusted.

FIG. 20 shows how the paper gap is adjusted.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a paper gap adjustment process performed by the PG driving unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Carriage 2 Recording head 10 Support shaft 10b Eccentric shaft part 15 Alpha angle adjustment bearing member 15a Bearing part 150 Rotating part 50 First hole 50a Square hole a1 Contact side a2 Second side a3 Third side c1 First circular surface c2 Second circular surface c3 Third circular surface

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A reciprocating motion guided by a guide member to be disposed parallel to a recording surface of a recording material and perpendicular to a conveying direction of the recording material. A carriage having a recording head for performing recording,
A support shaft that is disposed substantially parallel to the guide member, passes through the carriage and the print head, and supports the print head with respect to the carriage; and a support shaft that is formed at a location passing through the carriage. An α-angle adjusting bearing member attached to at least one first hole to support an end of the support shaft and to adjust a supporting position to a position upstream and downstream in a conveying direction of the recording material. When,
A carriage comprising: 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first hole has a linear contact side extending in parallel with the recording material conveying direction, and the α-angle adjusting bearing member is provided with the α-angle adjusting bearing member. An elastic member is rotatably fitted in the first hole to support the end of the support shaft and to press the end of the support shaft against the contact side. Carriage. 3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the first hole has a second side facing the contact side, and a pair of third sides connected to the contact side and the second side and facing each other. And the end of the support shaft has a first arc surface in contact with the contact side, and the α-angle adjusting bearing member is in contact with the second side. A carriage having an arcuate surface and a pair of third arcuate surfaces respectively contacting the third side. 4. A method according to claim 3, wherein said second arc surface is an arc surface concentric with the center of said first arc surface, and said pair of third arc surfaces have a common center and a curvature. The arcs have the same radius, and the center of the first arc is O ₁ ,
The radius of curvature is R ₁ , the radius of curvature of the second arc surface is R ₂ ,
It said third arcuate surface centered O ₃ of _curvature radius R _3, when the distance between the center O ₃ of the center O ₁ and the third arcuate surface of said first arcuate surface was A, R 1 ₊ R ₂ = 2R ₃ and R
A carriage characterized by the following relationship: _3- R ₁ = A 5. The α-angle adjusting bearing member according to claim 1, wherein the α-angle adjusting bearing member includes a first lever-shaped member for rotating the α-angle adjusting bearing member. Characteristic carriage. 6. A recording apparatus comprising the carriage according to claim 1. Description: