JP2009226838A - Liquid jet device and liquid jet head - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid jet device capable of securing the positional accuracy of each unit block in a constitution in which a plurality of unit blocks can be individually moved and a liquid jet head. <P>SOLUTION: Head unit group is partitioned and divided into the plurality of unit head blocks 32 constituted of a plurality of set of head units 11, and a position adjusting mechanism 57 for adjusting relative positions of the adjacent unit blocks each other is provided, the position adjusting mechanism comprises a male screw portion 58 arranged in one unit block, a drive motor 60 for rotating the male screw portion, and a female screw portion 59 arranged in the other unit block, the male screw portion is fitted into the female screw portion, the adjacent unit blocks are moved closer or spaced apart each other by rotating the male screw portion forward or backward direction by the drive of the drive motor 60. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus including a liquid ejecting head such as an ink jet recording head, and a liquid ejecting head, and in particular, a liquid ejecting apparatus having a head unit group in which a plurality of head units are arranged, and a liquid ejecting apparatus. Regarding the head.

  For example, a liquid ejecting apparatus is an apparatus that includes a liquid ejecting head capable of ejecting liquid and ejects various liquids from the liquid ejecting head. As a typical example of this liquid ejecting apparatus, for example, an ink jet recording head (hereinafter simply referred to as a recording head) as a liquid ejecting head is provided, and liquid ink is recorded on recording paper or the like from a nozzle opening of the recording head. An image recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer that records an image or the like by ejecting and landing on a medium (a target to be ejected) to form dots can be given. In recent years, liquid ejecting apparatuses have been applied not only to this image recording apparatus but also to various manufacturing apparatuses such as a manufacturing apparatus for color filters such as liquid crystal displays.

  An ink jet recording apparatus (printer), which is a kind of liquid ejecting apparatus, includes an ink jet recording head (a type of liquid ejecting head, so-called serial head) that is shorter than the width of a recording medium, and reciprocates in the main scanning direction. A head moving mechanism for moving, and a transport mechanism (recording medium feeding mechanism) for feeding a recording medium (jetting object) such as recording paper in a direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction to perform sub-scanning, etc. By sequentially repeating the ink ejection and the conveyance (sub-scanning) of the recording medium, an image or the like is recorded on the recording medium. However, in this method, since the scanning speed of the recording head is limited, for example, when an image is recorded on the entire surface of a relatively large size recording medium such as A2, there is a problem that much time is required. was there.

  Therefore, in recent years, a head unit in which a plurality of head units are arranged in a second direction orthogonal to a first direction in which a recording medium and a head unit having a nozzle group in which a plurality of nozzles are arranged in a row is relatively moved. Ink is ejected without moving the recording head (line-type liquid ejecting head) whose total length of the nozzle group formed by the head unit group corresponds to the maximum recording width of the recording medium with respect to the recording medium. The thing comprised in this way is proposed (patent document 1). According to this configuration, it is not necessary to move the recording head in the main scanning direction. For example, an image or the like can be recorded only by transporting the recording medium in the sub-scanning direction. Recording time can be shortened.

JP-A-6-183029

  By the way, in the printer having the above configuration, there is rarely a case where all the nozzle openings are used evenly during the recording operation (ink ejection operation). For example, a printer that can handle A2 size recording paper as a recording medium. In this case, when performing the recording operation on the A4 size recording paper, the nozzle opening corresponding to the outside of the recording area of the A4 recording paper (the landing area where the ink and the image are printed) It is in a state of resting without ejecting liquid. This is a state in which the solvent of the ink (meniscus) exposed at the nozzle opening is easily evaporated and the ink is easily thickened. If the viscosity of the ink is increased, there is a risk that a defect such as a deviation in the flying direction of the ink or an inability to eject the ink may occur. When such a defect occurs, when the recording head is repaired or replaced, the entire recording head is the target, so that the repair / replacement cost for that amount is required, which imposes a burden on the user. Become.

  Further, in order to prevent the ejection failure as described above, this type of printer performs a flushing operation for forcibly ejecting ink regardless of the recording operation. Specifically, the recording head is moved to an ink receiving member at a position removed from the recording medium every predetermined time, and ink is ejected at that position. Furthermore, the nozzle forming surface is sealed with a cap made of an elastic material periodically or when the recording operation is completed, and ink is forced from the nozzle openings by applying a negative pressure to the nozzle forming surface in this sealed state. A cleaning operation is also performed. If such a flushing operation or a cleaning operation is frequently performed, there is a problem that ink is consumed wastefully.

  For this reason, the head unit group is divided into a plurality of unit blocks each composed of a set of a plurality of head units, and each unit block is configured to be individually movable. According to the size of the recording area in the recording medium, It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which only some of the unit blocks are moved to the injection position. According to this configuration, the nozzle forming surface in the standby unit block that is not used for the recording operation can be sealed with the cap, the ink solvent evaporates from the nozzle opening, and foreign matters such as dust adhere to the meniscus. Can be prevented.

  However, in the configuration of dividing into a plurality of unit blocks, it becomes a problem to ensure the positional accuracy of each unit block. That is, if the relative positions of the unit blocks are deviated, the ink landing position on the recording medium is also deviated from the proper position, resulting in problems such as a reduction in the image quality of the recorded image.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is a liquid ejecting apparatus capable of ensuring the positional accuracy of each unit block in a configuration in which a plurality of unit blocks can be individually moved. And providing a liquid ejecting head.

The present invention has been proposed in order to achieve the above object, and is composed of a head unit group in which a plurality of head units having a nozzle group formed by arranging a plurality of nozzle openings for ejecting liquid are arranged,
The head unit group is partitioned into a plurality of unit blocks composed of a set of a plurality of head units,
A unit block moving mechanism capable of individually moving the unit blocks, and a position adjusting mechanism for adjusting the relative positions of adjacent unit blocks;
The position adjusting mechanism includes a male screw portion provided in one unit block and a female screw portion provided in the other unit block, and the male screw portion is fitted to the female screw portion, By rotating normally or reversely, adjacent unit blocks are relatively close to each other or separated from each other.

  According to this configuration, the position adjustment mechanism includes a male screw part provided in one unit block and a female screw part provided in the other unit block, and the male screw part is fitted to the female screw part. Since the adjacent unit blocks are relatively close to each other or separated by rotating the male screw part forward or backward, the relative positions of the unit blocks can be adjusted with high accuracy. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the deviation of the landing position of the liquid on the ejection target.

  In the above configuration, it is desirable to provide a plurality of sets of the position adjustment mechanisms for adjacent unit blocks.

  According to the said structure, position adjustment of unit blocks can be performed more accurately, suppressing the position shift of the rotation direction in the planar view of a unit block.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments described below, various limitations are made as preferred specific examples of the present invention. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following description unless otherwise specified. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. In the present embodiment, an image recording apparatus that is one form of the liquid ejecting apparatus, and more specifically, a length corresponding to the maximum recording width of the recording paper that becomes the ejection target (or recording medium) at equal intervals in the nozzle aperture group. An ink jet printer (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer) equipped with a long line type liquid ejecting head (hereinafter referred to as a line head) arranged as an example will be described as an example.

  FIG. 1 is a partially broken perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer 1 according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a configuration of a line head 3 in the present embodiment, as viewed from the nozzle forming surface side. FIG. The printer 1 of the present embodiment includes a line head 3 (a type of liquid ejecting head according to the invention) having a head unit group configured by arranging a plurality of head units 11 in a staggered manner inside a housing 2; A paper feed tray 5 for storing the recording paper 4 (a kind of ejected object in the present invention) in a stacked state, and the recording paper 4 are fed one by one from the paper feed tray 5 to the downstream side (recording position side described later). The recording surface of the recording paper 4 on which the recording operation has been performed by the line head 3 is heated. A drying assist unit 8 that promotes drying of the ink, a discharge unit 9 that discharges the recording paper 4 recorded by the line head 3, and a discharge tray 10 that holds the recording paper 4 discharged from the discharge unit 9. And It is configured to be able to record text or images, etc. to the full width of the recording area of the recording paper 4 without scanning the de unit 11.

  Although not shown, an ink cartridge (a type of liquid supply source) that stores ink is disposed inside the housing 2. The ink stored in the ink cartridge is supplied (pressure-fed) to each head unit 11 of the line head 3 through the ink supply tube by pressurizing the ink cartridge by an air pump or the like.

  Further, inside the housing 2, the line head 3, which is an area above the transport unit 7, ejects ink to land on the recording paper 4 to land on the printing surface of the recording paper 4. A recording position (corresponding to the injection position in the present invention) for recording the image and a standby position (home position) for waiting when the line head 3 does not perform recording and deviates from the recording position are set. Each head unit 11 is movably supported by a guide shaft 12 extending over the recording position and the standby position, and along the guide shaft 12 by the operation of a unit block moving mechanism 76 (see FIG. 4). It is configured to move forward and backward between the standby position and the recording position.

  At the standby position, a capping mechanism 15 having a cap 14 for sealing the nozzle formation surface (nozzle formation substrate 35; see FIG. 2 and the like) of each head unit 11 of the line head 3 is disposed. The capping mechanism 15 has a plurality of tray-like caps 14 made of an elastic member such as an elastomer corresponding to each head unit 11 of the line head 3. Then, the capping mechanism 15 advances (raises) the cap 14 toward each nozzle formation surface of the line head 3 that has moved to the standby position, and presses the cap 14 against the nozzle formation surface of the corresponding head unit 11 for sealing. To do. By sealing the nozzle forming surface with the cap 14, it is possible to prevent the ink solvent from evaporating from the nozzle openings 33 (see FIG. 3 and the like) and to suppress the increase in the viscosity of the ink. The capping mechanism 15 is also used as an ink receiver during a flushing operation for discarding ink (empty ejection) regardless of the recording operation. The capping mechanism 15 is also used for a cleaning operation for forcibly discharging ink from the nozzle openings 33 by applying a negative pressure to the nozzle formation surface.

  The paper feed unit 6 includes a pickup roller 16, a pair of upper and lower feed rollers 17 a and 17 b, and an endless feed belt 20 that is stretched over a drive roller 18 and a driven roller 19. A pickup roller 16 that is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown) rotates in contact with the uppermost one of the recording paper 4 set in the paper feeding tray 5, thereby removing the uppermost recording paper 4 from the paper feeding tray 5. Pull out. The feeding rollers 17a and 17b feed the uppermost recording paper 4 fed from the paper feeding tray 5 to the feeding belt 20 one by one in a nipped state. The driving roller 18 is rotated by a rotation driving source (not shown) to drive the feeding belt 20 and to feed the recording paper 4 placed on the feeding belt 20 to the conveying unit 7 on the downstream side. It is configured.

  The transport unit 7 includes a transport belt 24 spanned by the transport drive roller 22 and the transport driven roller 23, guide plates 25a and 25b (platens) divided into two on the upstream side and the downstream side, and these guide plates. The heating guide plate 26 is disposed between 25a and 25b and functions as a kind of heating means for heating the recording paper 4 on the transport belt 24 while functioning also as a guide plate. The conveyance drive roller 22 is rotated in synchronization with the recording operation of the line head 3 by a rotation drive source (not shown), thereby driving the endless conveyance belt 24, and the recording paper fed from the paper supply unit 6. 4 is configured to pass below the line head 3 and to be conveyed to the discharge unit 9 side.

  The guide plates 25a and 25b are arranged inside the conveyance belt 24 and support the recording paper 4 on the conveyance belt from the back side of the conveyance belt 24 so as to be parallel to the nozzle formation surface of the line head 3. ing. The heating guide plate 26 is arranged on the inner side of the conveyance belt 24 similarly to the guide plates 25 a and 25 b, and supports the recording paper 4 on the conveyance belt from the back side of the conveyance belt 24. The heating guide plate 26 includes a heat source (not shown), and is configured to heat the recording paper 4 being recorded from the back side by the heat source.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the line head 3 has a head unit group divided and divided into a plurality of unit blocks 32 each composed of a set of a plurality of head units 11. An individual unit holder 34 is provided for each unit block 32, and the head unit 11 constituting the unit block 32 is attached to each unit holder 34. In addition, a position adjusting mechanism 57 is provided that is configured to be able to connect or disconnect the adjacent unit blocks 32 and adjust the relative positions of the unit blocks 32 in the connected state. When performing the recording operation, the number of unit blocks 32 corresponding to the recording area of the recording paper 4 is separated from the line head main body and guided from the standby position to the recording position while being guided by the unit block moving mechanism 76 to the guide shaft 12. In the state where the nozzle forming surface is opposed to the recording paper 4 on the conveying belt 24, ink is ejected from the nozzle openings 33 to the recording paper 4 and the recording operation (liquid (Injection operation). Details of the position adjustment mechanism 57 will be described later.

  The discharge unit 9 includes a discharge belt 30 that is rotated by a rotation drive source (not shown) and a discharge driven roller 29, and a discharge guide plate 31. The discharge drive roller 28 drives the discharge belt 30 by being rotated by a rotation drive source. The discharge belt 30 conveys the recording paper 4 on which an image or the like has been recorded on the recording position side to the downstream side and discharges it to the paper discharge tray 10. Above the discharge belt 30, the drying assist unit 8 is disposed. The drying assist unit 8 is configured to further heat the drying of ink landed on the recording surface of the recording paper 4 by heating the recording paper 4 sent from the recording position side.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part for explaining the configuration of the head unit 11. The head unit 11 includes a head case 37, a vibrator unit 38 housed in the head case 37, a flow path unit 39 joined to the bottom surface (tip surface) of the head case 37, and the like.

  The head case 37 is made of, for example, an epoxy resin, and an accommodation space 41 for accommodating the vibrator unit 38 is formed therein. The vibrator unit 38 includes a piezoelectric vibrator 42 that functions as a kind of pressure generating means, a fixing plate 43 to which the piezoelectric vibrator 42 is joined, and a flexible cable 44 for supplying a drive signal and the like to the piezoelectric vibrator 42. And. The piezoelectric vibrator 42 is a laminated type manufactured by cutting a piezoelectric plate in which piezoelectric layers and electrode layers are alternately laminated into a comb-like shape, and can be expanded and contracted in a direction perpendicular to the lamination direction. This is a piezoelectric vibrator.

  The channel unit 39 is configured by joining a nozzle forming substrate 35 to one surface of the channel forming substrate 45 and a diaphragm 46 to the other surface of the channel forming substrate 45. The flow path unit 39 is provided with a reservoir 47 (liquid chamber), an ink supply port 48, a pressure generation chamber 49, and a nozzle opening 33. A series of ink flow paths (liquid flow paths) from the ink supply port 48 to the nozzle opening 33 through the pressure generation chamber 49 are formed corresponding to each nozzle opening 33.

  The diaphragm 46 has a double structure in which an elastic film 52 is laminated on the surface of the support plate 51. In the present embodiment, a stainless plate, which is a kind of metal plate, is used as the support plate 51, and the vibration plate 46 is formed using a composite plate material in which a resin film is laminated as an elastic film 52 on the surface of the support plate 51. The diaphragm 46 is provided with a diaphragm 53 that changes the volume of the pressure generating chamber 49. The diaphragm 46 is provided with a compliance portion 54 that seals a part of the reservoir 47.

  The diaphragm 53 is produced by partially removing the support plate 51 by etching or the like. That is, the diaphragm portion 53 includes an island portion 55 to which the distal end surface of the free end portion of the piezoelectric vibrator 42 is joined, and a thin elastic portion 52 around the island portion 55. The compliance portion 54 is produced by removing the support plate 51 in the region facing the opening surface of the reservoir 47 by etching processing or the like in the same manner as the diaphragm portion 53, and reduces the pressure fluctuation of the liquid stored in the reservoir 47. Functions as a damper to absorb.

  Since the tip surface of the piezoelectric vibrator 42 is joined to the island portion 55, the volume of the pressure generating chamber 49 can be changed by expanding and contracting the free end portion of the piezoelectric vibrator 42. As the volume changes, pressure fluctuations occur in the ink in the pressure generating chamber 49. The head unit 11 ejects ink from the nozzle openings 33 using this pressure fluctuation.

  The nozzle forming substrate 35 is made of a metal plate such as stainless steel. As shown in FIG. 2, the nozzle formation substrate 35 of each head unit 11 has a plurality of nozzle openings 33 for ejecting ink (a kind of liquid in the present invention) arranged in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording paper 4. A nozzle row (a kind of nozzle group) is formed, and a plurality of nozzle rows are formed in the recording paper conveyance direction. One nozzle row in the present embodiment is composed of 180 nozzle openings 33 opened at a pitch of 180 dpi. In the head unit 11, two nozzle rows correspond to each ink type, that is, each ink color. In the present embodiment, it corresponds to four colors of ink, cyan ink (C), magenta ink (M), yellow ink (Y), and black ink (K). Therefore, in this embodiment, a total of 8 nozzle rows are formed side by side in the transport direction. The two nozzle rows of the same color are arranged with their positions relatively shifted in the nozzle row arrangement direction so that the pitch in the nozzle row arrangement direction of the nozzle openings 33 with the adjacent nozzle rows is 360 dpi. Yes. Accordingly, one head unit 11 has a total of 360 nozzle openings 33 arranged in a staggered pattern for each ink color at a pitch of 360 dpi when viewed in a direction orthogonal to the recording sheet conveyance direction (recording sheet width direction).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the head units 11 are arranged in the unit holder 34 in a staggered manner at an arrangement interval such that the nozzle openings 33 are arranged at 360 dpi as a whole when viewed in the direction orthogonal to the recording paper conveyance direction. ing. The number of head units 11 arranged is determined according to the maximum size of the recording paper 4 that the printer 1 can handle.

Next, the electrical configuration of the printer 1 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the printer 1. The printer 1 according to the present embodiment is schematically configured by a printer controller 65 and a print engine 66. The printer controller 65 stores an external interface (external I / F) 67 for receiving print data from an external device such as a host computer, a RAM 68 for storing various data, and a control program for various controls. A ROM 69, a nonvolatile storage element 70 such as an EEPROM or a flash ROM, a control unit 71 that performs overall control of each unit in accordance with a control program stored in the ROM 69, an oscillation circuit 72 that generates a clock signal, A drive signal generation circuit 73 (a type of drive signal generation means) that generates a drive signal to be supplied to each head unit 11 of the line head 3, and dot pattern data and drive signals obtained by developing print data for each dot Etc. to output to the head unit 11 internal interface (internal I / F) And a 4. The print engine 66 includes a plurality of head units 11 constituting the line head 3, a capping mechanism 15, a unit block moving mechanism 76, a paper feed mechanism 77 including a paper feed unit 6, a transport unit 7, and a discharge unit 9. And a position adjusting mechanism 57.

Next, features of the line head 3 according to the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the line head 3 forms a head unit group by arranging a plurality of head units 11 in a two-stage zigzag shape in a direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2) perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording paper 4. is doing. The head unit group in the present embodiment is partitioned into three unit blocks 32 a to 32 c configured by a set of four head units 11, and each unit block 32 is attached to an individual unit holder 34. The entire nozzle opening 33 of the head unit group is arranged to have a length corresponding to the maximum size recording paper 4 that can be recorded by the printer 1.

  Each unit holder 34 provided for each unit block 32 is movably attached to the guide shaft 12 and can be individually moved by the unit block moving mechanism 76. Each unit holder 34 is moved along the guide shaft 12 by the unit block moving mechanism 76 so as to advance and retract between the standby position and the recording position. Further, a position adjusting mechanism 57 that adjusts the relative positions of the adjacent unit blocks 32 is provided.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the area A in FIG. 2, and is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the position adjustment mechanism 57 in the present embodiment. 5A is a plan view of the position adjusting mechanism 57, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the position adjusting mechanism 57 taken along the line BB. The illustrated position adjustment mechanism 57 includes a male screw part 58 provided in one unit block (in the case of the unit block 32a in the example of FIG. 5), a drive motor 60 (rotation drive part) that rotates the male screw part 58, And it is roughly comprised from the internal thread part 59 provided in the other unit block (in the case of the example of FIG. 5, unit block 32b).

The male screw portion 58 has a posture in which the tip end portion on which the male screw is formed is directed toward the other unit block 32b, protrudes from the edge of the unit holder 34 of the one unit block 32a, and is parallel to the guide shaft 12. The screw holder 61 is pivotally supported so as to be rotatable about the shaft center. A worm wheel 62 having a plurality of inclined teeth is formed concentrically and integrally on the male screw portion 58 over the entire outer periphery. The drive motor 60 is composed of, for example, a pulse motor, and a worm 64 whose teeth are spirally cut on the outer periphery is provided at the tip of the rotating shaft. The drive motor 60 is attached to the motor holder 63 in a state where the worm 64 meshes with the worm wheel 62 of the male screw portion 58. The worm 64 and the worm wheel 62 constitute a worm gear. When the drive motor 60 is driven, the worm 64 rotates, and the worm wheel 62 that meshes with the worm 64 also rotates. That is, the rotation of the drive motor 60 is decelerated by the worm gear and converted into the rotation of the male screw portion 58. The rotation amount and rotation direction (forward / reverse rotation) of the drive motor 60 are controlled by the control unit 71.
In addition, as illustrated, the configuration is not limited to the configuration in which the male screw portion 58 is rotated by the drive motor 60 as a rotation drive source. For example, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the male screw portion 58 is manually rotated to adjust the position.

  As shown in FIG. 2, two sets of the position adjustment mechanism 57 having the above-described configuration are arranged for each unit block 32 that is assembled next to each other. In the present embodiment, male screw portions 58 and drive motors 60 are provided at both corners on the other unit block 32 side in the unit holder 34 of one unit block 32, respectively. Female screw portions 59 are provided at both corners on one unit block 32 side.

Then, each position adjusting mechanism 57 connects the adjacent unit blocks by fitting the male screw portion 58 to the female screw portion 59 (that is, screwing), and drives the drive motor 60 in this state to drive the male screw portion 58. By rotating the screw part 58 forward or reverse, adjacent unit blocks can be relatively close to each other or separated from each other. Therefore, the control unit 71 can adjust the relative positions of the unit blocks with high accuracy by controlling the amount and direction of rotation of the drive motor 60. Thereby, the deviation of the ink landing position on the recording paper 4 can be suppressed, and as a result, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the image quality of the recorded image.
In the present embodiment, a plurality (two sets) of position adjustment mechanisms 57 are provided for the adjacent unit blocks 32. For example, the amount of adjustment by one position adjustment mechanism 57 and the position adjustment mechanism 57 of the other position adjustment mechanism 57 are By making the adjustment amount different, the position of the unit block 32 in the rotational direction in plan view can be adjusted.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the driving force of the driving motor 60 is transmitted to the male screw portion 58 via a worm gear that can take a relatively large reduction ratio, so that fine adjustment can be easily performed. Can be improved.

  The line head 3 is configured to move only some of the unit blocks 32 to the recording position according to the size of the recording area of the recording paper 4 as the ejection target. Has been. Hereinafter, this point will be described.

  6A and 6B are plan views of the line head 3. FIG. 6A shows a state in which all unit blocks 32 are waiting at the standby position, and FIG. 6B shows a state in which some unit blocks 32 have moved to the recording position. ing. 7A and 7B are side views of the line head 3. FIG. 7A shows a state in which all unit blocks 32 are waiting at the standby position, and FIG. 7B shows that some unit blocks 32 have moved to the recording position. Indicates the state.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A and 7A, in a state where the recording operation is not performed, all the unit blocks 32a to 32c are moved to the standby position in a connected state by the position adjusting mechanism 57 and are on standby. In this standby state, the capping mechanism 15 performs capping by moving the cap 14 relatively toward the nozzle forming surface of each head unit 11 (raising). Accordingly, the ink solvent from the nozzle openings 33 of each head unit 11 during standby is prevented from evaporating, thereby preventing the ink from thickening. Further, foreign matters such as dust are prevented from adhering to the nozzle opening 33.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 6B and 7B, when performing a recording operation on the recording paper 4, ink is ejected to the recording area of the recording paper 4 among the plurality of unit blocks 32. Only the unit block 32 necessary for the recording is moved to the recording position side (right side in FIGS. 6 and 7). At this time, the position adjustment mechanism 57 corresponding to the combination of the unit blocks 32 to be separated releases the screwed state of the male screw part 58 and the female screw part 59 to separate them. Then, the remaining unit blocks 32 that are not used for the recording operation stand by at the recording position. Note that the size of the recording area is grasped by the printer controller 65 based on the print data. Of course, depending on the size of the recording paper 4 (the size of the recording area), all the unit blocks 32 can be moved to the recording position side at once.

  In the present embodiment, the second unit blocks 32a and 32b from the recording position side to the second position are moved from the standby position to the recording position side, and the remaining unit blocks 32c are put on standby at the standby position. At this time, the capping mechanism 15 lowers the cap 14 from the nozzle formation surface of each head unit 11 of the unit blocks 32a and 32b to be moved to the recording position side to release the capping state (sealed state), while at the standby position. The capping state for the remaining unit block 32c is maintained.

  The arrangement layout of the head units 11 and the number of divisions of the unit blocks 32 are not limited to those exemplified in the above embodiment, and any configuration can be employed.

  Further, regarding the position adjustment mechanism 57, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the driving force of the driving motor 60 is transmitted to the male screw portion 58 via the worm gear is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration in which a male screw portion 58 is connected to the rotation shaft of the drive motor 60 as in the modification shown in FIG. In this configuration, fine adjustment is difficult as compared with the configuration using the worm gear, but the overall size can be reduced.

  The present invention also relates to a color material ejecting head used for manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, an electrode material ejecting head used for forming an electrode such as an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, FED (surface emitting display), and a biochip. The present invention can also be applied to other liquid jet heads such as bioorganic jet heads used for manufacturing (biochemical elements) and liquid jet apparatuses including the same.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a printer. It is a top view which shows the structure of a line head. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the recording head. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of a printer. FIG. (A), (b) is a figure explaining the structure of a position adjustment mechanism. (A), (b) is a top view of a line head. (A), (b) is a side view of a line head. It is a figure explaining the structure of the modification of a position adjustment mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer, 3 ... Line head, 4 ... Recording paper, 11 ... Head unit, 14 ... Cap, 15 ... Capping mechanism, 32 ... Unit block, 33 ... Nozzle opening, 34 ... Unit holder, 35 ... Nozzle formation board, 36 ... Nozzle array, 57 ... Position adjustment mechanism, 58 ... Male screw part, 59 ... Female screw part, 60 ... Drive motor, 62 ... Worm wheel, 64 ... Worm, 76 ... Unit block moving mechanism

Claims (3)

A liquid ejecting head comprising a head unit group in which a plurality of head units having a nozzle group in which a plurality of nozzle openings for ejecting liquid are arranged are arranged;
The head unit group is partitioned into a plurality of unit blocks composed of a set of a plurality of head units,
A unit block moving mechanism capable of individually moving the unit blocks, and a position adjusting mechanism for adjusting the relative positions of adjacent unit blocks;
The position adjusting mechanism includes a male screw portion provided in one unit block and a female screw portion provided in the other unit block, and the male screw portion is fitted to the female screw portion, A liquid ejecting apparatus characterized in that adjacent unit blocks are relatively close to each other or separated from each other by rotating forward or reverse.   The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of sets of the position adjusting mechanisms are provided for adjacent unit blocks. It is composed of a head unit group in which a plurality of head units having nozzle groups formed by arranging a plurality of nozzle openings for ejecting liquid are arranged,
The head unit group is partitioned into a plurality of unit blocks composed of a set of a plurality of head units,
A unit block moving mechanism capable of individually moving the unit blocks, and a position adjusting mechanism for adjusting the relative positions of adjacent unit blocks;
The position adjusting mechanism includes a male screw portion provided in one unit block and a female screw portion provided in the other unit block, and the male screw portion is fitted to the female screw portion, A liquid ejecting head characterized in that adjacent unit blocks are relatively close to each other or separated from each other by rotating forward or reverse.

Images