JP2005212239A - Recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress adhesion of a foreign article to a carriage shaft and a bearing part of a carriage. <P>SOLUTION: A recording apparatus in which a recording head 20 is loaded on the carriage 21 that moves back and forth along the carriage shaft 31, and which records an image to a sheet transferred onto a platen 23 by the recording head 20 is equipped with a cover member 63 which surrounds a peripheral face of the carriage shaft 31 and the bearing part 62 of the carriage 21. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus in which a recording head is mounted on a carriage that reciprocates along a carriage axis.

  In general, a recording apparatus is known in which a recording head is mounted on a carriage that reciprocates along a carriage axis, and an image is recorded on a recording sheet that is conveyed onto a platen by the recording head.

The carriage of this type of recording apparatus is provided with a bearing portion through which the carriage shaft is inserted. The carriage shaft slides when the carriage slides on the carriage shaft during a recording operation and reciprocates left and right. In order to reduce resistance, it is comprised so that lubricating oil may be supplied (for example, refer patent document 1).
JP 11-314420 A

  However, in the recording apparatus, since the lubricant oil is applied to the carriage shaft and the bearing portion of the carriage, foreign matter such as sheet powder (for example, paper dust of paper) or dust entering from the outside of the recording apparatus is caused by the carriage shaft. And easily adheres to the bearing. If foreign matter such as sheet powder or dust adheres to the carriage shaft or the bearing portion in this way, when the carriage reciprocates on the carriage shaft, the foreign matter is removed from the clearance between the carriage bearing portion and the carriage shaft. It becomes easy to get in. If foreign matter enters the gap in this way, the sliding frictional resistance between the carriage bearing and the carriage shaft increases, the carriage operation becomes unstable, and the recording quality deteriorates. However, there is a problem that the carriage bearing portion or the carriage shaft is worn by the foreign matter.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus capable of solving the above-described problems of the prior art and suppressing foreign matter from adhering to a carriage shaft and a carriage bearing.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a recording apparatus in which a recording head is mounted on a carriage that reciprocates along a carriage axis, and an image is recorded on a sheet that is conveyed onto a platen by the recording head. And a cover member that surrounds the bearing portion of the carriage.

  In this recording apparatus, the cover member is formed with a slit extending along the axial direction of the carriage shaft, and the carriage has an arm portion extending from the carriage body toward the carriage shaft via the slit. The bearing portion may be provided at the tip of the arm portion.

  In the recording apparatus, the slit may be formed so as to avoid a position below the carriage shaft.

  Furthermore, in the recording apparatus, the cover member may be formed in a bellows shape that expands and contracts as the carriage moves.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from adhering to the carriage shaft and the carriage bearing.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[1] First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a printer main body of a dot impact printer to which a first embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention is applied. 2 and 3 are perspective views showing the configuration of the printer main body of the dot impact printer. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the printer body.

  A dot impact printer 10 as a recording apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 presses a recording wire included in a recording head 20 (see FIG. 3) against a sheet (recording paper) via an ink ribbon (not shown), An image including characters is recorded by forming dots on the sheet. As this sheet, there are a cut sheet cut to a predetermined length and a continuous sheet in which a plurality of sheets are connected. The cut sheet includes, for example, plain paper such as cut paper and cut copy paper, as well as passbooks, postcards, and envelopes, and continuous sheets include continuous paper and continuous copy paper.

  The dot impact printer 10 is roughly divided into a printer main body 11 as a recording apparatus main body, a push tractor unit 12 (FIG. 2) and a discharge unit 13 that are detachably attached to the printer main body 11, and an upper portion of the printer main body 11. The upper case 14 </ b> A and the lower case 14 </ b> B are provided as exterior bodies covering the lower portions.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the printer main body 11 includes a base frame 15 as a main body frame, a front frame 16, a rear frame 17, a left side frame 18 and a right side frame 19, a recording head 20, and a carriage 21. A recording mechanism 22 provided; a first sheet conveying mechanism 27 including a platen 23, a sheet guide 24, a first driven roller 25, and a second driven roller 26; a third driven roller 28; and a driving roller 29. And a two-sheet transport mechanism unit 30.

  A left side frame 18 and a right side frame 19 are erected and fixed to substantially both ends of the base frame 15, the front frame 16, and the rear frame 17. A carriage shaft 31 is bridged between the left side frame 18 and the right side frame 19 so that the eccentric shaft of the carriage shaft 31 is pivotally supported. Further, a platen 23 is bridged between the left side frame 18 and the right side frame 19 so as to be rotatable, and a seat guide 24 is fixedly disposed on the rear frame 17.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the first sheet transport mechanism 27 including the platen 23 includes a first driven roller 25 and a second driven roller 26 disposed below the platen 23, and the sheet transport on the rear side of the printer main body 11. Configured as a mechanism. The first driven roller 25 and the second driven roller 26 are rotatably supported by a driven roller holder (not shown). The driven roller holder is biased toward the platen 23 by a biasing spring (not shown) whose one end is fixed to the rear frame 17, whereby the first driven roller 25 and the second driven roller 26 are moved downward with respect to the platen 23. And is driven to rotate by receiving the rotational force of the platen 23.

  The second sheet conveying mechanism 30 is configured as a sheet conveying mechanism on the front side of the printer main body 11 with the third driven roller 28 and the driving roller 29 arranged in contact with each other.

  The platen 23 and the drive roller 29 are rotationally driven in the forward or reverse direction by the drive wheel train 34. The drive wheel train 34 is installed on one of the left side frame 18 and the right side frame 19, for example, the right side frame 19. The drive wheel train 34 includes a sheet conveyance motor 35 (FIG. 2) that can be rotated forward or reverse, a motor pinion that is rotationally and integrally fixed to a drive shaft of the sheet conveyance motor 35, and a driving force from the motor pinion. A plurality of reduction gears that transmit to the platen 23 and a plurality of reduction gears that transmit to the drive roller 29 are configured. With this configuration, the platen 23 and the driving roller 29 are rotated in opposite directions, so that a cut sheet or a continuous sheet can be conveyed from the front to the rear of the printer main body 11 or can be conveyed from the rear to the front of the printer main body 11. To do. Therefore, the cut sheet and the continuous sheet are conveyed in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the later-described main scanning direction of the carriage 21.

  Tractor unit mounting portions 40A and 40B are formed on the front side and the rear side of the printer main body 11 of the left side frame 18 and the right side frame 19, respectively, and the push tractor unit 12 is detachably mounted on each. FIG. 2 shows a state where the push tractor unit 12 is mounted only on the front side of the printer main body 11.

  The push tractor unit 12 mounted on the rear side of the printer main body 11 supplies a continuous sheet (for example, continuous paper) to the first sheet conveying mechanism 27 on the rear side, and is a push mounted on the front side. The tractor unit 12 supplies the second sheet conveying mechanism 30 on the front side. The push tractor units 12 mounted on the front side and the rear side of the printer main body 11 have substantially the same configuration, and have a pair of tractors 36 on the left and right. These tractors 36 are supported by a tractor drive pulley (not shown) that is rotatably and axially slidably supported on a tractor drive shaft 37 and a tractor guide shaft 38 that is rotatably and axially slidable. A tractor belt 39 is wound around a tractor driven drive pulley (not shown), and a sheet pressing lid (not shown) is provided.

  When manually feeding sheets from the front side of the printer main body 11 to the second sheet conveying mechanism 30, a manual feed tray (not shown) is mounted between the side frames 18 and 19 on the front side.

  The distance between the pair of tractors 36 can be adjusted according to the width dimension of the continuous sheet (continuous paper) to be conveyed. A plurality of pins protrude from the entire outer periphery of the tractor belt 39 and can be engaged with holes formed on both sides of the continuous sheet in the width direction. The tractor belt 39 is also driven by the drive wheel train 34 described above.

  The carriage 21 is slidably inserted into the carriage shaft 31, is slidably contacted with the upper end portion of the front frame 16, and further mounts the recording head 20. Since the eccentric shaft of the carriage shaft 31 is rotatably supported by the side frames 18 and 19, the platen gap, which is the distance between the tip of the recording head 20 and the surface of the platen 23 by rotating the carriage shaft 31. Can be adjusted. Further, since the carriage shaft 31 is arranged in parallel with the platen 23, the carriage 21 is provided so as to be able to travel (scan) in the main scanning direction that coincides with the axial directions of the platen 23 and the carriage shaft 31.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the carriage 21 includes a carriage main body 61 on which the recording head 20 is mounted, and a carriage bush as a bearing portion that is held by the carriage main body 61 and through which the carriage shaft 31 is inserted. 62. That is, a pair of carriage bushes 62 are provided at both ends of the carriage body 61. A gap is provided between the carriage bush 62 and the carriage shaft 31 so that the carriage 21 can slide on the carriage shaft 31. The carriage bush 62 is a wear-resistant material made of sintered metal, for example, and is impregnated with a lubricating oil, and the sliding friction resistance between the carriage bush 62 and the carriage shaft 31 is reduced by the lubricating oil. .

  The carriage 21 includes a belt drive pulley (not shown) rotatably supported by a carriage drive motor 41 in the vicinity of one end of the carriage shaft 31 and a belt driven pulley (not shown) provided in the vicinity of the other end of the carriage shaft 31. And a timing belt 42 (FIG. 4) spanning the belt. Accordingly, the carriage 21 is guided to the carriage shaft 31 and the front frame 16 via the timing belt 42 by the forward or reverse rotation of the carriage drive motor 41, and is scanned leftward or rightward in FIGS. 1 to 3 in the main scanning direction. The Here, the carriage drive motor 41 is configured by a stepping motor, for example, together with the sheet conveyance motor 35.

  A ribbon drive shaft 43 is provided on the front left side of the carriage shaft 31. The ribbon drive shaft 43 moves an ink ribbon (not shown) in a ribbon cassette 44 mounted on the left side frame 18 and the right side frame 19. The ink ribbon is drawn between the recording head 20 and the platen 23 and is movably provided by a ribbon drive shaft 43.

  The recording head 20 includes a large number of recording wires (not shown), and an ink ribbon is positioned in front of the recording wires in the protruding direction. While the recording head 20 travels in the main scanning direction together with the carriage 21, the recording wire protrudes and strikes the ink ribbon, and the ink on the ink ribbon is transported between the platen 23 and the recording head 20. An image including characters is recorded on the sheet by being attached to the sheet.

  In the recording operation by the recording head 20, one line is recorded by the recording wire of the recording head 20 while the carriage 21 travels leftward or rightward in the main scanning direction of FIGS. 1 to 3, and this one line is recorded. Each time the first sheet transport mechanism unit 27 or the second sheet transport mechanism unit 30 transports a sheet by a predetermined length (for a normal line interval), these operations are repeated.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the discharge unit 13 includes a discharge roller 46 that is rotatably integrated with a roller shaft 45, and the sheet recorded by the recording head 20 is moved out of the printer 10 by the rotation of the discharge roller 46. Discharged.

  A release lever 47 is provided outside the right side frame 19, and a transmission gear (not shown) that transmits the driving force of the sheet conveying motor 35 by the operation of the release lever 47 is provided on the rear side of the printer body 11. The push tractor unit 12 is mounted so that it can mesh with or disengage from a tractor drive gear (not shown) that drives the tractor drive shaft 37 of the push tractor unit 12. When the transmission gear is engaged with the tractor drive gear, the first driven roller 25 of the first sheet transport mechanism 27 is separated from the platen 23 by the action of the cam 49 shown in FIG. It is supplied from the push tractor unit 12 mounted on the rear side of the printer main body 11 to the platen 23 and conveyed.

  Further, when the transmission gear is separated from the tractor drive gear by the operation of the release lever 47, the first driven roller 25 of the first sheet transport mechanism 27 is brought into contact with the platen 23 and rotates by the action of the cam 49, A sheet as a sheet is supplied from a sheet guide 24 of the first sheet transport mechanism 27 to the platen 23 from a sheet supply guide or the like (not shown).

  An adjustment lever 50 is provided outside the left side frame 18, and the carriage shaft 31 is configured to be separated or accessible from the platen 23 by the operation amount of the adjustment lever 50 according to the operation amount. Therefore, the platen gap between the recording head 20 mounted on the carriage 21 supported by the carriage shaft 31 and the platen 23 can be adjusted by manual operation of the adjustment lever 50 according to the sheet thickness or the like.

  The drive control of the platen 23, the push tractor unit 12 and the discharge unit 13, the traveling control of the carriage 21, and the control of the recording operation by the recording wire of the recording head 20 are performed by the control board unit 51 as a control device. . The control board 51 is disposed below the rear side of the printer main body 11, for example.

  In the first embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a cylindrical cover member 63 that surrounds the circumferential surface of the carriage shaft 31 and the carriage bush 62 is provided. That is, substantially the entire area of the carriage shaft 31 and the carriage bush 62 are surrounded by the cover member 63. The cover member 63 is made of plastic, for example. The cover member 63 surrounds the carriage shaft 31 so that the carriage 21 can slide on the carriage shaft 31.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of the carriage 21 in FIG. The cover member 63 is formed with a slit 64 extending along the axial direction of the carriage shaft 31. The carriage body 61 of the carriage 21 is integrally formed with a pair of arm portions 65 that extend from both ends (both ends in the moving direction) of the carriage body 61 toward the carriage shaft 31 via the slits 64. A bush holding portion 66 for holding the carriage bush 62 is integrally formed at the tip of each pair of arm portions 65, and the carriage bush 62 is held by the pair of bush holding portions 66. Thus, the carriage 21 can slide on the carriage shaft 31 through the slit 64 of the cover member 63 without being obstructed by the cover member 63. The slit width of the slit 64 of the cover member 63 is set to such a width that the arm portion 65 of the carriage body 61 does not contact the end surface of the slit 54 when the carriage shaft 31 is rotated to adjust the platen gap. ing.

  As described above, since the carriage shaft 31 and the carriage bush 62 are surrounded by the cover member 63, foreign matters such as sheet powder (for example, paper powder) and dust entering the printer main body 11 are caused by the carriage shaft 31 and the carriage bush. Adhesion to 62 can be suppressed. Therefore, foreign matter can be prevented from entering between the carriage shaft 31 and the carriage bush 62, and the movement operation of the carriage 21 can be kept stable, and wear of the carriage bush 62 or the carriage shaft 31 can be suppressed. be able to.

  Further, since foreign matter is unlikely to adhere to the carriage shaft 31 and the carriage bush 62, it is possible to prevent the lubricating oil supplied to the carriage shaft 31 and the carriage bush 62 from being absorbed by the foreign matter.

  The slit 64 of the cover member 63 is formed so as to avoid the vertically lower side of the carriage shaft 31. As a result, when the lubricating oil supplied to the carriage shaft 31 hangs down from the carriage shaft 31, the lubricating oil hangs down to the inner periphery of the cover member 63, and the lubricating oil hangs down to the sheet conveying mechanism 30 or the supplied sheet. Absent. Therefore, it can suppress that a sheet | seat becomes dirty with lubricating oil.

  The cover member 63 is fixed to the carriage shaft 31. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view along the carriage shaft 31 showing the vicinity of the end of the cover member 63 on the left side frame 18 side. More specifically, a hole 67 is formed in the carriage shaft 31 at a position that avoids the movement range of the carriage 21 on the carriage shaft 31. At the end in the longitudinal direction of the cover member 63, a notch 69 (FIG. 3) for fitting a locking piece 68 as a locking portion locked in the hole 67 is formed. The notch 69 of the cover member 63 is notched along the axial direction of the carriage shaft 31 from the end surface of the cover member 63. The notches 69 of the cover member 63 are formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the cover member 63. A plurality of the notches 69 are formed at each end of the cover member 63. Locking pieces 68 are fitted into the notches 69, respectively. Further, the carriage shaft 31 is formed with a plurality of holes 67 corresponding to the locking pieces 68 fitted into the notches 69.

  When the cover member 63 is assembled to the printer main body 11, the carriage shaft 31 is inserted into the cover member 63 and the carriage 21 before the carriage shaft 31 is attached between the side frames 18 and 19. Next, the locking pieces 68 are fitted into the respective notches 69 of the cover member 63 so that the locking pieces 68 are locked in the holes 67 of the carriage shaft 31. As a result, the cover member 63 is fixed to the carriage shaft 31.

  As described above, since the cover member 63 is fixed to the carriage shaft 31, compared to the case where the cover member 63 is fixed between the side frames 18 and 19, the bush holding portion 66 that holds the carriage bush 62, and the cover member 63. An interval between the inner periphery and the inner periphery can be easily set to an appropriate interval at which the bush holding portion 66 does not contact the cover member 63.

[2] Second Embodiment The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the cover member is formed in a bellows shape so as to expand and contract as the carriage moves. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a printer main body 11A in the second embodiment. Hereinafter, in this 2nd Embodiment, the part similar to the said 1st Embodiment attaches | subjects the same code | symbol, and abbreviate | omits description.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the cover member 71 surrounding the carriage shaft as a carriage shaft and a bearing portion is formed in a bellows shape so as to expand and contract as the carriage 21 moves.

  More specifically, bellows-shaped cover members 71 are arranged at both ends of the carriage 21. One end of the cover member 71 surrounds the end face of the carriage bush of the carriage 21 and is fixed to the carriage body 61, and the other end is fixed to the side frame 18 or 19. Accordingly, the carriage 21 can slide on the carriage shaft without being obstructed by the cover member 63. Accordingly, since the carriage shaft and carriage bush are surrounded by the cover member 71, foreign matters such as sheet powder (for example, paper powder) and dust entering the printer main body 11 adhere to the carriage shaft and carriage bush. Can be suppressed. Therefore, foreign matter can be prevented from entering between the peripheral surface of the carriage shaft and the inner peripheral surface of the carriage bush, the moving operation of the carriage 21 can be kept stable, and the carriage bush or carriage shaft can be worn away. Can be suppressed.

[Modification]
[3.1] First Modification In the first embodiment described above, the cover member 63 is provided with the notch 69, and the notch 69 is fitted with the locking piece 68 as the locking part. The locking portion may be formed integrally with the cover member.

[3.2] Second Modification In the first embodiment, the case where the carriage bush 62 as the bearing portion is fitted into the bush holding portion 66 of the carriage body 61 has been described. However, the bearing portion is integrated with the carriage body. You may form.

[3.3] Third Modification In the first embodiment, the cover member 63 is fixed to the carriage shaft 31. However, the cover member may be fixed to the side frame.

[3.4] Fourth Modified Example In the first embodiment, the case where the slit 64 of the cover member 63 is formed in the direction facing the conveyance path for conveying the sheet has been described. However, the sheet conveys the slit of the cover member. You may form in the direction opposite to the direction which faces the conveyance path | route to be performed. Thereby, it is possible to more effectively suppress sheet powder (for example, paper powder) from adhering to the carriage shaft through the slit of the cover member.

1 is a perspective view showing a printer main body of a dot impact printer to which a first embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention is applied. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a printer main body of a dot impact printer. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a printer main body of a dot impact printer. FIG. It is sectional drawing of a printer main body. FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing the vicinity of a carriage in FIG. 4. It is a fragmentary sectional view in alignment with the carriage axis | shaft which shows the edge part vicinity of the cover member by the side of the left side frame. It is a perspective view which shows the printer main body in 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Printer (recording apparatus), 20 ... Recording head, 21 ... Carriage, 23 ... Platen, 31 ... Carriage shaft, 61 ... Carriage main body, 62 ... Carriage bush (bearing part), 63, 71 ... Cover member, 64 ... Slit , 65 .. arm part.

Claims (4)

In a recording apparatus in which a recording head is mounted on a carriage that reciprocates along a carriage axis, and an image is recorded on a sheet conveyed on the platen by the recording head.
A recording apparatus comprising: a cover member surrounding a peripheral surface of the carriage shaft and a bearing portion of the carriage. The recording apparatus according to claim 1,
The cover member is formed with a slit extending along the axial direction of the carriage shaft,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the carriage includes an arm portion extending from the carriage body toward the carriage shaft via the slit, and the bearing portion is provided at a tip of the arm portion. The recording apparatus according to claim 2,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the slit is formed so as to avoid a position below the carriage shaft. The recording apparatus according to claim 1,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cover member is formed in a bellows shape that expands and contracts as the carriage moves.

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