JP2004249519A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that an arrangement for fixing a plurality of heads to a carriage and securing them in place is complicated. <P>SOLUTION: A bonding member 51 is provided on one end side of a head 4 in the carrying direction of sheet and, while retaining the other end side of the head 4 in the carrying direction of sheet by means of a resilient retaining member 52 fixed to the carriage body 3A, the bonding member 51 on the other end side in the carrying direction of sheet is bonded to the carriage body 3A through an adhesive 53 thus securing the head 4 to the carriage 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
[Industrial applications]
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus, and more particularly, to an image recording apparatus having a plurality of heads mounted on a carriage.
[0002]
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-53082
[Prior art]
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-11-58877 [Patent Document 2] JP-A-2001-113679 [Patent Document 3] JP-A-2002-67281
2. Description of the Related Art As an image recording apparatus (or also referred to as an "image forming apparatus") such as a printer, a facsimile, and a copying apparatus, for example, an ink jet recording apparatus is known. The ink jet recording apparatus is a sheet to which ink droplets including OHP and the like can be attached from an ink recording head to a sheet (also referred to as a recording medium, a recording medium, a recording sheet, or the like). The recording is performed by ejecting ink to the recording medium.
[0005]
As the ink jet head, a piezoelectric actuator such as a piezoelectric element, a thermal actuator utilizing a phase change due to film boiling of a liquid using an electrothermal transducer such as a heating resistor, a shape memory alloy actuator using a metal phase change due to a temperature change, 2. Description of the Related Art There is known an electrostatic actuator using an electrostatic force or the like as an energy generating unit for discharging ink.
[0006]
By the way, in the case of a shuttle type recording apparatus in which a plurality of heads are mounted on a carriage in an ink jet recording apparatus, if the positioning accuracy of the heads with respect to the carriage varies, the ink droplet landing positions from the respective heads are shifted and the color ink droplets are superimposed. However, the image quality is degraded due to variations.
[0007]
Therefore, as described in, for example, Patent Literature 1 to Patent Literature 3, a means for adjusting the position of the head with respect to the carriage is provided.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However,
The conventional head position adjusting mechanism as described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 has a complicated structure. In particular, when the head position adjusting mechanism is fixed to the carriage with screws, a torque generated at the time of fixing is caused. There is a problem that positional accuracy is reduced.
[0009]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide an image recording apparatus capable of easily and highly accurately fixing a head to a carriage with a simple configuration.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problem, an image recording apparatus according to the present invention has a configuration in which an adhesive member is provided on a head, and the adhesive member and the carriage body are fixed with an adhesive.
[0011]
Here, it is preferable that means for connecting the adjustment jig be provided on the bonding member. Further, it is preferable that the distance between the surface of the head facing the recording medium and the recording medium is determined irrespective of the bonding member. Further, it is preferable that there is a space not exceeding 1 mm between the carriage body and the bonding member. Furthermore, it is preferable that a part of the bonding member protrudes outside the carriage.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus as an image recording apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of the recording apparatus.
[0013]
In the ink jet recording apparatus, a carriage 3 is slidably held in a main scanning direction by a guide rod 1 and a stay 2 which are guide members which are laterally mounted on left and right side plates (not shown). The moving scan is performed in the direction indicated by the arrow.
[0014]
The carriage 3 is provided with a plurality of ink ejection orifices through a recording head 4 composed of four inkjet heads for ejecting ink droplets of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (Bk). They are arranged in a direction crossing the main scanning direction, and are mounted with the ink droplet ejection direction facing downward. The details of the structure for attaching the head 4 to the carriage 3 will be described later.
[0015]
The ink jet head constituting the recording head 4 includes a piezoelectric actuator such as a piezoelectric element, a thermal actuator using an electrothermal conversion element such as a heating resistor to utilize a phase change due to film boiling of a liquid, and a metal phase change due to a temperature change. An actuator having a shape memory alloy actuator to be used, an electrostatic actuator using electrostatic force, or the like as an energy generating means for discharging ink can be used.
[0016]
Further, the carriage 3 is mounted with sub-tanks 5 of each color for supplying inks of each color to the recording head 4. The sub-tank 5 is supplied with ink from a main tank (ink cartridge) via an ink supply tube (not shown).
[0017]
On the other hand, as a paper feed unit for feeding paper 12 loaded on a paper loading unit (pressure plate) 11 such as a paper feed cassette 10, a half-moon roller that separates and feeds the papers 12 one by one from the paper loading unit 11 ( A sheet feed roller 13 and a separation pad 14 made of a material having a large friction coefficient are provided facing the sheet feed roller 13. The separation pad 14 is urged toward the sheet feed roller 13.
[0018]
As a transport unit for transporting the paper 12 fed from the paper feed unit below the recording head 4, a transport belt 21 for electrostatically attracting and transporting the paper 12 and a feed belt 21 A counter roller 22 for transporting the paper 12 sent through the guide 15 between the transport belt 21 and the paper 12 transported substantially vertically upward is turned by approximately 90 ° to copy the paper 12 onto the transport belt 21. A transport guide 23 for adjusting the pressure and a pressing roller 25 urged toward the transport belt 21 by a pressing member 24 are provided. Further, a charging roller 26 serving as a charging unit for charging the surface of the transport belt 21 is provided. Note that a holding roller 30 is provided at the tip of the holding member 24.
[0019]
Here, the transport belt 21 is an endless belt, is stretched between a transport roller 27 and a tension roller 28, and is configured to orbit in the belt transport direction (FIG. 2). The transport belt 21 has a surface layer serving as a paper adsorption surface formed of a pure resin material having a thickness of about 40 μm, for example, of which resistance is not controlled, for example, an ETFE pure material, and resistance control is performed with carbon using the same material as the surface layer. And a back layer (medium resistance layer, earth layer).
[0020]
The charging roller 26 is arranged so as to be in contact with the surface layer of the transport belt 21 and rotate following the rotation of the transport belt 21, and apply 2.5 N to both ends of the shaft as a pressing force. The transport roller 27 also serves as the above-described ground roller, and is arranged in contact with the middle resistance layer (back layer) of the transport belt 21 and is grounded.
[0021]
A guide member 31 is arranged on the back side of the transport belt 21 so as to correspond to the printing area of the recording head 4. Both ends of the guide member 31 in the main scanning direction are held between frame members 35 that hold the transport roller 22 and the tension roller 28 and the like.
[0022]
The guide member 31 has an upper surface protruding from the tangent line of the two rollers (the transport roller 27 and the tension roller 28) supporting the transport belt 21 to the recording head 4 side. As a result, the transport belt 21 is pushed up and guided by the upper surface of the guide member 31 in the printing area.
[0023]
Further, as a paper discharge unit for discharging the paper 12 recorded by the recording head 4, a separation claw 41 serving as a separation mechanism for separating the paper 12 from the transport belt 21 is arranged in contact with the transport belt 21. A paper discharge roller 42 and a paper discharge roller 43 are arranged downstream of the separation claw 41, and a paper discharge tray 44 for stocking the paper 12 discharged further downstream is provided.
[0024]
Further, a duplex paper supply unit 51 is detachably mounted on the apparatus main body. The double-sided paper feeding unit 51 takes in the paper 12 returned by the rotation of the transport belt 21 in the reverse direction, reverses the paper 12, and feeds the paper 12 again between the counter roller 22 and the transport belt 21.
[0025]
In the ink jet recording apparatus configured as described above, the paper 12 is separated and fed one by one from the paper feeding unit, and the paper 12 fed substantially vertically upward is guided by the guide 15, and the transport belt 21 and the counter roller 22 And the leading end thereof is guided by a carrying guide 23 and pressed against the carrying belt 21 by a leading end pressing roller 25 to change the carrying direction by approximately 90 °.
[0026]
At this time, a positive output and a negative output are alternately repeated from the high voltage power supply to the charging roller 26 by a control circuit (not shown), that is, an alternating voltage is applied, and a charging voltage pattern in which the transport belt 21 alternates, that is, In the sub-scanning direction, which is the circling direction, plus and minus are alternately charged in a belt shape with a predetermined width. When the paper 12 is fed onto the positively and negatively charged conveyor belt 21, the paper 12 is polarized in the paper 12 to a charge opposite to the charged pattern, so that a capacitor connected in parallel is formed. The paper 12 is attracted to the transport belt 21, and the paper 12 is transported in the sub-scanning direction by the orbital movement of the transport belt 21.
[0027]
Therefore, by driving the recording head 4 in accordance with the image signal while moving the carriage 3, ink droplets are ejected onto the stopped paper 12 to record one line, and after the paper 12 is conveyed by a predetermined amount, Record the next line. Upon receiving a recording end signal or a signal indicating that the rear end of the sheet 12 has reached the recording area, the recording operation is terminated, and the sheet 12 is discharged to the discharge tray 44.
[0028]
At this time, since the separation claw 41 faces the paper discharge unit side of the transport belt 21, the paper 12 is reliably separated from the transport belt 21 and discharged, and is caught and jammed while being attracted to the transport belt 21. Is prevented.
[0029]
Therefore, a head mounting structure in the ink jet recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 is an explanatory side view of a main part of a head mounting part of the carriage, FIG. 4 is a plan view of a main part of the head mounting part of the carriage, FIG. 5 is a perspective explanatory view of the same, and FIG. 6 is viewed from the nozzle surface of the head. It is principal part plane explanatory drawing. Here, only two heads 4 are shown.
[0030]
An adhesive member 51 is provided at one end side of the head 4 in the paper transport direction, and the nozzle surface protrudes downward from an opening 3 a provided in the carriage body 3 </ b> A of the head 4. The end portion is pressed by an elastic pressing member 52 attached to the carriage main body 3A, and the bonding member 51 on the other end side in the paper transport direction and the carriage main body 3A are bonded and bonded with an adhesive 53. The head 4 is fixed to the carriage 3.
[0031]
The bonding member 51 of the head 4 is formed with a round hole 54 as a means for connecting an adjustment jig. Further, the bonding member 51 is bent into a shape in which a space of less than 1 mm (interval a in FIG. 3) is formed between the bonding member 51 and the inner surface of the carriage body 3 when the head is mounted. The bonding member 51 has one end fixed to the head 4 and the other end protruding outward from an opening 3b formed in the carriage body 3A. That is, it has a length enough to secure a distance b from the outer end face of the carriage body 3A to the round hole 54, and a length enough to connect the adjustment jig to the round hole 54 of the bonding member 51 outside the carriage body 3 as the distance b. Is set to
[0032]
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, a reference pin 55 to which the side surface on one end side of the head 4 can contact, and a side surface on one end side of the head 4 toward the reference pin 55 side, as shown in FIG. A pressing member 56 made of an elastic member for urging and pressing is provided. The pressing member 56 is fixed to a fixing member 57.
[0033]
The mounting of the head in such a configuration will be described. The mounting accuracy of the head 4 mounted on the carriage 3 is required to be on the order of microns. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the nozzle row 4a of the head 4 is perpendicular to the guide rod 1, and the rows of specific nozzles of the plurality of heads 4 and 4 (located at the same position in the main scanning direction). Is required to be parallel to the guide rod 1.
[0034]
Then, one end side of the head 4 is inserted between the reference pin 55 and the pressing member 56 of the carriage body A3, and the head 4 is set so that the nozzle surface protrudes from the opening 3a. Then, a specific nozzle of the head 4, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a nozzle fa on the most upstream side and a nozzle la on the most downstream side in the paper transport direction are respectively captured by an optical microscope or the like, and the head 4 is finely moved to the position. After the setting, the bonding member 51 and the carriage main body 3A are bonded and bonded by the adhesive 53 after the setting. By fixing with adhesive bonding, higher mounting accuracy can be obtained.
[0035]
At this time, the adjustment jig is inserted into the round hole 54 of the bonding member 51 of the head 4, and the head 4 is positioned by moving the bonding member 51 in the X and Y directions in FIG. 4 while operating the adjustment jig. Can be. Since the head 4 is provided with the bonding member 51 in this manner, the head 4 whose manufacturing cost is high can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced. Further, since the bonding member 51 protrudes outside the carriage main body 3A, the position of the head 4 can be adjusted from outside the carriage 3 and the adjustment operation is facilitated.
[0036]
Further, as the adhesive 53 for bonding the bonding member 51 and the carriage body 3A, it is preferable to use an ultraviolet (UV) curable adhesive. The ultraviolet curing adhesive does not proceed until the ultraviolet rays are applied, so that a sufficient time can be secured, and the application of the ultraviolet rays accelerates the curing, so that it is easy to control. In addition, the curable adhesive can be broken by applying an instantaneous force in the shearing direction, and even if the adjustment fails, the adhesive can be easily broken and the head 4 can be used most without discarding.
[0037]
Although it is difficult to form the head 4 with a resin member that transmits ultraviolet light, the head 4 and the bonding member 51 can be separated to form the bonding member 51 with a resin member that transmits ultraviolet light. Further, by separating the head 4 from the bonding member 51 as described above, the head 4 can be detached from the carriage 3 by breaking the bonding member 51 without breaking the head 4.
[0038]
Further, when the adhesive 53 cures, a hardening condensation exerts a thrust force on the head 4. Therefore, by providing an interval a between the bonding member 51 and the inner surface of the carriage main body 3A, the adhesive 53 can move freely. As a result, the thinning force of the head 4 is reduced, and a higher mounting accuracy can be obtained.
[0039]
Here, the distance between the nozzle surface of the head 4 and the paper as the recording medium is determined by the precision of the components of the head 4 and the carriage 3 and is not affected by the adhesive 53.
[0040]
Further, the image recording apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to a facsimile apparatus, a copying apparatus, a printer / fax / copier multifunction peripheral, etc. in addition to the ink jet printer. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to an image recording apparatus that ejects a liquid other than ink, for example, a resist or a DNA sample in the medical field.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the image recording apparatus of the present invention, since the head is provided with the bonding member, and the bonding member and the carriage body are fixed with the adhesive, the height can be easily increased with a simple configuration. The head can be fixed to the carriage with high accuracy.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of the recording apparatus. FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory plan view of a main part of a head mounting portion of a carriage. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the same. FIG. 6 is an explanatory plan view of a main part viewed from a nozzle surface of a head.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 ... Carriage, 3A ... Carriage main body, 4 ... Recording head, 12 ... Paper, 21 ... Conveying belt, 26 ... Charging roller, 27 ... Conveying roller, 28 ... Tension roller, 51 ... Adhesive member, 53 ... Adhesive.

Claims (5)

An image recording apparatus comprising a plurality of heads mounted on a carriage, wherein the head includes an adhesive member, and the adhesive member and the carriage main body are fixed with an adhesive. 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bonding member is provided with means for connecting an adjustment jig. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a distance between a surface of the head facing the recording medium and the recording medium is defined irrespective of the bonding member. apparatus. 4. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a space not exceeding 1 mm is provided between the carriage body and the bonding member. 5. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a part of the bonding member protrudes outside the carriage.

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