JP2003001832A - Slider assembling structure and method for capping means in ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a slider assembling structure and method for a capping means in an ink jet recording apparatus simplified in the slider assembling operation and its structure as a whole, reduced in cost. SOLUTION: In this slider assembling structure, protrusions 15a-15d which are lined in parallel at a prescribed interval in the horizontal and vertical direction are provided on both side parts of the slider 15, cam ports 22-25 for guiding the protrusions 15a-15d are provided at a fixing frame 31, and the protrusions 15a-15d are inserted into the cam ports 22-25 to be held freely movable so that the slider 15 is assembled to the fixing frame 31. The first cut-off 24A, 25A to be opened on the non-printing region side are provided at the cam ports 24, 25, and the second cut-off 22A to be opened on the printing region side is provided at the cam port 22.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a slider mounting structure and method of a capping means in an ink jet type recording apparatus having an ink droplet discharge recovery function for sucking and discharging ink from a recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet recording apparatuses have been used for many types of printing including color printing in recent years, because noise during printing is relatively low and small dots can be formed with high density. . Such an ink jet recording apparatus is provided with a recording head that receives the supply of ink from an ink cartridge and a paper feeding unit that moves the recording paper relative to the recording head. Then, recording is performed by moving the recording head in accordance with the print signal to eject ink droplets on the recording paper to form dots. In this case, a recording head capable of ejecting, for example, black, yellow, cyan, and magenta inks is mounted on the carriage, and full-color printing is possible by changing the ejection ratio of each ink.

Such an ink jet type recording apparatus has the following problems because ink is ejected as ink droplets from a nozzle opening of a recording head onto a recording sheet to perform printing. That is, clogging occurs in the nozzle opening due to increase in ink viscosity caused by evaporation of the ink solvent from the nozzle opening, solidification of ink on the nozzle forming surface, and adhesion of dust, and bubbles are mixed in the recording head. The problem is that printing defects occur.

Therefore, in the ink jet recording apparatus, in addition to the recording head and the paper feeding means described above, a capping means for sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head at the time of non-printing, and ink is sucked and discharged into the capping means. And a wiping unit that cleans the nozzle forming surface of the recording head after the ink is sucked and discharged by the suction pump. Then, in order to prevent the occurrence of clogging of the nozzle openings and the inclusion of air bubbles in the recording head, the ink is forcibly sucked and discharged from the recording head by the suction pump into the capping means, and then the recording head is wiped by the wiping means. The wiping of the nozzle forming surface is performed.

The process of forcibly discharging the ink for eliminating the clogging of the recording head or when air bubbles remain in the recording head is called a cleaning operation. Then, it is executed when printing is resumed after a long pause in the recording apparatus, or when the user recognizes a print quality defect such as print blur and operates the cleaning switch.

Further, in the ink jet type recording apparatus, ink is ejected from the nozzle openings of the recording head into the capping means at regular intervals to eliminate clogging of the nozzle openings or to adjust the ink meniscus. The so-called flushing (idle discharge) is also performed.

Conventionally, as this type of ink jet recording apparatus, one provided with, for example, the following capping means is adopted. The capping means of this recording device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the capping means when the recording head is in the capping state. As shown in FIG. 10, the capping means 91 includes a cap member 91a made of a soft material having ink resistance and the cap member 91a.
Is provided with a cap holder 91b.

On the cap member 91a, an annular seal portion 91a1 that abuts the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 92 is formed.
Further, a through hole (ink discharge port) 91a2 communicating with the inside of the seal portion 91a1 is provided. In the cap member 91a, an ink absorption sheet 93 made of a porous material having excellent ink resistance and ink absorption is loaded. Then, when the carriage (not shown) moves above the capping means 91, the slider 94 supporting the cap holder 91b is moved upward by a rotating arm or the like while keeping the slider 94 in a substantially horizontal posture, and the recording head 92 is moved. The nozzle forming surface is configured to be sealed by the seal member 91a1.

On the other hand, the cap holder 91b has an ink discharge port 9 communicating with the internal space of the cap member 91a.
1b1 is provided, and the ink discharge port 91b is also provided.
An ink discharge pipe (tube) 91a3 that communicates with 1 and reaches a suction pump (not shown) is connected.

In the above structure, the slider 94 is pushed up by moving the carriage to the capping means side, and the seal portion 91a1 of the cap member 91a is pushed.
Seals the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 92. And
By operating the suction pump, the ink discharge pipe 91a3
A negative pressure is applied to the internal space (airtight space) formed by the cap member 91a via.

As a result, the ink is sucked and discharged from the nozzle opening of the recording head 92 into the internal space of the cap member 91a, further absorbed by the ink absorbing sheet 93 in the cap member 91a, and stored in the cap member 91a.
When the suction of the ink from the recording head 92 is completed, the capping means 91 is moved slightly downward, the sealing of the recording head 92 by the cap member 91a is released, and the suction pump is operated to operate the cap member 91a. An operation sequence for discharging the ink stored therein into the waste liquid tank is executed.

[0012]

By the way, a slider holding a capping means of this kind has an arm rotating mechanism and a cam mechanism (a mechanism formed by inserting a pin into a cam hole) on a fixed frame in a recording apparatus. It is assembled so that it can be moved through. That is, the print area side of the slider is held by the fixed frame via the arm rotating mechanism, and the non-print area side of the slider is held by the cam mechanism. Therefore, assembling the slider to the fixed frame requires not only pin insertion work but also arm attachment work.
As a result, there is a problem in that the number of operations is increased when the slider is assembled, and the assembly work is complicated. In addition, the need for a rotating arm increases the number of parts,
Not only is the entire structure complicated, but there is also the problem of high costs.

The present invention has been made to solve such a technical problem, and an ink jet recording apparatus capable of simplifying the slider assembling work and the entire structure and further reducing the cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide a slide assembling structure and method of a capping means in.

[0014]

The slide assembly structure of the capping means in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, which has been made to achieve the above-mentioned object, is movably held by a fixed frame, and the nozzle of the recording head is provided. A capping means having a cap member capable of sealing the formation surface; and a slide mechanism having a slider arranged between the capping means and the fixed frame and for moving the cap member to a capping position and a non-capping position. Between each side portion of the slider in this slide mechanism and the fixed frame, two protrusions arranged in parallel in the horizontal / vertical direction at a predetermined interval and a cam hole for guiding these protrusions are arranged. The slider is fixed to the fixing frame by movably holding the projection on the slider. The first notch opening to the non-printing area side is provided in both of the cam holes on the non-printing area side of the cam hole, At least one of the cam holes is provided with a second cutout opening to the print area side.

With this structure, when the slider is assembled to the fixed frame, one of the printing area side projections is movably held in the printing area side cam hole having no cutout, and the other printing area is provided. The side projection is movably held in the print area side cam hole by inserting from the second cutout, and the non-print area side projection is movably held in the nonprint area side cam hole by inserting from the first cutout. It is done by doing. Therefore, the arm mounting work conventionally required for assembling the slider with respect to the fixed frame is not necessary, so that the number of works during slider assembling can be reduced, and the slider assembling work can be simplified. Further, since a rotating arm and the like are unnecessary, the number of parts can be reduced accordingly, and the overall structure can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

Here, it is desirable that an insertion port communicating with the first cutout and opening upward is disposed on the non-printing region side of the non-printing region side cam hole of the cam holes. With this configuration, the projection on the non-printing area side is inserted and held in the cam hole on the non-printing area side through the insertion opening through the first notch.

Further, it is preferable that a dimension of the non-printing area side cam hole in the carriage reciprocating direction is set to be smaller than a dimension of the printing area side cam hole in the carriage reciprocating direction. With this configuration, when the slider is assembled to the fixed frame, the protrusions can be arranged in the cam holes.

Further, it is preferable that the protrusion is arranged on a side portion of the slider and the cam hole is arranged on the fixed frame. Because it is configured like this,
The print area side portion and the non-print area side portion of the slider are attached to the fixed frame by inserting and holding the protrusions of the slider in the cam holes of the fixed frame.

On the other hand, the slider assembling method of the capping means in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is as follows.
A capping unit that is movably held by a fixed frame and has a cap member capable of sealing the nozzle formation surface of the recording head; and a capping unit that is disposed between the capping unit and the fixed frame and that has the capping position. A slide mechanism having a slider for moving to a non-capping position, and a method of assembling the slider of the slide mechanism to the fixed frame, wherein:
Between each side portion of the slider and the fixed frame, two protrusions arranged in parallel in the horizontal / vertical direction at a predetermined interval and a cam hole for guiding these protrusions are arranged. A first notch opening to the print area side is provided in both cam holes on the non-print area side of the cam holes, and a second notch opening to the print area side is at least one of both cam holes on the print area side. When the slider is assembled, the one of the protrusions on both print region sides is inserted into the cam hole on the print region side without the second notch, and then the other print region. Side protrusions are inserted into the cam holes on the print area side from the second notch, and then the slider is moved to the non-print area side of the fixed frame, and then in each cam hole on the non-print area side. To the above Characterized by inserting the projection of the non-printing area side from lack Ri all.

According to such a method, the arm mounting work conventionally required for assembling the slider with respect to the fixed frame is not necessary, so that the number of works for assembling the slider can be reduced and the slider assembling work can be simplified. Can be realized.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, a carriage indicated by reference numeral 1 is configured to be reciprocally moved in the axial direction of the platen 5 while being guided by a guide member 4 via a timing belt 3 driven by a carriage motor 2.

An ink jet recording head 12 is mounted on the lower surface of the carriage 1 (the side facing the recording paper 6), and a black ink cartridge 7 for supplying ink to the recording head 12 and a color are mounted on the upper surface thereof. The ink cartridge 8 is detachably held.

A capping means 9 is arranged in the non-printing area (home position) of the carriage 1.
The capping means 9 (cap member) is configured to move up when the recording head 12 moves directly above and to seal the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 12. A suction pump (tube pump) 10 as a pump unit for applying a negative pressure to the internal space of the cap member is arranged below the capping means 9.

The capping means 9 is used for the recording head 12 during the rest period of the ink jet recording apparatus.
It has a function as a lid for preventing the nozzle opening of the nozzle from drying. Further, a function as an ink receiver at the time of flushing operation in which a drive signal not related to printing is applied to the recording head 12 to discharge ink droplets, and a negative pressure from the tube pump 10 is applied to the recording head 12. It also has a function as a cleaning unit that acts to suck ink.

A wiping means 11 is arranged near the print area side of the capping means 9 so as to be movable back and forth in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the movement path of the recording head 12. Incidentally, the wiping means 11
And the suction operation of the tube pump 11,
The driving force of a paper feed motor (described later) that conveys the recording paper 6 is used.

Next, the slider assembling structure of the capping means, which is an essential part of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 are side views shown for explaining the non-capping state and the capping state of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a fixed frame of the capping means in the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. 5A and 5B are perspective views showing the slider of the capping means in the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. 2 and 3,
The carriage indicated by reference numeral 1 is configured to be guided by the guide member 4 as described above and to be capable of reciprocating in parallel while facing the paper guide plate (not shown). The capping means 9 is a cap member 9 a capable of sealing the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 12 and the cap member 9 a.
It has a cap holder 9b for holding a.

The cap member 9a is integrally provided on the cap holder 9b by, for example, a two-color molding method, and is entirely formed by a box body having a substantially rectangular plane made of an elastic material such as elastomer. The cap member 9a is connected to the tube pump 10 (shown in FIG. 1) via an ink discharge pipe 91a ₃ (shown in FIG. 10). As a result, when the cleaning command is received, the negative pressure by the tube pump 10 is applied to the internal space of the cap member 9a in a state where the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 12 is sealed,
The ink can be forcibly discharged from the.

On the other hand, the cap holder 9b is composed of a box body having a substantially rectangular plane as in the cap member 9a.
The whole is made of a material harder than the material (elastomer) of the cap member 9a. The cap holder 9b is mounted on a slider 15 that constitutes a slider elevating mechanism (slide mechanism), and is constantly urged toward the recording head by a compression spring (not shown). Then, the slider 1 accompanying the reciprocating movement of the carriage 1
It is configured to move to the capping position and the non-capping position by the horizontal and vertical movements of 5.

The slider 15 is connected to a fixed frame 31 in the recording apparatus via a tension spring (not shown). As a result, the slider 15 approaches the print area and separates from the recording head 12,
That is, it is urged downward from the state shown in FIG. 3 to the state shown in FIG.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2, when the carriage 1 is moved right above the capping means 9, the engaging member 1a provided on the carriage 1 is provided on the slider 15 so as to stand upright. By abutting against 15A, the slider 15 moves to the non-printing area side against the elastic force of the tension spring as shown in FIG. As a result, the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 12 can be sealed with the cap member 9a (seal portion).

When the carriage 1 moves to the print area side, the contact of the engaging body 1a with the engaging portion 15A is released, and the slider 15 is brought into the state shown in FIG. 2 by the elastic force of the tension spring. Done. As a result, the sealing of the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 12 by the cap member 9a can be released.

The left side portion of the slider 15 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), two protrusions 15a and 15c arranged in parallel in the horizontal / vertical (front / rear / up / down) direction with a predetermined interval.
Is provided. In addition, on the right side of FIG.
As shown in (2), two projections 15b and 15d are also provided which are arranged in parallel in the horizontal and vertical directions at a predetermined interval. That is, the protrusions 15a and 15b are arranged at symmetrical positions on the print area side (front portions on both sides) of the slider 15, and the protrusions 15c and 15d are arranged on the non-print area side (rear portions on both sides). They are arranged in symmetrical positions.

As shown in FIG. 4, the fixed frame 31 has cam holes 22 through which guide the projections 15a through 15d.
25 are provided. Then, the cam holes 22 to 25
The protrusions 15a to 15d are inserted therein and are movably held. These cam holes 22 to 25
Lower portions 22a to 25a and higher portions 22b to 25b are respectively arranged at both end positions of the both portions 22a to 25a.
Inclined portions 22c to 25c are arranged between 25a and 22b to 25b. Of these, the low area 22a on the print area side,
23a and high places 22b and 23b and slopes 22c and 2
3c is arranged in the upper part of the inner surface of the cam holes 22 and 23. On the other hand, the low parts 24a and 25a on the non-printing area side
Also, the high places 24b, 25b and the inclined portions 24c, 25c are arranged in the lower portions of the inner surfaces of the cam holes 24, 25.

Of the cam holes 22 to 25, first cams 24 and 25 on the non-printing area side are provided with first notches 24A and 25A which are open to the non-printing area side (rearward).
Insertion ports 24A ₁ and 25A ₁ that communicate with the first cutouts 24A and 25A and that open upward (to the recording head side) are provided on the non-printing area side of the cam holes 24 and 25. On the other hand, the cam hole 22 on the left side of the cam holes 22 and 23 on the print area side is provided with a second notch 22A that opens to the print area side (front). The front portion of the inner surface of the cam hole 23 on the print area side and the cam holes 24, 2 on the non-print area side
The front portion of the inner surface of 5 can function as a stopper that restricts the movement of the slider 15 to the print area side.

Next, the slider assembling method of the capping means according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9 are perspective views for explaining the slider assembling method of the capping means in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. First, as shown in FIG. 6, the slider 15 is tilted in such a posture that the projection 15b can be inserted into the cam hole 23, and the projection 15b is inserted into the front portion (printing area side) in the cam hole 23. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the slider 15 is held in a posture such that the protrusion 15a can be inserted into the cam hole 22, and the protrusion 15a is moved from the second notch 22A to the front portion (printing area side) in the cam hole 22. To insert.

Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the slider 1
5 is moved from the print area side (front end portion) of the fixed frame 31 toward the non-print area side (rear end portion). In this case, when the slider 15 is moved, the protrusion 15a moves from the low portion 22a of the cam hole 22 to the high portion 22 via the inclined portion 22c.
While moving to b, the protrusion 15b moves from the low portion 23a of the cam hole 23 to the high portion 23b via the inclined portion 23c. The slider 1 is placed around the protrusions 15a and 15b.
5 is rotated as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG.
Is inserted into the insertion opening 24A ₁ and the projection 15d is inserted into the insertion opening 25A ₁ .

In this state, the slider 15 is moved from the non-printing area side (rear end portion) of the fixed frame 31 toward the printing area side (front end portion), and the projection 15c is cut out.
4A is inserted into the rear portion (non-printing area side) of the cam hole 24, and the projection 15d is inserted from the notch 25A into the rear portion (non-printing area side) of the cam hole 25.

Thereafter, the slider 15 is attached to the fixed frame 31.
Is further moved from the non-printing area side (rear end) to the printing area side (front end). In this case, when the slider 15 is moved, the projection 15c on the non-printing area side moves from the high part 24b of the cam hole 24 to the low part 2 via the inclined part 24c.
4a, the projection 15d moves from the high portion 25b of the cam hole 25 to the low portion 25a via the inclined portion 25c. Further, the projection 15a on the print area side moves from the high part 22b of the cam hole 22 to the low part 22a via the inclined part 22c, and the projection 15b moves to the high part 23b of the cam hole 23.
To the low part 23a via the inclined part 23c. In this way, the slider 15 is assembled to the fixed frame 31.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the arm mounting work conventionally required for assembling the slider 15 to the fixed frame 31 is not required, so that the number of works during slider assembling can be reduced and the slider assembling can be reduced. The work can be simplified. Further, in the present embodiment, since a rotating arm and the like are not necessary, the number of parts can be reduced accordingly, and the entire structure can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the case where the notch 22A is provided only in the cam hole 22 of the two cam holes 22 and 23 on the print area side has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead of providing the notch 22, the cam hole 23 may be provided only. Also, both cam holes 22,
You may provide a notch in 23. In this case, in order for each protrusion to be arranged in the cam hole by mounting the slider on the fixed frame, the dimension of the non-printing area side cam hole in the carriage reciprocating direction is smaller than the dimension of the printing area side cam hole in the carriage reciprocating direction. It is desirable to set to.

Besides, in the present embodiment, the case where the notches 24A, 25A and the insertion openings 24A ₁ , 25A ₁ are provided in both the cam holes 24, 25 on the non-printing area side has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The cam holes 22 and 24 on the left side of the fixed frame or the cam holes 23 and 2 on the right side are not limited.
Even if the notch 5 and the insertion port (both not shown) are provided in 5, the same effect as the embodiment can be obtained.

[0042]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the slider assembling structure of the capping means in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, the slider assembling work and the entire structure are simplified, and the cost is further reduced. Can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of an overall configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a non-capping state of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a capping state of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a fixed frame of a capping unit in an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

5A and 5B are perspective views showing a slider of a capping unit in an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view shown for explaining the procedure (1) of the slider assembling method of the capping means in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view shown for explaining the procedure (2) of the slider assembling method of the capping means in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view shown for explaining the procedure (3) of the slider assembling method of the capping means in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view shown for explaining the procedure (4) of the slider assembling method of the capping means in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a capping means in a conventional ink jet recording apparatus.

[Description of Reference Signs] 1 Carriage 1a Engagement body 2 Carriage motor 3 Timing belt 4 Guide member 5 Platen 6 Recording paper 7 Black ink cartridge 8 Color ink cartridge 9 Capping means 9a Cap member 9b Cap holder 10 Suction pump 11 Wiping means 12 Recording head 15 slider 15A engaging portion 15a~15d projections 22-25 cam hole 22a~25a depressed portion unit 22b~25b aerial part 22c~25c inclined portions 22A, 24A, 25A notch 24A _1, 25A ₁ insertion opening 31 a fixed frame

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A capping unit, which is movably held by a fixed frame and has a cap member capable of sealing a nozzle forming surface of a recording head, and a capping unit disposed between the capping unit and the fixed frame. A slide mechanism having a slider for transferring a member to a capping position and a non-capping position, and two side parts of the slider in this slide mechanism and the fixed frame are arranged in parallel in a horizontal / vertical direction at a predetermined interval. And a cam hole for guiding the projections, and the projections are inserted into the cam holes and movably held therein so that the slider is assembled to the fixed frame. Both of the holes on the non-printing area side are provided with a first notch that opens to the non-printing area side. At least the one of the cam holes, the slider assembly structure of the capping unit in the ink jet recording apparatus characterized by lack second cut open to the print area side is provided, of the two cam holes of the frequency band. 2. An insertion opening communicating with the first cutout and opening upward is disposed on the non-printing area side of the non-printing area side cam hole of the cam holes. 2. A slider assembling structure of capping means in the ink jet recording apparatus described in the item 1. 3. The carriage reciprocating direction dimension of the non-printing area side cam hole of the cam holes is set to be smaller than the carriage reciprocating direction dimension of the printing area side cam hole. A slider assembling structure of a capping means in an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2. 4. The ink jet type according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is arranged on a side portion of the slider, and the cam hole is arranged on the fixed frame. A slider assembly structure of capping means in a recording apparatus. 5. A capping unit, which is movably held by a fixed frame and has a cap member capable of sealing the nozzle forming surface of a recording head, and is disposed between the capping unit and the fixed frame. A method of assembling the slider of the slide mechanism to the fixed frame, comprising: a slide mechanism having a slider that transfers a member to a capping position and a non-capping position; Two protrusions and cam holes that guide these protrusions are arranged in the horizontal and vertical directions at a predetermined interval, and when arranging these cam holes, the first notch that opens to the non-printing area side is provided. A second notch that opens on the print area side is provided in both of the cam holes on the non-print area side of the cam holes. Provided in at least one of the cam holes on the character area side, and when the slider is assembled, one of the protrusions on the print area side is provided in the cam hole on the print area side without the second notch. Then, after inserting the protrusion on the other printing area side from the second notch into the cam hole on the printing area side, after moving the slider to the non-printing area side of the fixed frame, A method for assembling a slider of a capping means in an ink jet recording apparatus, characterized in that the projection on the non-printing area side is inserted from the first notch into each cam hole on the non-printing area side.