JP2009012249A - Ink jet recorder and head attachment mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recorder which can perform positional adjustment of a recording head with high precision. <P>SOLUTION: A fulcrum locking portion 20 for locking one end of a recording head on one side face, a first resilient member 70 for pressing the recording head against the fulcrum locking portion, and an inclination adjusting portion having a first pressing body 92 supported movably in the advancing/retracting direction for the other side face of the recording head in order to press the other end of the recording head on the other side facing the one side face and displacing the recording head in the direction for oscillating on the fulcrum locking portion by movement of the first pressing body are provided on a base. The fulcrum locking portion is further provided with a second resilient member 80 for pressing the recording head against the first pressing body, a position adjusting portion having a second pressing body 62 supported movably in the advancing/retracting direction for the side face on the other end side in order to press the side face on the other end side and displacing the recording head in the direction of intersecting the two side faces perpendicularly by movement of the second pressing body, and a third resilient member for pressing the recording head against the second pressing body. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus and a head mounting mechanism, and more particularly to an ink jet recording apparatus and a head mounting mechanism capable of adjusting the position of a recording head.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a recording head is mounted on an ink jet recording apparatus main body so that a front-rear position and an inclination with respect to a sheet can be adjusted by a head mounting mechanism (see, for example, Patent Document 1). For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a conventional head mounting mechanism 100 includes a first leaf spring 102 fixed to a carriage (not shown) for pressing the front surface of the recording head 101 backward, and a right side surface of the recording head 101. A second leaf spring 103 fixed to the carriage to press the left side and the lower side in two directions; a first roller 104 pivotally supported by the carriage to guide the front side of the left side of the recording head 101 downward; In order to press the rear side of the left side of the recording head 101 in the right direction and to press the rear side of the recording head 101 forward, a pressing adjustment unit 105 attached to the carriage is provided.

  The pressure adjusting unit 105 includes a plate-like mounting body 106 that is vertically fixed behind the recording head 101, a first arm 107 disposed below the mounting body 106, and a lower side of the first arm 107. A second arm 108 is provided.

A screw 109 that engages with the right end portion of the second arm 108 is screwed into the right end portion of the attachment body 106.
An intermediate portion of the first arm 107 is pivotally supported on the carriage by a shaft 110. A screw 111 whose tip is in contact with the rear surface of the mounting body 106 is screwed into the right end portion of the first arm 107, and the left rear portion of the recording head 101 is placed in two directions, the right direction and the lower direction, at the left end portion. A second roller 112 to be pressed is pivotally supported.
The left end of the second arm 108 is pivotally supported on the carriage by a shaft 110 so as to overlap the first arm 107. Further, a projection 114 that presses the rear surface of the recording head 101 forward is provided in the vicinity of the shaft 110 in the second arm 108. An upright portion 113 is disposed at the right end of the second arm 108 so as to stand up so that the tip of the screw 109 is in contact therewith.

When the screw 111 is rotated and the first arm 107 is rotated about the shaft 110, the second roller 112 moves, and the recording head 101 swings around the first roller 104 along with the movement. It will be displaced in the direction. On the other hand, when the second arm 108 is rotated about the shaft 110 by rotating the screw 109, the projection 114 moves, and the recording head 101 is displaced in the front-rear direction along with the movement. As a result, the position of the recording head 101 is adjusted.
JP 2004-243666 A

  By the way, in the above head mounting mechanism, since the first roller 104 and the second roller 112 press the same side surface of the recording head 101, for example, when the second roller 112 moves in the right direction, the recording is performed. A force is applied to the head 101 in a direction in which the recording head 101 is separated from the first roller 104. Thereby, the contact pressure between the recording head 101 and the first roller 104 is weakened, and the positional accuracy of the recording head 101 may be lowered.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus and a head mounting mechanism capable of adjusting the position of a recording head with high accuracy.

The invention described in claim 1
In an ink jet recording apparatus comprising a substantially rectangular recording head for discharging ink, and a base on which the recording head is mounted,
In the base,
A fulcrum locking portion for locking one end of one side of the recording head;
A first elastic member for pressing the recording head against the fulcrum locking portion;
In order to press the other side of the other side opposite to the one side, the first pressing body is supported so as to be movable in the advancing and retreating direction with respect to the other side. An inclination adjusting unit for displacing the recording head in a swinging direction with the fulcrum locking portion as a fulcrum by movement of the pressing body;
A second elastic member for pressing the recording head against the first pressing body;
Of the two side surfaces orthogonal to the one side surface and the other side surface, there is a second pressing body supported so as to be movable in the advancing and retreating direction with respect to the side surface on the other end side in order to press the side surface on the other end side. A position adjusting unit that displaces the recording head in a direction perpendicular to the two side surfaces by the movement of the second pressing body;
And a third elastic member for pressing the recording head against the second pressing body.

The invention described in claim 2 is the ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1,
A guide surface for pressing the recording head toward the base is formed in a portion of the fulcrum locking portion and the first pressing body that contacts the recording head.

The invention described in claim 3 is the ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The first elastic member, the second elastic member, and the third elastic member are tension coil springs,
The first elastic member biases the recording head toward the fulcrum locking portion,
The second elastic member biases the recording head toward the first pressing body,
The third elastic member biases the recording head toward the second pressing body.

Invention of Claim 4 is an inkjet recording device as described in any one of Claims 1-3,
The second elastic member and the third elastic member are constituted by a single member,
The single member is arranged such that the recording head is pressed against each of the first pressing body and the second pressing body by a component force of the member.

The invention according to claim 5
In a head mounting mechanism for mounting a substantially rectangular recording head for discharging ink on a base,
In the base,
A fulcrum locking portion for locking one end of one side of the recording head;
A first elastic member for pressing the recording head against the fulcrum locking portion;
In order to press the other side of the other side opposite to the one side, the first pressing body is supported so as to be movable in the advancing and retreating direction with respect to the other side. An inclination adjusting unit for displacing the recording head in a swinging direction with the fulcrum locking portion as a fulcrum by movement of the pressing body;
A second elastic member for pressing the recording head against the first pressing body;
Of the two side surfaces orthogonal to the one side surface and the other side surface, there is a second pressing body supported so as to be movable in the advancing and retreating direction with respect to the side surface on the other end side in order to press the side surface on the other end side. A position adjusting unit that displaces the recording head in a direction perpendicular to the two side surfaces by the movement of the second pressing body;
And a third elastic member for pressing the recording head against the second pressing body.

  According to the present invention, the fulcrum locking portion is disposed at one end portion of one side surface of the recording head, while the other end portion of the other side surface of the recording head, that is, a position that is substantially diagonal to the fulcrum locking portion in the recording head. Since the first pressing body is arranged, even if the first pressing body presses the recording head, a force in the direction of pressing the fulcrum locking portion is urged against the recording head. For this reason, the contact pressure between the recording head and the fulcrum locking portion is prevented from being weakened, and the positional accuracy of the recording head is ensured.

  Hereinafter, the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a carriage mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the carriage 2 of the inkjet recording apparatus 1 is equipped with a plurality of recording heads 3 that eject ink toward a sheet. The plurality of recording heads 3 are alternately arranged in two rows of four along the main scanning direction. Each of these recording heads 3 is attached to the carriage 2 by a head attachment mechanism 10.

  The recording head 3 and the head mounting mechanism 10 will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a top view showing the recording head 3 attached to the carriage 2 by the head attachment mechanism 10. In the following description, for example, the vertical direction in FIG. 2 will be described as the front-rear direction, the left-right direction is the left-right direction, and the near-back direction is the vertical direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the recording head 3 is provided with a head main body 31 that discharges ink and a holding frame 32 that holds the periphery of the discharge surface side of the head main body 31. The holding frame 32 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and support shafts 33 and 34 are attached to a front end portion (one end portion according to the present invention) and a rear end portion (the other end portion according to the present invention). Further, an inclined surface (first inclined surface 36: see FIG. 3) is formed at the front end portion of the left side surface 321 (one side surface according to the present invention) of the holding frame 32. Further, an inclined surface (second inclined surface 38: see FIG. 4) is formed at the rear end portion of the right side surface 322 (the other side surface according to the present invention) of the holding frame 32. The rear portion of the holding frame 32 protrudes in a substantially rectangular shape toward the outside to form a protruding portion 39. A rear surface 324 of the holding frame 32 is provided on the protrusion 39. The rear surface 324 of the holding frame 32 is a “side surface on the other end portion side of two side surfaces orthogonal to the one side surface and the other side surface” according to the present invention. Of the two side surfaces described above, the other surface is the front surface 323 of the holding frame 32.

  3 is a side view of the head mounting mechanism 10 of FIG. 2 viewed from the front side, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the head mounting mechanism 10 of FIG. 2 viewed from the right side. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the head mounting mechanism 10 is provided on the carriage 2 and slidably supports the holding frame 32 of the recording head 3. The carriage 2 is a base according to the present invention. The head mounting mechanism 10 includes a fulcrum locking portion 20, a head adjusting portion 40, a first coil spring 70, a second coil spring 80, a movement restricting portion 85, and the like.

  The fulcrum locking portion 20 locks the front end portion of the left side surface 321 of the holding frame 32 of the recording head 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the fulcrum locking portion 20 is fixed on the carriage 2 and is formed in a tapered shape so that an intermediate portion thereof is spread upward. The tapered surface 12 is a guide surface according to the present invention, and presses the recording head 3 toward the carriage 2 by contacting the first inclined surface 36 of the holding frame 32.

  The head adjustment unit 40 is disposed on the rear end side of the recording head 3 and adjusts the inclination and position of the recording head 3 with respect to the front-rear direction. The head adjustment unit 40 includes a fixed unit 50 fixed to the carriage 2, a first rotating unit 60 that is rotatable above the fixing unit 50, and a first rotatable unit that is rotatable above the first rotating unit 60. Two rotating portions 90 and a rotating shaft 8 that stands up from the fixed portion 50 and pivotally supports the first rotating portion 60 and the second rotating portion 90 are provided.

  The fixed portion 50 is provided with a first plate portion 51 formed from a plate material and an adjustment portion 52 supported by the first plate portion 51.

The first plate portion 51 includes a flat plate portion 53 that overlaps the carriage 2 and three upright portions (a first upright portion 54, a second upright portion 55, and a third upright portion 56) that stand up from the edge of the flat plate portion 53. Is provided.
The first plate portion 51 is formed in a substantially L shape when viewed from above. Here, the long side portion of the first plate portion 51 is referred to as a long side portion 57, and the short side portion is referred to as a short side portion 58. In the first plate portion 51, the long side portion 57 is spaced from the rear end surface (rear surface 324) of the protruding portion 39 along the left-right direction, and the short side portion 58 is predetermined from the left side surface of the protruding portion 39. It is being fixed to the carriage 2 along the front-back direction at intervals.

  The adjustment unit 52 includes a screw 521 supported by the second upright portion 55 and a spring 522 through which the screw 521 is inserted.

  The first rotating portion 60 is formed of a plate material, and a fourth upright portion 61 is provided at the left end portion of the first rotating portion 60 so that the tip of the screw 521 of the adjusting portion 52 contacts. Further, an arc portion 62 that is in contact with the rear surface 324 of the holding frame 32 is formed at the front portion of the first rotating portion 60. The right end portion of the first rotation portion 60 is pivotally supported by the rotation shaft 8 so as to be rotatable. When the first rotation part 60 is pushed by the advancement / retraction of the screw 521 of the adjustment part 52 and rotates about the rotation shaft 8, the arc part 62 moves in the advance / retreat direction with respect to the rear surface 324 and presses the rear surface 324. It is supposed to be.

The second rotating portion 90 includes a second plate portion 91 formed from a plate material, a roller 92 rotatably supported by the second plate portion 91, and an adjustment portion 93 supported by the second plate portion 91. And are provided.
The second plate portion 91 is formed in a substantially inverted L shape when viewed from above. Here, the long side portion of the second plate portion 91 is referred to as a second long side portion 94, and the short side portion is referred to as a second short side portion 95. The second plate portion 91 is rotatable about the rotation shaft 8 so that the tip end portion of the second short side portion 95 is located above the second inclined surface 38 and the second long side portion 94 is along the left-right direction. It is supported by.

  The roller 92 is rotatably supported at the tip end portion of the second short side portion 95 in the second rotating portion 90. Accordingly, the roller 92 is supported so as to be movable in the advancing / retreating direction with respect to the right side surface 322 of the holding frame 32 based on the rotation of the second rotating portion 90, and the second inclined surface 38 of the holding frame 32 is supported by the movement. Will be pressed. That is, the roller 92 is the first pressing body according to the present invention. In addition, the roller 92 is formed in a tapered shape so that the lower portion of the roller 92 expands upward as shown in FIG. The tapered surface 96 is a guide surface according to the present invention, and presses the recording head 3 toward the carriage 2 by contacting the second inclined surface 38 of the holding frame 32.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the adjustment portion 93 is supported by a tip portion of the second long side portion 94 and includes a screw 931 that contacts the first standing portion 54 and a spring 932 through which the screw 931 is inserted. . The screw 931 of the adjustment unit 93 abuts on the first standing part 54 and changes the distance between the second turning part 90 and the first standing part 54, so that the second turning part 90 is centered on the turning shaft 8. It is designed to rotate.

  The first coil spring 70 is a tension coil spring as a first elastic member according to the present invention, one end of which is fixed to the fulcrum locking portion 20 and the other end is fixed to the support shaft 33 at the front end of the holding frame 32. Has been. As a result, the first coil spring 70 always urges the recording head 3 toward the fulcrum locking portion 20, so that the roller 92 is inclined to the second inclination of the holding frame 32 based on the rotation of the second rotation portion 90. When the surface 38 is pressed, the recording head 3 swings around the fulcrum locking portion 20 as a fulcrum.

  The second coil spring 80 is a tension coil spring as the second elastic member and the third elastic member according to the present invention, one end of which is fixed to the third standing portion 56 of the first plate portion 51 and the other end is held. The frame 32 is fixed to the support shaft 34 at the rear end. At this time, the second coil spring 80 is arranged so that the component force of the second coil spring 80 is along the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. As a result, a force along the front-rear direction and the left-right direction is urged against the holding frame 32, and the recording head 3 is pressed against the roller 92 and the arc portion 62.

The movement restricting unit 85 restricts the movement of the recording head 3 so that the recording head 3 is not detached from the carriage 2. The movement restricting portion 85 is disposed on the right side of the front end portion of the holding frame 32. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the movement restricting portion 85 is erected from the carriage 2 and fixed to the shaft 86 for restricting the rightward movement of the recording head 3 and the head of the shaft 86. A stepped portion 87 that restricts the vertical movement of the head 3 is provided. When the holding frame 32 of the recording head 3 moves to the right by a predetermined amount or more, it contacts the shaft 86, so that the left part of the front end of the holding frame 32 is prevented from being detached from the fulcrum locking part 20. Further, the gap between the stepped portion 87 and the carriage 2 is set slightly larger than the thickness of the holding frame 32, and the holding frame 32 is positioned below the stepped portion 87.
Note that the short side portion 58 of the first plate portion 51 extends along the front-rear direction at a predetermined interval from the left side surface of the protruding portion 39 as described above, and the holding frame 32 of the recording head 3 moves to the left by a predetermined amount. If it moves above, it will contact the holding frame 32. This prevents the right end of the rear end of the holding frame 32 from being detached from the roller 92.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
First, when adjusting the position in the front-rear direction, when the screw 521 of the adjustment unit 52 is turned by the operator, the screw 521 moves forward and backward to rotate the first rotation unit 60 via the fourth upright unit 61. By this rotation, the arc portion 62 moves in the forward / backward direction with respect to the rear surface 324 and presses the rear surface 324. As a result, the recording head 3 is displaced in the front-rear direction, and position adjustment in the front-rear direction is executed. In other words, the arc portion 62 is the second pressing body according to the present invention, and the arc portion 62, the first rotating portion 60, the fourth upright portion 61, the adjusting portion 52, the rotating shaft 8 and the like are positioned according to the present invention. Part.

  On the other hand, when adjusting the inclination with respect to the front-rear direction, when the screw 931 of the adjusting unit 93 is turned by the operator, the screw 931 changes the distance between the second rotating unit 90 and the first upright unit 54, The second rotating unit 90 is rotated. By this rotation, the roller 92 presses the second inclined surface 38 of the holding frame 32, so that the recording head 3 swings with the fulcrum locking portion 20 as a fulcrum, and the tilt adjustment in the front-rear direction is executed. The That is, the roller 92 is the first pressing body according to the present invention, and the protruding portion 39, the first rotating portion 60, the first standing portion 54, the adjusting portion 93, and the rotating shaft 8 are the tilt adjusting portion according to the present invention. is there.

  After the adjustment, the holding frame 32 is sandwiched between the fulcrum locking portion 20, the roller 92, and the arc portion 62 by the urging force of the first coil spring 70 and the second coil spring 80, and the recording head 3 is moved on the carriage 2. Will be positioned.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the fulcrum locking portion 20 is disposed at the front end portion of the left side surface 321 of the holding frame 32 of the recording head 3, while the rear end portion of the right side surface 322 of the holding frame 32, That is, the roller 92 is disposed at a position substantially opposite to the fulcrum locking portion 20 in the holding frame 32. Here, in the case of the conventional head mounting mechanism 100 shown in FIG. 5, the first roller 104 and the second roller 112 press the same side surface of the recording head 101. When the roller 112 moves to the right and presses the recording head 101 to the right, a force in a direction away from the first roller 104 is applied to the recording head 101, and the recording head 101 and the first roller are pressed. The contact pressure with 104 is weakened. However, if the fulcrum locking portion 20 and the roller 92 are arranged at a substantially diagonal position of the recording head 3 as in this embodiment, even if the roller 92 presses the recording head 3, the recording head 3. On the other hand, since the force in the direction of pressing the fulcrum locking portion 20 is urged, the contact pressure between the fulcrum locking portion 20 and the recording head 3 is not weakened. As a result, the recording head 3 is reliably locked and the positional accuracy of the recording head 3 is ensured.

  In addition, guide portions (tapered surfaces 12 and 96) for pressing the recording head 3 toward the carriage 2 are formed at portions of the fulcrum locking portion 20 and the rollers 92 that contact the holding frame 32 of the recording head 3. Therefore, even when the holding frame 32 is pressed and slid by the roller 92, the recording head 3 is reliably pressed downward by the guide surface. Further, in the conventional head mounting mechanism 100 shown in FIG. 5, the recording head 101 is pressed downward by four locations of the first leaf spring 102, the second leaf spring 103, the first roller 104, and the second roller 112. However, in this embodiment, since it is pressed downward by the two guide surfaces of the fulcrum locking portion 20 and the roller 92, the sliding resistance can be suppressed as compared with the conventional case, and the position is adjusted. The operation becomes smooth.

Since the first coil spring 70 urges the holding frame 32 toward the fulcrum locking portion 20 and the second coil spring 80 urges the holding frame 32 toward the roller 92 and the arc portion 62, the recording head Even when the pressing means for pressing 3 is installed on the carriage 2 separately from the head mounting mechanism 10 (for example, the first leaf spring 102 and the second leaf spring 103 in FIG. 5), the installation space is omitted. Thus, the entire apparatus can be reduced in size.
Furthermore, since the second coil spring 80 urges the holding frame 32 with a force along the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, the second coil spring 80 is compared with the case where the spring is individually installed in each direction. Also, the number of parts can be reduced.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be modified as appropriate.
For example, in the present embodiment, the serial type ink jet recording apparatus 1 that forms an image by scanning the recording head 3 with the carriage 2 is described as an example. However, the present invention is applicable to a line type ink jet recording apparatus. The configuration of is applicable.

2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a carriage of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. FIG. 2 is a top view showing a state in which a recording head is attached to a carriage 2 by a head attachment mechanism 10 provided in the ink jet recording apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a side view of the head mounting mechanism of FIG. 2 as viewed from the front side. It is the side view which looked at the head attachment mechanism 10 of FIG. 2 from the right side. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the conventional head attachment mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

1 Inkjet recording device 2 Carriage (base)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Recording head 8 Rotating shaft 10 Head attachment mechanism 12 Tapered surface 20 Supporting point locking part 31 Head main body 32 Holding frame 40 Head adjustment part 50 Fixing part 60 First rotation part 70 First coil spring 80 Second coil spring 85 Movement restriction part 90 Second turning part

Claims (5)

In an ink jet recording apparatus comprising a substantially rectangular recording head for discharging ink, and a base on which the recording head is mounted,
In the base,
A fulcrum locking portion for locking one end of one side of the recording head;
A first elastic member for pressing the recording head against the fulcrum locking portion;
In order to press the other side of the other side opposite to the one side, the first pressing body is supported so as to be movable in the advancing and retreating direction with respect to the other side. An inclination adjusting unit for displacing the recording head in a swinging direction with the fulcrum locking portion as a fulcrum by movement of the pressing body;
A second elastic member for pressing the recording head against the first pressing body;
Of the two side surfaces orthogonal to the one side surface and the other side surface, there is a second pressing body supported so as to be movable in the advancing and retreating direction with respect to the side surface on the other end side in order to press the side surface on the other end side. A position adjusting unit that displaces the recording head in a direction perpendicular to the two side surfaces by the movement of the second pressing body;
An ink jet recording apparatus, comprising: a third elastic member for pressing the recording head against the second pressing body. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
Ink jet recording, wherein a guide surface for pressing the recording head toward the base is formed in a portion of the fulcrum locking portion and the first pressing body that contacts the recording head. apparatus. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The first elastic member, the second elastic member, and the third elastic member are tension coil springs,
The first elastic member biases the recording head toward the fulcrum locking portion,
The second elastic member biases the recording head toward the first pressing body,
The ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the third elastic member urges the recording head toward the second pressing body. In the ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The second elastic member and the third elastic member are constituted by a single member,
The inkjet recording apparatus, wherein the single member is arranged such that the recording head is pressed against each of the first pressing body and the second pressing body by a component force of the member. In a head mounting mechanism for mounting a substantially rectangular recording head for discharging ink on a base,
In the base,
A fulcrum locking portion for locking one end of one side of the recording head;
A first elastic member for pressing the recording head against the fulcrum locking portion;
In order to press the other side of the other side opposite to the one side, the first pressing body is supported so as to be movable in the advancing and retreating direction with respect to the other side. An inclination adjusting unit for displacing the recording head in a swinging direction with the fulcrum locking portion as a fulcrum by movement of the pressing body;
A second elastic member for pressing the recording head against the first pressing body;
Among the two side surfaces orthogonal to the one side surface and the other side surface, there is a second pressing body that is supported so as to be movable in the advancing and retreating direction with respect to the side surface on the other end side. A position adjusting unit that displaces the recording head in a direction perpendicular to the two side surfaces by the movement of the second pressing body;
And a third elastic member for pressing the recording head against the second pressing body.

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