JP2006068966A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure action stability of a recorder by a configuration which enables easy replacement at the time when dust such as paper dust and dust in the atmosphere is adhered to a filter for intake air, and which enables maintenance such as cleaning of the apparatus interior and parts replacement. <P>SOLUTION: The recorder is equipped with a recording means for recording images to a recording medium as shown in Fig. 2, a recording medium transfer means 11 for transferring the recording medium to be opposed to the recording means, an enclosure for covering the recording means and the recording medium transfer means 11, a door 2 which is a part of the enclosure and made openable, an air intake 3 formed at the door 2, a replaceable air filter 5 set at the air intake 3 for preventing invasion of the dust into the enclosure, an intake air fan 4, and an exhaust port formed at the enclosure. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus having a mechanism that sucks air from the outside of the apparatus, passes the inside of the apparatus, and then exhausts the air.

  In recent recording apparatuses, in order to obtain high-definition images, there are many high-resolution recording means regardless of the recording method. For this reason, these recording apparatuses are always provided with means for preventing the adhesion of dust such as dust and paper dust. This is because dust, dust, and paper dust generated especially when a recording medium such as recording paper is fed into the apparatus. Dust, dust, paper dust, and the like that enter the surface adhere to the recording means, thereby interrupting the recording operation and causing image loss.

  For example, an optical writing device such as a laser printer or an LED printer causes an image defect when the light beam is blocked by dust. Further, the corona charger for charging the photosensitive drum also becomes non-uniformly charged due to the adhesion of dust, resulting in image unevenness and image defects.

  In the case of an inkjet printer, a large number of nozzles with a micropore diameter of several tens of μm are formed on the nozzle plate, and if large foreign matter such as dust or paper dust adheres, droplets cannot be discharged due to clogging, or The ejection direction is deviated, causing image loss. Moreover, even if it does not adhere to the nozzle hole itself or just adheres to the nozzle plate in the vicinity thereof, it can cause ejection failure.

  Even in the thermal transfer type recording means, image defects are similarly caused by the adhesion of dust to the individual heads forming each pixel.

  Thus, it is a very important function not to put dust in the apparatus and to prevent dust from adhering to the recording means. As a technique for preventing this, a cap is disposed on the recording means, or an exhaust fan is provided around the recording means to generate an air flow in the recording apparatus so as to exhaust dust or paper dust in the atmosphere to the outside. Alternatively, air may be taken into the recording apparatus through a filter, and these means prevent dust from adhering to the recording means.

  As a prior art, for example, Patent Document 1 in which a filter 106 is provided between a thermal head 108 and a fan 105 that cools the thermal head 108 and a filter 106 for removing dust contained in air sucked from outside the apparatus is provided. Is disclosed. In FIG. 7, air is introduced into the apparatus by the suction fan 105, dust is removed through the filter 106, and then the air flow is discharged through the air discharge port 103 provided in the upper part of the apparatus via the recording means. Is formed.

In another prior art, Patent Document 2 is known in which an intake fan 205 pressurizes the inside of the recording apparatus 201 by sending air from the outside to the inside of the recording apparatus 201 and prevents dust from entering through the gaps of the recording apparatus 201. is there. FIG. 8 shows that air from which dust has been removed through the filter 208 from the outside of the apparatus is introduced into the apparatus by the intake fan 205. In these embodiments, when sucking into the apparatus, all are performed through a filter, and are normally fixedly attached to the recording apparatus.
JP 07-256904 A JP 2001-191614 A

  In Patent Document 1 described above as the prior art, when dust floating in the atmosphere adheres to the filter 106, the filter is clogged, the amount of intake air into the apparatus is reduced, and the cooling efficiency is lowered. Furthermore, in this conventional example, since the filter 106 is disposed inside the apparatus, it is not easy to replace or clean the filter.

  In Patent Document 2, an intake filter 208 and an intake fan 205 for removing foreign matter are disposed outside the apparatus. In this embodiment, since the intake filter 208 is outside, the replacement work is easier than in the recording apparatus, but the place where the filter is disposed is not specified. In addition, depending on the location, it may become an obstacle to maintenance work such as removal of a paper jam or replacement of a regular replacement part, or it may be difficult to know when to replace the filter. Therefore, the present invention has a configuration that can be easily replaced or cleaned when dust such as paper dust or atmospheric dust adheres to the intake filter, and can be maintained simultaneously with replacement of other consumable parts. It is an object to provide a stable operation of a recording apparatus.

  To achieve the object, the present invention covers a recording means for recording an image on a recording medium, a recording medium conveying means for conveying the recording medium so as to face the recording means, and the recording means and the recording medium conveying means. The exterior, part of the exterior, a door that can be opened and closed, an air inlet provided in the door, and a replaceable air intake provided in the air inlet to prevent dust from entering the exterior Provided is a recording apparatus comprising a filter, an intake fan, and an exhaust port provided in an exterior.

  The present invention can be easily replaced or cleaned when dust such as paper dust or atmospheric dust adheres to the air intake filter, and can be maintained at the same time as replacing other consumable parts. A stable operation of the apparatus can be provided.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In the following description, in the drawing, the conveyance direction of the recording medium 17 is the X-axis direction or the sub-scanning direction, and the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction is the Y-axis direction, the main scanning direction, or the width direction of the recording medium 17. The direction perpendicular to the X-axis and Y-axis directions is taken as the Z-axis direction or the vertical direction.

A first embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an external configuration of an image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which the maintenance door is opened and the inside of the apparatus is exposed.

  The recording apparatus 1 includes a recording head 10, a medium transport unit 11, a registration roller (not illustrated), a guide pair for transporting the recording medium 17, a backup roller, and a pair of discharge rollers. A guide or the like for guiding to is provided. The main body frame is entirely covered with an exterior (covers).

  In this embodiment, an ink jet line head is used as the recording head 10, and at least one line head is necessary for monochrome, and at least a number of line head columns corresponding to a plurality of colors is necessary for color. In the case of color recording, it is formed by a plurality of four rows or more. As shown in FIG. 2, the recording head 10 of the present embodiment includes a nozzle row that ejects ink droplets of four colors, for example, black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). Thus, a color image is recorded by ejecting ink droplets on the recording medium 17 in accordance with the image signal. The nozzle rows of the respective colors of the recording head 10 are arranged so as to overlap in the main scanning direction, and the discharge ports are configured to discharge ink in the gravitational direction (vertical downward direction). Nozzle pitches between a plurality of recording heads are arranged at equal intervals in the main scanning direction. In this embodiment, pitches at equal intervals are taken as an example, but of course, the pitch is not limited to equal intervals.

  A double-opening type maintenance door 2 is provided on a surface (referred to as a front surface) parallel to the transport direction of the medium transport unit 11 on the exterior of the apparatus. This maintenance door 2 is provided with one intake port 3 for both the left and right doors. Each of these intake ports 3 includes an intake fan 4 and an intake filter 5. The intake fan 4 passes the intake filter 5 and sucks air from outside the recording apparatus 1 into the apparatus.

  A rear panel 6 is provided at a position facing the front maintenance door 2 on the back side with the medium transport unit 11 in between. The rear panel 6 has an exhaust port 7 provided with at least one exhaust fan 8 and an exhaust filter 9. In the present embodiment, the exhaust port 7 disposed in the rear panel 6 is a fixed type, but may be provided so as to be freely opened and closed.

  The exhaust filter 9 is provided to prevent intrusion of dust such as dust in the atmosphere from the exhaust port 7 side and not to discharge ink mist from the apparatus when the intake fan 4 is not operating. An operation panel 16 is provided at the upper front of the apparatus. The side of the apparatus main body 1 is provided with a recording medium supply port and a discharge port, respectively, and a plurality of recording media are loaded, a paper feed tray 12 for supplying the recording medium one by one, and a paper discharge for storing the recording medium on which the image is recorded. The trays 13 are provided so as to be exposed. The recording apparatus 1 is mounted on a gantry 15 having four wheels 14 and can freely move.

The flow of air in the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the air flow inside the recording apparatus 1 as seen from above the apparatus.
Air sucked from the intake fan 4 provided in the maintenance door 2 is sucked into the apparatus through the intake filter 5. At that time, dust in the atmosphere mixed in the sucked air is removed and cleaned by the intake filter 5 and taken into the apparatus. The taken-in air flows to the back side of the apparatus along the recording head 10 composed of a plurality of line head rows arranged along the Y axis with respect to the medium transport unit 11. Therefore, the recording head 10 does not hinder the flow of air flow, and the air that has entered the apparatus reaches the exhaust port 7 on the back of the apparatus smoothly and smoothly. Furthermore, the exhausted air 8 provided at the exhaust port 7 discharges the air that has reached the outside of the apparatus so that it does not accumulate inside the apparatus and circulate.

A maintenance method for the recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
When the recording apparatus 1 sucks air from the outside of the apparatus, the more the intake filter 5 having a higher dust collecting function is provided, the more usually, the clogging is caused by the adsorbed dust. As a result, clean air taken into the apparatus is reduced, and the above-described effects cannot be obtained sufficiently. For this reason, maintenance of the recording apparatus 1 such as replacement or cleaning of the intake filter 5 is necessary in order to constantly take in clean air. In addition to the maintenance of the suction filter 5, the maintenance work includes the work performed by the user such as removal of the recording medium 17 when a paper jam occurs, replacement work of consumables such as ink, and cleaning of dirt inside the recording apparatus. As mentioned.

  The recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes the intake filter 5 in the maintenance door 2 as described above. By opening these maintenance doors to the left and right, the user can easily perform maintenance work such as replacement of the intake filter 5. It can be performed. In addition, since the maintenance door 2 arranged in front of the apparatus can easily check the degree of contamination of the intake filter 5, it is possible to easily determine when to replace the filter.

  In this embodiment, a door that opens to the left and right is taken as an example. However, as long as an intake fan can be attached, the door is not limited to a left and right opening. For example, a door that opens up and down may be used. The number of doors is not limited to two, and may be two or more or one door. In addition, by arranging these intake ports in the maintenance door, the opening portion can be widened, so that it does not hinder normal maintenance work.

  The maintenance door 2 is usually light and preferably thin in terms of ease of operation, but the thin maintenance door 2 can be realized by attaching a thin axial fan or the like around the intake filter 5. . The maintenance door 2 has a large opening for work. For this reason, the opening area for ensuring a sufficient amount of suction air can be increased, the suction flow rate can be reduced, and the wind noise can be reduced.

  The airflow formed in this embodiment is taken into the recording apparatus 1 as clean air that has been cleaned through the intake filter 5 in the intake port 3. The taken-in clean air removes paper dust generated when the recording medium 17 comes into contact with the paper feed roller and dust in the atmosphere brought into the apparatus in a state of adhering to the recording medium 17 and the vicinity thereof. It can be carried out toward the back side of the apparatus so as not to adhere to the device. Also, clean air sucked in as fresh and relatively low temperature air from the outside of the apparatus cools heat generating members such as an electric circuit and the recording head 10 arranged inside the recording apparatus 1 to stabilize ink ejection. Can be measured. Further, the ink mist generated along with the ink discharge can be accumulated in the exhaust filter 9 by airflow so that the ink mist is not scattered again in the apparatus.

  The intake filter 5 needs to be sufficiently managed for reliable dust removal and always have a sufficient removal function, but the exhaust filter 9 can sufficiently remove dust from the outside by the function of the intake filter 5. Has been. Therefore, the dust removal burden of the exhaust filter 9 is very small compared to the intake filter 5 and the replacement and cleaning cycle can be made sufficiently long. No problem.

Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the apparatus main body as viewed from above.
Regarding the constituent parts of this embodiment, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same parts as those of the first embodiment described above, and the detailed description thereof is omitted. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, in addition to the front of the apparatus of the first embodiment, a maintenance door 18 and a maintenance door 23 each provided with an air inlet are provided on the paper supply side and paper discharge side of the recording medium. These two intake ports are configured to suck air into the recording apparatus by an intake fan through an intake filter.
With reference to FIG. 4, the flow of airflow from the front of the apparatus, the recording medium feeding side, and the sheet ejection will be described in detail.
The air flow from the air inlet 3 provided on the front surface of the recording apparatus 1 flows along the recording head 10 to the rear surface of the apparatus as in the first embodiment. The air flowing in along the X-axis direction from the intake port 19 and the intake port 24 provided on the paper supply side and the paper discharge side hits the recording head 10 and then, along the recording head 10, the exhaust port 7 on the back surface of the recording apparatus. And then exhausted.

  In the present embodiment, dust removal can be performed with more powerful exhaust by superimposing the airflow from the paper feed port and the paper discharge port where dust easily enters from the outside of the device and the airflow from the front of the device. In addition, the cooling efficiency of the electric circuit disposed inside the recording apparatus 1 and the recording head 10 during heat generation can be enhanced by strong clean air through the air inlets provided on the front side of the apparatus, the paper supply side, and the paper discharge side. In addition, the stability of the ink ejection performance can be improved.

  Further, when the apparatus is enlarged, there is a case where the sheet cannot be removed when the sheet is jammed at the time of feeding or discharging only from the front of the apparatus. Therefore, the paper jam can be easily removed by opening the maintenance door 18 and the maintenance door 23 on the paper supply side and the paper discharge side.

  In the present embodiment, in addition to the front of the apparatus as shown in FIG. 4, the intake port 19 and the intake port 24 are provided on both the paper supply side and the paper discharge side, and the description has been given by way of example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A configuration may be adopted in which an air inlet is provided on either the paper feed side or the paper discharge side.

Next, a third embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
Regarding the constituent parts of this embodiment, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same parts as those of the first embodiment described above, and the detailed description thereof is omitted. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, in addition to the front of the apparatus of the first embodiment, an inlet 28 is provided on the apparatus top surface 20. The intake port 28 is configured to suck air into the recording apparatus 1 by an intake fan 29 via an intake filter 30.

The flow of airflow from the front of the apparatus and from the top of the apparatus will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus with respect to the Y-axis direction.
The air taken into the apparatus through the air inlet 3 provided in the front of the apparatus flows in the direction toward the back of the apparatus along the recording head 10 as in the first embodiment.
Air sucked into the apparatus through the air inlet 28 provided on the top surface of the apparatus flows toward the recording head 10 along the Z axis. Airflows from both the front side of the apparatus and the top surface that are sucked in through the respective inlets gather at the recording head 10 and are discharged from the exhaust port 7 on the rear side of the apparatus.

  In this embodiment, since the air is strong on the side of the recording head 10, the dust removing effect such as paper dust and dust in the atmosphere, and the electronic circuit and the recording head 10 that are heat generating members arranged in the apparatus are cooled. The effect can also be enhanced. In addition, the space between the recording head 10 and the recording medium transporting unit 11 is usually a portion where it is difficult to generate an air flow with a minute gap, but here too, the strong air from the top surface 20 can enhance the dust removal effect. it can. The maintenance door 27 installed on the top surface of the apparatus usually has the largest opening compared to other parts, so that the work efficiency of maintenance such as replacement of parts of the apparatus, cleaning, and removal of paper jams is other parts. The maintenance door can be higher.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the air inlet 28 is provided on the top surface of the apparatus in addition to the front surface of the apparatus, and the example has been described. An air inlet may be provided on one or both of the side and the paper discharge side.

1 is a diagram illustrating an external configuration of a recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an inside of the apparatus with an opening in the recording apparatus of the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows sectional drawing from the apparatus upper part in the recording device of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows sectional drawing from the apparatus upper part of the recording device in 2nd Embodiment based on this invention. It is a figure which shows the recording device in 3rd Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows sectional drawing from the apparatus upper part in the recording device of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the conventional recording device using an airflow. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the foreign material removal by the conventional airflow.

Explanation of symbols

  1: recording device, 2: maintenance door, 3: intake port, 4: intake fan, 5: intake filter, 6: rear panel, 7: exhaust port, 8: exhaust fan, 9: exhaust filter, 10: recording head, 11: recording medium transport unit, 12: paper feed tray, 13: paper discharge tray, 14: wheel, 15: mount, 16: operation panel, 17: recording medium, 18: maintenance door, 19: air inlet, 20: sky 21: intake fan, 22: intake filter, 23: maintenance door, 24: intake port, 25: intake fan, 26: intake filter, 27: maintenance door, 28: intake port, 29: intake fan, 30 : Intake filter

Claims (7)

Recording means for recording an image on a recording medium;
Recording medium conveying means for conveying the recording medium so as to face the recording means;
An exterior covering the recording means and the recording medium conveying means;
A door that is a part of the exterior and that can be opened and closed;
An air inlet provided in the door;
A replaceable intake filter and an intake fan provided at the intake port to prevent dust from entering the exterior; and
An exhaust port provided in the exterior;
A recording apparatus comprising:   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first recording means is an ink jet recording head.   The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the recording unit is a line-type inkjet recording head. In the recording apparatus,
The inkjet recording head has a direction in which a number of nozzle holes for ejecting ink for forming an image on a recording medium are arranged. A door having a filter and an intake fan is arranged, and a cover member having the exhaust port is arranged on the other side, and after removing dust floating outside the recording apparatus from the intake port through the intake filter The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the air is sucked and a linear air flow substantially parallel to the recording head is formed, and then the air is exhausted from the exhaust port to the outside of the apparatus.   2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the airflow that passes through the recording apparatus is discharged from the exhaust port to the outside of the recording apparatus together with heat generated inside the recording apparatus.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the intake port is provided in the exterior surface on the upstream side and the downstream side of the recording medium conveying unit.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air inlet is provided in a top surface portion of the exterior.

Images