JP2004130710A - Inkjet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet printer using a binding member whereby an ink supply pipe or a cable accurately follows reciprocating movement of a carriage and which dose not deteriorate or break the above components at the biding position. <P>SOLUTION: In this inkjet printer, the flexible ink supply pipe for supplying ink to an inkjet head and the flexible cable for connecting the inkjet head to a control board are bound by the binding means consisting of a thin wire member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an inkjet printer in an inkjet recording system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In order to form a good image in an ink jet printer, it is necessary to supply a stable ink to the ink jet head, and to make sure that electric signals such as image data and control signals between the carriage and the ink jet head mounted on the carriage and the control board are accurate. It is necessary to communicate with Then, a plurality of inks of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) are supplied from the respective ink supply containers via the ink supply tubes to the inkjet head, and the carriage is controlled by the control substrate. The electric signal and the driving power are supplied by a plurality of cables such as a data signal line and a power supply line, and reciprocate in a reciprocating scanning direction based on information based on the electric signal to form an image.
[0003]
The reciprocating movement of the carriage makes rapid movements such as suddenly accelerating in one direction, suddenly stopping, or reversing the direction in a short period of time. You must always follow the movement. Therefore, the ink supply pipe and the cable are made of a flexible material so as to follow the reciprocating movement of the carriage.
[0004]
The inkjet head and carriage are connected to a plurality of linear members such as a plurality of ink supply pipes, data signal cables, and power supply cables.The carriage reciprocates with these linear members in a random state. When moved, these linear members become entangled with each other, or the cable is pulled by the moving carriage, thereby damaging the cable and making it impossible to form a smooth image. In order to prevent such a problem, in an ink-jet printer, “Image” is described in paragraph 0032 of JP-A-10-100440 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1) and paragraph 0025 of JP-A-11-179886 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 2). The data is transmitted from the electric circuit of the recording device to the recording head by a flexible cable.``A flexible cable called a resin film printed with wiring patterns such as data signal lines and power lines is used. ing.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-100440 (see paragraph 0032)
[0006]
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-11-179886 (see paragraph 0025)
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the above document does not focus on the binding state between the ink supply pipe and the flexible cable. As a member for binding the plurality of ink supply tubes and the cable into one, a band-shaped resin member called a cable tie or a binding band or a member called an iron wire-containing strap is actually bound. These members have a belt-like shape, and when the ink supply pipes and cables are bound by the belt-like members, it becomes very difficult to move the ink supply pipes and cables flexibly at the binding position when the carriage is reciprocated. This makes it difficult for the ink supply pipe and cable to follow the carriage.
[0008]
That is, since the ink supply pipe and the cable are in contact with the binding member at the binding position, their flexibility is impaired, and the ink supply pipe is bent so that stable ink supply cannot be performed, or the cable is broken and disconnected. Further, since stress is concentrated at the contact position, problems such as local deterioration and breakage of the ink supply pipe and disconnection of the cable occur.
[0009]
To solve such a problem, an attempt was made to bind the ink supply pipe and the cable using a tape instead of the binding member. However, unless the tape width was widened, a stable binding force could not be obtained, and the tape was damaged. Further, when the tape width is increased, the flexibility of the ink supply pipe and the cable is significantly impaired, so that it is impossible to accurately follow the carriage, and the supply pipe and the cable are damaged. Further, the adhesive used on the tape oozes out from the end of the tape with the passage of time, so that the adhesive adheres to the ink supply pipe and the cable and sticks, thereby affecting the maintenance of the apparatus.
[0010]
As described above, as a binding member that replaces the band-shaped binding member, the ink supply tube and the cable are damaged while maintaining the flexibility that the ink supply tube and the cable can accurately follow the movement of the carriage. Until now, no binding member has been found.
[0011]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and a binding member that allows an ink supply pipe and a cable to accurately follow the reciprocating movement of a carriage and that does not deteriorate or break these members at a binding position. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet printer using the same.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The inventors lost the flexibility inherent in the ink supply pipe and the cable at the position where the ink supply pipe and the cable were bound to the flexible cable, hindering the flexible movement of these members, Further, it has been found that as the number of areas where the flexibility is lost in the ink supply pipe or the cable increases, the load is concentrated on the areas where the flexibility is exhibited without being bound.
[0013]
Therefore, by minimizing the contact area of the ink supply pipe and the cable with the binding member, these members can accurately follow the carriage, and even when image formation is repeated, these members are not untied. It is possible to maintain the state without fail. That is, the object of the present invention is achieved by a configuration described in any one of the following.
[0014]
[1] An ink jet printer that performs reciprocal scanning of an ink jet head by reciprocating scanning of a carriage and conveys a recording medium in a direction orthogonal to the reciprocating scanning direction to form an image. A flexible ink supply pipe for supplying ink to the ink jet head, a flexible cable for connecting the ink jet head to the control board, and a binding means for binding the ink supply pipe and the cable. The means is made of a thin wire member.
[0015]
The binding means composed of the thin wire member described in the above configuration has a long and thin shape, such as a wire or a string, and has a certain strength at a position where the ink supply pipe or the cable is bound when the ink supply pipe or the cable is bound. A binding member having a property of not impairing the flexibility of the ink supply pipe and the cable at a position other than the non-binding position.
[0016]
[2] Flexible follow-up means for causing the ink supply pipe and the cable to follow the reciprocating scanning of the ink jet head, wherein the binding means fixes the ink supply pipe and the cable to the follow-up means. The inkjet printer according to the above [1], wherein:
[0017]
The following means described in the above configuration is such that the ink supply pipe and the cable smoothly follow the movement of the ink jet head by fixing the ink supply pipe and the cable on the following means using a member such as a thin wire member. The follow-up means enables protection of the ink supply pipe and the cable.
[0018]
[3] The ink jet printer according to [1] or [2], wherein the thin wire member is made of metal.
[0019]
[4] The inkjet printer according to [1] or [2], wherein the thin wire member is made of an organic material.
[0020]
[5] The ink jet printer according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the cable is a flexible cable.
[0021]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink jet printer that performs reciprocal scanning of an ink jet head by reciprocal scanning of a carriage, and conveys a recording medium in a direction orthogonal to the reciprocal scanning direction to form an image.
[0022]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of an ink jet printer according to the present invention. An ink jet head 3 (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as a head) is provided on a carriage 2. The carriage 2 has mounted thereon a head driver IC (not shown), a printed circuit board (not shown), a heat sink (not shown), and the like.
[0023]
Although simplified in FIG. 1, the head 3 includes, for example, nozzles for yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K).
[0024]
The head driver IC housed in the carriage 2 is connected to the control board 9 by a flexible cable 5 pulled out from the carriage 2.
[0025]
The carriage 2 is reciprocated by the carriage drive mechanism 6 in a reciprocating scanning direction indicated by an arrow X in the drawing. The carriage driving mechanism 6 includes a motor 6a, a pulley 6b, a belt 6c, and a guide rail 6d, and the carriage 2 is fixed to the belt 6c.
[0026]
When the pulley 6b is rotated by the motor 6a, the carriage 2 fixed to the belt 6c moves in the direction of arrow X in the figure. The guide rail 6d is configured so that the carriage 2 slides. Therefore, the belt 6c does not bend due to the weight of the carriage 2, and the direction of the reciprocating movement of the carriage 2 is linear. The direction of movement of the carriage 2 can be changed by reversing the rotation direction of the motor 6a, and the moving speed of the carriage 2 can be changed by changing the number of revolutions, and thus the acceleration of the carriage 2 can be adjusted. It is.
[0027]
The moving speed of the carriage 2 is detected by arranging an encoder (not shown) provided with graduations at predetermined intervals on a transparent resin film along the moving direction of the carriage 2 and detecting the encoder by an optical sensor provided on the carriage 2. 2 is detected.
[0028]
The ink is supplied from the ink supply container 7 to the head 3 on the carriage 2 via a flexible ink supply pipe 4. The flexible ink supply pipe 4 follows the movement of the carriage 2.
[0029]
The flexible cable 5 for connecting the carriage 2 and the control board 9 is a cable formed by printing a wiring pattern including a data signal line and a power supply line on a flexible resin film. Image data, control signals, and the like are transferred between them, and follow the movement of the carriage 2.
[0030]
The ink supply pipe 4 and the flexible cable 5 are bound by a thin wire member 10 as a binding means, and the thin wire member 10 is kept in a state where the contact area between the ink supply pipe 4 and the flexible cable 5 is small. It is possible to accurately follow the carriage of the flexible cable 5 and to maintain the binding state without unfolding the ink supply pipe 4 and the flexible cable 5 even when image formation is repeated.
[0031]
The thin wire member 10 used in the ink jet printer of the present invention has an elongated shape and flexibility, has a certain degree of strength so that the ink supply pipe and the cable cannot be unraveled at the binding position, and has the ink supply pipe and the cable formed by the binding. It is required that the ink supply pipe and the cable have a property that does not hinder the flexibility of the cable.
[0032]
The thin wire member 10 used in the ink jet printer of the present invention is, for example, a wire-shaped metal material such as steel, stainless steel, copper, and aluminum, or a string made of an organic material such as silk, cotton, paper, nylon, polyester, and Kevlar. Yarns. Further, the thin wire member 10 may be a thin wire member made of a plurality of types of materials by twisting, connecting, or bonding the above various thin wire members, in addition to the one made of a single material.
[0033]
The diameter of the thin wire member 10 used in the ink jet printer of the present invention is preferably smaller than the diameter of a commercially available cable tie or binding band, specifically, 2 mm or less. Incidentally, commercially available cable ties and cable ties having a diameter of about 4 mm are mainly distributed.
[0034]
The binding method using the thin wire member 10 used in the ink jet printer of the present invention is not particularly limited. In the present invention, the ink supply pipe and the cable are not loosened during image formation due to the binding by the thin wire member 10, and the ink supply pipe and the cable are not damaged at the binding position even if they are bound to some extent.
[0035]
Next, the following means used in the ink jet printer of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an example of the following means used in the ink jet printer according to the present invention, and is a side view when viewed from the Z direction in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a cross section of the follow-up means 11, in which the ink supply pipe 4 and the flexible cable 5 are bound by a thin wire member 10 and fixed to the segment 11b of the caterpillar 11a.
[0036]
The follower 11 shown in FIG. 2 has a caterpillar-shaped continuum formed by connecting a plurality of segments. The following means 11 used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it has flexibility and can follow the reciprocating movement of the carriage and can bind the ink supply pipe and the cable with a thin wire member.
[0037]
As the following means having a shape other than the caterpillar shape, for example, an endless belt shape such as a rubber belt, a woven belt, a steel belt, a wire mesh belt, or a flat top having a flat attachment or a slat mounted on one or several chains And the like.
[0038]
The tracking means 11 shown in FIG. 2 is composed of a track 11a composed of a plurality of segments 11b, and a guide member 11c for accommodating a portion of the track 11a that is not being tracked. One end of the track 11a is connected to the carriage 2, and the other end is The guide member 11c is fixed on the guide member 11c, and is fixed on the ink jet printer main body 1. The track 11a reciprocates in the X direction following the reciprocation of the carriage 2.
[0039]
As shown in FIG. 3, the caterpillar-shaped follower 11 has an ink supply pipe 4 disposed inside a caterpillar 11a composed of a segment 11b, and a flexible cable 5 disposed outside the caterpillar 11a. It is bound to the track 11a by the member 10. As described above, fixing the ink supply pipe 4 and the flexible cable 5 using both surfaces of the follower 11 is preferable because the binding strength of the thin wire member 10 as the binding means is uniformly applied to the ink supply pipe and the cable. .
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
According to the ink jet printer described in the present invention, by using a thin wire member as a binding member that binds the ink supply pipe and the cable, the contact area between the ink supply pipe and the cable and the binding member at the binding position is minimized. These components can accurately follow the carriage without bending the supply pipe or cable, and even if image formation is repeated, these members can be securely held in the binding position without being unraveled at the binding position. I made it.
[0041]
In addition, the ink jet printer is provided with a flexible follower, and the ink supply pipe and the cable are fixed to the main body of the follower with a thin wire member so that the ink supply pipe and the cable can smoothly follow the movement of the ink jet head. In addition to making it possible, the follow-up means can protect the ink supply pipe and the cable.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of an ink jet printer according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a follow-up unit used in the ink jet printer according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a cross section of a follow-up means according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink-jet printer main body 2 Carriage 3 Ink-jet head 4 Ink supply pipe 5 Flexible cable 6 Carriage drive mechanism 7 Ink supply container 9 Control board 10 Fine wire member 11 Following means 11a Caterpillar 11b Segment 11c Guide member

Claims (5)

An inkjet printer that performs reciprocal scanning of an inkjet head by reciprocal scanning of a carriage, and conveys a recording medium in a direction orthogonal to the reciprocal scanning direction to form an image.
The inkjet printer is
A flexible ink supply pipe for supplying ink to the inkjet head,
A flexible cable connecting the inkjet head and the control board,
Bundling means for bundling the ink supply pipe and the cable,
An ink jet printer, wherein the binding means comprises a thin wire member. The ink supply pipe and the cable have a flexible following means for following the reciprocating scanning of the inkjet head,
2. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the binding unit fixes the ink supply pipe and the cable to the following unit. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the thin wire member is made of metal. The ink-jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the thin wire member is made of an organic material. The inkjet printer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cable is a flexible cable.

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