JP2009034870A - Image recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an ink feeding tube such as an ink tube from hanging down in an image recording apparatus having a carriage moving back and forth in the direction intersecting to the conveying direction of a medium to be recorded. <P>SOLUTION: The ink tube 41 has flexibility which allows to follow reciprocating movement of the carriage 38 on which a recording head 39 is carried and to change the posture. One end side thereof is connected with a tube joint 140 of the carriage 38, and the other end side is fixed on an apparatus main body. A pedestal 141 is provided on the carriage 38. The ink tube 41 pulled out from the tube joint 140 is carried on an inclined face 144 on the upper face of the pedestal 141. The inclined face 144 is inclined upward toward the pulling-out direction of the ink tube 41 to guide upward the ink tube 41. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus equipped with a recording head for recording an image on a recording medium and having a carriage that reciprocates in a direction crossing the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and in particular, an ink supply pipe is connected to the carriage. The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus.

  Conventionally, as an image recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium by ejecting ink based on an input signal, the ink is guided to an actuator of a recording head, and the bending of an actuator such as a piezoelectric element or an electrostrictive element according to the input signal In addition, there is known a method in which ink is pressurized and ejected by utilizing local ink boiling by a heating element.

  For example, in an image recording apparatus called a serial printer, the recording head is mounted on a carriage that reciprocates in a direction perpendicular to the recording medium conveyance direction. Each time the recording medium is intermittently conveyed by a predetermined width, the carriage is reciprocated to perform image recording. In order to supply ink to the recording head, a flexible ink tube (ink supply tube) led out from a separate ink cartridge is connected to the carriage. This ink tube has a length sufficient to follow the reciprocating movement of the carriage, and is disposed by being bent into a substantially U shape between the carriage and the ink cartridge (Patent Documents 1 to 3). reference).

  FIG. 12 is a schematic view schematically showing a carriage 90 and an ink tube 91 in a conventional image recording apparatus, (A) is a side view thereof, and (B) is a plan view thereof. The carriage 90 is reciprocated in a direction 94 (left and right direction in FIG. 12) perpendicular to the recording paper conveyance direction. At that time, ink is ejected from a recording head (not shown), whereby an image is recorded on the recording medium. To be recorded. The carriage 90 is provided with a tube joint 93, and an ink tube 91 led out from the ink cartridge is connected to the tube joint 93. In the ink tube 91, an intermediate portion 92 from the ink cartridge to the carriage 90 is fixed to the apparatus frame or the like, and is not fixed from the intermediate portion 92 to the carriage 90. Therefore, the posture of the ink tube 91 from the intermediate portion 92 to the carriage 90 can be freely changed. Although not shown in FIG. 12, the carriage 90 is supported by a guide member such as a guide shaft or a guide rail extending in the moving direction 94, and a driving force is applied from a belt driving mechanism or the like.

JP 2005-254684 A JP 2006-231837 A JP 2006-15706 A

  However, in the state where the ink tube 91 is connected as described above, the ink tube 91 drawn from the intermediate portion 92 to the carriage 90 hangs down in the direction of gravity due to its own weight. If there is not enough space around the ink tube 91 to reduce the thickness and size of the apparatus, the hanging ink tube 91 may come into contact with other members and be damaged. Damage to the ink tube 91 causes ink leakage. Further, due to the load generated when the ink tube 91 comes into contact with another member, the moving speed of the carriage 90 becomes unstable, and the image quality of the recorded image may be disturbed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink such as an ink tube in an image recording apparatus having a carriage that reciprocates in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of a recording medium. It is to prevent the supply pipe from drooping.

(1) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as an image recording apparatus including a carriage, an ink supply tube, and a guide member. A recording head is mounted on the carriage. The carriage is reciprocated in a direction intersecting the recording medium conveyance direction. The ink supply pipe has flexibility to change its posture following the reciprocation of the carriage, one end is fixed to the apparatus main body, and the other end is connected to the carriage. Ink is supplied to the recording head through an ink supply tube. The guide member is provided in the vicinity of a connection portion between the carriage and the ink supply pipe, and deflects the drawing direction of the ink supply pipe drawn out from the connection portion upward.

  The carriage on which the recording head is mounted is reciprocated in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and ink droplets are ejected from the recording head in the moving process, so that an image is recorded on the recording medium being conveyed. To be recorded. A recording head mounted on the carriage ejects ink droplets at a predetermined timing based on a recording signal transmitted from a control board or the like. The recording head is supplied with ink through an ink supply tube.

  The ink supply tube has flexibility to change its posture following the reciprocation of the carriage. The ink supply pipe has one end fixed to the apparatus main body and the other end connected to the carriage. The guide member deflects the drawing direction of the ink supply pipe upward in the vicinity of the connection portion between the carriage and the ink supply pipe. As a result, the ink supply pipe is prevented from drooping in the direction of gravity.

(2) The guide member includes an inclined surface that guides the ink supply pipe upward from the connection portion side toward the drawing direction, and a curved portion in which an upper end of the inclined surface is curved.

  Accordingly, the ink supply pipe is stably guided upward by the inclined surface. Further, since the curved surface of the curved portion comes into contact with the ink supply pipe at the upper end of the inclined surface, the ink supply pipe is prevented from being worn or damaged due to contact between the guide member and the ink supply pipe.

(3) The plurality of ink supply pipes are arranged in the horizontal direction at the connection portion, and are routed so that the arrangement posture changes in the vertical direction as they are separated from the carriage. The ink supply pipe disposed at the uppermost position in the array is inclined downward from the position where the ink supply pipe is guided to the position where the ink supply pipe disposed at the lowermost position in the vertical array is guided.

  As a result, the ink supply tube is likely to change from the horizontal arrangement to the vertical arrangement.

(4) The ink supply pipe is reversed in the reciprocating direction of the carriage and drawn in a curved shape. In the configuration in which the ink supply pipe is drawn in this way, the present invention is suitable.

(5) The present invention is also suitable for a configuration in which the ink supply pipe is drawn from both ends of the carriage in the reciprocating direction.

  According to this image recording apparatus, in the vicinity of the connection portion between the carriage and the ink supply pipe, the pull-out direction of the ink supply pipe is deflected upward by the guide member, so that the ink supply pipe is prevented from drooping in the gravity direction. .

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In addition, this embodiment is only an example of this invention, and it cannot be overemphasized that embodiment can be changed suitably in the range which does not change the summary of this invention.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a multifunction machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The multifunction device 1 is a multi-function device (MFD: Multi Function Device) that integrally includes a printer unit 2 and a scanner unit 3, and has a printer function, a scanner function, a copy function, a facsimile function, and the like. The multifunction machine 1 corresponds to the image recording apparatus according to the present invention. The functions other than the printer function are arbitrary. For example, the image recording apparatus according to the present invention may be implemented as a single-function printer that does not have the scanner unit 3 and does not have a scanner function or a copy function.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the multi-function device 1 has a wide, thin, generally rectangular parallelepiped outer shape that has a width and depth larger than the height. The lower part of the multifunction machine 1 is a printer unit 2. The printer unit 2 has an opening 10 formed in the front. The paper feed tray 20 and the paper discharge tray 21 are provided in two upper and lower stages inside the opening 10. The paper feed tray 20 accommodates recording paper, which is a recording medium, for example, recording paper of various sizes such as a B5 size equal to or smaller than A4 size and a postcard size. The recording paper stored in the paper feed tray 20 is fed into the printer unit 2 to record a desired image and is discharged to the paper discharge tray 21.

  The upper part of the multifunction device 1 is a scanner unit 3, which is configured as a so-called flat bed scanner. A contact glass 31 and an image sensor 32 (see FIG. 2) are provided below the document cover 30 provided as a top plate of the multifunction machine 1 so as to be freely opened and closed. A document for reading an image is placed on the contact glass 31. Below the contact glass 31, an image sensor 32 whose main scanning direction is the depth direction of the multi-function device 1 (left and right direction in FIG. 2) can reciprocate in the width direction of the multi-function device 1 (perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 2). Is provided.

  An operation panel 4 for operating the printer unit 2 and the scanner unit 3 is provided in the upper front portion of the multifunction machine 1. The multifunction device 1 operates based on an operation instruction from the operation panel 4. When the multifunction device 1 is connected to an external computer, the multifunction device 1 also operates based on an instruction transmitted from the computer via a printer driver or a scanner driver.

  Hereinafter, the internal configuration of the multifunction device 1, particularly the configuration of the printer unit 2, will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the internal configuration of the multifunction machine 1. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing the main configuration of the printer unit 2. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the main configuration of the printer unit 2, and mainly shows the configuration on the back side of the apparatus from the approximate center of the printer unit 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a paper feed tray 20 is provided on the bottom side of the multifunction machine 1, and a separation inclined plate 22 is provided on the back side of the paper feed tray 20. The separation inclined plate 22 separates the recording paper that is double-fed from the paper feed tray 20 and guides the uppermost recording paper upward. The sheet conveyance path 23 is directed upward from the separation inclined plate 22, then bent to the front side, and extended to the sheet discharge tray 21 through the image recording unit 24. Accordingly, the recording paper stored in the paper feed tray 20 is guided by the paper conveyance path 23 so as to make a U-turn from the lower side to the upper side, reaches the image recording unit 24, and after image recording is performed by the image recording unit 24. The paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 21.

  As shown in FIG. 3, on the upper side of the paper feed tray 20, a paper feed roller 25 that supplies the recording paper stacked on the paper feed tray 20 to the paper transport path 23 is provided. The paper feed roller 25 is pivotally supported at the tip of the paper feed arm 26. The paper feed roller 25 is rotated by a drive transmission mechanism 27 in which a plurality of gears are engaged with each other, with the drive of a motor (not shown) being transmitted.

  The paper feed arm 26 is arranged with a base shaft 28 as a rotation shaft, and moves up and down so as to be able to contact and separate from the paper feed tray 20. The paper feed arm 26 is rotated downward so as to come into contact with the paper feed tray 20 by its own weight or biased by a spring or the like, and is configured to be retracted upward when the paper feed tray 20 is inserted or removed. ing. When the paper feed arm 26 is rotated downward, the paper feed roller 25 pivotally supported at the tip of the paper feed arm 26 comes into pressure contact with the recording paper on the paper feed tray 20. In this state, when the paper feeding roller 25 is rotated, the uppermost recording paper is sent to the separation inclined plate 22 by the frictional force between the roller surface of the paper feeding roller 25 and the recording paper. The leading edge of the recording sheet abuts against the separation inclined plate 22 and is guided upward, and is fed into the sheet conveyance path 23.

  The sheet conveyance path 23 is configured by an outer guide surface and an inner guide surface that are opposed to each other at a predetermined interval, except for a portion where the image recording unit 24 and the like are disposed. An image recording unit 24 is provided in the paper transport path 23. The image recording unit 24 includes a recording head 39 (an example of the recording head of the present invention) and a carriage 38 (an example of the carriage of the present invention) that reciprocates in the main scanning direction (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 3). I have. The recording head 39 is supplied with inks of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (Bk) through an ink tube 41 (an example of the ink supply tube of the present invention, see FIG. 4). . While the carriage 38 is reciprocated, each color ink is selectively ejected from the recording head 39 as minute ink droplets. As a result, image recording is performed on the recording sheet conveyed on the platen 42.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of guide rails 43 and 44 convey the recording sheet at a predetermined distance in the recording sheet conveying direction (from the upper side to the lower side in FIG. 4) on the upper side of the sheet conveying path 23. It extends in a direction orthogonal to the direction (left-right direction in FIG. 4). The guide rails 43 and 44 are provided in the casing of the printer unit 2 and constitute a part of a frame that supports each member constituting the printer unit 2. The carriage 38 is placed so as to be slidable in a direction orthogonal to the recording sheet conveyance direction so as to straddle the guide rails 43 and 44. In this manner, the guide rails 43 and 44 are arranged almost horizontally in the recording sheet conveyance direction, so that the height of the printer unit 2 is reduced and the apparatus is thinned.

  A guide rail 43 is disposed on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording paper, and a guide rail 44 is disposed on the downstream side. These guide rails 43 and 44 are in the form of a flat plate whose length in the width direction (left and right direction in FIG. 4) of the paper transport path 23 is longer than the reciprocating range of the carriage 38.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the edge 45 on the upstream side in the transport direction of the guide rail 44 is bent at a substantially right angle upward. The carriage 38 carried on the guide rails 43 and 44 can slide along the edge 45 while holding the edge 45. As a result, the carriage 38 is positioned with respect to the recording paper conveyance direction and can move in a direction that intersects (in the present embodiment, orthogonal) with the recording paper conveyance direction. That is, the carriage 38 is slidably supported on the guide rails 43 and 44 and reciprocates in the direction intersecting the recording sheet conveyance direction with the edge 45 of the guide rail 44 as a reference.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a belt driving mechanism 46 is disposed on the upper surface of the guide rail 44. In the belt driving mechanism 46, an endless annular timing belt 49 having teeth on the inside is stretched between a driving pulley 47 and a driven pulley 48 provided near both ends in the width direction of the paper conveyance path 23. It will be. A driving force is input from a motor (not shown) to the shaft of the driving pulley 47, and the timing belt 49 moves circumferentially as the driving pulley 47 rotates.

  The carriage 38 is fixed to the timing belt 49 on the bottom surface side. Therefore, based on the circumferential motion of the timing belt 49, the carriage 38 reciprocates on the guide rails 43 and 44 with the edge 45 as a reference. The recording head 39 is mounted on such a carriage 38, and the recording head 39 is reciprocated with the width direction of the paper transport path 23 as the main scanning direction.

  On the guide rail 44, a belt-like encoder strip 50 having a predetermined pattern is disposed in parallel to the edge 45. An optical sensor 35 that is a transmission type sensor is provided on the carriage 38, and the optical sensor 35 detects the pattern of the encoder strip 50 when the carriage 38 reciprocates. The recording head 39 is provided with a head control board 40 (see FIG. 5) that controls ink ejection. The head control board 40 outputs a pulse signal based on the detection signal of the optical sensor 35, the position and speed of the carriage 38 are determined based on this pulse signal, and the reciprocation of the carriage 38 is controlled. In FIG. 4, the head control board 40 is covered with the head cover 53 of the carriage 38 and is not shown in the figure.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a platen 42 is disposed below the sheet conveyance path 23 so as to face the recording head 39. The platen 42 is disposed over the central portion of the reciprocating range of the carriage 38 through which the recording paper passes. The width of the platen 42 is sufficiently larger than the maximum width of the recording paper that can be transported, that is, the maximum width of the recording paper in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and both ends of the recording paper always pass over the platen 42.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a maintenance unit such as a purge mechanism 51 or a waste ink tray 84 for receiving empty ink discharge during flushing is outside the range in which the recording paper does not pass, that is, outside the image recording range by the recording head 39. Is arranged. When suctioning and removing bubbles or the like from the recording head 39, the carriage 38 is moved so that the recording head 39 is positioned on the purge mechanism 51. In this state, the cap 52 of the purge mechanism 51 is brought into close contact with the nozzle on the lower surface of the recording head 39, and ink is sucked through the cap 52 by a pump mechanism (not shown), and bubbles and foreign matter in the nozzle are sucked and removed together with the ink.

  The printer unit 2 contains ink cartridges that hold inks of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. As shown in FIG. 4, four ink tubes 41 (41a, 41b, 41c, 41d) corresponding to the respective color inks are routed from the cartridge mounting portion (not shown) to the carriage 38. The ink tubes 41 drawn to the carriage 38 side are connected to a tube joint 140 (described below as an example of the connecting portion of the present invention, shown in FIG. 5) provided on the carriage 38 and arranged in the horizontal direction. Each color ink is supplied from the ink cartridge to the recording head 39 mounted on the carriage 38 through each ink tube 41. As the cartridge, various types of known mechanisms can be adopted as long as they are of a type that supplies ink by the ink tube 41, and the description of the configuration is omitted here.

  The ink tube 41 is made of a synthetic resin and is a tube formed in a straight shape. The ink tube 41 has an appropriate waist (bending rigidity) that maintains a straight shape, is flexible when external force is applied, and is restored to its original shape when the external force is released. With elasticity. Therefore, the posture of the ink tube 41 is changed following the reciprocation of the carriage 38. The ink tubes 41 of the respective colors led out from an ink cartridge (not shown) are pulled out to the vicinity of the center along the width direction of the apparatus, and are temporarily fixed to a fixing clip 36 of the apparatus main body. The portions of the ink tubes 41 from the fixed clip 36 to the carriage 38 are not fixed to the apparatus main body or the like, and the portions change their postures following the reciprocation of the carriage 38. In the present embodiment, the ink tube 41 is drawn by forming a curved portion in which a portion from the fixed clip 36 to the carriage 38 is reversed in the reciprocating direction of the carriage 38. In other words, the ink tube 41 is routed so as to form a substantially U shape in plan view. In FIG. 4, an ink tube 41 extending from the fixed clip 36 toward the ink cartridge side is divided in the middle, and the tip is omitted.

  In the fixing clip 36, four ink tubes 41 are arranged and fixed in a state of being stacked in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. The fixing clip 36 is a member having a U-shaped cross section opened upward. The ink tubes 41 are inserted from the openings and stacked in the vertical order in the order of insertion. As a result, the four ink tubes 41 are held together by the fixing clip 36. As a result of the nipping of the ink tubes 41 in this way, the four ink tubes 41 are twisted so that the horizontal arrangement becomes the vertical arrangement from the carriage 38 toward the fixed clip 36. As a whole, it is curved in a substantially U shape.

  The four ink tubes 41 have substantially the same length from the carriage 38 to the fixed clip 36. In the carriage 38, the ink tube 41 a arranged on the most upstream side in the recording paper conveyance direction is arranged on the uppermost side in the fixed clip 36. An ink tube 41b adjacent to the downstream side of the ink tube 41a is disposed on the lower side of the fixing clip 36 next to the ink tube 41a. By repeating this, the ink tubes 41 are arranged in order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the recording sheet conveyance direction in the pipe connection portion 140, and are arranged in order from the upper side to the lower side in the fixed clip 36. The length of each ink tube 41 is designed to be approximately the same. Therefore, according to the arrangement of the carriage 38 in the recording paper conveyance direction, the center of the substantially U-shaped curved portion of each ink tube 41 is bent so as to be displaced in the recording paper conveyance direction. Thereby, in the curved portion, the four ink tubes 41 are aligned in an oblique direction from the upper side to the lower side, and interference between the ink tubes 41 when the posture changes following the carriage 38 is reduced. The In the present embodiment, four ink tubes 41 are shown, but the arrangement is similarly performed when the number of ink tubes 41 increases or decreases. Of course, the number of ink tubes 41 can be appropriately changed according to the ink color to be used. For example, when only black ink is used as in a monochrome image recording apparatus, the number of ink tubes 41 is naturally one.

  A recording signal or the like is transmitted through a flat cable 85 from a control unit (not shown) that controls the MFP 1 to the head control board 40 (see FIG. 5) of the recording head 39. The flat cable 85 is in the form of a thin ribbon in which a plurality of conductive wires for transmitting electrical signals are covered with a synthetic resin film such as a polyester film and insulated, and electrically connects a control unit (not shown) and the head control board 40. is doing.

  The flat cable 85 has flexibility to bend following the reciprocation of the carriage 38. As shown in FIG. 4, the flat cable 85 is routed by forming a curved portion where the portion from the carriage 38 to the fixed clip 86 is reversed in the reciprocating direction of the carriage 38. In other words, the flat cable 85 is routed so as to form a substantially U-shape in plan view with the strip-shaped front and back surfaces in the vertical direction. That is, on the front and back surfaces of the flat cable 85, the vertical line is oriented in the horizontal direction and the surface is spread in the vertical direction. The direction in which the flat cable 85 extends from the carriage 38 and the direction in which the ink tube 41 extends are the same as the reciprocating direction of the carriage 38.

  One end side of the flat cable 85 fixed to the carriage 38 is electrically connected to the head control board 40 (see FIG. 5) mounted on the carriage 38 as described above. The other end side of the flat cable 85 fixed to the fixing clip 86 is extended to and electrically connected to a control unit (not shown). The portion where the flat cable 85 is bent in a substantially U shape is not fixed to any member, and changes its posture following the reciprocation of the carriage 38, as with the ink tube 41. As described above, the ink tube 41 and the flat cable 85 that change in posture following the reciprocating motion of the carriage 38 are supported by the rotation support member 100.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the rotation support member 100 is formed on a shaft portion 102 serving as a rotation fulcrum, an arm 103 extending in a horizontal direction from the shaft portion 102, and a distal end side of the arm 103. Holding part 105. These are integrally formed by bending the wire steel material. The shaft portion 102 is rotatably supported by a support substrate 110 fixed to the apparatus main body.

  A flat cable 85 is carried on the upper end of the arm 103. The flat cable 85 slides at the upper end of the arm 103 when the posture changes following the carriage 38. The holding unit 105 includes a ring 107 that is a vertically long rectangle in the vertical direction. Four ink tubes 41 are slidably inserted into the ring 107. Thereby, the ink tube 41 is slidably held in the ring 107. When the posture of the four ink tubes 41 changes following the carriage 38, the sliding frictional force generated between the ink tubes 41 and the ring 107 as the posture of the ink tubes 41 changes rotates the rotation support member 100. It acts on the rotation support member 100 as turning force to be caused. That is, when the posture of the four ink tubes 41 changes following the carriage 38, the rotation support member 100 also rotates in the posture change direction of the carriage 38 while holding the ink tubes 41.

  The shaft portion 102 is provided with a torsion coil spring 109 and acts to urge the arm 103 of the rotation support member 100 in the direction of the arrow 108. Therefore, even if the ink tube 41 and the flat cable 85 are largely curved and try to protrude to the reciprocating range side of the carriage 38, the rotation support member 100 is biased in the direction of the arrow 108 by the torsion coil spring 109. The ink tube 41 is pulled toward the regulation wall 37 described later.

  On the apparatus front side of the ink tube 41 and the flat cable 85, a restriction wall 37 is extended in the apparatus width direction (left-right direction in FIG. 4). The restriction wall 37 is a wall having a vertical wall surface that abuts on the ink tube 41, and is erected in a straight line along the reciprocating direction of the carriage 38. The restriction wall 37 is provided in the extending direction of the ink tube 41 from the fixed clip 36 that fixes the ink tube 41, and all of the four ink tubes 41 arranged in the vertical direction by the fixed clip 36 can contact each other. Height.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the fixing clip 36 is provided near the approximate center in the width direction of the apparatus. The ink tube 41 extends from the fixed clip 36 along the restriction wall 37. Therefore, the ink tube 41 is restricted from bulging in a direction away from the carriage 38 by contacting the wall surface of the regulation wall 37 on the back side of the apparatus, in other words, on the front side of the apparatus. Further, the fixing clip 86 is provided at a position near the center in the width direction of the apparatus and on the curved inner side from the fixing clip 36. The flat cable 85 is extended along the restriction wall 37.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of conveying rollers 60 and a pinch roller are provided on the upstream side of the image recording unit 24. In FIG. 3, the pinch roller is not hidden behind other members, but is arranged in a press-contact state under the conveying roller 60. The transport roller 60 and the pinch roller sandwich the recording paper transported through the paper transport path 23 and transport it onto the platen 42. A pair of paper discharge rollers 62 and a spur 63 are provided on the downstream side of the image recording unit 24. The paper discharge roller 62 and the spur 63 hold the recorded recording paper and convey it to the paper discharge tray 21. The transport roller 60 and the paper discharge roller 62 are intermittently driven with a predetermined line feed width when a driving force is transmitted from a motor (not shown). The rotations of the transport roller 60 and the paper discharge roller 62 are synchronized. An encoder disk 61 is provided on the transport roller 60, and an optical sensor (not shown) detects the pattern of the rotating encoder disk 61. Based on this detection signal, the rotation of the transport roller 60 and the paper discharge roller 62 is controlled.

  Since the spur 63 is pressed against the recorded recording paper, the roller surface is uneven in a spur shape so as not to deteriorate the image recorded on the recording paper. The spur 63 is provided so as to be slidable in a direction in which the spur 63 contacts and separates from the paper discharge roller 62, and is urged so as to be in pressure contact with the paper discharge roller 62 by a coil spring. When the recording paper enters between the paper discharge roller 62 and the spur 63, the spur 63 is retracted against the urging force by the thickness of the recording paper, and the recording paper is nipped so as to be pressed against the paper discharge roller 62. To do. Thereby, the rotational force of the paper discharge roller 62 is reliably transmitted to the recording paper. The pinch roller is also provided in the same manner with respect to the conveying roller 60, and holds the recording paper so as to be in pressure contact with the conveying roller 60 so that the rotational force of the conveying roller 60 is reliably transmitted to the recording paper.

  Next, the configuration of the carriage 38, particularly the configuration near the tube joint 140 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the image recording unit 24 and shows the structure of the carriage 38 in detail. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the image recording unit 24. FIG. 6A shows a state where the head cover is attached, and FIG. 6B shows a state where the head cover is removed. FIG. 7 is a side view of the image recording unit 24. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line VIII-VIII in FIG. FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged view of the vicinity of the base 140 in FIG. In FIG. 5, the left side of the paper is the upstream side in the transport direction, and the right side of the paper is the downstream side in the transport direction. In FIG. 5, the ink tube 41 is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the carriage 38 is provided with a tube joint 140. The tube joint 140 is provided near the center of the carriage 38 in the width direction. In FIG. 5A, the tube joint 140 is hidden by the head cover 53. The tube joints 140 are provided according to the ink colors. In this embodiment, the four tube joints 140 corresponding to each color ink of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (Bk) are used. Is provided. The four ink tubes 41 (41 a, 41 b, 41 c, 41 d) corresponding to the respective color inks are fitted into these tube joints 140, whereby each ink tube 41 is connected to the carriage 38.

  The tube joints 140 are sequentially arranged in the horizontal direction at predetermined intervals from the upstream side to the downstream side in the recording paper conveyance direction. The tube joint 142 is made of a synthetic resin member, and protrudes in the same direction as the reciprocating direction of the carriage 38 (downward in FIG. 6). Therefore, when the ink tube 41 is connected to the tube joint 142, the four ink tubes 41 are arranged in the horizontal direction on the carriage 38 side, and one of the reciprocating same directions of the carriage 38 (FIG. 4). (Left direction)

  An insertion port 143 through which the ink tube 41 is inserted is formed on one side surface (side surface on the slide direction side) of the carriage 38. The insertion port 143 is formed by attaching the head cover 53 to the carriage 38. A base 141 (an example of the guide member of the present invention) on which the ink tube 41 is carried is provided from the tube joint 140 to the insertion port 143. This pedestal 141 is formed integrally with the carriage 38.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the pedestal 141 is formed higher on the insertion port 143 side than on the tube joint 140 side. The pedestal 141 has a rectangular inclined surface 144 that is inclined upward from the vicinity of the tube joint 140 toward the insertion port 143. In the present embodiment, the inclined surface 144 is formed flat. The four ink tubes 41 are carried so as to be placed on the inclined surface 144 (see FIG. 7). The inclined surface 144 raises the ink tube 41 to a position higher on the insertion port 143 side than on the tube joint 140 side, as shown in FIGS. That is, the ink tube 41 is guided upward by the inclined surface 144 from the tube coupling 140 side toward the ink tube 41 in the drawing direction. Since such a base 141 is provided, the drawing direction of the ink tube 41 drawn out from the insertion port 143 of the carriage 38 is deflected upward by the base 141.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the base 141 has a curved portion 146. The curved portion 146 is formed at the end on the insertion port 143 side in the base 141. Specifically, the curved portion 146 is configured by bending the upper end of the inclined surface 144 (the end portion on the insertion port 143 side).

  In the present embodiment configured as described above, since the carriage 141 is provided with the base 141, the drawing direction of the ink tube 41 drawn from the insertion port 143 is deflected upward (see FIG. 8). As a result, the ink tube 41 drawn out from the carriage 38 is prevented from hanging down in the direction of gravity. As a result, damage to the ink tube 41 due to contact with the peripheral members of the image recording unit 24 is also prevented.

  Further, since the inclined surface 144 is provided on the base 141, the ink tube 41 is stably guided upward. Furthermore, since the curved portion 146 is provided at the upper end of the inclined surface 144, the surface of the ink tube 41 abuts the curved surface of the curved portion 146 near the insertion port 143. Therefore, abrasion and damage of the ink tube 41 due to contact between the base 141 and the ink tube 41 are prevented.

  Hereinafter, a modification of the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the image recording unit 24 according to the modification. FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view showing a configuration near the base 140. In this modification, the pedestal 140 has two inclined surfaces 148 and 149 different from the above-described inclined surface 144 as shown in the figure.

  The inclined surface 148 and the inclined surface 149 each have a triangular shape. The upper surface of the base 141 is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view by these two inclined surfaces 148 and 149. As shown in FIG. 11, the inclined surface 148 includes, on the upper surface of the pedestal 141, an end 131 on the tube joint 140 side, an end 132 on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording paper (left side in FIG. 10), and the pedestal. 141 is defined by a diagonal line 133 on the upper surface of 141. The inclined surface 148 has the same inclination as the above-described inclined surface 144, and specifically, is inclined upward from the end side on the tube joint 140 side toward the insertion port 143. The ink tube 41 is carried on the inclined surface 148. The area where the ink tube 41 is carried on the inclined surface 148 is wider as the region upstream of the carrying direction in which the ink tube 41a (see FIG. 4) is carried. The carrying region becomes narrower as it goes to the downstream side in the direction (right side in FIG. 10), and the narrowest in the region on the most downstream side in the transport direction where the ink tube 41d (see FIG. 4) is carried.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, the inclined surface 149 includes, on the upper surface of the base 141, an end 134 on the insertion port 143 (see FIG. 5) side, an end 135 on the downstream side in the recording paper conveyance direction, and a base. 141 is defined by a diagonal line 133 on the upper surface of 141. Unlike the above-described inclined surface 144, the inclined surface 149 is inclined downward toward the downstream side in the transport direction with the diagonal line 133 as the top. The ink tube 41 is also carried on the inclined surface 148, but the area where the ink tube 41 is carried on the inclined surface 149 is narrower toward the upstream side in the transport direction where the ink tube 41a (see FIG. 4) is carried, The carrying area becomes wider as it goes to the downstream side in the transport direction (right side of the paper in FIG. 10), and is the widest in the most downstream area in the transport direction where the ink tube 41d (see FIG. 4) is carried.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the four ink tubes 41 are substantially omitted as a whole while being twisted so that the horizontal arrangement becomes the vertical arrangement from the carriage 38 toward the fixed clip 36. Curved in a U shape. In such a configuration, since the base 141 having the inclined surface 148 and the inclined surface 149 is provided, the drawing direction of the ink tube 41 drawn out from the insertion port 143 is deflected upward by the inclined surface 148, and the inclined surface 149 causes the four ink tubes 41 to tilt toward the center of curvature. As a result, the ink tubes can be prevented from drooping, and the ink tubes 41 can be easily changed from the horizontal arrangement to the vertical arrangement.

  The above-described embodiment is merely an example of the present invention, and it is needless to say that the embodiment can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the configuration in which the ink tube 41 is pulled out from one side surface in the sliding direction of the carriage 38. For example, the ink tube 41 is pulled out from both side surfaces of the carriage 38, for example. The present invention can also be applied to such a configuration.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a multifunction machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the internal configuration of the multifunction machine 1. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing the main configuration of the printer unit 2. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the main configuration of the printer unit 2, and mainly shows the configuration on the back side of the apparatus from the approximate center of the printer unit 2. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the image recording unit 24, showing the structure of the carriage 38 in detail. 6A and 6B are plan views of the image recording unit 24. FIG. 6A shows a state where the head cover is attached, and FIG. 6B shows a state where the head cover is removed. FIG. 7 is a side view of the image recording unit 24. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line VIII-VIII in FIG. FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged view of the vicinity of the base 140 in FIG. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the image recording unit 24 according to the modification. FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view showing a configuration near the base 140. FIG. 12 is a schematic view schematically showing a carriage 90 and an ink tube 91 in a conventional image recording apparatus, (A) is a side view thereof, and (B) is a plan view thereof.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Multifunction machine (image recording device)
39 ... Recording head 38 ... Carriage 41 ... Ink tube (ink supply tube)
140... Ink tube (connection part)
141: Pedestal (guide member)
146 ... curved portion

Claims (5)

A carriage on which a recording head is mounted and reciprocated in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the recording medium;
An ink supply tube that has flexibility to change its posture following the reciprocation of the carriage, has one end fixed to the apparatus body and the other end connected to the carriage, and supplies ink to the recording head;
An image recording apparatus comprising: a guide member provided in the vicinity of a connection portion between the carriage and the ink supply tube, and deflecting upward in a drawing direction of the ink supply tube drawn out from the connection portion.   2. The guide member according to claim 1, wherein the guide member includes an inclined surface that guides the ink supply pipe upward from the connection portion side toward the drawing direction, and a curved portion in which an upper end of the inclined surface is curved. Image recording device. The plurality of ink supply pipes are arranged in the horizontal direction at the connection portion, and are routed so that the arrangement posture changes in the vertical direction as the distance from the carriage increases.
The inclined surface is inclined downward from a portion where an ink supply tube disposed at the uppermost position in the vertical arrangement is guided to a portion where the ink supply tube disposed at the lowermost position in the vertical arrangement is guided. 2. The image recording apparatus according to 2.   The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink supply pipe is reversed in the reciprocating direction of the carriage and drawn in a curved shape.   5. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink supply pipe is pulled out from both ends of the carriage in a reciprocating direction. 6.

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