JP2003063096A - Recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the change of the design of a recording apparatus, and reduce the cost of the recording apparatus by providing commonality of parts. SOLUTION: In a printer 100, an apparatus body is constituted by combining and coupling four units, that is, a paper-feeding unit 1, a carrying unit 60, a carriage unit 20 and an ink system unit 80. The unit 1 is equipped with a carriage 22 which is differently deigned in general when the printers 100 are different in type from one another; and the other units 60, 20 and 80 are composed of components which are designed in the same way even when the types of the printers 100 are different from one another. In the change of the design of the printer 100, only the design of the unit 1 is changed, and the other units 60, 20 and 80 are used as they are, so that the design can be easily changed. Additionally, the commonality of the parts enables cost reduction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for recording on a recording material, which comprises an apparatus main body formed by combining a plurality of units.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A printer is one of recording devices,
Generally, the printer includes a recording unit that records on a print sheet as a recording material, a conveying unit that conveys the print sheet to the recording unit at a constant pitch, and a sheet feeding unit that feeds the print sheet to the conveying unit. A sheet discharging unit that discharges the printed recording sheet.

Further, such a printer generally has a main frame which is a base body of the printer main body, and the parts constituting each of the above-mentioned means are assembled to the main frame, and the main body of the main body forms an integral body of the apparatus. It is configured to

[0004]

By the way, in a plurality of printers having different designs, even if the configuration is such that recording is performed on printing paper of the same size, it is not a component that should be a unique design for each printer There are components and. For example, in an inkjet printer that performs recording by ejecting ink droplets onto printing paper, a carriage that is reciprocally movable in the main scanning direction and that mounts an ink cartridge is one of the components that have the unique design. Correspond to one. In other words, the number of ink colors used is often different depending on the design of the inkjet printer (for example, 4 colors, 6 colors, 7 colors, etc.). In this case, since the number of ink cartridges mounted on the carriage is different, the width of the carriage is different. The directional dimensions will be different for each printer. In addition to this, if the setting of the reciprocating speed of the carriage is different, the size of the acceleration / deceleration area of the carriage to be secured in the reciprocating area of the carriage is different,
As a result, the length of the carriage guide shaft that guides the carriage in the main scanning direction also differs.

If the carriage has different widths or the carriage guide shaft has different lengths, it is necessary to change the width of the main frame.
As described above, when the apparatus main body is integrally configured with the main frame as the core, other constituent elements that do not need to be changed in design, for example, constituent parts of a paper feeding unit that feeds printing paper. In addition, the components of the transporting means for transporting the printing paper and the like must be changed in design, which requires an unnecessary time for design change and makes it impossible to use common parts, which causes a cost increase.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to make it possible to easily change the design of the recording apparatus. In addition, the cost of the recording apparatus can be reduced by using common parts. It is to measure.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a recording apparatus according to claim 1 of the present application is a recording apparatus for recording on a recording material, the apparatus main body being divided into a plurality of units, Further, the main body of the apparatus is configured by combining the plurality of units, and the plurality of units includes a general-purpose unit including constituent parts whose width-direction dimensions do not change between a plurality of recording apparatuses having different designs, and a plurality of different designs. And a dedicated unit including components having different width-direction dimensions between the recording devices.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily change the design of the recording apparatus and, in addition, it is possible to reduce the cost of the recording apparatus by using common parts. That is, the main body of the recording apparatus is divided into a plurality of units, and the plurality of units are combined together. Then, the plurality of units are dedicated units including a general-purpose unit including constituent elements whose width-direction dimensions do not change between a plurality of recording apparatuses having different designs, and a constituent element whose width-direction dimensions differ between a plurality of recording apparatuses having different designs. It is composed of a unit and. Here, the "width direction dimension" is a dimension in the main scanning direction, and the "components having different width direction dimensions among a plurality of printing apparatuses having different designs" are design changes among the components that make up the printing apparatus. Of the ink cartridge and the ink jet recording head in an ink jet printer, and a carriage for guiding the carriage in the main scanning direction. And a carriage guide shaft, etc.

Therefore, when newly designing the recording apparatus, if the design of the dedicated unit is changed, it is not necessary to change the design of the other unit, that is, the general-purpose unit.
Therefore, it is not necessary to change the design of the main body of the apparatus as a whole, whereby a new recording apparatus can be designed with a minimum effort and the design can be performed quickly. In addition, it is possible to reduce the cost of the recording device by sharing the general-purpose unit with a plurality of recording devices having different designs.

The recording device according to claim 2 of the present application is the recording device according to claim 1.
In at least one of the dedicated units, a carriage unit has a carriage having an ink jet recording head for ejecting ink droplets onto a recording material and an ink cartridge, and a carriage guide shaft for guiding the carriage in the main scanning direction. Is characterized in that.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, at least one of the dedicated units has a high frequency of design change among the constituent elements of the recording apparatus, and the dimension in the width direction changes in accordance with the design change. Since it is a carriage unit having a carriage and a carriage guide shaft for guiding the carriage in the main scanning direction, it is possible to obtain the same effects as the invention described in claim 1 of the present application.

The recording apparatus according to claim 3 of the present application is the same as that of claim 2.
In a carriage unit, and a carrying unit for carrying the recording material under the ink jet recording head at a constant pitch, and a feeding unit for feeding the recording material to the carrying unit as a general-purpose unit. A sheet feeding unit as the general-purpose unit, which is provided with:
An ink system unit as the general-purpose unit including maintenance means for the inkjet recording head.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the recording apparatus comprises four units, that is, the carriage unit as the dedicated unit, the transport unit and the paper feeding unit as the general-purpose unit, and the ink system unit. The design of the recording device can be changed only by changing the design of the carriage unit as a dedicated unit, and the three units as general-purpose units can be shared with recording devices of other designs. The cost of the three general-purpose units can be reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the recording apparatus of the third aspect.
In the unit connecting device for connecting the carriage unit and the paper feeding unit, the first engaging portion provided in the carriage unit, the second engaging portion provided in the paper feeding unit, It is arranged so as to straddle one engaging portion and the second engaging portion, and engages with the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion to thereby cause the carriage unit and the sheet feeding A connecting member that connects the unit to each other, and the first engaging portion and the connecting member are engaged with each other by a hooking unit that hooks the connecting member on the first engaging portion. Further, the second engaging portion and the connecting member are engaged with each other by the snap means in which the convex portion formed on the other side is fitted into the concave portion formed on the one side by the elastic means. It is characterized by being done.

According to the invention described in claim 4, it is possible to improve the assembling property and the maintainability of each unit constituting the recording apparatus. That is, there is a unit connecting device that connects the carriage unit and the paper feeding unit, and the unit connecting device includes a first engaging portion provided in the carriage unit and a second engaging portion provided in the paper feeding unit. And a connecting member that engages with the first and second engaging portions, and the connecting member is provided with the engaging means that engages with the first engaging portion. The second engaging portion is engaged with the mating portion, and the second engaging portion is engaged with the second engaging portion by snap means in which a convex portion formed on the other side is fitted into a concave portion formed on the one side. Engage with. Therefore, the work of connecting and disconnecting the paper feeding unit and the carriage unit can be easily performed without the need for any tools, thereby improving both the assembling property and the maintainability of the recording device. Becomes

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. <Structure of Apparatus Main Body of Inkjet Printer> The structure of the apparatus main body of the inkjet printer according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. Here, FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an apparatus main body of the inkjet printer (hereinafter abbreviated as “printer”) 100, FIG. 2 is the same exploded perspective view, FIG. 3 is the same side sectional view, and FIG. It is a figure.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the printer 100 is divided into a plurality of units, and the plurality of units are combined to form a unit. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a paper feeding unit as a paper feeding device capable of feeding a paper P (see FIG. 3) as a recording material or roll paper (not shown), and reference numeral 20 is an inkjet recording head 24 (see FIG. 3)), a carriage unit including a carriage 22 having a carriage 22 having a reference numeral 60, a conveyance unit 60 for conveying a recording material, and a reference numeral 80 an ink system unit for performing maintenance of the inkjet recording head 24. Is divided into these four units as shown in FIG.
It is constructed by combining two units as shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, the carriage unit 20 and the ink system unit 80 are connected to the upper side and the right side (the right side in FIG. 4) of the transport unit 60, and the paper feeding unit 1 is the rear surface of the carriage unit 20. The four units are configured to be united by connecting to the side, and a unit connecting device, which will be described in detail later, is used to connect the sheet feeding unit 1 and the carriage unit 20.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, the printer 100
The paper transporting route will be described. In addition, in the following, FIG.
The left side (rear side of the printer 100) is referred to as “upstream side”, and the right side of FIG. 3 (front side of the printer 100) is referred to as downstream side. The printer 100 is provided with a hopper 6 on the upstream side, and the sheets P as cut sheets are accumulated and stored on the hopper 6 in an inclined posture. The hopper 6 is rotatably provided in a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction in FIG. It is designed to be pressed and separated. Further, the hopper 6 is provided with a movable guide 4 that can slide in the width direction of the paper P (see FIG. 1), and a fixed guide 5 (see FIG. 1).
(See reference), the side edge of the accumulated paper P is guided.
Then, the topmost one of the accumulated sheets P is the hopper 6
Performs a pressure contact operation with respect to the paper feed roller 3, and in the pressure contact state, the paper feed roller 3 rotates and is fed to the downstream side. The paper feed roller 3 has a substantially D-shape when viewed from the side, and is controlled so that its flat portion faces the paper P during the printing operation (state of FIG. 3), whereby the paper P
It is designed to prevent the occurrence of transporting load.

Next, a paper guide 67 as a plate-like member is provided substantially horizontally below the paper feed roller 3, and the front end of the paper P fed out by the paper feed roller 3 is the paper guide 67.
It obliquely abuts and is smoothly guided to the downstream side. The transport drive roller 62 that is rotationally driven downstream from the paper guide 67.
And the transport driven roller 6 that is in pressure contact with the transport drive roller 62.
3 is provided, the sheet P is nipped between the conveyance driving roller 62 and the conveyance driven roller 63, and is conveyed to the downstream side at a constant pitch.

The transport driven roller 63 is axially supported on the downstream side of the transport driven roller holder 64, and the transport driven roller holder 64 rotates in the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 3 about the rotation shaft 64a. The transport driven roller 63 is rotatably biased in a direction in which the transport driven roller 63 is constantly in pressure contact with the transport drive roller 62 (clockwise direction in FIG. 3) by a torsion coil spring (not shown).

Next, in the vicinity of the conveyance driven roller holder 64 located on the most one-digit side (on the right front side in FIG. 2), the sheet detection consisting of the sensor body 36b and the detector 36a for detecting the passage of the sheet P is detected. A container 36 is provided. Detector 36a
Is formed in a substantially V shape in a side view, and is rotatably provided in a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 2 around a rotation shaft 36c near the center thereof. The sensor main body portion 36b located above the detector 36a includes a light emitting portion (not shown) and a light receiving portion (not shown) that receives light from the light emitting portion, and the sensor main portion 36b is placed above the rotating shaft 36c of the detector 36a. The rotation operation blocks and passes the light traveling from the light emitting section to the light receiving section. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, when the detector 36a is rotated so as to be pushed upward with the passage of the paper P, the upper side of the detector 36a is disengaged from the sensor body 36b, whereby the light receiving portion is in the light receiving state. Therefore, the passage of the paper P is detected.

Then, downstream of the transport drive roller 62,
The platen 66 and the inkjet recording head 24 are arranged so as to face each other vertically. The platen 66 is long in the main scanning direction (see FIG. 2), and the paper P conveyed below the inkjet recording head 24 by the rotation of the conveyance driving roller 62 is supported from below by the platen 66. The ink jet recording head 24 is an ink cartridge 23.
A carriage guide shaft 2 extending in the main scanning direction is provided at the bottom of a carriage 22 for mounting the carriage.
It reciprocates in the main scanning direction while being guided by 5. In the present embodiment, the ink cartridge 23 is composed of four cartridges as shown in FIG. 4, that is, four cartridges in which four color inks (black, yellow, cyan and magenta) are separately and independently filled. Can be exchanged separately.

Next, a sheet discharge section of the printer 100 is provided downstream from the ink jet recording head 24, and a sheet discharge drive roller 65, a sheet discharge driven roller 31, and a sheet discharge auxiliary roller 32 are arranged. . A plurality of paper ejection drive rollers 65 are attached in the axial direction of the paper ejection drive roller shaft 65a that is rotationally driven (see FIG. 4), and the paper ejection driven roller holder 3
The paper discharge driven roller 31 pivotally supported by 1a is provided so as to be driven to rotate by being lightly pressed against the paper discharge drive roller 65. Therefore, the paper P printed by the inkjet recording head 24 is rotated in a state where it is nipped by the paper ejection drive roller 65 and the paper ejection driven roller 31, so that the paper ejection direction (FIG. Three
Is discharged in the direction of arrow). The paper ejection auxiliary roller 32 pivotally supported by the paper ejection auxiliary roller holder 32a is provided on the slightly upstream side of the paper ejection driven roller 31, and presses the paper P slightly downward from the platen 66 of the paper P. Lifting is prevented and thus the distance between the paper P and the inkjet recording head 24 is regulated.

The hopper 6, the movable guide 4, the fixed guide 5, and the paper feed roller 3 described above are provided in the above-mentioned paper feed unit 1 shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet feeding unit 1 includes a mounting portion right 2a and a mounting portion left 2 which are vertically arranged on both sides of a hopper 6 and have a substantially columnar shape.
The base of the paper feeding unit frame 2 is provided with a rotary shaft 3a of the hopper 6 and the paper feeding roller 3.
Etc. are provided in the paper feeding unit frame 2.
Then, the sheet feeding unit 1 is connected to the rear side of the carriage unit 20 at the upper portions of the mounting portions 2a and 2b, as will be described later.

Next, the paper guide 67 and the conveyance drive roller 6
2, transport driven roller holder 64, paper ejection drive roller shaft 65
a is provided in the transport unit 60 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the transport unit 60 includes a transport unit frame 61 having a substantially U-shaped plan view as a base body, a power supply unit 68 that is a power supply unit of the printer 100 at the rear, and a paper discharge at the front. The drive roller shaft 65a is attached to the transport drive roller 62 in the middle of the main body.
Further, a platen 66 is provided in the upper front part, and a transport driven roller holder 64 is provided in the middle upper part. Further, the transport unit 60 is provided on the lower left side with the paper feed roller 3, the transport drive roller 62, the paper discharge drive roller 65, and a pump device 8 described later.
2, the blade unit 84, and a drive motor 69 (see FIG. 4) that serves as a common drive source for these. The drive motor 69 and the five drive targets driven by the drive motor 69 are connected by a power transmission mechanism whose illustration and description are omitted in a state where the four units are combined as shown in FIG. 1. Moreover, it can be selectively driven.

Connected to the right side of the transport unit 60,
The ink system unit 80 as a maintenance means of the inkjet recording head 24 includes a frame 81, which is connected to the right side surface of the transport unit frame 61 and serves as a base of the unit, as shown in FIG.
Further, a cap device 83, a pump device 82, and a blade unit 84 are provided. The cap device 83 protects the nozzle surface (not shown) by capping the inkjet recording head 24 when the carriage 22 moves to the home position (in the area a _{1 in} FIG. 4), and the pump device 82 is in the cap state. A negative pressure is supplied to the cap device 83 to suck ink from the nozzle openings of the inkjet recording head 24. Further, the blade unit 84 is used for the carriage 22.
Reciprocating region and position across the a position retracted from the reciprocating area have movable, moves to a position crossing the reciprocating area of the carriage 22, and a ₀ region of the carriage 22 is print area (Fig. 4 ) To the home position (Fig. 4
By moving the to a ₁ zone), or by moving in the opposite direction, for cleaning by wiping the nozzle surface of the inkjet recording head 24 (not shown).

The carriage guide shaft 25 and the paper detector 36 are provided in the carriage unit 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the carriage unit 20 includes a main frame 21a, a side frame right 21b and a side frame left 21c that are erected on both sides of the main frame 21a. 25 is pivotally supported.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the carriage unit 20 is provided with a carriage motor 27 on the left rear surface of the unit, and a drive pulley 28 is attached to the carriage motor 27. A driven pulley 29 is provided on the right side of the unit, a carriage belt 26 is hung between the drive pulley 28 and the driven pulley 29, and a part of the carriage belt 26 is fixed to the carriage 22. . Therefore, the carriage 22 reciprocates in the main scanning direction (left and right direction in FIG. 4) by the rotation of the carriage motor 27.

Although the paper discharge frame 30 is attached to the carriage unit 20 side in FIG. 2, the paper discharge frame 30 can be attached to the carriage unit 20 side or the transport unit 60 side. It is possible to belong to either side.

The above is the configuration of the apparatus main body of the printer 100, and the printer 100 becomes movable by combining and connecting the four units. The carriage unit 20 and the sheet feeding unit 1 are connected by one unit connecting device and one connecting portion described later, and the other units are connected by fixing screws not shown.

<Width Dimension of Carriage Unit> Next, the width dimension of the carriage unit 20 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the carriage 22 prints on the paper P by reciprocating in the main scanning direction as described above.
The reciprocating operation area of the carriage 22 can be divided into areas a ₀ , a ₁ and a ₂ from the viewpoint of its role, as shown in FIG. That is, the area a ₀ is a printing area, and the carriage 22 performs the main scanning at a constant speed (V ₀ ) in the area a ₀ while ejecting ink droplets onto the paper P to perform printing. The area a ₁ is an acceleration / deceleration area and a standby area, and the carriage 22
Is in a standby state at a home position (not shown) set in the area, and when the ink system unit 80 receives maintenance such as capping and ink suction as described above, when heading for the printing area a _{0. First} , the acceleration operation is performed to reach the main scanning speed (V ₀ ) in the print area a ₀ in the area a ₁ .
The area _{a 2,} like the region _{a 1,} when going to the printing area _{a 0,} the acceleration operation for reaching the main scanning speed in the printing area _{a 0 (V 0)} in the region _{a 2.}
The regions a ₀ and a ₂ also serve as deceleration regions for stopping the carriage 22 at both ends of the main scanning region.

When the printer design is changed,
In general, the number of ink colors mounted on the carriage 22 (the number of ink cartridges 23: four in this embodiment) and the capacity of the ink cartridge 23 are often changed. Therefore, the design of the carriage 22 is changed depending on the design of the printer, which causes the weight or width of the carriage 22 to be different. When the weight of the carriage 22 is different, it is necessary to change the size of the acceleration region necessary to reach the main scanning speed (V ₀ ), that is, the size of the regions a ₁ and a ₂ , and thus the region a. ₁ and components related to the size of a ₂ , specifically, the main frame 2
It is necessary to change the design of 1a and the carriage guide shaft 25.

Further, if the width of the carriage 22 is different, it is necessary to change the sizes of the regions a ₁ and a ₂ due to this, and therefore, the size of the regions a ₁ and a ₂ is related to the above. It is necessary to change the design of the components, that is, the main frame 21a and the carriage guide shaft 25. The design of the carriage 22 remains the same,
Even when the main scanning speed (V ₀ ) in the print area a ₀ is changed, the required acceleration area, that is, areas a ₁ and a ₂
It is necessary to change the size of
It will be necessary to change the design of the components related to the size of ₁ and a ₂ , that is, the main frame 21a and the carriage guide shaft 25.

As described above, in almost all cases in which the design of the printer is changed, it is necessary to change the width dimensions of the components related to the sizes of the regions a ₁ and a ₂ , and therefore, for example, the main frame 21a is installed in the apparatus. In the case of a printer in which the constituent elements of the printer are assembled into the main frame 21a as the main body of the main body to form an integral structure, the size of the regions a ₁ and a ₂ is not related to the design change of the main frame 21a. The design change of the constituent elements, for example, the conveyance drive roller 62, the paper discharge drive roller shaft 65a, etc. is required, which complicates the design change of the printer and makes it impossible to use common parts, which is a barrier to cost reduction.

However, the printer 100 according to the present embodiment
As described above, the apparatus main body is configured by combining the paper feeding unit 1, the carriage unit 20, the transport unit 60, and the ink system unit 80 as described above, and other than the carriage unit 20 including the carriage 22. The unit is composed of components that do not require a design change even when the printer design is changed. In other words, the printer 100 includes a general-purpose unit (the paper feeding unit 1, the transport unit 60, and the ink system unit 80) that includes components whose width-direction dimensions do not change and can be shared by a plurality of printers having different designs. It is composed of a dedicated unit (carriage unit 20) unique to each design, including components whose directional dimensions change. Therefore, when changing the design of the printer,
In most cases, it is sufficient to change the design of only the carriage unit 20, which makes it possible to easily change the design of the printer and also to reduce the cost by using common parts.

When the design of the ink jet recording head 24 is changed, especially when the number of nozzles is increased,
Since the sizes of the inkjet recording heads 24 are different, it is necessary to change the design of the unit ink system unit 80 including the cap device 83 that caps the inkjet recording heads 24.

<Structure of Unit Connecting Device> Next, the structure of the unit connecting device for connecting the sheet feeding unit 1 and the carriage unit 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 13. Here, FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the main body of the printer 100 as seen from the rear, FIG. 6 is an external perspective view showing the state in which the paper feeding unit 1 is separated from the state of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a plan view of the circuit board. 8 is an external perspective view of the printer 100. 9 is an external perspective view of the unit connecting device 50, FIG. 10 is a plan view of the connecting member 37, FIG. 11 is a state transition diagram showing a connecting method by the unit connecting device 50, and FIG.
Is a state transition diagram showing a coupling method by a unit coupling device according to another embodiment, and FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a coupling portion between the sheet feeding unit 1 and the carriage unit 20.

First, in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the paper feeding unit 1 is located on the rear side of the carriage unit 20 and the printer 1
00 is connected so as to sandwich the circuit board 33 constituting the control unit. The circuit board 33 is erected vertically in the vicinity of the center of the printer 100 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and as shown in detail in FIG.
4 and control switches 35, 35 on the bottom of the paper detector 3
6 detection units 36b (see FIG. 3).

Power-on switch 34 and control switch 3
As shown in FIG. 8, the buttons 5 and 35 can be pressed by a panel button 91 provided on the upper surface of a cover member 90 that forms the exterior of the printer 100. Here, in the printer having the panel button 91 arranged on the front surface of the cover member 90, in addition to the circuit board 33 constituting the control unit, the power-on switch 34 and the control switch 35,
It is necessary to separately dispose a printed circuit board on which the circuit board 35 is disposed on the front back side of the cover member 90, but in the present embodiment, the panel button 91 is disposed on the upper surface of the cover member 90 and the circuit board 33 is mounted on the device. By erected vertically in the vicinity of the center, the power-on switch 34 and the control switches 35, 35 can be arranged on the upper part of the circuit board 33, so that the printed circuit board is unnecessary.

Further, in a printer having a structure in which the circuit board 33 is horizontally arranged at the bottom of the apparatus, for example, a printed board for arranging the detecting portion 36b of the paper detector 36 is separately conveyed and driven roller holder. 64 (see FIG. 3), it is necessary to arrange it above the circuit board 33.
By erected vertically in the vicinity of the center of the apparatus, it is possible to dispose the detection portion 36b of the paper detector 36 below the circuit board 33, thus eliminating the need for the printed circuit board.

The circuit board 33 is attached to the carriage unit 2
By arranging on the back side of the main frame 21a of 0,
The circuit board 33 and the carriage 22 are close to each other, which makes it possible to shorten the cable length of the flat cable 48 (see FIG. 5) that connects the circuit board 33 and the carriage 22.

Next, the paper feeding unit 1 is connected to the main frame 21a of the carriage unit 20 at the upper portions of the mounting portions 2a and 2b. More specifically, the upper portion of the mounting portion 2a is connected by a unit coupling device 50 described in detail later, and the upper portion of the mounting portion 2b is shown in FIG.
As shown in detail in FIG. 1, the hook receiving portion 46 formed in the L-shape provided on the main frame 21a is connected to the hook portion 8 formed in the inverted U-shape provided in the mounting portion 2b by hooking. Has become.

The structure of the unit connecting device 50 will be described below. The unit connecting device 50 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the tongue piece 41 as the “first engaging portion”, the connecting member 37, and the snap plate 4 forming the “second engaging portion”.
4 and the support surface 43. The tongue 41 is
The support surface 43 has a substantially T-shape when viewed from the front and is provided along a plane orthogonal to the connecting direction of the sheet feeding unit 1 and the carriage unit 20 (the horizontal direction in FIG. 11).
Is made of a smooth horizontal surface on the upper part of the mounting portion 2a, and the snap plate 44 is made of a resin material that is elastically deformable as "elastic means".

The connecting member 37 is made of a plate-like member, and as shown in FIG. 10, a fitting hole 39 as a "recess" and a slot 38 are formed. The fitting hole 39 is fitted with a fitting projection 45 (see FIG. 11) as a “projection” formed so as to project toward the support surface 43 of the snap plate 44. And supporting surface 4
The engagement state with 3 (the second engagement portion) is formed. Further, the groove 38 is for the connecting member 37 to be hooked on the tongue piece 41, and the connecting member 37 being hooked on the tongue piece 41 by the groove 38 allows the tongue piece 41 (first engaging member). The mating portion) and the connecting member 37 are engaged with each other.

The unit connecting device 5 configured as described above
0 can connect the sheet feeding unit 1 and the carriage unit 20 by two methods described below. That is, first, as shown in FIG. 9A, the connecting member 37 is previously inserted between the snap plate 44 and the support surface 43,
The fitting hole 39 is fitted into the fitting protrusion 45, and the connecting member 37
Is attached to the attachment portion 2a of the sheet feeding unit 1. Then, the paper feeding unit 1 is lifted up, and the connecting member 3
7 is hooked to the tongue piece 41 by the slot 38, and as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the paper feeding unit 1 and the carriage unit 20 can be connected. Where the tongue 41
10 extends in the width direction of the tongue piece 41 and is denoted by reference numeral 3 in FIG.
After being inserted so as to project upward from the connecting member 37 by the groove hole portion 8b, it extends in parallel with the groove hole portion 38b.
The connecting member 37 is moved to the slot portion indicated by reference numeral 38a, and the connecting member 37 is hooked on the tongue piece 41.

Next, the mounting portion 2b and the main frame 21a are only connected by the connecting portion shown in FIG. 13, that is, the paper feeding unit 1 and the carriage unit 20 are united, but the connection is completed. FIG.
As shown in (a) to (c), the mounting member 37 is horizontally rotated to be in a connected state, that is, the unit connecting device 50.
Can be locked. More specifically, FIG.
As shown in 0, the tongue piece 41 is projected from the connecting member 37 by the groove portion indicated by reference numeral 38c formed so as to obliquely intersect the groove portion 38b (state of FIG. 11A), 37 is rotated substantially horizontally to guide the tongue piece 41 from the groove hole portion 38c to the groove hole portion 38a to complete the engagement operation between the tongue piece 41 and the connecting member 37 (see FIGS. 11B and 11B). c)), connecting member 37 to support surface 43 and snap plate 44
The fitting protrusion 45 is fitted into the fitting hole 39 by sandwiching the fitting member 45 with the fitting protrusion 45, thereby completing the engaging operation of the coupling member 37 with the support surface 43 and the snap plate 44.

The groove area 38d shown in FIG. 10 is a guide groove area for guiding the tongue piece 41 from the groove portions 38c to 38a. In order to make the sheet feeding unit 1 and the carriage unit 20 separable, the connecting member 37 is rotated in the reverse order to the above, that is, in the order shown in FIGS. This can be done by removing the connecting member 37.

As described above, in the unit connecting device 50, the connecting member 37 and the tongue piece 41 are engaged by the hooking means, and the fitting projection 45 is fitted in the fitting hole 39 by the snap means. Then, since the paper feeding unit 1 and the carriage unit 20 are connected to each other, a tool such as a driver is not required for connecting or disconnecting the paper feeding unit 1 and the carriage unit 20, so that the paper feeding unit 1 can be easily connected. It is possible to perform connection or disconnection work with the carriage unit 20.

The unit connecting device 50 may be embodied as shown in FIG. In the embodiment of the unit connecting device 50 shown in FIG. 12, the tongue piece 41 provided on the main frame 21a in FIG.
The slot 38a provided on the side of the main frame 21a and the slot 38a provided on the side of the connecting member 37 are provided on the side of the main frame 21a. That is, the connecting member 37 ′ shown in FIG. 12 is a tongue piece 4 provided along a plane orthogonal to the connecting direction of the carriage unit 20 and the paper feeding unit 1 (the left-right direction in FIG. 12).
1 ', and the main frame 21a is similarly formed with a slot 38a' extending in a direction orthogonal to the connecting direction between the carriage unit 20 and the sheet feeding unit 1.

Therefore, when the carriage unit 20 and the paper feeding unit 1 are connected, FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 12, the tongue piece 41 ′ is hooked on the slot 38 a ′, and the connecting member 37 ′ is orthogonal to the connecting direction between the carriage unit 20 and the sheet feeding unit 1 (indicated by the arrow in FIG. 12A). Direction) to slide the connecting member 3
7'and the engagement between the slot 38a are completed,
By inserting the connecting member 37 ′ between the supporting surface 43 and the snap plate 44 by the sliding operation, the fitting protrusion 45 is fitted into the fitting hole 39, and thus the connecting member 37 ′, the supporting surface 43 and the snap. The engagement operation with the plate 44 is completed. As described above, the same effect as that of the embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 11, that is, the sheet feeding unit 1 and the carriage unit 20 can be easily performed without using a tool such as a driver.
It is possible to obtain the action and effect that makes it possible to connect or disconnect.

[0052]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of units forming a recording apparatus are a general-purpose unit composed of constituent elements whose width-direction dimensions do not change between a plurality of recording apparatuses having different designs, Since it is composed of a dedicated unit including components having different width-direction dimensions among a plurality of recording devices having different designs, therefore, when newly designing a recording device,
If you change the design of the dedicated unit, other units,
In other words, it is not necessary to change the design of the general-purpose unit, and therefore, it is not necessary to change the design of the main body of the apparatus as a whole, whereby the design of a new recording apparatus can be performed with minimum effort, and the design can be performed quickly. It becomes possible to do. in addition,
By sharing the general-purpose unit with a plurality of recording devices having different designs, it is possible to reduce the cost of the recording device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an apparatus main body of an inkjet printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the apparatus body of the inkjet printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the inkjet printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the apparatus main body of the inkjet printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the apparatus body of the inkjet printer according to the present invention as viewed from the rear.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of the apparatus main body and the sheet feeding unit as seen from the rear side in a state where the sheet feeding unit is separated from the apparatus main body of the inkjet printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a circuit board of the inkjet printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an external perspective view of an inkjet printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an external perspective view of a unit connecting device.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a connecting member that constitutes the unit connecting device.

FIG. 11 is a state transition diagram (plan view) showing a connecting method by the unit connecting device.

FIG. 12 is a state transition diagram showing a connecting method of a unit connecting device according to another embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a connecting portion between a paper feeding unit and a carriage unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Paper feeding unit 2 Paper feeding unit frame 2a Mounting part right 2b Mounting part left 8 Hook part 20 Carriage unit 21a Main frame 22 carriage 23 ink cartridges 24 inkjet recording head 25 Carriage guide shaft 33 circuit board 34 Power switch 35 Control switch 36 paper detector 37 Connection member 38a-38d Slotted hole 39 Fitting hole 41 tongue 43 support surface 44 snap plate 45 Fitting protrusion 46 Hook receiver 49 Substrate receiving part 50 unit mounting device 60 transport units 61 Transport unit frame 80 ink system unit 81 frames 100 inkjet printer

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yoichi Kobayashi             Seiko, 3-3-3 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture             -In Epson Corporation (72) Inventor Masashi Furuyama             Seiko, 3-3-3 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture             -In Epson Corporation (72) Inventor Satoshi Nakata             Seiko, 3-3-3 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture             -In Epson Corporation (72) Inventor Kazuhisa Kawamura             Seiko, 3-3-3 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture             -In Epson Corporation F term (reference) 2C056 EA24 HA28 HA37 HA60                 2C061 AQ05 CF02 CF06 CF14

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium, wherein the apparatus main body is divided into a plurality of units, and the plurality of units are united to form an apparatus main body. , A general-purpose unit consisting of components whose width-direction dimensions do not change between multiple recording devices with different designs, and a dedicated unit containing components with different width-direction dimensions between multiple designing recording devices. Characteristic recording device. 2. The carriage according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the dedicated units includes an ink jet recording head that ejects ink droplets onto a recording material and an ink cartridge, and a carriage that guides the carriage in a main scanning direction. A recording device comprising a carriage unit having a guide shaft. 3. The transport unit as the general-purpose unit, comprising: the carriage unit; and a transport unit that transports a recording material below the inkjet recording head at a constant pitch, and a transport unit that transports the recording material to the transport unit. A sheet feeding unit as the general-purpose unit including a feeding unit for feeding a recording material, and an ink system unit as the general-purpose unit including a maintenance unit for the inkjet recording head. Recording device. 4. The unit connecting device for connecting the carriage unit and the paper feeding unit according to claim 3, wherein a first engaging portion provided in the carriage unit and a second engaging portion provided in the paper feeding unit. Of the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion, and engages with the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion. A connecting member that connects the carriage unit and the sheet feeding unit to each other, and the connecting member is engaged with the first engaging portion by engaging the first engaging portion and the connecting member. The second engaging portion and the connecting member are engaged with each other by the engaging means for stopping, and the convex portion formed on the other side is fitted into the concave portion formed on the one side by the elastic means. Characterized by being configured to be done by snap means Recording apparatus for.