JP2006181848A - Carriage mechanism and recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a carriage mechanism capable of securely fixing a relatively movable main carriage to a sub-carriage when not requiring to be moved, and a recording apparatus equipped with the carriage. <P>SOLUTION: The carriage mechanism includes a main carriage 61 and a sub-carriage 62 movable with respect to the main carriage, and is provided with a fixing member 80 which fixes the positional relation between the main carriage and the sub-carriage with friction. By this configuration, the fixing between the main carriage and the sub-carriage is not carried out by only one directional pressing so that the generation of vibration of the sub-carriage with respect to the main carriage is suppressed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a carriage mechanism including a main carriage and a sub-carriage movable relative to the main carriage, and a recording apparatus and a liquid ejecting apparatus including the carriage mechanism.

  An ink jet printer, which is one of the recording apparatuses, includes a carriage on which a recording head is mounted and which can reciprocate in a main scanning direction perpendicular to a conveyance direction of a sheet as a recording medium on a platen. Such an ink jet printer is configured to record on a sheet by reciprocating a carriage while conveying the sheet on a platen and ejecting ink droplets from a recording head. Therefore, the gap between the ink ejection surface of the recording head and the sheet conveying surface of the platen greatly affects the recording accuracy, and the gap is configured to be adjustable.

  For example, a main carriage pivotally supported on a carriage guide shaft so as to be reciprocally movable in the main scanning direction and a recording head are mounted, and are attached to the main carriage so as to be displaceable in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying surface of the platen by a switching unit There has been proposed an ink jet printer having a carriage body having a two-carriage structure of sub-carriages. The sub-carriage is pressed against one end of the switching unit by the elastic force of the spring in a floating state via a spring arranged in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying surface of the platen and in the sheet conveying direction. Such an ink jet printer switches and adjusts the gap between the ink ejection surface of the recording head and the paper transport surface of the platen by displacing the sub-carriage in the direction perpendicular to the paper transport surface of the platen by the switching unit. (See Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-268341 A

  In the conventional ink jet printer described above, the main carriage and the sub-carriage are pressed and fixed in one direction by the elastic force of the spring. Therefore, the sub-carriage may vibrate when it moves due to the mass of the sub-carriage and the spring constant of the spring, and the gap between the ink ejection surface of the recording head and the paper transport surface of the platen may fluctuate and the recording accuracy may decrease. There is.

  The present invention has been made in view of the various problems as described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a carriage mechanism that can reliably fix a main carriage and a sub-carriage that can be moved relative to each other when the movement is unnecessary, and the carriage. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus having a mechanism.

  In order to achieve the above object, the carriage mechanism of the present invention is a carriage mechanism including a main carriage and a sub-carriage movable relative to the main carriage, and the positional relationship between the main carriage and the sub-carriage is rubbed. It is characterized by the provision of a locking member that is fixed at As a result, the main carriage and the sub carriage are not fixed by pressing in only one direction, so that the occurrence of vibration of the sub carriage relative to the main carriage can be restricted.

  Further, the locking member is disposed so as to be displaceable between a fixing position and a fixing releasing position of the sub carriage in the main carriage, and generates a frictional force in sliding contact with the sub carriage at the fixing position. It is characterized by that. Accordingly, the main carriage and the sub-carriage can be fixed and released only by displacing the locking member.

  In order to achieve the above object, the carriage mechanism of the present invention is a carriage mechanism including a main carriage and a sub-carriage movable relative to the main carriage. A locking member for releasing the fixing is provided. As a result, the main carriage and the subcarriage can be fixed close to a rigid body, and the occurrence of vibration of the subcarriage relative to the main carriage can be restricted.

  Further, the locking member is arranged to be displaceable between a fixing position and a fixing releasing position of the sub carriage in the main carriage. Accordingly, the main carriage and the sub-carriage can be fixed and released only by displacing the locking member. Further, the locking member fixes / unfixes the sub-carriage by movement of the main carriage. As a result, the main carriage and the sub-carriage can be fixed and released when the main carriage starts moving, stops moving, or ends.

  Further, the locking member is provided to be displaceable with respect to the main carriage via an elastic member. Thereby, the displacement means of a locking member can be made into a simple structure. Further, the locking member is provided with a wedge-shaped portion for fixing the sub-carriage. As a result, it is possible to easily fix and release the fixing between the main carriage and the sub-carriage. The main carriage is provided with a claw portion for holding the sub-carriage with the wedge-shaped portion. Thereby, the sub-carriage can be fixed with high accuracy between the main carriage and the locking member.

  In order to achieve the above object, the recording apparatus of the present invention is characterized by including recording means mounted on the sub-carriage and including the carriage mechanisms described above. Thereby, a recording apparatus that exhibits the above-described effects can be provided. In order to achieve the above object, the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention includes a liquid ejecting unit mounted on the sub-carriage and the carriage mechanisms described above. Thereby, the liquid ejecting apparatus having the above-described effects can be provided.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an overall appearance configuration of an ink jet printer that is one of recording apparatuses according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed obliquely from the front. The ink jet printer 100 is a desktop large-sized printer that can print on so-called cut paper and roll-shaped paper having a relatively large size, for example, JIS standard A4 size to JIS standard A2 size. The housing 101 is covered with a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 101 extending in the width direction.

  A rectangular window portion 102 is formed on the upper surface of the housing 101. The window 102 is covered with a transparent or translucent window cover 103. The window cover 103 is attached so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow a in the figure around the upper rotation shaft. The user can perform maintenance work of the internal mechanism through the window portion 102 by lifting the window cover 103 and opening the window portion 102.

  On both sides of the front surface of the housing 101, cartridge storage portions 104 into which a plurality of ink cartridges are inserted and removed are formed. Each ink cartridge stores ink of each color for printing. Each cartridge housing portion 104 is covered with a transparent or translucent cartridge cover 105. The cartridge cover 105 is attached so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow b shown in the figure around a rotation shaft at the lower part thereof. The user can perform an ink cartridge replacement operation or the like by lightly pressing the cartridge cover 105 to release the locking portion and opening the cartridge storage portion 104.

  An operation unit 110 for instructing a printer operation is disposed on an upper portion of the cartridge housing unit 104 on the right side of the front surface of the housing 101. The operation unit 110 displays buttons 111 such as a power system for turning on / off the power, an operation system for operating a cueing of a paper sheet or operating ink flushing, a processing system for performing image processing, and the like. A liquid crystal panel 112 and the like are provided. The user can operate the button 111 while looking at the liquid crystal panel 112 for confirmation.

  A tank housing portion 106 into which the waste liquid tank 120 is inserted and removed is formed at the lower part of the cartridge housing portion 104 on the right side of the front surface of the housing 101. The waste liquid tank 120 stores waste ink that is discarded when the recording head 162 (see FIG. 5) is cleaned or when the ink cartridge is replaced. By pulling out the waste liquid tank 120, the user can perform a work of discarding the waste ink accumulated inside.

  On the back surface of the housing 101, a paper feed unit 130 that feeds roll-shaped paper is disposed so as to protrude rearward from the upper part. A roll paper holder (not shown) capable of setting one roll-shaped paper is disposed inside the paper supply unit 130, and a flip-up-type openable and rollable roll paper cover 131 is provided on the front surface of the paper supply unit 130. Is attached so as to cover a roll paper holder (not shown). The user can perform operations such as attaching / removing roll paper by lifting the roll paper cover 131 and opening the paper supply unit 130. Note that the upper surface of the roll paper cover 131 is formed as a paper feed guide surface capable of manually feeding the cut paper.

  Between the front center of the housing 101, that is, between the pair of cartridge storage portions 104, a paper supply / discharge tray 200 on which cut sheets before printing and cut sheets after printing or roll-shaped sheets are stacked is inserted and removed. A paper feed / discharge unit 140 is formed. The paper supply / discharge unit 140 is also formed so that thick paper that cannot be bent during conveyance can be manually fed.

  A front portion of the paper supply / discharge tray 200 is inserted into the paper supply / discharge portion 140 and fixed so that the rear portion of the paper supply / discharge tray 200 protrudes. The paper supply / discharge tray 200 is formed in a cassette type, and cut sheets to be fed before printing are stacked and stored therein, and cut sheets to be discharged after printing or roll-shaped are placed on the top. Sheets are stacked and placed. The detailed structure of such a paper supply / discharge tray 200 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the entire external configuration of the paper feed / discharge tray 200 as viewed obliquely from the front. The paper feed / discharge tray 200 includes a paper feed tray 210 formed in a box shape and a paper discharge tray 230 formed in a lid shape covering the upper surface of the paper feed tray 210. The paper supply / discharge tray 200 is formed to be extendable and retractable in the paper supply / discharge direction, and can be stored compactly when not in use, and corresponds to cut sheets of various sizes when used. It is possible.

  3 and 4 are perspective views showing the paper supply / discharge unit 140 with the paper supply / discharge tray 200 mounted thereon. When the cut sheets are stacked and placed, as shown in FIG. 3, the roll paper guide unit 240 is stored in the upper surface of the paper discharge member 239a, that is, the upper surface of the paper discharge member 239a is flat. As a result, the cut sheet discharged through the sheet discharge roller 155 (see FIG. 5) has a side surface and a bottom surface of the guide portion 145 having an L-shaped cross section and upper surfaces of the sheet discharge members 239a to 239d. Are smoothly stacked and placed on the sheet receiving surface formed by

  Note that a sponge mat 145 a is attached to the bottom surface of the guide portion 145. The sponge mat 145a is configured such that when the second cut sheet is ejected after the first cut sheet is placed, the leading end of the second cut sheet is the first sheet. It has a non-slip function for preventing the cut sheet from sticking out and falling off the sheet receiving surface.

  On the other hand, when stacking roll-shaped sheets, as shown in FIG. 4, on the other long side of the first guide plate 241 of the roll sheet guide 240 stored on the upper surface of the sheet discharge member 239a. The user puts his finger and turns it backward. Then, the second guide plate 242 is pulled by the first guide plate 241, the one end side in the longitudinal direction is lifted, and the other end side in the longitudinal direction is along the groove 239aa formed on the upper surface of the paper discharge member 239a. Slide backwards. Then, the first guide plate 241 is turned until the angle formed by the first guide plate 241 and the second guide plate 242 becomes an acute angle.

  Thus, the second guide plate 242 has a slide-like shape in which one end side in the longitudinal direction is close to the top of the side surface of the guide portion. For this reason, even if the roll-shaped paper discharged through the paper discharge roller is curled, the leading end thereof is not caught in the guide portion side, and the leading end is a slide-like second guide plate. It slides on 242 and is guided to the upper surface side of the paper discharge members 239a to 239d. Therefore, the roll-shaped paper is smoothly stacked and placed on the paper discharge receiving surface formed by the second guide plate 242 and the upper surfaces of the paper discharge members 239a to 239d.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view showing an outline of the internal configuration of the ink jet printer 100 of FIG. In the housing 101, a paper supply / discharge unit 140, a transport unit 150, a recording unit 160 including a characteristic portion of the present invention, and the like are disposed. The paper supply / discharge unit 140 is provided with a hopper 141, a paper supply roller 142, a separation member 143, and the like for feeding cut paper. The hopper 141 is formed in a flat plate shape on which a cut sheet can be placed. One end of the hopper 141 is located in the vicinity of the paper feed roller 142 and the separating member 143 and the other end of the paper feed / discharge tray 200 is mounted. The sheet feeding tray 210 is disposed so as to be close to the bottom surface. The hopper 141 has the other end of the compression spring 144 attached at one end to the bottom surface of the housing 101 on the back surface at one end side, and the one end side pivots around the other end side by the expansion and contraction of the compression spring 144. It is arranged like this.

  The paper feed roller 142 is formed in a D shape with a part of a cross section cut out, and rotates intermittently to frictionally convey the cut paper on the hopper 141. The separation member 143 is formed with a rough upper surface, and when the paper cut by the paper feed roller 142 is double fed, the lower cut paper is frictionally separated from the uppermost cut paper. It has become. Here, the relationship between the cut sheet placed on the hopper 141 and the paper feed roller 142 will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a contact state between the cut sheet placed on the hopper 141 and the paper feed roller 142. FIG. 6A shows a case where the maximum number of cut sheets P is placed on the hopper 141. In this case, when the hopper 141 is raised, the uppermost cut sheet P1 is fed to the paper feed roller. It adjusts so that it may not contact the notch part of 142 but may contact at least the circumference after the circular arc start point 142a.

  FIG. 6B shows a case where the minimum number (one) of cut sheets P1 is placed on the hopper 141. In this case, when the hopper 141 is lifted, the cut sheets P1. Is adjusted so as to come into contact with a point 142b slightly rotated from the arc start point 142a of the paper feed roller 142. The contact point 142b has a circumferential length from the contact point 142b to the arc end point 142c equal to the distance a from the leading edge ps of the paper P1 to the contact point 151a between the sub roller 151 and its driven roller 152a. This is the point.

  By adjusting as described above, when the number of the cut sheets P placed on the hopper 141 is equal to or less than the maximum number, the leading edge ps of the uppermost cut sheet P1 is moved to the sub roller 151 and its driven roller 152a. The cut paper P1 is not released from the paper feed roller 142 until it reaches the contact point 151a, so that the cut paper P1 can be reliably delivered to the sub-roller 151, and a paper feed error can be eliminated.

  The transport unit 150 includes a sub roller 151 for transporting paper and its driven rollers 152a, 152b, and 152c, a paper feed roller 153 and its driven roller 154, a paper discharge roller 155, a jagged roller 156, and a detection sensor 157a for detecting the paper. 157b and the like are provided. The sub roller 151 sandwiches the cut sheet together with the driven rollers 152a, 152b, and 152c and reverses it into a U-shape in order to discharge the cut sheet fed from the sheet feeding tray 210 to the sheet discharge tray 230. It is designed to be transported. Further, the sub-roller 151 sandwiches and conveys the roll-shaped paper together with the driven roller 152c in order to eject the roll-shaped paper fed from the paper feeding unit 130 to the paper ejection tray 230. .

  The paper feed roller 153 sandwiches the cut paper that has been reversely conveyed or the roll-shaped paper that is fed together with the driven roller 154 and feeds it to the platen 163. The paper discharge roller 155 sandwiches the paper passing through the platen 163 together with the jagged roller 156 and discharges the paper onto the paper discharge tray 230. The detection sensor 157a detects the transport amount when the skew of the cut paper that is fed is taken. The detection sensor 157b is configured to detect a conveyance amount when cueing a cut sheet that is reversely conveyed or a roll-shaped sheet that is conveyed.

  The recording unit 160 is provided with a carriage 161, a recording head 162, and the like, which are characteristic parts of the present invention. The carriage 161 is connected to a carriage belt (not shown). When the carriage belt is actuated by a carriage driving device (not shown), the carriage 161 is entrained by the movement of the carriage belt and is guided by a guide shaft (not shown) to reciprocate. . Details of the carriage 161 will be described later.

  The recording head 162 is, for example, a plurality of black ink recording heads that eject two types of black ink, and a plurality of color inks that respectively eject six colors of yellow, dark yellow, cyan, light cyan, magenta, and light magenta. And a recording head. The recording head 162 is provided with a pressure generating chamber and a nozzle opening connected to the pressure generating chamber. The size of the recording head 162 is controlled from the nozzle opening toward the sheet by storing ink in the pressure generating chamber and pressurizing the ink with a predetermined pressure. Ink droplets are discharged.

  An operation when printing on a sheet cut by the ink jet printer 100 in such a configuration will be described. The cut paper P stacked and stored in the paper feed tray 210 of the paper feed / discharge tray 200 attached to the paper feed / discharge unit 140 is a compression spring 144 whose paper bundle is mechanically synchronized with the rotation of the paper feed roller 142. As the hopper 141 rises due to the restoration, only the uppermost cut sheet P is separated by the separating member 143 and fed to the transport unit 150.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, when the cut sheet P to be fed reaches the contact point 151a between the sub roller 151 and the driven roller 152a, the cut sheet P is skewed. This skew removing method is different depending on the sheet thickness. That is, in the case of a thin cut sheet of plain paper or less, the front end of the cut sheet is slightly bitten between the sub-roller 151 and its driven roller 152a, and then the rollers 151 and 152a are reversed and cut. By bending the cut paper, a method is adopted in which the front ends of the cut paper are aligned and the skew is removed.

  On the other hand, in the case of paper that has been cut thicker than plain paper, the leading edge of the cut paper is abutted against the contact point 151a between the sub-roller 151 and its driven roller 152a, and the paper feed roller 142 is slipped. A method of removing skew by aligning the leading ends of the paper is employed. The amount of biting and the amount of butting are detected by the detection sensor 157a, and the skew removal is controlled according to the detection amount.

  In this way, the skew removal method varies depending on the paper thickness because the thin cut paper is not stiff, and the paper feed roller 142 sends out the cut paper without slipping on the cut paper. This is because the thick cut paper has a structure in which the thin cut paper is bonded, and may peel off when the rollers 151 and 152a are reversed. is there.

  The cut sheet P after the skew removal is sandwiched between the sub-roller 151 and its driven rollers 152a, 152b, and 152c driven by a paper feed motor (not shown) and reversed in the U-shaped path, that is, opposite to the paper feeding direction. Conveyed in the direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the leading edge of the cut paper P reaches the detection position DP of the detection sensor 157b, cueing that is the printing start positioning of the cut paper P is performed.

  In other words, the leading edge of the cut sheet P is conveyed by the detection sensor 157b from the detection position DP until it reaches the cueing position HP shown in FIG. 8A through between the paper feed roller 153 and the driven roller 154. The amount is detected, and cueing is controlled according to the detected amount. The conventional cueing is performed by the detection sensor 157a disposed on the upstream side of the sub-roller 151, but this cueing is performed by the detection sensor 157b disposed on the downstream side of the sub-roller 151. The amount can be reduced, and particularly the cueing error due to the paper thickness can be eliminated and the cueing accuracy can be improved.

  After that, the cut sheet P for which the cueing has been completed is nipped by a paper feed roller 153 driven by a paper feed motor (not shown) and its driven roller 154 and conveyed to the recording unit 160. Therefore, the nipping of the cut paper P by the sub roller 151 and its driven rollers 152a, 152b, and 152c causes deterioration of the conveyance accuracy. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8B, each of the driven rollers 152a, 152b, and 152c. Releases from the sub-roller 151.

  The cut sheet P to be conveyed is sucked and flattened on a platen 163 by a suction pump (not shown), and is printed by a recording head 162 mounted on a carriage 161 scanned by a carriage motor (not shown) and a timing belt. . At this time, the control unit of the ink jet recording apparatus 100 supplies each color ink to the recording head 162 from a total of seven ink cartridges, for example, yellow, dark yellow, magenta, light magenta, cyan, light cyan, and black. By controlling ejection timing and driving of the carriage 161 and the paper feed roller 153, highly accurate ink dot control, halftone processing, and the like are executed. The cut paper P that has been printed is sandwiched between a paper discharge roller 155 and a knurled roller 156 driven by a paper feed motor (not shown), and is discharged to the paper supply / discharge unit 140. The paper is stacked on the paper discharge tray 230.

  FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the details of the carriage 161, which is a characteristic part of the present invention, as seen from the front side. The carriage 161 has a two-body structure including a main carriage 61 and a sub carriage 62. The main carriage 61 is pivotally supported by a carriage guide shaft (not shown) so as to be reciprocally movable in the main scanning direction. The sub-carriage 62 has a recording head 162 mounted on the bottom surface side, and is attached on the front surface side of the main carriage 61 so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the ink ejection surface of the recording head 162.

  As described above, by moving the sub carriage 62 relative to the main carriage 61, the gap between the ink ejection surface of the recording head 162 and the sheet conveyance surface of the platen 163 can be easily and accurately adjusted. The moving mechanism 70 includes a gap adjusting shaft 71, a gap adjusting eccentric cam 72, a gap adjusting spring 73, a gap adjusting contact plate 74, and a gap adjusting drive gear 75.

  The gap adjusting shaft 71 is rotatably inserted between two bearings 63 provided on both upper sides of the front side of the main carriage 61 with the axial direction facing the main scanning direction. The gap adjusting eccentric cam 72 is rotatably fitted to both sides of the gap adjusting shaft 71 together with the gap adjusting shaft 71. The gap adjusting spring 73 is a tension coil spring. One end of the gap adjusting spring 73 is locked to both lower sides on the front side of the main carriage 61 and the other end is locked to both upper sides of the rear side of the sub carriage 62.

  The gap adjusting contact plate 74 is disposed integrally with the sub carriage 62 so as to contact each gap adjusting eccentric cam 72 from above at the upper portion of the rear surface side of the sub carriage 62. The gap adjusting drive gear 75 is rotatably fitted together with the gap adjusting shaft 71 to one end of the gap adjusting shaft 71 protruding outward from the bearing 63. The gap adjusting drive gear 75 is driven in mesh with the gap adjusting gear mechanism 76, and will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the gap adjusting gear mechanism 76 and its periphery. The gap adjusting gear mechanism 76 is disposed on the side frame 107 inside the printer, and a gear 76a at one end of a gear train connected to a motor drive shaft (not shown) is moved by the movement of the carriage 161 in the main scanning direction. The gap adjusting drive gear 75 is engaged / released.

  Here, as described above, the carriage 161 has a two-body structure that adjusts the gap between the ink ejection surface of the recording head 162 and the sheet conveyance surface of the platen 163 by moving the sub carriage 62 relative to the main carriage 61. It has become. Therefore, when the gap adjustment is completed, the sub carriage 62 must be fixed to the main carriage 61. When the gap adjustment is performed, the sub carriage 62 is fixed to the main carriage 61. It is necessary to release it. Therefore, the carriage 161 is provided with a locking member 80 for fixing / releasing the sub-carriage 62 with respect to the main carriage 61.

  FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the details of the main carriage 61 as viewed from the front side, and FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the main carriage 61 as viewed from the back side. The locking member 80 is disposed on the main carriage 61 and includes a wedge member 81, a locking spring 82, and a claw portion 83. The wedge member 81 is formed in a strip shape, and is fitted in a groove 61a formed on the front side of the main carriage 61 so as to be slidable in the main scanning direction. In addition, wedge-shaped portions 81a are integrally formed on both ends of the front side of the wedge member 81, respectively. These wedge-shaped portions 81a are formed so that the inclined surfaces face the home position moving direction of the carriage 161 (the right direction in FIG. 11). Further, a slide lever 81b is integrally formed at the left end shown in FIG. 12 on the back side of the wedge member 81 so as to protrude rearward. The slide lever 81b is disposed so as to protrude toward the rear of the main carriage 61 from a notch 61b provided in a part of the groove 61a.

  The locking spring 82 is a tension spring, and one end is locked to the left end shown in FIG. 12 on the back side of the wedge member 81 on the back side of the main carriage 61, and the other end is a view on the back side of the main carriage 61. 12 is locked to the left end. This locking spring 82 is disposed so as to constantly urge the wedge member 81 in the home position movement direction of the carriage 161 (left direction in FIG. 12). Four claw portions 83 are arranged at upper and lower positions sandwiching both ends of the groove 61 a on the front side of the main carriage 61. These claws 83 have a substantially L-shaped cross section in the main scanning direction, and are arranged so as to protrude so that the sub-carriage 62 can be hooked and locked at the tip.

  FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional plan view in which the main carriage 61 and the sub-carriage 62 locked by the locking member 80 are sectioned in the main scanning direction at the wedge member 81. On the back side of the sub-carriage 62, two protrusions 62a that can slide and move away from the slope of each wedge-shaped portion 81a of the wedge member 81 and the tip of each claw portion 83 can be inserted and locked. Four window portions 62b (see FIG. 9) are formed.

  Each projection 62a is in sliding contact with the slope of each wedge-shaped portion 81a when the wedge member 81 is pulled by the locking spring 82 and is slid in the home position movement direction (right direction in FIG. 13) of the carriage 161. It has become. Further, when the carriage 161 moves to the home position and the slide lever 81b comes into contact with the fixing release lever 108 provided on the printer main body frame (not shown), the carriage 161 is separated from the slope of each wedge-shaped portion 81a. Yes. Each window portion 62b is configured such that when the tip of each claw portion 83 is inserted, the bent portion of the tip of each claw portion 83 is caught on the edge of each window portion 62b. In the configuration as described above, the operation of the moving mechanism 70 and the locking member 80 will be described with reference to the drawings.

  14A and 14B are plan views showing when the carriage 161 is located away from the home position and when it is located at the home position, and FIGS. FIGS. 16A and 16B are cross-sectional plan views of the wedge member 81 at that time and a cross-section in the main scanning direction. When the carriage 161 is located away from the home position, the gap adjusting drive gear 75 meshes with the gear 76a of the gap adjusting gear mechanism 76 as shown in FIGS. 14 (A) and 15 (A). The moving mechanism 70 is in an operation stop state.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 16A, the wedge member 81 is pulled by the locking spring 82 and slides in the home position moving direction (right direction in FIG. 16) of the carriage 161. The slope is in sliding contact with the tip of each protrusion 62a. At this time, a frictional force is generated between the slope of each wedge-shaped portion 81a and the tip of each projection 62a, and the portion from each projection 62a to the edge of each window 62b is the wedge member 81. The sub-carriage 62 is fixed to the main carriage 61 because it is sandwiched between the claw portions 83.

  On the other hand, when the carriage 161 is moved to the home position, the gap adjusting drive gear 75 is engaged with the gear 76a of the gap adjusting gear mechanism 76 as shown in FIGS. Becomes operational. Further, as shown in FIG. 16B, the slide lever 81 b comes into contact with the fixing release lever 108 provided on the printer main body frame 109, and the wedge member 81 resists the elastic force of the locking spring 82. The carriage 161 slides in the direction opposite to the home position movement direction (left direction in FIG. 16), and the slope of each wedge-shaped portion 81a is separated from the tip of each projection 62a.

  Therefore, the frictional force generated between the slope of each wedge-shaped portion 81a and the tip of each protrusion 62a disappears, and each protrusion that is sandwiched between the wedge member 81 and each claw 83 Since the portion from 62a to the edge of each window portion 62b is released, the fixing of the sub carriage 62 to the main carriage 61 is released. In this state, by driving the gap adjusting gear mechanism 76 and rotating the gap adjusting drive gear 75, the gap adjusting eccentric cam 72 can be rotated via the gap adjusting shaft 71.

  Therefore, the gap adjusting contact plate 74 is pushed up against the elastic force of the gap adjusting spring 73 by the gap adjusting eccentric cam 72 or pulled down by the elastic force of the gap adjusting spring 73. As a result, the sub-carriage 62 moves up and down with respect to the main carriage 61, so that the gap between the ink ejection surface of the recording head 162 and the sheet conveyance surface of the platen 163 can be adjusted easily and accurately.

  After the gap adjustment is completed, the carriage 161 is moved away from the home position to start recording. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 14A and 15A, the gap adjustment drive gear 75 and the gap adjustment are performed. The meshing of the gear mechanism 76 with the gear 76a is released, and the moving mechanism 70 is brought into a stopped state. Then, as shown in FIG. 16A, since the slide lever 81b is separated from the fixing release lever 108 provided on the printer main body frame 109, the wedge member 81 is pulled by the locking spring 82 and the carriage 161 is moved. It slides in the home position moving direction (the right direction in FIG. 16), and the slope of each wedge-shaped portion 81a comes into sliding contact with the tip of each protrusion 62a. At this time, a frictional force is generated between the slope of each wedge-shaped portion 81a and the tip of each projection 62a, and the portion from each projection 62a to the edge of each window 62b is the wedge member 81. Since it is sandwiched between the claws 83, the sub-carriage 62 is fixed to the main carriage 61, and the adjusted gap is maintained constant.

  As described above, according to the ink jet printer 100 of the present embodiment, the locking member 80 that fixes the positional relationship between the main carriage 61 and the sub carriage 62 by friction is provided. Is not fixed by pressing only in one direction using a spring or the like. Therefore, the occurrence of vibration of the sub carriage 62 with respect to the main carriage 61 is restricted, the gap between the ink ejection surface of the recording head 162 and the sheet conveyance surface of the platen 163 is kept constant, and the recording accuracy can be maintained with high accuracy. it can.

  The wedge member 81 of the locking member 80 is disposed so as to be displaceable between a fixing position and a fixing releasing position of the sub-carriage 62 in the main carriage 61, and is in sliding contact with the sub-carriage 62 at the fixing position. Therefore, the main carriage 61 and the sub-carriage 62 can be fixed and released only by displacing the wedge member 81, and the locking member 80 can have a simple configuration.

  Further, since the wedge member 81 is fixed by sandwiching the sub carriage 62 with respect to the main carriage 61, the fixing of the main carriage 61 and the sub carriage 62 can be close to rigid fixing, and the sub carriage 62 is fixed to the main carriage 61. By controlling the occurrence of vibration of the carriage 62, the gap between the ink ejection surface of the recording head 162 and the sheet conveying surface of the platen 163 can be kept constant, and the recording accuracy can be maintained with high accuracy.

  Further, since the wedge member 81 fixes / unfixes the sub-carriage 62 by the movement of the main carriage 61, the movement between the main carriage 61 and the sub-carriage 62 when the movement of the main carriage 61 starts, stops, or ends. Can be fixed and released, and the operation efficiency of the carriage 161 can be improved.

  Further, since the wedge member 81 is provided so as to be displaceable with respect to the main carriage 61 via a locking spring 82 which is an elastic member, the means for displacing the wedge member 81 can have a simple configuration, and the component cost can be reduced. Can be kept low. The elastic member is not limited to a spring, and may have elasticity such as rubber. Further, since the wedge member 81 is provided with a wedge-shaped portion 81a for fixing the sub-carriage 61, the main carriage 61 and the sub-carriage 62 can be easily fixed and released, and complicated means. Is unnecessary. Further, since the main carriage 61 is provided with a claw portion 83 that sandwiches the sub carriage 62 with the wedge-shaped portion 81a, the sub carriage 62 can be fixed between the main carriage 61 and the wedge member 81 with high accuracy. In addition, the gap between the ink ejection surface of the recording head 162 and the sheet conveying surface of the platen 163 can be kept constant, and the recording accuracy can be maintained with high accuracy.

  Any recording apparatus having a carriage can be applied to, for example, a facsimile apparatus, a copying apparatus, and the like. In addition to a recording apparatus, the meaning of a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid corresponding to its use from a liquid ejecting head onto an ejected medium instead of ink and attaches the liquid to the ejected medium is, for example, a liquid crystal display Color material jet head used for manufacturing color filters, electrode material (conductive paste) jet head used for electrode formation for organic EL display and surface emitting display (FED), bio-organic jet head used for biochip manufacturing, precision pipette The present invention can also be applied to an apparatus equipped with a sample ejection head or the like.

1 is a perspective view of an overall appearance configuration of an ink jet printer that is one of recording apparatuses according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed obliquely from the front. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a paper supply / discharge tray of the printer of FIG. 1. It is a perspective view which shows the usage condition of the paper supply / discharge tray of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows another usage pattern of the paper supply / discharge tray of FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view illustrating an outline of an internal configuration of the printer of FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows the contact state of the paper and paper feed roller on a hopper. FIG. 2 is a first diagram illustrating a paper conveyance state of the printer of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a second diagram illustrating a paper conveyance state of the printer of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of details of a carriage of the printer of FIG. 1 as viewed from the front side. It is a perspective view which shows the gear mechanism for gap adjustment of the printer of FIG. 1, and its peripheral part. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the details of the main carriage in FIG. 9 as viewed from the front side. It is the perspective view which looked at FIG. 11 from the back side. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional plan view in which the main carriage and the sub-carriage locked by the locking member of FIG. 11 are sectioned in the main scanning direction at the wedge member portion. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing when the carriage of FIG. 9 is located away from the home position and when it is located at the home position. It is a side view of FIG. FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional plan view of FIG. 14 taken along the main scanning direction at the wedge member.

Explanation of symbols

10 ink cartridge, 61 main carriage, 61a groove, 62 subcarriage, 62a protrusion, 62b window, 63 bearing, 70 moving mechanism, 71 gap adjusting shaft, 72 gap adjusting eccentric cam, 73 gap adjusting spring, 74 Gap adjusting contact plate, 75 Gap adjusting drive gear, 76 Gap adjusting gear mechanism, 80 Locking member, 81 Wedge member, 81a Wedge shape portion, 81b Slide lever, 82 Locking spring, 83 Claw portion, 100 Inkjet printer, 101 housing, 104 cartridge housing section, 105 cartridge cover, 108 lock release lever, 110 operation section, 111 button, 112 liquid crystal panel, 130 paper feed section, 140 paper feed / discharge section, 150 transport section, 160 recording section 161 Carriage 162 Recording head 163 Latin, 200 sheet discharge tray, 210 paper feed tray 230 paper discharge tray

Claims (10)

A carriage mechanism including a main carriage and a sub-carriage movable relative to the main carriage;
A carriage mechanism comprising a locking member for fixing the positional relationship between the main carriage and the sub-carriage by friction. The locking member is disposed so as to be displaceable between a fixing position and a fixing releasing position of the sub-carriage in the main carriage, and generates a frictional force in sliding contact with the sub-carriage at the fixing position. The carriage mechanism according to claim 1. A carriage mechanism including a main carriage and a sub-carriage movable relative to the main carriage;
A carriage mechanism comprising a locking member for fixing / releasing the sub-carriage with respect to the main carriage. The carriage mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the locking member is disposed so as to be displaceable between a fixing position and a fixing releasing position of the sub carriage in the main carriage. The carriage mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the locking member fixes / unfixes the sub-carriage by movement of the main carriage. The carriage mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the locking member is provided so as to be displaceable with respect to the main carriage via an elastic member. The carriage mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the locking member is provided with a wedge-shaped portion that fixes the sub-carriage. The carriage mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the main carriage is provided with a claw portion that sandwiches the sub-carriage with the wedge-shaped portion. Comprising recording means mounted on the sub-carriage;
A recording apparatus comprising the carriage mechanism according to claim 1. A liquid ejecting means mounted on the sub-carriage;
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising the carriage mechanism according to claim 1.

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