JP2003182046A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer which can be made compact by providing a carriage to which a plurality of ink cartridges are fitted. <P>SOLUTION: The carriage 1 is provided with an upper movable member 2 and a lower movable member 3 coupled by a vertical coupling shaft 4 to reciprocate right and left horizontally along a guide shaft 9 and a guide rail 10, a turntable 5 supported rotatably to the coupling shaft 4 on the lower movable member 3, and a first and a second ink cartridge holders 6 and 7 fixed back to back to the coupling shaft 4 on the turntable 5. The rotation is adapted to be fixed in a state in which the first and second holders 6 and 7 are at a front and a rear positions. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer,
In particular, the present invention relates to an inkjet printer that includes a carriage that is mounted with a plurality of ink cartridges for color printing and that reciprocates along a printing surface of a sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an ink jet printer generally has guide shafts and guide rails which are arranged substantially parallel to each other in the left-right direction, through holes which fit into the guide shafts, and hooks which engage with the guide rails. A carriage having a stop portion and reciprocating along a guide shaft and a guide rail, and a drive mechanism for driving the reciprocating movement of the carriage. The carriage having the ink cartridge reciprocatingly moves the ink from its print head. Droplets are ejected to form printing dots on the printing surface of the paper.

In printers for color printing, which have been remarkably popular in recent years, black, yellow, and
A plurality of ink cartridges that store ink of ink colors such as magenta and cyan are mounted on the carriage. A conventional example of the carriage will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing an example of a conventional carriage, and FIG. 4 is a schematic front view thereof. In addition, the same reference numerals are given to the parts having the same names in the drawings.

The carriage 80 is largely composed of the movable member 8
1, the protrusion 82, the first ink cartridge holder 83,
It is composed of the second ink cartridge holder 84.
The movable member 81 has a through hole 81a slidably fitted in the lower portion of the movable member 81 and a hook portion 81b slidably engaged with the guide rail 86 at the upper end thereof. It is connected to a drive mechanism (not shown) and can reciprocate along the guide shaft 85 and the guide rail 86. The guide shaft 85 and the guide rail 86 are disposed in the left-right direction on the chassis 87 that forms the outer shape of the printer. The protruding piece 82 is
The first ink cartridge holder 83 and the second ink cartridge holder 84 are fixedly provided on the protrusion 82 side by side so as to project from the lower end of the movable member 81 toward the front side. .

In the carriage 80 having such a structure, for example, an ink cartridge 88 in which black ink is stored and an ink cartridge 89 in which ink such as yellow is divided and stored are the first and second inks. The cartridge holders 83 and 84 are mounted respectively, and color printing can be performed. A print head (not shown) is integrally provided at the lower end of each of the ink cartridges 88 and 89, and the first and second ink cartridge holders 83 and 84 and the protruding piece 8 are provided.
2 has a through-hole (not shown) for inserting the print head.

Further, as another conventional example of the carriage, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-48141 discloses that the print head is not provided on the ink cartridge itself, but a print head is provided on the ink cartridge holder side instead. However, there is no difference from the above-mentioned conventional example in that a plurality of ink cartridges having different ink colors are arranged in the left-right direction and mounted in the ink cartridge holder.

[0007]

However, when a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted side by side in the left-right direction,
Since the size of the carriage in that direction, that is, the width becomes large, the width of the printer itself becomes large. Because the width of the printer is limited by the dimension between the two ends of the carriage movement, but at the two ends,
This is because an area for sufficiently accommodating the carriage is ensured in consideration of the acceleration / deceleration area of the carriage so as not to interfere with printing, and the width of this area is widened according to the lateral width of the carriage. Therefore, in the above-mentioned conventional example, there is a problem that the size reduction of the printer, which is a market demand in recent years, especially the reduction of the width thereof is significantly limited.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printer having a carriage in which a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted and which can be made compact. .

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a printer according to the present invention comprises a first printer arranged on the left and a right printer.
A second ink cartridge holder is provided, and the first,
In a printer having a carriage in which ink cartridges having different print colors and having print heads are attached to the respective second ink cartridge holders, and the carriage reciprocates horizontally in the horizontal direction along the print surface of the paper, the carriage comprises: A turntable rotatably supported about a vertical axis is provided, and the first and second ink cartridge holders are fixed on the turntable back to back with respect to the vertical axis. A rotation fixing means is provided so that the rotation is fixed in a state where the first and second ink cartridge holders are respectively positioned in the front and rear.

Further, the printer according to the present invention is a printer having a carriage in which a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted and which reciprocates horizontally in the horizontal direction along the printing surface of the paper, wherein the carriage is mutually reciprocal with respect to the vertical axis. The first and second ink cartridge holders are rotatably supported in a back-to-back manner. The first and second ink cartridge holders each have at least one ink cartridge attached thereto, and each of the first and second ink cartridge holders has a front and rear portion. The rotation is fixed in the state of being located at.

Further, from the viewpoint of stably supporting the first and second ink cartridge holders, the carriage is
It is preferable that a turntable is supported so as to be rotatable about the vertical axis, and the first and second ink cartridge holders are fixed on the turntable.

Then, at least during the printing in which the carriage is reciprocally moved, the first and second ink cartridge holders are located in front and rear positions so that the first and second ink cartridge holders do not rotate. A rotation fixing means may be provided so that the rotation is fixed by. As the rotation fixing means, for example, a click mechanism or a locking mechanism using a lever can be considered.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a carriage in a printer of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic front view thereof. In addition, the same reference numerals are given to the parts having the same names in the drawings.

The carriage 1 is roughly composed of an upper movable member 2, a lower movable member 3, a connecting shaft 4, a turntable 5, a first ink cartridge holder 6 and a second ink cartridge holder 7, and the outer shape of the printer. In the chassis 8 constituting the above, a guide shaft 9 is arranged in the lower part, and a guide rail 10 is arranged in the upper end part in the horizontal direction. The upper movable member 2 and the lower movable member 3 are
The lower movable member 3 is connected by a connecting shaft 4 having a central axis A in the vertical direction, and the lower movable member 3 is provided with a through hole 3a slidably fitted therein.
At the upper end portion thereof, a hooking portion 2a that slidably engages with the guide rail 10 is provided. A drive mechanism (not shown) is connected to the upper movable member 2 or the lower movable member 3, and the upper movable member 2 and the lower movable member 3 are integrated along the guide shaft 9 and the guide rail 10. It can be moved back and forth.

The turntable 5 is a rectangular plate-like member, and an insertion hole 5a for fitting the connecting shaft 4 is provided in the central portion of the turntable 5. The turntable 5 is connected to the connecting shaft 4 on the lower movable member 3. It is rotatably supported.

First ink cartridge holder 6, second
The ink cartridge holder 7 is fixed on the turntable 5 in a state where the ink cartridge holder 7 and the connecting shaft 4 are back-to-back with each other.
7a are directed to the outside. Further, engaging portions 6b and 7b protruding downward are provided respectively on the upper end portions of the first and second ink cartridge holders 6 and 7, and the engaging portions 6b and 7b will be described later. Engagement portions 11a and 12 of the ink cartridges 11 and 12
By engaging with a, the ink cartridges 11 and 12 can be securely mounted and maintained in a predetermined position. Further, the upper end portions of the first and second ink cartridge holders 6 and 7 are connected to each other, and the connecting portion is provided with an insertion hole 67a that fits with the connecting shaft 4, and the first and second ink cartridge holders 6 and 7 are connected to each other. The ink cartridge holders 6 and 7 are rotatably supported below the upper movable member 2 with respect to the connecting shaft 4.

In other words, the first ink cartridge holder 6 and the second ink cartridge holder 7 are stably supported by the turntable 5 in a back-to-back state with each other and integrated with the turntable 5. It comes to rotate with respect to the connecting shaft 4. The vertical shifts of the first and second ink cartridge holders 6 and 7 and the turntable 5 are restricted by the E rings 4a and 4b attached to the connecting shaft 4.

In addition, the first and second ink cartridge holders 6 and 7 are positioned in front of and behind each other (FIG. 1, FIG.
The rotation fixing means is provided so that the rotation is fixed in the state (2). This is because, during actual printing, the first and second ink cartridge holders 6 and 7 are respectively positioned forward and backward to substantially suppress the lateral width of the carriage 1, and as a result, the carriage 1 is arranged side by side. Compared to the
The printer can be made compact, and in particular, its width can be reduced. Moreover, during the printing, the first and second ink cartridge holders 6 and 7 are maintained so as not to rotate, which also contributes to a stable printing operation. The rotation fixing means may be, for example, between the lower movable member 3 and the turntable 5, or between the upper movable member 2 and the connecting portions at the upper end portions of the first and second ink cartridge holders 6 and 7. It is sufficient to provide a click mechanism (not shown) or a rotatable lever (not shown) that engages with the turntable 5 and locks the rotation.

As the plurality of ink cartridges 11 and 12 mounted on the carriage 1 having such a structure, a print head (not shown) is mounted on each lower end, and first and second ink cartridge holders 6 are mounted on each upper end. Engagement part 6 of 7
b, 7b, which is a rectangular parallelepiped having engaging portions 11a, 12a engaged with the ink cartridge 11, for example, black ink stored therein, and yellow, magenta, and cyan inks, respectively. The ink cartridges 12 that are sorted and stored are applied. These ink cartridges 11 and 12 are the turntable 5
Is rotated to position the ink cartridge attachment / detachment openings 6a, 7a of the first ink cartridge holder 6 or the second ink cartridge holder 7 on the front side, and the ink cartridge attachment / detachment openings 6a, 7a , And the second ink cartridge holders 6 and 7, respectively, are easily mounted. Then, by the rotation fixing means, the first and second ink cartridge holders 6 and 7 are respectively positioned in the front and rear positions and fixed, and color printing can be performed.
In addition, the first and second ink cartridge holders 6, 7,
The turntable 5 has an ink cartridge 11,
Through holes (not shown) for inserting the 12 print heads are formed.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the ink cartridges 11 and 12 themselves are not provided with a print head, but instead of the first and second print heads.
A print head may be provided on the side of the ink cartridge holders 6 and 7. At this time, the ink cartridges 11, 1
Ink of one color is stored for every two, and the number of ink cartridges substantially increases, but the lateral width of the carriage 1 does not become larger than the conventional one. Along with this, the first and second
Each of the ink cartridge holders 6 and 7 may be capable of mounting a plurality of ink cartridges.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, the first and second ink cartridge holders arranged on the left and right are provided, and the ink colors are mutually provided to the first and second ink cartridge holders. Differently, in a printer having a carriage in which an ink cartridge having a print head is mounted and which reciprocates horizontally in the left-right direction along a print surface of a sheet, the carriage has a turn supported rotatably about a vertical axis. A table is provided, and the first and second ink cartridge holders are fixed to the turntable back to back with respect to the vertical axis, and the first and second ink cartridge holders are respectively positioned forward and backward. Since the rotation fixing means is provided so that the rotation is fixed in the state where the carriage moves, the first and the first The ink cartridge holder, respectively by positioning the front and rear, the width of the carriage can be substantially suppressed, compact printer, in particular can be achieved a reduction of its width. Moreover, the first and second
Since the ink cartridge holder is stably supported by the turntable and is maintained so as not to rotate by the rotation fixing means, stable printing can be performed. Further, when the ink cartridge is replaced, the turntable is appropriately rotated to position the desired ink cartridge holder on the front side, so that the replacement can be easily performed.

Further, according to the present invention, in a printer having a carriage in which a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted and which reciprocates horizontally in the horizontal direction along the printing surface of the paper, the carriages are mutually reciprocal with respect to the vertical axis. The first and second ink cartridge holders are rotatably supported in a back-to-back manner. The first and second ink cartridge holders each have at least one ink cartridge attached thereto, and each of the first and second ink cartridge holders has a front and rear portion. Since the rotation is fixed in the state of being located at the position, the horizontal width of the carriage can be substantially suppressed by positioning the first and second ink cartridge holders forward and backward during printing. The width can be reduced. Moreover, the ink cartridge can be easily replaced by rotating the first and second ink cartridge holders appropriately to position the desired ink cartridge holder on the front side.

The carriage includes a turntable rotatably supported about the vertical axis, and when the first and second ink cartridge holders are fixed on the turntable, a first table is provided. It is possible to stably support the first and second ink cartridge holders.

Further, when a rotation fixing means is provided so that the rotation is fixed in a state where the first and second ink cartridge holders are positioned in the front and rear, respectively, the first and second ink cartridge holders are provided at the time of printing.
The second ink cartridge holder can be maintained so as not to rotate, and more stable printing can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a carriage in a printer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a carriage in the printer of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing an example of a carriage in a conventional printer.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing an example of a carriage in a conventional printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 carriage 2 Upper movable member 3 Lower movable member 4 connection shaft 5 turntable 6 First ink cartridge holder 7 Second ink cartridge holder 8 chassis 9 Guide shaft 10 Guide rail 11 ink cartridges 12 ink cartridges

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. First and second ink cartridge holders arranged on the left and right are provided, and an ink cartridge having a print head having different ink colors is attached to each of the first and second ink cartridge holders. In a printer including a carriage that horizontally reciprocates along a printing surface of a sheet, the carriage includes a turntable supported so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis, and the first and second carriages are provided. The ink cartridge holder is fixed to the turntable back to back with respect to the vertical axis, and the rotation is fixed in a state in which the first and second ink cartridge holders are positioned in the front and rear. A printer characterized in that a rotation fixing means is provided in the printer. 2. A printer comprising a carriage in which a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted and which reciprocates horizontally in the left-right direction along a printing surface of paper, wherein the carriage is rotatable back to back with respect to a vertical axis. A first and a second ink cartridge holder supported, wherein at least one ink cartridge is attached to each of the first and second ink cartridge holders,
A printer characterized in that the rotation is fixed in a state where each of them is positioned in the front and rear. 3. The carriage includes a turntable rotatably supported about the vertical axis, and the first and second ink cartridge holders are fixed on the turntable. The printer according to claim 2, wherein the printer is a printer. 4. The rotation fixing means is provided so that rotation is fixed in a state where the first and second ink cartridge holders are respectively positioned in the front and rear directions. Printer.