JP2007245577A - Recording device and liquid jet device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the increase of the breadth of device by preventing the sliding-amount increase of a cap unit in the main scanning direction while preventing an excessive load from being applied to a carriage at pushing the cap unit with the carriage in a printer which has been designed so as to be able to largely change the position of the recording head to correspond to the media to be recorded with a various thickness. <P>SOLUTION: The cap unit 60 ascends while carrying out a slide movement in the main scanning direction with being pushed by the carriage 46 and then caps a nozzle face 48a of the recording head 48. The device is designed so that a cap member 62 may cap the recording head 48 only when a gap adjustment unit for adjusting the gap between the recording head 48 and a form positions the recording head 48 in a small position where the gap is small. In other gap positions, the recording head 48 is capped by the cap member 62 by the movement of the carriage 46 descending toward the cap member 62. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus provided with a recording head for recording on a recording medium, represented by a FAX, a printer, or the like. The present invention also relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus.

Here, the liquid ejecting apparatus uses an ink jet recording head, and is not limited to a recording apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine that discharges ink from the recording head to perform recording on a recording medium. And a device that ejects a liquid corresponding to the application from a liquid ejecting head corresponding to the ink jet recording head to an ejected medium corresponding to a recording medium, and adheres the liquid to the ejected medium. .
In addition to the recording head, as a liquid ejecting head, a color material ejecting head used for manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, and an electrode material (conductive paste) used for forming an electrode such as an organic EL display or a surface emitting display (FED) Examples thereof include an ejection head, a bioorganic matter ejection head used for biochip production, and a sample ejection head as a precision pipette.

  An ink jet printer as an example of a recording apparatus or a liquid ejecting apparatus includes an ink jet recording head for ejecting ink onto a recording medium in a carriage, and the carriage home position prevents clogging of ink ejection nozzles of the recording head. A cap unit including a cap member that caps (seals) the nozzle surface of the recording head is provided.

  The cap unit is provided so as to be slidable in the main scanning direction in the home position area of the carriage. When the cap unit is engaged with and pushed by the carriage, the cap unit slides away from the recording area and rises toward the recording head. Eventually, the cap member is configured to reach a position (cap position) where the nozzle surface of the recording head is capped (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The cap unit does not move up toward the recording head while sliding in the main scanning direction, but the cap unit has a dedicated drive source and moves forward and backward with respect to the recording head. Inkjet printers with a so-called direct-acting cap unit that caps the cap are also present, but the cost increases due to having a dedicated power source, so the so-called sliding cap unit as described above has merit in terms of cost There is.

JP 2002-337351

  By the way, there are recording media having various thicknesses that can be recorded by an ink jet printer. For example, in addition to plain paper, dedicated paper, and cardboard, there are optical discs and the like having a greater thickness in recent years. Therefore, in an ink jet printer, in order to support all these types of recording media, the carriage moves in the direction in which the gap between the recording head and the platen that is provided opposite to the recording head and supports the recording media changes. A gap adjusting device is provided that keeps the position (height) of the recording head relative to the recording medium recording surface uniform by displacing the recording head.

  On the other hand, in the cap unit, the cap member is provided in a state of being urged toward the recording head by the urging means. At the cap position, the cap member is elastically contacted with the nozzle surface of the recording head by the urging means. And configured to be in a completely capped state. That is, when the cap member comes into contact with the nozzle surface of the recording head at a certain position in the sliding operation area of the cap unit, and then the cap unit further slides and rises, the recording head is attached to the biasing means in the cap unit. The cap member is pushed down against the force.

  Here, if the gap is greatly changed in order to cope with recording media having various thicknesses, it is necessary to secure a large increase in the cap unit. However, if the cap unit is moved in the main scanning direction without changing the amount of the cap unit raised, the load when the cap unit is moved to the cap position by the carriage increases. In order to secure a large increase amount of the ink, it is necessary to secure a large sliding amount of the cap unit in the main scanning direction, which causes a disadvantage that the width direction (main scanning direction) size of the apparatus becomes large. .

  Further, when a large amount of the cap unit is secured, the amount by which the recording head pushes down the cap member against the urging force of the urging means in the cap unit inevitably increases. Specifically, when the gap is set to the largest state, the recording head is at a high position. Therefore, the cap member is pushed down in the cap unit until the carriage displaces the cap unit to the cap position. Only a small amount will be produced.

  However, when the gap is set to the smallest state, the recording head is at a low position, so that the cap member is largely pushed down in the cap unit until the carriage displaces the cap unit to the cap position. That is, since the carriage receives a large force from the cap member, the load when the cap unit is moved to the cap position by the carriage is increased.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a main unit of a cap unit in a printer configured to greatly displace a recording head in order to cope with recording media having various thicknesses. An object is to prevent an increase in the lateral width of the apparatus by preventing an increase in the amount of sliding in the scanning direction, and to prevent an excessive load from being applied to the carriage when the cap unit is moved to the cap position by the carriage.

  In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention includes a recording head that performs recording on a recording medium, and includes a carriage that is driven to reciprocate in a main scanning direction, and a cap member that caps the recording head. Along with the moving movement of the carriage, the carriage is pushed by the carriage to move close to the recording head while sliding, and the cap member eventually caps the nozzle surface of the recording head. A recording apparatus comprising: a cap unit configured to reach a cap position, wherein the recording head and a recording medium support member provided to face the recording head and supporting a recording medium; By displacing the carriage in the direction in which the gap between the recording head and the recording head changes, And a gap adjusting means for switching between a small position where the gap is smaller than a predetermined amount and a large position where the gap is larger than the predetermined amount. The cap member is located at the cap position, and the gap adjusting means is located at the recording head. When the gap adjusting means positions the recording head at the small position, the carriage moves the cap unit when the gap adjusting means positions the recording head at the small position. When the cap member is positioned at the cap position, the cap member caps the recording head, and the carriage moves the cap unit to the cap position when the gap adjusting unit positions the recording head at the large position. When positioning The cap member does not cap the recording head, and the gap adjusting means positions the recording head in the small position in the non-cap state, so that the cap member caps the recording head. It is comprised so that it may become.

  According to this aspect, the cap for capping the recording head is provided at a height position where the recording head can be capped when the gap adjusting means positions the recording head in the small position at the cap position of the cap unit. When the gap adjusting means caps the recording head when positioning the recording head in the large position, the gap adjusting means is used to switch the recording head from the large position to the small position. Therefore, it is not necessary to secure the sliding amount of the cap unit in the main scanning direction in order to earn the rising amount of the cap unit, and it is possible to prevent the size of the apparatus from increasing in the main scanning direction (horizontal width direction). In addition, when the carriage moves the cap unit to the cap position, the cap member is not pushed down greatly in the cap unit, and an excessive load is generated on the carriage when the carriage moves the cap unit to the cap position. There is nothing to do.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the gap adjusting means includes a cam mechanism provided at an end of a carriage guide shaft that guides the carriage in a main scanning direction, and the carriage guide shaft. And a drive motor that rotates, and is configured to switch the position of the recording head by driving the cam mechanism by the drive motor. According to this aspect, the gap adjusting means can be configured with a simple structure and a low cost by using the cam mechanism.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid onto an ejected medium, and includes a carriage that is reciprocated in the main scanning direction, a cap member that caps the liquid ejecting head, and the main scanning direction. A cap position that is provided so as to be slidable and is moved close to the liquid ejecting head while being slid by being pushed by the carriage as the carriage moves, and the cap member eventually caps the nozzle surface of the liquid ejecting head. A liquid ejecting apparatus including a cap unit configured to reach the liquid ejecting head, the liquid ejecting head, and an ejected medium support member that is provided to face the liquid ejecting head and supports the ejected medium; The position of the liquid ejecting head is changed by displacing the carriage in the direction in which the gap changes. And a gap adjusting means for switching between a small position where the gap is smaller than a predetermined amount and a large position where the gap is larger than a predetermined amount. The liquid ejecting head when the head is positioned at the small position is provided at a height position where the head can be capped, and when the gap adjusting means positions the liquid ejecting head at the small position, the carriage is When the cap unit is positioned at the cap position, the cap member caps the liquid ejecting head, and the carriage adjusts the cap unit when the gap adjusting means positions the liquid ejecting head at the large position. The key When the cap member is positioned at the top position, the cap member does not cap the liquid ejecting head, and the cap adjusting member positions the liquid ejecting head at the small position in the non-cap state. Is configured to be in a cap state for capping the liquid jet head.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus main body (with an outer cover removed) of an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as “printer”) 1 which is an embodiment of a “recording apparatus” or a “liquid ejecting apparatus” according to the present invention. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the same side, FIG. 3 is a front view of a cam 82 (cam mechanism) attached to the shaft end of the carriage guide shaft 47, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a change in gap position with respect to the rotation angle of the carriage guide shaft 47. 5 is a perspective view of the cap unit 60, FIGS. 6 to 10 are front views of the cap unit 60, FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation contents during capping, and FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation contents during ink suction.

  The overall configuration of the printer 1 will be outlined below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 and other drawings as appropriate. The printer 1 includes a rear feeding device 2 as a first feeding unit at a rear portion of the apparatus, and a front feeding device 3 as a second feeding unit at a bottom portion of the device. From these two feeding devices, a conveying unit is provided. 5 is fed with a recording sheet as a “recording medium” or “ejection medium”. The recording sheet is conveyed to the recording means 4 (recording head 48) by the conveying means 5, and after recording is performed, the recording paper is discharged to the stacker 58 by the discharging means 6.

Hereinafter, the components on the paper transport path will be described in more detail.
The rear feeding device 2 includes a frame 10 constituting a base of the device, a hopper 12, a feeding roller 11, a retard roller 13, a return lever (not shown), and other components not shown.
Hopper 12 is a plate-like member, capable of pivoting about the upper portion of the swing fulcrum 12a, by rocking the paper P ₁ which is supported in an inclined position on the hopper 12 to the feeding roller 11 The pressure contact posture for pressure contact and the separation posture for separating from the feeding roller 11 are switched.

The feeding roller 11 has a circular shape and is provided on a feeding roller shaft 9 extending in the sheet width direction (main scanning direction), and rotates to feed the uppermost sheet P ₁ in pressure contact to the downstream side. . In the following description, the recording paper set and fed to the rear feeding device 2 is referred to as “paper P ₁ ”, and the recording paper set and fed to the front feeding device 3 is referred to as “paper P ₂ ”. In other words, when there is no need to distinguish between the two, it is referred to as “paper P” or simply as paper.

Next, the retard roller 13 has an outer periphery formed of an elastic material and is provided so as to be able to come into pressure contact with the feed roller 11, and is provided in a state where a predetermined rotational resistance is given by a torque limiter mechanism. Therefore, when only one sheet is fed without occurrence of double feeding of the sheet P ₁ , the retard roller 13 is driven to rotate with respect to the feeding roller 11, and the sheet P ₁ is retarded with the feeding roller 11. When there are a plurality of sheets between the roller 13 and the roller 13, the sheet 13 stops without rotating due to the sliding action between the sheets, and the next and subsequent sheets P ₁ are prevented from being double-fed. Note that a paper return lever (not shown) is provided in the vicinity of the retard roller 13, and the paper P _{1 of the} next and subsequent pages that are about to be fed is returned onto the hopper 12 by the paper return lever.

On the other hand, the front feeding device 3 provided at the bottom of the printer 1 and configured to set paper from the front of the device includes a paper feeding cassette 25, a pickup roller 26, a feeding roller 28, a separation roller 29, An assist roller 30.
Pickup roller 26 that is rotated by a motor (not shown), by rotating in contact with those from the apparatus front side of the mounting and a removable paper feeding top of the cassette 25 is set on the sheet P _2, in the uppermost feeding the paper _{P 2} from the paper feed cassette 25. Feeding roller 28 is rotated by a motor (not shown), the sheet P ₂ the uppermost fed from the paper cassette 25 is curved inverted, feeding to the transport drive roller 41 through 44 after the paper guide.

A separation roller 29 is provided at a position facing the outer peripheral surface of the feeding roller 28 so as to be able to advance and retreat with respect to the feeding roller 28, and when the uppermost sheet P ₂ is fed out from the sheet feeding cassette 25. First, the leading end of the sheet P ₂ after the next sheet fed out from the sheet feeding cassette 25 connected to the uppermost sheet P ₂ to be fed is formed by press contact with the feeding roller 28 to form a nip point. In the vicinity of the nip point. The assist roller 30 is provided so as to be in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the feed roller 28, and the paper P ₂ is fed along with the rotation of the feed roller 28 by nipping the paper P with the feed roller 28. Assist.

Next, on the downstream side of the rear feeding device 2 and the front feeding device 3, paper detection means (not shown) for detecting the passage of the paper P, and paper P ₁ fed from the rear feeding device 2. Are provided, and a guide roller 40 for guiding the fed paper P to the conveying means 5 is provided.

  The transport means 5 includes a transport drive roller 41 that is rotationally driven by a motor, and a transport driven roller 42 that is pivotally supported by the paper guide upper 43 so as to be driven to rotate while being pressed against the transport drive roller 41. Yes. The transport driving roller 41 is provided with an adhesion layer formed by substantially uniformly dispersing wear-resistant particles on the outer peripheral surface of a metal shaft extending in the paper width direction, and the transport driven roller 42 has a low friction material such as an elastomer on the outer peripheral surface. A plurality of the drive driving rollers 41 are arranged in the axial direction.

The paper P that has reached the transport means 5 is transported to the recording means 4 (recording head 48) on the downstream side when the transport drive roller 41 rotates while being nipped by the transport drive roller 41 and the transport driven roller 42. Is done.
The recording head 48 is provided at the bottom of the carriage 46. The carriage 46 is reciprocated in the main scanning direction by a drive motor (not shown) while being guided by a carriage guide shaft 47 extending in the main scanning direction (the front and back direction in FIG. 2). It is driven like this. The carriage 46 is equipped with independent ink cartridges (not shown) for a plurality of colors, and ink is supplied from the ink cartridges to the recording head 48. The carriage guide shaft 47 is supported by the main frame 7 having a substantially U shape in plan view.

  One end of the main scanning area of the carriage 46 (right side as viewed from the front side of the apparatus) is set to the home position of the carriage 46 (FIG. 1 shows a state where the carriage 46 is at the home position). At the home position of the carriage 46, a cap unit 60 that caps the recording head 48 and a pump device (not shown) that supplies negative pressure to the cap member 62 (FIG. 6) of the cap unit 60 are provided. When the carriage 46 is at the home position, the recording head 48 can be capped by the cap unit 60, and clogging of the ink discharge nozzles is prevented by being capped. By supplying the negative pressure, ink suction from the ink discharge nozzle is performed.

  A paper guide lower 45 serving as a “recording medium support member” for supporting the paper P from below is provided at a position facing the recording head 48 in the carriage 46, and the paper P, the recording head 48, and the like are provided by the paper guide lower 45. An interval between is defined. A gap between the recording head 48 and the paper guide bottom 45 (hereinafter simply referred to as “gap”) is automatically set according to a recording mode by a gap adjusting device 80 as a gap adjusting means driven by a motor. And it is adjusted step by step.

  More specifically, the gap adjusting device 80 displaces the carriage 46 in the direction in which the gap changes, thereby changing the position of the recording head 48 to a small position where the gap is smaller than a predetermined amount and a large position where the gap is larger than the predetermined amount. And switch to. In this embodiment, the gap position “1” as a small position and the gap positions “2”, “3”, and “4” as large positions can be switched.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the gap adjusting device 80 includes a cam mechanism attached to the shaft end of the carriage guide shaft 47, that is, a cam 82, a fixing pin 83 that engages with the cam 82, a flag plate 85, a sensor 86, and the like. And a motor (not shown) that rotationally drives the carriage guide shaft 46.

  The height position of the carriage guide shaft 47 is defined by the cam 82 being supported by the fixing pin 83. Therefore, the rotation of the cam 82 (carriage guide shaft 47) causes the height position of the carriage guide shaft 47, that is, The position of the recording head 48 is changed. Reference numeral 7a denotes a long groove formed in the main frame 7 extending in the displacement direction of the carriage guide shaft 47, and the carriage guide shaft 47 is displaced up and down along the long groove.

  The flag plate 85 is attached to the shaft end of the carriage guide shaft 47 so as to rotate integrally with the cam 82, and flags 85 </ b> A to 85 </ b> E are arranged at gap positions on the outer periphery of the flag plate 85 at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction. Is provided at a position corresponding to. An optical sensor 86 that detects the passage of flags 85A to 85E accompanying the rotation of the cam 82 is provided at a position adjacent to the flag plate 85, and a control unit of the printer 1 that receives an output signal from the optical sensor 86 ( (Not shown) can detect the current gap position.

  FIG. 4 shows a change in the gap position in one rotation of the carriage guide shaft 47 (cam 82) and the detection state of the optical sensor 86. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the numbers 1 to 4 are circled. It is possible to switch to the four gap positions shown. The gap position “1” indicates the position where the gap becomes the smallest, and this position is adopted when recording is performed on a dedicated sheet suitable for photo printing. The gap position “2” is for recording on plain paper, the “3” is for recording on thick paper, and the “4” is a tray (not shown) that forms a plate-like body on which an optical disk is set. ) Is used to perform ink jet recording directly on the label surface of the optical disk.

  Subsequently, referring back to FIG. 2, on the downstream side of the recording unit 4, there are an auxiliary roller 57 that prevents the sheet P from floating up from the lower sheet guide 45, and a discharge unit 6 that discharges the recorded sheet P. Is provided. The discharge means 6 includes a discharge drive roller 55 that is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown), and a discharge driven roller 56 that rotates in contact with the discharge drive roller 55.

  The discharge driven roller 56 is formed by a toothed roller having a plurality of teeth on the outer periphery, and a plurality of discharge driven rollers 56 are provided on the discharge frame Assy 54 having a long shape in the main scanning direction so as to correspond to the plurality of discharge driving rollers 56. The paper P recorded by the recording means 4 is rotated by the discharge drive roller 55 while being nipped by the discharge drive roller 55 and the discharge driven roller 56, whereby the stacker 58 provided on the front side of the apparatus. Is discharged.

The outline of the printer 1 has been described above, and the cap unit 60 will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the cap unit 60 includes a base 61, a holder 63 provided on the base 61, a cap member 62 provided on the holder 63 via a coil spring 65 as an urging means, and a base 61. Urging means (not shown) for urging the recording head toward the recording area side (left side in FIGS. 6 to 10). The base 61, the guide member 64, and the holder 63 are formed of a resin material, and the cap member 62 is formed in an annular shape with a size that can surround the nozzle opening formed in the nozzle surface 48 a of the recording head 48. It is made of an elastic material (for example, rubber) so as to be able to elastically contact the surface 48a.

  A guide member 64 for guiding the displacement operation of the cap unit 60 is provided around the cap unit 60. The guide member 64 is formed with guide grooves 64a and 64b that are stepped when viewed from the front of the printer 1, and the bosses 61b and 61c formed on the base 61 are inserted into the guide grooves 64a and 64b, respectively. Accordingly, when the cap unit 60 is slidable in the main scanning direction and slides toward the opposite side to the recording area side (right side in FIGS. 6 to 10), the cap unit 60 is gradually displaced upward along with the sliding operation. It is configured as follows. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the cap unit 60 slides to the rightmost side (cap position) and is displaced upwards.

  6 to 10 are views in which the guide member 64 of FIG. 5 is removed to show the configuration of the cap unit 60. As shown in FIG. 6, the base 61 is formed with a carriage engaging portion 61 a that protrudes toward the main scanning area of the carriage 46, and the carriage 46 protrudes toward the cap unit 60 to project the base 61. A base engaging portion 46a that can be engaged with the carriage engaging portion 61a formed in the above is formed.

  Accordingly, when the carriage 46 moves from the recording area side to the home position side, the base engaging portion 46a and the carriage engaging portion 61a are engaged, and the cap unit 60 moves away from the recording area as the carriage 46 moves. It is pushed and slides. When the carriage 46 moves to the recording area side (left side in FIGS. 6 to 10) in a state where the carriage engaging portion 61a and the base engaging portion 46a are engaged, the cap unit is applied by an urging force of an urging means (not shown). 60 also moves toward the recording area, moves down to the standby position (position shown in FIG. 6), and descends.

  FIG. 6 shows a state in which the base engaging portion 46a and the carriage engaging portion 61a are not yet engaged, and the gap adjusting device 80 moves the recording head 48 to the gap position “1” (under the paper guide 45 and the paper guide 45). A state in which the gap between the recording head 48 and the recording head 48 is the smallest is shown. In this state, a gap is formed between the cap member 62 and the recording head 48.

  When the carriage 46 further moves away from the recording area (right direction in the figure) from this state, the carriage engaging portion 61a and the base engaging portion 46a are engaged as shown in FIG. When it moves in the right direction (home position side) in the figure, the cap unit 60 slides in the right direction in the figure and rises, and the cap member 62 completely caps the nozzle surface 48a of the recording head 48 as shown in FIG. (The position of the cap unit 60 at this time is taken as a cap position). In this cap state, the cap member 62 is in elastic contact with the nozzle surface 48 a of the recording head 48 by the coil spring 65.

  Next, FIG. 9 shows a state in which the gap adjusting device 80 positions the recording head 48 at the gap position “4”, and the carriage 46 moves from the recording area to the home position side to engage the carriage engaging portion 61a and the base. The moment when the portion 46a is engaged is shown. In this state, the interval between the recording head 48 and the cap member 62 is sufficiently large, and even if the carriage 46 moves to the right in the figure and the cap unit 60 moves to the cap position, as shown in FIG. In addition, a gap is still formed between the cap member 62 and the recording head 48.

  Although not shown, even when the gap adjusting device 80 positions the recording head 48 at the gap position “2” or “3”, when the cap unit 60 is at the cap position, A gap is formed between the cap member 62 and the cap member 62 is not in a complete cap state (non-cap state) even if it is in contact with the cap member 62.

  The cap member 62 is provided at such a height position, that is, the height capable of being capped only when the gap adjusting device 80 positions the recording head 48 at the gap position “1” as the “small gap”. In the position. When the recording head 48 is capped from this state, the gap adjusting device 80 is driven to switch the gap position to “1”. Then, the cap state as shown in FIG. 6 is obtained.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the contents of such a capping operation. The carriage 46 is moved from the recording area to the cap area (area where the cap unit 60 is provided: the home position), and the cap unit 60 is positioned at the cap position. (Step S101). When the current gap position is “1” in this state, the capping operation is completed because the cap is already capped, and when the current gap position is “2”, “3”, “4”. Drives the gap adjusting device 80 to position the recording head 48 at the gap position “1” (step S103). Thereby, it will be in the cap state shown in FIG.

  According to the above configuration, when the gap position is a large position of “2”, “3”, and “4”, the recording head 48 is lowered by itself and is capped. Therefore, it is not necessary to secure a large sliding amount of the cap unit 60 in the main scanning direction in order to earn the rising amount of the cap unit 60, and the size of the printer 1 in the main scanning direction (horizontal width direction) is increased. Can be prevented. Further, it is not necessary for the carriage 46 to move the cap unit 60 to the cap position while the recording head 48 largely depresses the cap member 62 in the cap unit 60, so that an excessive load is applied when the carriage 46 pushes the cap unit 60. Does not occur.

  Next, the ink suction operation will be described with reference to FIG. When the ink suction operation is performed, the recording head 48 is capped as shown in steps S201 to S203 in FIG. Note that steps S201 to S203 in FIG. 12 are the same as steps S101 to 103 in FIG. 11 described above, and a description thereof will be omitted here.

  Next, the pump device (not shown) is driven in this cap state, and ink is sucked from the ink discharge nozzles of the recording head 48 to recover the discharge characteristics (step S204). Thereafter, the gap adjusting device 80 is driven to switch from the gap position “1” (minimum gap) to “4” (maximum gap) (step S205), and then the pump device is driven to remove ink remaining in the cap. Suction is performed (step S206). The cap member 62 is provided with an absorber (not shown) that absorbs ink. When the ink is sucked from the recording head 48 in the cap state, the sucked ink is absorbed by the absorber. The absorbed ink is sucked by the suction operation of step S206 and discharged to a waste liquid tray (not shown).

Thereafter, the gap adjusting device 80 is driven to switch from the gap position “4” (maximum gap) to “1” (minimum gap), and the cap state is set again.
That is, when the operation of sucking ink in the cap (step S206) is performed, the cap unit 60 (carriage 46) is not moved in the main scanning direction to release the cap state, but only by the vertical movement of the carriage 46. The cap state can be quickly released.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a printer main body of the present invention. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of a printer according to the present invention. The front view of the cam attached to the shaft end of a carriage guide shaft. The figure which shows the gap position change with respect to the rotation angle of a carriage guide shaft. The perspective view of a cap unit. The front view of a cap unit. The front view of a cap unit. The front view of a cap unit. The front view of a cap unit. The front view of a cap unit. The flowchart which shows the operation | movement content at the time of capping. The flowchart which shows the operation | movement content at the time of ink attraction | suction.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer, 2 Rear feeder, 3 Front feeder, 4 Recording means, 5 Conveyance means, 6 Discharge means, 7 Main frame, 10 Frame, 11 Feed roller, 12 Hopper, 13 Retard roller, 25 Paper feed Cassette, 26 Pickup roller, 28 Feed roller, 30 Assist roller, 40 Guide roller, 41 Conveyance drive roller, 42 Conveyance driven roller, 43 On paper guide, 44 After paper guide, 45 Under paper guide, 46 Carriage, 46a Joint section, 47 Carriage guide shaft, 48 Recording head, 54 Discharge frame Assy, 55 Discharge drive roller, 56 Discharge driven roller, 57 Auxiliary roller, 58 Stacker, 60 Cap unit, 61 Base, 61a Carriage engagement section, 61b, 61c boss, 62 cap member, 63 holder, 64 gauge Id member, 65 a coil spring, 80 a gap adjusting device, 82 a cam, 83 fixing pins, 85 flag plate, 85 a - 85 d flag, 86 _sensor, P _{1, P} 2, P recording paper

Claims (3)

A carriage having a recording head for recording on a recording medium and driven to reciprocate in the main scanning direction;
A cap member that caps the recording head is provided so as to be slidable in the main scanning direction. The cap is moved toward the recording head while being slid by being pushed by the carriage as the carriage moves. A cap unit configured to reach a cap position where the member caps the nozzle surface of the recording head, and a recording apparatus comprising:
The position of the recording head is adjusted by displacing the carriage in a direction in which the gap changes between the recording head and a recording medium support member that is provided facing the recording head and supports the recording medium. A gap adjusting means for switching between a small position where the gap is smaller than a predetermined amount and a large position where the gap is larger than a predetermined amount;
The cap member is provided at a height position at which the recording head can be capped when the gap adjusting means positions the recording head at the small position at the cap position.
When the gap adjusting means positions the recording head at the small position, when the carriage positions the cap unit at the cap position, the cap member caps the recording head,
When the gap adjusting means positions the recording head at the large position, if the carriage positions the cap unit at the cap position, the cap member does not cap the recording head, and the non-cap state. In the state, the gap adjusting means positions the recording head at the small position, so that the cap member is in a cap state to cap the recording head.
A recording apparatus. 2. The cam mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the gap adjusting means is provided at an end of a carriage guide shaft that guides the carriage in a main scanning direction.
A drive motor for rotating the carriage guide shaft,
The drive mechanism is configured to switch the position of the recording head by driving the cam mechanism.
A recording apparatus. A carriage that includes a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid onto a medium to be ejected and is driven to reciprocate in the main scanning direction;
A cap member that caps the liquid ejecting head is provided and is slidable in the main scanning direction, and close to the liquid ejecting head while being slid by being pushed by the carriage as the carriage moves. A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a cap unit configured to reach a cap position where the cap member caps the nozzle surface of the liquid ejecting head;
The position of the liquid ejecting head is obtained by displacing the carriage in a direction in which a gap between the liquid ejecting head and an ejected medium support member that is provided opposite to the liquid ejecting head and supports the ejected medium is changed. A gap adjusting means for switching between a small position where the gap is smaller than a predetermined amount and a large position where the gap is larger than a predetermined amount,
The cap member is provided at a height position at which the liquid ejecting head can be capped when the gap adjusting means positions the liquid ejecting head at the small position at the cap position.
When the gap adjusting means positions the liquid ejecting head at the small position, when the carriage positions the cap unit at the cap position, the cap member caps the liquid ejecting head;
When the gap adjusting means positions the liquid ejecting head at the large position, if the carriage positions the cap unit at the cap position, the cap member enters an uncapped state in which the liquid ejecting head is not capped. When the gap adjusting means positions the liquid ejecting head in the small position in the non-cap state, the cap member is configured to be in a cap state in which the liquid ejecting head is capped.
A liquid ejecting apparatus.

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