JP2003220696A - Ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of performing stable printing at a high speed, by providing a cooler for cooling a radiation plate outside a carriage separately from the radiation plate mounted on the carriage for radiating the heat generated in a drive circuit to enhance the cooling effect of the drive circuit. <P>SOLUTION: The heat generated in a drive substrate plate 17c is radiated by the radiation plate 22 mounted on the carriage 3a. When the carriage 3a is moved to a predetermined position within the moving range thereof, the cooler 9 is moved so as to come into contact with the radiation plate 22. Therefore, even if the size of the radiation plate 22 mounted on the carriage 3a is reduced to a necessary minimum size, the lowering of the radiation effect of the radiation plate 22 can be compensated by the cooler 9. <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 an ink jet recording apparatus, and more particularly to an ink jet head and its driving circuit mounted on a carriage, which is separate from a heat radiating plate mounted on the carriage for radiating heat generated by the driving circuit. , A cooling device for cooling the heat dissipation plate is provided outside the carriage to enhance the cooling effect of the drive circuit, at high speed, and
The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device that can perform stable printing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an ink jet recording apparatus in which an ink jet head is mounted on a carriage and ink is ejected from a ink jet head onto a recording medium while the carriage reciprocates in the main scanning direction to perform printing. Has been. In that inkjet recording device,
A drive circuit that outputs a drive signal for driving the inkjet head is mounted on the carriage, and the inkjet head is configured to eject ink onto a recording medium according to the drive signal from the drive circuit.

However, since the drive circuit outputs a drive signal to the ink jet head, a large current instantaneously flows through the drive circuit, and the temperature rises rapidly. Moreover, the drive circuit requires a drive element for each nozzle, and as the number of nozzles increases, the number of drive elements increases, the density increases, and the temperature rises significantly. This increase in temperature has been a cause of deteriorating or making the electrical characteristics of the drive circuit unstable and hindering stable ink ejection. Therefore, as a cooling device that cools the drive circuit that generates heat, a heat dissipation plate is mounted on the carriage so as to contact the drive circuit, and the heat of the drive circuit is dissipated by the heat dissipation plate.

[0004]

As described above, the ink jet recording apparatus requires the cooling device for cooling the drive circuit mounted on the carriage in order to cool the drive circuit and perform stable printing. . In the above-mentioned ink jet recording apparatus, a heat dissipation plate is mounted on the carriage so as to come into contact with the drive circuit, and the drive circuit is cooled by the heat dissipation plate. However, in order to obtain the desired cooling effect, it is necessary to secure a large area of the heat dissipation plate to be in contact with the drive circuit. Therefore, there is a problem that the size of the carriage is increased and the weight is increased, which makes it impossible to perform printing at high speed.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and in particular, in addition to a radiator plate mounted on a carriage for radiating heat generated by a driving circuit, a cooling plate for cooling the radiator plate is provided. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of performing stable printing at high speed by providing the apparatus outside the carriage to enhance the cooling effect.

[0006]

In order to achieve this object, an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an ink jet head for ejecting ink onto a recording medium, and an ink jet head for ejecting ink onto the ink jet head. A drive circuit that applies a voltage to the head, and a carriage that carries the drive circuit and the inkjet head and reciprocates in the main scanning direction are provided. The drive circuit is mounted on the carriage and is arranged so as to contact the drive circuit. The heat radiation plate for radiating the heat generated by the drive circuit, and the heat radiation plate are arranged outside the carriage and at a predetermined position in the moving range of the carriage so as to face the heat radiation plate. And a cooling device for cooling.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the first aspect, the ink jet head and the drive circuit are mounted on the carriage, and when a voltage is applied from the drive circuit to the ink jet head, the ink jet head moves in the main scanning direction. Printing is executed by ejecting ink onto the recording medium while reciprocating. Here, since the drive circuit generates heat when a voltage is applied to the inkjet head, a heat dissipation plate is mounted on the carriage so as to come into contact with the drive circuit. Therefore, the drive circuit that has generated heat by the heat radiation plate radiates heat. Also, outside the carriage, and
A cooling device is arranged at a predetermined position in the moving range of the carriage so as to face the heat dissipation plate. Therefore, when the carriage moves to the installation position of the cooling device, the cooling device cools the radiator plate.

An ink jet recording apparatus according to a second aspect is the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect,
The cooling device is movable between a position in contact with the heat dissipation plate and a position separated from the heat dissipation plate, and the first contact part of the carriage and the second contact part of the cooling device are brought into contact with each other to cool the cooling device. The device is moved to a position where it contacts the heat sink.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the second aspect, the same operation as that of the ink jet recording apparatus of the first aspect is achieved, and when the carriage is moved to the arrangement position of the cooling device, the first of the carriages is moved. The contacting part of the second contacting part contacts the second contacting part of the cooling device and moves the cooling device to a position where it contacts the heat dissipation plate.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the cooling device is made of a metal having a high thermal conductivity.

An ink jet recording apparatus according to a fourth aspect is the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the cooling device is composed of a Peltier element.

An ink jet recording apparatus according to a fifth aspect is the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the carriage is provided with an ink storage chamber for storing ink ejected from the ink jet head. The drive circuit is fixed to a support member which is erected at a predetermined distance from the ink storage chamber.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the fifth aspect, the same operation as the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, and the drive circuit is:
It is fixed to a support member that is erected at a predetermined distance from the ink storage chamber. Therefore, a predetermined space is formed between the drive circuit and the ink storage chamber.

An ink jet recording apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the predetermined position is a retracted position outside a range where the ink jet head prints on a recording medium. And a moving means for moving the carriage to the retreat position of the carriage when the temperature judged by the driving circuit is a predetermined value or more.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the sixth aspect, the same operation as that of the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, and the temperature of the drive circuit is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature by the judging means. When it is determined that, the moving means moves the carriage out of the range for printing on the recording medium by the inkjet head,
The heat sink is cooled by the cooling device.

An ink jet recording apparatus according to a seventh aspect is the ink jet recording apparatus according to the sixth aspect, wherein the retracted position of the carriage is provided at a purge processing execution position of the ink jet head.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the internal configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus 1 which is an embodiment of the present invention. This inkjet recording device 1
Is a body frame 2 made of flame-retardant plastic
A recording head unit 3 which is included in the main body frame 2 and ejects ink onto a recording medium; and an ink tank 4 which stores ink to be supplied to the recording head unit 3.
And a tube 5 for supplying ink from the ink tank 4 to the recording head unit 3, a purging device 6, and a cooling device 9.

The recording head unit 3 includes a body frame 2
Ink is ejected onto a recording medium from an inkjet head 15 (see FIG. 3) mounted on a carriage 3a that reciprocates in the longitudinal direction (arrow A) and is arranged on the lower surface of the carriage 3a. The recording head unit 3 is shown in FIG.
And FIG. 3 will be described in detail.

One end of the carriage 3a is slidably inserted into a guide rod 7 which is laid horizontally in the longitudinal direction of the body frame, and the other end of the carriage 3a is a guide bar which is laid horizontally in the longitudinal direction of the body frame 2. It is supported by 8.
A belt is attached to the carriage 3a,
The belt is a CR motor (carriage motor) 101 (see FIG. 4).
It is wound around a roller attached to the roller. When the CR motor 101 is driven, the belt goes around and the carriage 3
It is possible to reciprocate a in the longitudinal direction of the printer body 2.

The recording head unit 3 communicates with an ink tank 4 provided inside the main body frame 2 through a tube 5, and receives ink from the ink tank 4 through the tube 5. There is. The ink tank 4 is composed of four ink tanks 4a to 4d arranged in series in the longitudinal direction of the main body frame 2, and each of the ink tanks 4a to 4d contains black, yellow, cyan, and magenta inks, respectively. It is sealed. The ink in each of the ink tanks 4a to 4d is contained in the tubes 5a to 5d.
Is supplied to the corresponding inkjet head 15 via.

At the left end portion of the main body frame 2, a purging device 6 and a cooling device 9 for executing a purging process for recovering the ink jet state from the ink jet head 15.
And are arranged. The arrangement position of the purging device 6 is
This is a position outside the range where printing is performed on the recording medium by the inkjet head 15, and is a retracted position of the carriage 3a. The cooling device 9 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

The purging device 6 comprises the ink jet head 1.
5, a suction cap 6a that comes into contact with the ink ejection port forming surface to form a closed space with the ink ejection port forming surface, and a suction pump (not shown) that makes the closed space formed by the suction cap 6a a negative pressure. And a discharge tube 6c that connects the suction pump and the suction cap 6a to each other, and a wiper 6b that wipes the ink adhering to the ink ejection port forming surface by the purging process.

When performing the purging process by the purging device 6, the CR motor 101 is driven to move the carriage 3a to the purging process execution position. When the carriage 3a arrives at the purge processing execution position, a drive source (not shown) is driven and the suction cap 6a is arranged so as to face the ink ejection port forming surface of the inkjet head 15.
Is brought into contact with the ink ejection port forming surface. In this way, a closed space is formed by the ink ejection port forming surface and the suction cap 6a, and the ink ejection port formed on the ink ejection port forming surface is included in the closed space. Then, in this state, the suction pump is operated to make the closed space a negative pressure via the discharge tube 6c. Therefore, air bubbles, highly viscous ink, or the like is sucked from the ink ejection port, and the ink ejection state of the inkjet head 15 can be recovered.

When the purging process is completed, the drive source is rotated in the reverse direction to separate the suction cap 6a from the ink ejection port forming surface. Further, a rubber mechanism-shaped wiper 6b is brought into contact with the ink ejection port forming surface by a cam mechanism (not shown). Then, the carriage 3a is slightly moved, and the ink attached to the ink ejection port forming surface by the purging process is wiped by the wiper 6b. The purging device 6 may be configured to discharge the ink from the inkjet head 15 by applying a positive pressure to the ink from the ink tank 4 side.

Next, the recording head unit 3 and the cooling device 9 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
2 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the recording head unit 3, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the recording head unit 3 is
The joint member 12, the air trap unit 11 connected to the joint member 12, the inkjet head 15, and the wiring board 17 for controlling the inkjet head 15 are included. Also,
The carriage 3a is a housing 3 that supports the inkjet head 15 on the lower surface and the air trap unit 11 on the upper surface.
b.

The joint member 12 is arranged at the rear of the air trap unit 11 and includes the tubes 5a to 5d,
The four air traps 30 to 33 partitioned inside the air trap unit 11 are made to communicate with each other. The joint member 12 has four independent ink flow passages 12a to 12d, and four first connection pipes 36 for connecting to the tubes 5a to 5d are provided at both ends of each flow passage.
And four second connecting pipes 35 for connecting to each of the air traps 30 to 33 are projected.

The first connecting pipe 36 is composed of the tubes 5a to 5d.
The second connecting pipe 35 is inserted into the air trap 30 and the second connecting pipe 35 is connected to the air trap 30 by a connecting member 37 made of a substantially cylindrical elastic body.
Is connected to a third connecting pipe 34 protruding from 33 to 33.
Therefore, each of the air traps 30 to 33 includes the ink flow paths 12a to 12d of the joint member 12 and the tubes 5a to 5a.
The ink tanks 4a to 4d are communicated with each other via d.

Each of the air traps 30 to 33 is arranged in the center of the inside of the housing 3b and serves to store bubbles contained in the ink supplied from the tubes 5a to 5d.
The inside of each of the air traps 30 to 33 is divided into three chambers of a first chamber 11a, a second chamber 11b, and a third chamber 11c by a partition wall 13 and a filter 14. The partition wall 13 connects the air traps 30 to 33 to the first chamber 1 on the ink tank 4 side.
The first chamber 11a and the second chamber 11b are connected to each other by a communication portion 11d above the first chamber 11a. It is laid horizontally on both side walls in the width direction (the back side and the front side of the paper in FIG. 3),
It stands upside down with the direction of gravity up and down.

The filter 14 comprises a first chamber 11a and a third chamber 1
1c is divided into a slow ink flow during a normal printing operation, a flow from the first chamber 11a to the third chamber 11c is allowed, and a fast flow during the purge processing operation described above is performed. As a result, it has a resistance that restricts the flow from the first chamber 11a to the third chamber 11c. The filter 14 is made of a mesh made of stainless steel and is laid in a substantially horizontal manner, covering the entire bottom surface of the first chamber 11a.

The first chamber 11a is sandwiched by the filter 14.
One end side of the third chamber 11c located below (on the right side in FIG. 3)
Are communicated with the second chamber 11b at the second communication portion 11e. On the other hand, the other end side of the third chamber 11c (left side in FIG. 3)
Are communicated with a communication path 19 that communicates with the inkjet head 15.

The air trap unit 11 having the above-mentioned structure is used in the ink tank 4 and the ink jet head 15.
Since each of the ink tanks 4a ...
The ink supplied from 4d to the inkjet head 15 via the tubes 5a to 5d is temporarily stored in the air trap unit 11. Here, the ink supplied to the air trap unit 11 is the ink inflow port 11
It is supplied from f to the first chamber 11a. At this time, the first chamber 11
The bubbles contained in the ink supplied to a are accumulated above the first chamber 11a by the buoyancy, and the bubbles are concentrated to form an air mass.

The air mass formed above the first chamber 11a has a slow ink flow during a normal printing operation.
Since the liquid level of the ink stored in the second chamber 11b rises to the communicating portion 11d by the capillary action,
It is not discharged from the chamber 11a. The ink stored in the first chamber 11a passes through the filter 14 and flows into the third chamber 11c.
Is supplied to the inkjet head 15.

On the other hand, when the ink flow is faster than during the printing operation as in the above-described purging operation, the resistance of the filter 14 causes the first chamber 11a to the third chamber 11c to flow.
The flow of ink to the first chamber 11a is regulated, the first chamber 11a passes through the communication portion 11d, the second chamber 11b, and the second communication portion 1
The flow of ink to the third chamber 11c through 1e is generated. Then, the air mass in the first chamber 11a is also sequentially discharged to the first chamber 11a, the second chamber 11b, and the third chamber 11c along the flow of the ink.

The partition wall 13 is made of a material having a good wettability with respect to the ink, and the bubbles are less likely to adhere to the partition wall 13 so that the bubbles stored in the first chamber 11a are guided above the first chamber 11a. It's easy. In addition, the filter 14
Instead, an opening that can be opened and closed by a valve biased in the opening direction is provided in the bottom wall of the first chamber 11a, and the valve is kept open for slow ink flow, and ink flows through the opening. It is also possible to control the flow of ink by pushing the valve to close the opening or restricting the flow of ink by a fast flow of ink.

The ink jet head 15 disposed below the air trap unit 11 is supported on the lower surface of the housing 3b and has an ink ejection port opened downward on the side facing the recording medium. The ink jet head 15 is, similar to a known one, distributed to the ink chambers for each ink ejection port and ejected from the ink ejection port by an actuator such as a piezoelectric element. Further, the ink ejection port forming surface of the inkjet head 15 is covered with a cover plate 15b except for the ink ejection port to prevent the recording medium from being deformed and coming into contact with the inkjet head 15.

The wiring 17 for controlling the ink jet head 15 is composed of an interface board 17a arranged above the air trap unit 11 and a printed wiring board 17b connecting the interface board 17a and the ink jet head 15. A drive circuit chip 17c is mounted on the printed wiring board 17b.

The interface board 17a arranged above the air trap unit 11 has a connector and a noise removing circuit for connecting to a signal line from the main body control board 100 (see FIG. 4) arranged inside the main body frame 2. It is installed. Further, it is connected to a flexible printed wiring board 17b connected to the actuator, and is connected to a drive circuit chip 17c mounted on the printed wiring board 17b.

The drive circuit chip 17c outputs a drive signal for driving the actuator of the ink jet head 15, converts a serial signal transmitted from the main body control board 100 into a parallel signal corresponding to the actuator, and outputs a large number of signals. Incorporates a large number of drive elements that connect to the actuators. The drive circuit chip 17c is adhered and fixed to the air traps 30 to 33 to a standing wall 3b standing upright from the housing 3b with a predetermined space therebetween, via a rubber-like elastic body 21. Therefore, the drive circuit chip 17c outputs a drive signal, and a large current flows through the drive circuit chip 17c,
Even when the drive circuit chip 17c generates heat, the space 20 formed between the standing wall 3c and the air trap unit 11 heats the ink stored in the air trap unit 11 to change the ink characteristics. Can be suppressed.

On the other side of the drive circuit chip 17c,
A heat radiating plate 22 for radiating the drive circuit chip 17c is erected. The heat dissipation plate 22 is made of a metal having a high heat conductivity such as aluminum or copper, and is fixed by a heat conductive double-sided tape or the like so as to be in contact with the drive circuit chip 17c. The heat radiating plate 22 which has radiated the heat of the drive circuit chip 17c and has increased in temperature is cooled by the cooling device 9. The cooling device 9 is arranged so as to face one side surface of the heat dissipation plate 22 when the outside of the carriage 3 a is at a position facing the purge device 6. It is made of a metal having a high thermal conductivity such as aluminum or copper, and contacts the heat dissipation plate 22 to take heat from the heat dissipation plate 22 to cool it.

The cooling device 9 is formed in a substantially L shape in a side view, and the bent portion thereof is pivotally supported by the main body frame 2 by the support shaft 23. Here, the heat dissipation plate 22 of the cooling device 9
The portion extending substantially parallel to the first portion 9a, the first portion 9
When the portion which is bent from a and extends downward of the carriage 3a is referred to as a second portion 9b, the first portion 9a is provided with a contact surface 9c which comes into contact with the heat dissipation plate 22, and the second portion 9b.
A first protrusion 9d is provided at the end of b toward the bottom surface of the carriage 3a.

The cooling device 9 is urged by a spring (not shown) installed below the cooling device 9 during a normal printing operation or the like, and is separated from the heat radiating plate 22 ( See the solid line). On the other hand, when cooling the heat dissipation plate 22, the carriage 3 a is moved to a position facing the cooling device 9. On the bottom surface of the carriage 3a, the carriage 3a
Second projection 24 having a surface inclined with respect to the moving direction of the
However, when the carriage 3a moves to a position facing the cooling device 9, the second protrusion 24 of the carriage 3a causes the first protrusion 9d of the cooling device 9 to project toward the first protrusion 9d. Ride on top. Therefore, the cooling device 9
Rotates around the support shaft and is caused on the carriage 3a side. In this way, the contact surface 9c of the cooling device 9 and the radiator plate 22 are brought into contact with each other to cool the radiator plate 22 (see the dotted line).

Since the cooling device 9 for cooling the radiator plate 22 is provided outside the carriage 3a in this manner, the radiator plate 22 is made large so that the drive circuit chip 17c can be cooled to a desired temperature as in the conventional case. No need. That is, the size of the heat dissipation plate 22 mounted on the carriage 3a can be minimized, and the weight reduction of the carriage 3a enables high-speed printing.

Next, the electric circuit configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an outline of the electric circuit configuration of the inkjet recording apparatus 1. The control device for controlling the inkjet recording device 1 is a main body control board 1
00 and a carriage board 17, and the main body control board 100 includes a one-chip microcomputer (CPU) 91 and a ROM 9 in which various control programs executed by the CPU 91 and fixed value data are stored.
2, a RAM 93 that is a memory for temporarily storing various data, an image memory 95, a gate array 96, and the like.

The CPU 91, which is an arithmetic unit, has a ROM 92.
The control of each process such as the above-described purge process is executed according to the control program stored in advance. Also,
A print timing signal and a reset signal are generated and each signal is transferred to a gate array 96 described later. The CPU 91 includes an operation panel 1 for a user to give a print instruction or the like.
07, a carriage motor for operating the carriage 5 (C
R motor) 101 for driving a motor drive circuit 10
2. Transport motor (LF motor) 10 for transporting the recording medium
3, motor drive circuit 104 for operating 3 and paper 62
A paper sensor 105 for detecting the tip of the carriage 5, an origin sensor 106 for detecting the origin position of the carriage 5, and the like are connected. The operation of each connected device is controlled by this CPU 91.

In the ROM 92, as a part of the control program, the carriage 3a is moved to the retracted position of the carriage 3a (purge processing execution position), and the drive circuit chip 17c.
A cooling program 92a for cooling the heat radiating plate 22 whose temperature has risen due to heat generation is stored. The device for determining the temperature of the drive circuit chip 17c can be configured by a sensor such as a thermistor arranged near the drive circuit chip 17c or a software process. The software processing is performed by, for example, the gate array 9
The amount of print data output from the inkjet head 15 to the inkjet head 15 is counted by the counter 93a of the RAM 93. When the amount of print data per unit time exceeds a predetermined value, it is estimated that the temperature has exceeded the predetermined temperature.

The gate array 96 prints the image data on a recording medium based on the print timing signal transferred from the CPU 91 and the image data stored in the image memory 95, and the print data. A transfer clock synchronized with data, a latch signal, a parameter signal for generating a basic print waveform signal, and an ejection timing signal output at a constant cycle are output, and these signals are transferred to the wiring board 17. . In addition, the gate array 96 can be connected to an external device such as a computer.
The image data transferred via the interface 97 is stored in the image memory 95. Then, the gate array 96 generates a centro data reception interrupt signal based on the centro data transferred from the host computer or the like via the centro interface 97, and transfers the signal to the CPU 91.

Each signal communicated between the gate array 96 and the wiring board 17 is transferred via a harness cable connecting them. In addition, the CPU 91 described above
The ROM 92, the RAM 93, and the gate array 96 are connected to each other via a bus line 99.

In the ink jet recording apparatus 1, the CPU 9
1 monitors the temperature of the drive circuit chip 17c by a sensor such as a thermistor or software processing during the printing operation. When the temperature of the drive circuit chip 17c exceeds a predetermined value, the CPU 91 causes the cooling program 92a.
Based on the above, the carriage 3a is moved to the retracted position (purge processing execution position). When the carriage 3a reaches the retracted position, as described above, the cooling device 9 causes the heat sink 22
To cool the heat dissipation plate 22. And the heat sink 22
When a predetermined time set so that the carriage 3 can be cooled has passed, the cooling process is ended, the carriage 3a returns to the predetermined position, and the printing operation is restarted.

Next, a second embodiment of the cooling device 9 described above will be described with reference to FIG. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. The cooling device 29 in the second embodiment cools the radiator plate 22 by the Peltier element 26. The Peltier element 26 is arranged at a portion in contact with the heat dissipation plate 22. The Peltier element 26 includes two ceramic plates 2
6a between the p-type (+) heat transfer element 26b and the n-type (-)
The heat transfer element 26c and the heat transfer element 26c are paired together.

By passing a low voltage current through the Peltier element 26, the ceramic plate 26a facing the heat dissipation plate 22 absorbs heat, and the surface of the other ceramic plate 26a generates heat. Therefore, by bringing the Peltier element 26 into contact with the heat dissipation plate 22 by the same mechanism as described above,
The heat sink 22 can be cooled. In order to cool the heat dissipation plate 22 efficiently, it is preferable to dispose a cooling fan on the heat generating surface side of the Peltier element 26 so as to face it. Also,
It is preferable that the timing at which the current is applied to the Peltier element 26 is executed before the carriage 3a reaches the arrangement position of the cooling device 29.

Although the present invention has been described based on the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. This can be easily guessed.

[0052] For example, in the above embodiment, in order to provide an ink jet recording apparatus 1 of the thin drive dynamic circuit chip 17c
The case where the cooling device 9 and the cooling device 29 are arranged upright so as to be substantially perpendicular to the inkjet head 15 and the cooling device 9 and 29 are arranged at positions facing the drive circuit chip 17c has been described. However, the interface board 17 is arranged so that the drive circuit chip 17c is substantially parallel to the inkjet head 15.
The cooling devices 9 and 29 may be arranged side by side with a, and the cooling devices 9 and 29 may be provided at positions facing the driving circuit chip 17c, and the cooling devices 9 and 29 may be brought into contact with the driving circuit chip 17c in the vertical direction. In such a case, it is possible to prevent the apparatus from becoming large in the front-rear direction (the recording medium conveyance direction).

In the above embodiment, the case where the cooling device 9 is arranged at the purge processing execution position as the cooling processing execution position has been described. However, the position where the cooling device 9 is arranged is not limited to this position,
For example, a line feed position or a storage position of the carriage 3a when the power is turned off may be used as long as it is within the movement range of the carriage. Further, the cooling device 9 may be configured to be moved by using another drive source instead of the carriage 3a.

[0054]

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the first aspect, the drive circuit which has generated heat radiates the heat by the heat radiating plate mounted on the carriage. Further, the heat dissipation plate is cooled by a cooling device which is arranged outside the carriage and in a predetermined arrangement in the moving range of the carriage.
Therefore, even if the size of the heat sink mounted on the carriage is smaller than the size of the heat sink required to obtain the desired cooling effect, the size of the heat sink required by the separately provided cooling device can be increased. A cooling effect can be obtained. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size and weight of the carriage, and it is possible to perform printing at high speed.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the ink jet recording apparatus of the first aspect, the cooling device cools the heat radiating plate by contacting the heat radiating plate. The first contact portion of the carriage and the second contact portion of the cooling device are brought into contact with each other to bring the cooling device into contact with the heat dissipation plate. Therefore, as compared with the case where the radiator plate is indirectly cooled by the blower, the radiator plate can be efficiently cooled.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the third aspect, in addition to the effect of the ink jet recording apparatus of the first or second aspect, the cooling device is made of a metal having a high thermal conductivity. Therefore, there is an effect that the cooling device can be configured at low cost.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the fourth aspect, in addition to the effect of the ink jet recording apparatus of the first or second aspect, the cooling device is composed of a Peltier element. Therefore, there is an effect that the cooling device can be configured in a space-saving manner.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the fifth aspect, in addition to the effect of the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the drive circuit is installed upright at a predetermined distance from the ink storage chamber. Is fixed to the supported support member. Therefore, the heat generated by the drive circuit is transmitted to the ink storage chamber by the space formed between the drive circuit and the ink storage chamber, and it is possible to prevent the change in the ink characteristics due to the temperature rise of the ink storage chamber. .

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the sixth aspect, in addition to the effect of the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the temperature of the drive circuit is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature by the judging means. If it is determined that the carriage is moved, the moving means moves the carriage to the retracted position of the carriage, which is outside the range for printing on the recording medium by the inkjet head. Therefore, only when it is necessary to cool the drive circuit that has generated heat, the carriage is moved to the retracted position of the carriage, and the radiator plate is cooled by the cooling device. Therefore, there is an effect that the printing process can be executed efficiently.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus of the seventh aspect, in addition to the effect of the ink jet recording apparatus of the sixth aspect, the retracted position of the carriage is provided at the purge processing execution position of the ink jet head. . Therefore, it is not necessary to newly provide a retracted position for the carriage. Therefore, even if a cooling device is installed,
There is an effect that it is possible to suppress an increase in size of the device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an internal configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an internal configuration of a recording head unit.

3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an outline of an electrical configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus.

5 shows a second embodiment of the cooling device, III- in FIG.
It is a III sectional view.

[Description of Reference Signs] 1 inkjet recording device 3a carriage 3b housing (support member) 4 (4a to 4d) ink tank (ink supply source) 9,29 cooling device 9d first protrusion (first contact portion) 11 air Trap unit (ink storage chamber) 15 Inkjet head 17c Drive circuit 22 Heat dissipation plate 24 Second protrusion (second contact portion) 26 Peltier element 30 to 33 Air trap (ink storage chamber)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet head for ejecting ink onto a recording medium, a drive circuit for applying a voltage to the ink jet head for ejecting ink to the ink jet head, the drive circuit and the ink jet head are mounted. In an inkjet recording apparatus including a carriage that reciprocates in a main scanning direction, a heat dissipation plate that is mounted on the carriage and that is arranged so as to contact the drive circuit and that dissipates heat generated by the drive circuit, A cooling device for cooling the heat radiation plate is provided outside the carriage so as to face the heat radiation plate and in a predetermined arrangement in a moving range of the carriage. Inkjet recording device. 2. The cooling device is movable between a position in contact with the heat dissipation plate and a position in separation from the heat dissipation plate, the first contact portion of the carriage and the second contact part of the cooling device.
2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling device is moved to a position in contact with the heat dissipation plate by bringing the cooling device into contact with the contact part. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling device is made of a metal having high thermal conductivity. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling device includes a Peltier element. 5. An ink storage chamber for storing ink ejected from the ink jet head is formed in the carriage, and the drive circuit is provided upright with a predetermined interval from the ink storage chamber. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet recording apparatus is fixed to the inkjet recording apparatus. 6. The predetermined position is a retreat position outside a range where printing is performed on a recording medium by the ink jet head, and a judgment means for judging the temperature of the drive circuit and a temperature judged by the judgment means are predetermined. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a moving unit that moves the carriage to a retracted position of the carriage when the value is equal to or more than a value. 7. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the retracted position of the carriage is a purge processing execution position of the inkjet head.