JP2005262815A - Ink-jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink-jet printer ensuring the cable connected to an ink-jet head not to touch the flexible film-like member provided on the opening plane of an ink-storing part while compactly arranging the ink-storing part and electronic component near the ink-jet head. <P>SOLUTION: The electronic component 81 is fixed at a circuit board 84 in the state of projection so as to be located at the side of a buffer tank 40. Furthermore, a flexible flat cable 70 is connected to the circuit board 84 by passing the space between the buffer tank 40 and the electronic component 81 from an ink-jet head 30 while passing the space between the buffer tank 40 and the circuit board 84. A rib 50 is projected and formed at the upper end of the buffer tank 40, and the undersurface of the flat cable 70 is put up so as not to touch a film 41 of the buffer tank 40. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet printer that performs recording by ejecting ink from nozzles onto a recording medium.

Conventionally, as an ink jet printer of this type, as shown in Patent Document 1, an ink jet head and a damper member are mounted on a carriage, and ink in an ink tank provided at a stationary position is passed through a flexible tube. It is known to supply to a damper member and to supply the ink jet head from the damper member.
In the configuration of Patent Document 1, the damper member is disposed immediately after the ink jet head, and has a flexible film material on one side surface, and absorbs pressure fluctuations of ink accompanying scanning of the carriage. In addition, the inkjet head is provided with piezo elements for ink ejection on both sides, FPCs are connected to the piezo elements on both sides, and the FPC is routed behind the inkjet head.

JP 59-73753 A

However, in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, the FPC drawn around the back of the inkjet head is positioned very close to the flexible film material of the damper member. If the FPC or the film material is bent and brought into contact with the scanning of the carriage, the two may be damaged, or the movement of the film material may be restricted by the FPC, and the ink pressure fluctuation may not be absorbed.
In addition, various electronic components connected to the FPC are required to be disposed in the vicinity of the inkjet head, but Patent Document 1 does not disclose the arrangement of the electronic components.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a cable in which an ink reservoir and electronic components are compactly disposed in the vicinity of the inkjet head, and a flexible film-like member provided on the opening surface of the ink reservoir is connected to the inkjet head. An object of the present invention is to realize an ink jet printer that eliminates the possibility of contact.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, an inkjet head in which a plurality of nozzles that eject ink to a recording medium by driving an actuator is arranged, and the inkjet head is mounted so that the inkjet head faces the recording medium. A head holder that scans the ink, an ink tank that supplies ink to the inkjet head, and an ink tank that is connected between the ink tank and the inkjet head, and supplies the ink contained in the ink tank to the inkjet head The head holder includes an ink reservoir that stores ink to be supplied to the inkjet head, and a flexible film-like member provided on an opening surface of the ink reservoir, Circuit board provided with an interval from this film-like member, and this circuit board An ink jet printer that passes between the membrane member and includes a cable that connects the actuator and the circuit board, wherein the cable passing between the circuit board and the membrane member is the membrane The technical means that the control means which controls the passage route of the said cable so that it may not contact the surface of a member may be used.

  As in the invention described in claim 2, the restricting means may be configured by providing a protruding portion protruding upward from the surface of the film-like member in the ink storage portion, or the cable on the back surface of the circuit board. A configuration may be adopted in which the cable is not in contact with the membrane member by being attached. For example, an insertion member having an insertion port for inserting a cable is formed so as to protrude from the back surface of the circuit board toward the membrane member, and the cable is inserted into the insertion port of the insertion member. Alternatively, two locking members that lock the long side edges of the cable may be provided on the back surface of the circuit board, and the long side edges of the cable may be locked to the locking members.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink onto a recording medium by driving an actuator, and the inkjet head mounted thereon, the inkjet head is attached to the recording medium. A head holder to be opposed, an ink reservoir mounted on the opposite side of the recording medium with the inkjet head sandwiched between the head holder, and the inkjet head with the ink reservoir sandwiched between the head holder and Comprises a circuit board mounted on the opposite side, a cable connecting the circuit board and the actuator, and an electronic component fixed to the circuit board in a protruding state and located on the side of the ink reservoir. And the cable passes from the actuator between the ink reservoir and the electronic component. Further it passes between the circuit board and the ink reservoir, using technical means that are connected to the circuit board.

  In this configuration, as in the invention described in claim 4, the ink storage portion includes a flexible film-like member on the opening surface, and the cable does not contact the flexible film-like member. And a restricting means for restricting the passage route of the cable.

(Effect of the invention of claim 1)
Since the cable passing between the circuit board and the film-like member is provided with a restricting means for restricting the passage route of the cable so as not to contact the surface of the film-like member, there is no possibility that the cable contacts the surface of the film-like member .
Therefore, there is no possibility that the movement of the film-like member is restricted and the dynamic pressure fluctuation of the ink in the ink storage portion cannot be relaxed and absorbed. Further, the membrane member and the cable are not damaged.

(Effect of the invention described in claim 2)
Since the restricting means is configured by providing the ink reservoir with a protruding portion that protrudes upward from the surface of the film-like member, the cable is lifted upward from the surface of the film-like member by the protruding portion. There is no risk of contact with the surface of the membrane member.

(Effect of the invention according to claim 3)
The electronic component is fixed in a protruding state on the circuit board so as to be located on the side of the ink reservoir, and the cable further passes between the ink reservoir and the electronic component from the actuator, and further the ink reservoir and the circuit board. Are connected to the circuit board, so that the inkjet head, the ink reservoir, the circuit board, and the electronic components are arranged in a compact manner, and the whole can be reduced in size. The cable can be wired without interfering with the cable.

(Effect of invention of Claim 4)
Since the cable is provided with a restricting means for restricting the passage route of the cable so that the cable does not come into contact with the film member of the ink storage part, as described above, the movement of the film member is restricted or the film member or the cable is damaged. There is nothing.

Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(Main components of inkjet printer)
First, the main configuration of the ink jet printer will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an explanatory plan view showing the main configuration of the ink jet printer.
Two guide shafts 6 and 7 are provided inside the inkjet printer 1, and a head holder 9 that also serves as a carriage is attached to the guide shafts 6 and 7. The head holder 9 holds an inkjet head 30 that performs recording by discharging ink onto the recording paper P. The head holder 9 is attached to an endless belt 11 that is rotated by a motor 10, and moves along the guide shafts 6 and 7 by driving the motor 10. A known timing indicator member (not shown) extending in a strip shape along the guide shaft 7 is provided, and a mark for detecting the position of the head holder 9 is written on the timing indicator member. .
Further, at a stationary position in the main body of the inkjet printer 1, an ink tank 5a containing yellow ink, an ink tank 5b containing magenta ink, an ink tank 5c containing cyan ink, and black ink are placed. An ink tank 5d is provided. Each of the ink tanks 5a to 5d is connected to the tube joint 20 by flexible tubes 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d, respectively.

(Main structure of the head holder)
Next, the main structure of the head holder will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 8A.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory perspective view showing a state in which the buffer tank and the heat sink are removed from the head holder. FIG. 3 is an explanatory perspective view showing a state where the circuit board is removed from the head holder. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the head holder. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of FIG. 4 viewed from the nozzle surface side. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged portion where ribs are formed in FIG.
In the following description, the side from which ink is ejected is the lower surface and the downward direction, and the opposite side is the upper surface and the upward direction. Further, in FIG. 1, when the inkjet printer is viewed from the lower side of the drawing, that is, from the front, the left end side is the left direction, the right end side is the right direction, the lower side of the drawing is the front, and the upper side of the drawing is the rear.

As shown in FIG. 2, the head holder 9 also serving as a carriage is formed in a box shape having an open top surface, and as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the inkjet head 30 is held on the bottom surface of the bottom wall 9e. .
The inkjet head 30 is configured by laminating a cavity portion 31 having a large number of ink flow paths and a piezoelectric actuator 32 that selectively applies ejection pressure to ink in the ink flow paths, and is formed on a lower surface 31 a of the cavity portion 31. The nozzle rows 35 to 38 are arranged for each ink color, and an independent ink inlet 31b is provided for each ink color on the upper surface.
A frame-shaped reinforcing frame 33 is bonded and fixed to the upper surface of the inkjet head 30. In the reinforcing frame 33, ink passage ports 33a corresponding to the respective ink inflow ports 31b are formed. As shown in FIG. 7, the unit composed of the inkjet head 30 and the reinforcing frame 33 is disposed along the lower surface of the bottom wall 9e, and is bonded by an adhesive 91 injected into an opening 90 formed through the bottom wall 9e. It is fixed.

In the space on the bottom wall 9e of the head holder 9, a buffer tank 40 is accommodated above the ink jet head 30 (on the opposite side to the recording medium with the ink jet head interposed therebetween). In the buffer tank 40, independent ink storage portions 40a to 40d are formed by partition walls for each ink color. Each of the ink reservoirs 40a to 40d communicates with each of the ink inlets 31b via an ink supply port 40e and an ink passage port 33a formed on the lower surface of the buffer tank 40 corresponding to each of the ink reservoirs 40a to 40d. doing. The upper surface opening of each of the ink reservoirs 40a to 40d is covered with a flexible film member 41. Specifically, the film-like member 41 is formed of a resin film and is fixed to the partition walls defining the ink storage portions 40a to 40d and the upper end of the outer peripheral wall of the buffer tank 40 by bonding or ultrasonic welding. Yes. A predetermined amount of air is stored in the upper part of each of the ink storage units 40a to 40d, and the ink and the flexible film-like member 41 cooperate with each other in a known manner. Pressure fluctuations are absorbed. The air exceeding the predetermined amount is exhausted to the outside by the exhaust device 45 provided on the side surface of the buffer tank 40.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, the exhaust device 45 includes a cylindrical case portion 45b that communicates with an upper space of each of the ink storage portions 40a to 40d via an exhaust passage 45a for each of the ink storage portions 40a to 40d. Each of the cylindrical case portions 45b has a valve 45c for opening and closing the internal flow path. The lower end of the cylindrical case portion 45b opens in substantially the same plane as the lower surface 31a of the inkjet head 30, and when the head holder 9 moves to one scanning end, the valve 45c is opened by an operating member (not shown), By connecting a suction device to the opening at the lower end, air can be discharged from each of the ink reservoirs 40a to 40d.

At the front end of the head holder 9, a mounting arm portion 9a that extends horizontally forward is integrally formed, and at the front end of the buffer tank 40, a portion that extends in parallel with the mounting arm portion 9a is formed. The extending portion of the buffer tank 40 is configured as a tube joint 20.
Flexible tubes 14 a to 14 d extending from the ink tanks 5 a to 5 d are connected to the tube joint 20, and the tubes 14 a to 14 b pass through the flow paths 40 f formed in the extending portion of the buffer tank 40. Ink is supplied to each of the ink reservoirs 40a to 40d.
A holding member 29 is further formed at the front end of the tube joint 20, and a flexible flat cable 70a for electrically connecting a circuit board 84 described later to a control device (not shown) provided at a stationary position on the main body side is held. The member 29 is inserted and supported by the slit 29a.

A rigid circuit board 84 is provided at the upper surface opening of the head holder 9 (on the side opposite to the inkjet head 30 with the buffer tank 40 interposed therebetween). Specifically, the circuit board 84 is supported by the upper end of the wall which comprises the head holder 9, and is detachably fixed by the well-known fastening apparatus which is not shown in figure. A space 9 g is provided between the circuit board 84 and the buffer tank 40. Further, a cover 9d is fixed so as to cover the upper side of the circuit board 84.
On the lower surface of the left side of the circuit board 84 (on the opposite side to the exhaust device 45 with the buffer tank 40 interposed therebetween), electronic components are attached in a protruding state. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, a bypass capacitor 81 for accumulating charges necessary for driving the IC chip, a medium sensor 82 for detecting the presence or absence of the recording paper P, and a mark on the belt-like timing indicator member on the main body side are provided. An encoder 83 to be read is arranged in a suspended state from the circuit board 84 with an interval on the left side of the buffer tank 40. On the left side inside the head holder 9, there are formed accommodation spaces 9b and 9c for accommodating the bypass capacitor 81 and the medium sensor 82, respectively, when the circuit board 84 is attached to the head holder 9.

The circuit board 84 and the piezoelectric actuator 32 of the inkjet head are electrically connected by a flexible flat cable 70. An IC chip 80 is mounted on the flexible flat cable 70. The IC chip 80 converts the recording data serially transferred from the control device on the main body side into parallel data corresponding to the nozzle rows 35 to 38 and converts it into a voltage signal suitable for driving the piezoelectric actuator 32. .
The flexible flat cable 70 extends into the head holder 9 through a slit 9h formed through the bottom wall 9e of the head holder 9, and further, a vertical space 9f between a heat sink 60 and a side wall 9i of the head holder 9, which will be described later. And through the lateral space 9g between the circuit board 84 and the buffer tank 40, is folded back at the right end 84b of the circuit board, and is detachably connected to a connector 85 provided on the upper surface of the circuit board 84. That is, the flexible flat cable 70 is arranged as described above so as not to interfere with the electronic components on the lower surface of the exhaust device 45 or the circuit board 84.
The heat sink 60 is fixed at a position adjacent to the slit 9h on the bottom wall 9e. The heat sink 60 includes a bottom side 60a parallel to the bottom wall 9e and a side side 60b rising from the bottom wall 9e. The IC chip 80 is pressed against the bottom side 60a by a rubber-like elastic member 86 so as to be capable of conducting heat. Can dissipate heat.
The circuit board 84 has a wiring pattern connected to the connector 85 and the electronic components 81, 82, and 83, and is connected to the control device on the main body side via the flexible flat cable 70 a.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 6, ribs 50 and 51 are provided at the upper end of the left side wall 42 of the buffer tank 40 so as to protrude upward. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8A, the ribs 50 and 51 are provided between the circuit board 84 and the film-like member 41 at a slight distance laterally from the upper end 42a of the left side wall 42 of the buffer tank 40. It protrudes into the lateral space 9 g and is formed integrally with the left side wall 42.
8A, the height H1 at which the ribs 50 and 51 protrude upward from the upper end 42a of the left side wall 42 of the buffer tank 40 is such that the lower surface of the height H1 is a film-like member 41 even when the flexible flat cable 70 is bent downward. Determine the height at which there is no risk of contact with the In this embodiment, the height H1 is 1 mm. The interval at which the ribs 50 and 51 are provided is set to a length that does not exceed the width of the flexible flat cable 70 in order to support the lower surface of the flexible flat cable 70 in the width direction.
That is, the lower surface of the flexible flat cable 70 is lifted upward from the upper surface of the film-like member 41 by the ribs 50 and 51 when passing through the space 9g. There is no possibility of contacting the upper surface of the film-like member 41.

[Effects of best mode]
As described above, when the inkjet printer 1 according to the best mode is used, the electronic components 81, 82, 83 are fixed to the circuit board 84 so as to be located on the side of the buffer tank 40, and further, The flexible flat cable 70 is connected to the circuit board 84 from the piezoelectric actuator 32 between the buffer tank 40 and the electronic components 81, 82, 83, between the buffer tank 40 and the circuit board 84. , The inkjet head 30, the buffer tank 40, the circuit board 84, the electronic components 81, 82, 83, and the like are arranged in a compact manner, and the whole can be reduced in size, and a flexible flat cable is included in the compact arrangement. 70 can be wired without interference.
Further, since the ribs 50 and 51 are formed so as to protrude from the upper end 42a of the left side wall 42 of the buffer tank 40 into the lateral space 9g, the flexible flat cable 70 passing through the lateral space 9g is lifted upward by the ribs 50 and 51. Therefore, even if the flexible flat cable 70 bends downward, there is no possibility that the lower surface of the flexible flat cable 70 comes into contact with the surface of the membrane member 41.
Therefore, there is no possibility that the movement of the film-like member 41 is restricted and the dynamic pressure fluctuation of the ink in the buffer tank 40 cannot be relaxed and absorbed. Further, the membrane member 41 and the flexible flat cable 70 are not damaged.

[Other Embodiments]
(1) The upper end 42a of the left side wall 42 of the buffer tank 40 may be configured such that only one rib is provided at a location corresponding to the center in the width direction of the flexible flat cable 70. Even with this configuration, even if the flexible flat cable 70 bends downward, there is no possibility that the lower surface of the flexible flat cable 70 comes into contact with the surface of the membrane member 41.
(2) FIGS. 8B and 8C are explanatory views showing another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8B, an insertion member 52 in which an insertion port 52 a through which the flexible flat cable 70 is inserted is formed in the left-right direction may be attached to the back surface 84 a of the circuit board 84.
According to this configuration, there is no possibility that the flexible flat cable 70 inserted through the insertion member 52 contacts the membrane member 41. In addition, by providing two or more insertion members 52 in the direction in which the flexible flat cable 70 passes through the lateral space 9g, the range in which the flexible flat cable 70 is restricted from being bent downward is expanded, and the film-like member 41 is It is also possible to prevent contact with certainty.

(3) Further, as shown in FIG. 8C, the locking members 53 and 54 that lock the both longitudinal edges of the flexible flat cable 70 may be attached to the back surface of the circuit board 84 so as to face each other. According to this configuration, there is no possibility that the flexible flat cable 70 locked to the locking members 53 and 54 comes into contact with the membrane member 41. In addition, by providing two or more locking members 53 and 54 in the direction in which the flexible flat cable 70 passes through the lateral space 9g, the range in which the flexible flat cable 70 is restricted from being bent downward is widened, and the film shape It is also possible to ensure that the member 41 is not contacted. Moreover, the range which controls so that the flexible flat cable 70 may not bend below can also be expanded by providing the latching members 53 and 54 so that they may not be opposed to each other.
Two or more kinds of the ribs 50 and 51, the insertion member 52, and the locking members 53 and 54 may be combined.

[Correspondence between each claim and embodiment]
The buffer tank 40 corresponds to the ink storage portion of claim 1 and the flexible flat cable 70 corresponds to the cable. The ribs 50 and 51 correspond to the restricting means of claim 1 and the protruding portion of claim 2.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an explanatory plan view showing a main configuration of an ink jet printer according to the best mode for carrying out the present invention. It is a perspective view showing the state where the buffer tank and the heat sink are removed from the head holder. It is a perspective explanatory view showing the state where the circuit board is removed from the head holder. It is explanatory drawing which looked at the head holder from the buffer tank side. It is explanatory drawing which looked at FIG. 4 from the nozzle surface side. It is an AA arrow partial sectional view of FIG. It is a BB arrow partial sectional view of FIG. FIG. 8A is an explanatory view showing an enlarged portion where ribs are formed in FIG. 7, and FIGS. 8B and 8C are explanatory views showing another embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer 5a-5b Ink tank 9 Head holder 14a-14d Tube 31 Cavity part 32 Piezoelectric actuator (actuator)
40 Buffer tank (ink reservoir)
41 Membrane members 50, 51 Rib (regulating means)
70 Flexible flat cable (cable)
84 Circuit board

Claims (4)

An inkjet head in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging ink to a recording medium by driving an actuator are arranged;
A head holder that mounts the ink jet head and scans the ink jet head to face the recording medium;
An ink tank for supplying ink to the inkjet head;
It is connected between the ink tank and the inkjet head, and includes a tube for supplying ink contained in the ink tank to the inkjet head.
The head holder is
An ink reservoir for storing ink to be supplied to the inkjet head;
A flexible film-like member provided on the opening surface of the ink reservoir,
A circuit board provided at a distance from this film-like member;
An ink jet printer that passes between the circuit board and the film-like member and includes a cable that connects the actuator and the circuit board,
An ink jet printer, comprising: a restricting means for restricting a passage route of the cable so that a cable passing between the circuit board and the film member does not contact a surface of the film member.   2. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the restricting means is configured by providing a protruding portion protruding upward from the surface of the film-like member in the ink storage portion. An inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles for discharging ink onto a recording medium by driving an actuator;
A head holder on which the inkjet head is mounted and the inkjet head is opposed to the recording medium;
In this head holder, an ink storage portion mounted on the opposite side of the recording medium across the inkjet head,
A circuit board mounted on the opposite side of the ink-jet head across the ink reservoir in the head holder;
A cable connecting the circuit board and the actuator;
An electronic component fixed to the circuit board in a protruding state and located on the side of the ink reservoir;
With
The cable passes from the actuator between the ink reservoir and the electronic component, and further passes between the ink reservoir and the circuit board, and is connected to the circuit board. Inkjet printer.   The ink storage portion includes a flexible film-like member on an opening surface, and a regulation unit that regulates a passage route of the cable so that the cable does not contact the flexible film-like member. The ink jet printer according to claim 3.

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