JP2011051213A - Carriage and recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To dramatically enhance the degree of freedom of setting a turning center when adjusting the inclination of a recording head without increasing the size of the recording head. <P>SOLUTION: A head assembly 30 including an inkjet recording head 31 has a first cylindrical face 33a and a second cylindrical face 33b having the same center position but having different diameters in the outer periphery of the same, the respective cylindrical faces and is arranged in a pushed and compressed state such that the respective cylindrical faces are pressedly in contact with a first supporting part 35 and a second supporting part 36, and the inclination of the inkjet recording head 31 can be adjusted by adjusting a stopper (an adjusting screw) 37. Accordingly, the outer peripheral shape of the head assembly 30 slightly changes even though the rotation center position E is displaced, the rotation center of the head assembly 30 can freely be set without increasing the size of the head assembly 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a carriage configured to be capable of adjusting the posture (tilt) of a recording head that performs recording on a recording medium. The present invention also relates to a recording apparatus represented by a facsimile, a printer, or the like, provided with the carriage.

  2. Description of the Related Art Some recording apparatuses represented by facsimiles, printers, and the like, and particularly ink jet printers that perform recording by ejecting ink, are configured to be able to adjust the attitude (tilt) of a recording head that ejects ink.

  For example, in the printing apparatuses described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 3, a sub-carriage (recording head) is rotatably provided around a pivot arranged outside the nozzle row, and the eccentric cam rotates. The posture (tilt) of the sub carriage (recording head) with respect to the carriage is adjusted by rotating the sub carriage (recording head).

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus described in Patent Document 2, the recording head is rotatably provided with the center position of the nozzle forming surface as the center of rotation, and the head outer periphery slides along a virtual circle concentric with the center position. The recording head is rotated by driving the portion (rack) with a pinion gear.

JP 2002-19097 A JP 2006-272645 A JP 2008-132895 A

  However, in the head attitude (tilt) adjustment mechanism described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 3 described above, the rotation center position of the recording head is set outside the nozzle row. The ink ejection timing will need to be adjusted.

  In the head attitude adjustment mechanism described in Patent Document 2, the rotation center position of the recording head is set inside the nozzle row. In this configuration, it is conceivable that the rotation center position of the recording head coincides with the reference nozzle position, but since the head outer periphery is formed along one virtual circle concentric with the rotation center position, the dead space becomes large, This leads to unnecessary enlargement of the recording head.

In addition, in any of the head attitude adjustment mechanisms of Patent Documents 1 to 3, there is a problem that the degree of freedom in setting the rotation center of the recording head is low.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a degree of freedom in setting the rotation center when adjusting the posture (tilt) of the recording head without increasing the size of the recording head. Is to improve.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a first aspect of the present invention is a head assembly including a recording head for recording on a recording medium, and adjusting the posture of the recording head by rotating the head assembly. A head posture adjusting means, wherein the head posture adjusting means is formed on the head assembly and is centered on the rotational axis position in a plane perpendicular to the rotational axis of the head assembly. A first cylindrical surface formed along a first arc having a predetermined radius, and a second arc having a radius different from the first arc around the rotational axis position in the plane. With respect to the formed second cylindrical surface, the first support portion pressed against the first cylindrical surface, the second support portion pressed against the second cylindrical surface, the first support portion, and the second support portion ,Respectively An urging means for pressing the first cylindrical surface and the second cylindrical surface and imparting a tendency to rotate the head assembly about the rotational axis position; and an outer periphery of the head assembly And a stopper that stops the rotation of the head assembly due to the force received from the urging means by coming into contact with the outer periphery of the head assembly. .

  According to this aspect, the head assembly including the recording head has the first cylindrical surface and the second cylindrical surface having the same center position but different diameters on the outer periphery thereof, and the first assembly is in pressure contact with the cylindrical surfaces. Since the head assembly rotates around the center position while the cylindrical surface is in sliding contact with the first support portion and the second support portion, even if the rotation center of the head assembly is shifted, the head assembly The outer peripheral shape only changes slightly, and therefore the center of rotation of the head assembly can be freely set without increasing the size of the head assembly.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the recording head includes a nozzle row in which ink discharge nozzles are arranged at predetermined intervals along the first direction, and is orthogonal to the first direction. A plurality of rotation axis positions are provided at a predetermined interval in the second direction, and the position of the rotation axis is set to the position of the reference nozzle located at the end in the first direction of the nozzle row located at the end in the second direction. It is characterized by.

  According to this aspect, since the center of rotation of the head assembly is set to the reference nozzle position, the dot formation timing (recording head) can be adjusted even if the head assembly is rotated, that is, the orientation of the recording head is adjusted. In the case of an ink jet recording head, it is not necessary to adjust the ink discharge timing.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium, comprising the carriage according to the first or second aspect. According to this aspect, in the recording apparatus, it is possible to obtain the operational effects described in the first or second aspect.

1 is a perspective view of an apparatus main body of an ink jet printer according to the present invention. The perspective view which looked at the carriage concerning the present invention from the lower part. The perspective view inside the carriage which concerns on this invention. The principal part disassembled perspective view of the carriage which concerns on this invention. The perspective view of the assembly of a subcarriage and a connection member. The perspective view of a head assembly. The top view of a head assembly (head attitude | position adjustment mechanism).

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus main body of an ink jet printer 1 according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a carriage 10 according to the present invention as viewed from below, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the inside of the carriage 10, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of main parts (main carriage 13, connection member 22, sub-carriage 27).

  5 is a perspective view of the assembly of the sub-carriage 27 and the connecting member 22, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the head assembly 30, and FIG. 7 is a plan view of the head assembly 30 (head posture adjusting mechanism 29).

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 5 indicates a carriage guide shaft extending in the scanning direction of the inkjet recording head 31 (FIG. 2) (hereinafter referred to as “first direction”). The carriage 10 according to this embodiment includes the carriage guide shaft 5. While being guided, the motor is configured to reciprocate in the first direction by the power of a motor (not shown).

  Reference numeral 2 denotes a frame extending in the first direction and having a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional view. The rotation about the carriage guide shaft 5 due to the weight of the carriage 10 is stopped by the frame 2. The posture of the carriage 10 is defined. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 15 denotes a slider, and the rotation is stopped when the slider 15 abuts against the inner surface of the frame 2.

  The carriage 10 according to this embodiment is a so-called off-carriage type in which no ink cartridge is mounted, and ink is supplied from an ink cartridge (not shown) provided on the apparatus main body side through an ink tube (not shown). It has become. Of course, the carriage according to the present invention may be a so-called on-carriage type on which an ink cartridge is mounted.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 6 denotes a paper support member, and a recording paper as an example of a recording medium is supported by the paper support member 6 so that the distance from the inkjet recording head 31 (hereinafter referred to as “paper gap”). Say). In the inkjet printer 1 according to the present embodiment, the paper gap can be adjusted according to the sheet thickness. A mechanism for performing the adjustment will be described later.

  The carriage 10 includes an ink jet recording head 31 at the bottom as shown in FIG. 2, and an ink discharge nozzle is formed in the second direction (shown in FIG. 7) on the head surface 31a of the ink jet recording head 31 as shown in FIG. A plurality of nozzle rows N arranged at predetermined intervals along the vertical direction are arranged at predetermined intervals in a first direction (left-right direction in FIG. 7) orthogonal to the second direction.

  1 and 2, reference numeral 11 denotes a cover that covers the upper opening of the carriage 10, and an ink supply control mechanism (not shown) including a valve device that performs on / off control of ink supply is provided inside the cover 11. Is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the carriage 10 includes a main carriage 13, a connection member 22, and a sub-carriage 27. The main carriage 13 has a bearing portion 13 a, and the main carriage 13 is guided to the carriage guide shaft 5 by passing the carriage guide shaft 5 through the bearing portion 13 a.

  A part of an endless belt 8 (FIG. 1) driven by a motor (not shown) is fixed to the main carriage 13 so that the driving force in the first direction is transmitted to the main carriage 13. It has become.

  The connection member 22 is interposed between the main carriage 13 and the sub carriage 27 and connects the main carriage 13 and the sub carriage 27. The connection member 22 is fixed to the sub carriage 27 with screws. The subcarriage 27 has a box shape, and screw holes H1 to H5 are formed in the subcarriage 27 and the connecting member 22 along the sides of the box shape as shown in FIG. The screw is fixed.

On the other hand, the connection member 22 is provided so as to be slidable in the paper gap adjustment direction with respect to the main carriage 13.
More specifically, in FIG. 4 and FIG. 3, reference numeral 22 b denotes a guide groove formed in the connecting member 22 and extending in the vertical direction (paper gap changing direction). The guide groove 22 b is formed in the main carriage 13. The connection member 22 (that is, the sub-carriage 27) is guided in the vertical direction with respect to the main carriage 13 by the inserted boss 13c being loosely inserted.

  Next, a tension spring 23 is hung between the spring locking hook 13c formed on the main carriage 13 and the spring locking hook 22e formed on the connection member 22, whereby the connection member 22 (subcarriage 27). However, the main carriage 13 is biased upward.

  Further, a tension spring 24 is hung between a spring locking hook 22 a formed on the connection member 22 and a screw (not shown) screwed into a screw hole 13 b formed on the main carriage 13. Similarly, a tension spring 25 is interposed between a screw (not shown) screwed into a screw hole 27 a formed in the sub-carriage 27 and a screw (not shown) screwed into a screw hole 13 e formed in the main carriage 13. Is suspended. As a result, the sub-carriage 27 to which the connection member 22 is fixed is pulled and held with respect to the main carriage 13 at two places on the upper side and two places on the lower side.

  On the other hand, on the side of the main carriage 13, cams 18 and 18 that are rotationally driven by a cam shaft 17 are provided as shown in FIG. The cams 18 and 18 are in pressure contact with the cam followers 22c and 22c provided on the upper part of the connection member 22 by the biasing force of the tension spring 23 described above, and the cam followers 22c and 22c ( The connecting member 22) moves up and down. That is, the paper gap changes.

  A cam drive gear 19 is provided at the end of the cam shaft 17, and the cam drive gear 19 is provided in the side frame 4 when the carriage 10 is located at the home position (position in FIG. 1). The tooth wheel train 20 can be connected. A drive motor 21 is provided on the side frame 4, and the cam shaft 17 is rotationally driven by the power of the drive motor 21 so that the paper gap changes.

  Next, a head assembly 30 is provided at the bottom of the sub-carriage 27. The head assembly 30 includes an inkjet recording head 31 and a head holder 33 that holds the inkjet recording head 31.

  Reference numeral 32 denotes an ink introduction needle provided in the ink jet recording head 31. An ink introduction needle 32 is provided corresponding to each color of a plurality of colors of ink and is connected to an ink flow path (not shown). .

  The head holder 33 is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the sub-carriage 27 in a plane parallel to the head surface 31 a, whereby the posture (tilt) of the inkjet recording head 31 can be adjusted. Hereinafter, the head posture (tilt) adjusting means 29 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The head posture adjusting means 29 includes a first cylindrical surface 33a and a second cylindrical surface 33b formed on the outer periphery of the head holder 33, and a first support portion 35 and a second support portion 36 that are in pressure contact with the respective cylindrical surfaces. ing. Further, the head holder 33 is urged toward the first support part 35 and the second support part 36, and a pressing spring 38 as an urging means for imparting a rotation tendency to the head holder 33 and the head holder 33 can be advanced and retracted. And a stopper (adjustment screw) 37 that stops the rotation of the head holder 33 due to the force received from the pressing spring 38 by coming into contact with the outer periphery of the head holder 33.

  The first cylindrical surface 33a and the second cylindrical surface 33b are cylindrical surfaces having the same center position but different radii. In FIG. 7, the symbol E indicates the center position of both cylindrical surfaces, and coincides with the rotation center position of the head holder 33 (hereinafter referred to as “rotation axis position E”). FIG. 7 shows each component in a plane orthogonal to the rotation axis of the head holder 33.

  Reference sign C1 indicates a circle centered on the rotational axis position E, and the first cylindrical surface 33a is formed along an arc of the circle C1. Reference numeral C2 indicates a circle centered on the rotation axis position E, and the second cylindrical surface 33b is formed along an arc of the circle C2. As is clear from FIG. 7, the radius of the circle C1 and the radius of the circle C2 are different. In FIG. 7, symbol γ1 indicates the formation range of the first cylindrical surface 33a, and symbol γ2 indicates the formation range of the second cylindrical surface 33b.

  Since the first cylindrical surface 33a and the second cylindrical surface 33b are configured to be in pressure contact with the first support portion 35 and the second support portion 36, respectively, by the urging force of the pressing spring 38 that presses the head holder 33. The head holder 33 can rotate in the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the rotation axis position E is set to the reference nozzle position (the position of the nozzle hole located at the end most), so that the reference nozzle position may change even if the head posture adjustment is performed. Therefore, it is not necessary to adjust the ink discharge timing after the head posture adjustment.

  In the present embodiment, the head holder 33 is pressed toward the first support portion 35 and the second support portion 36 by the urging force of the pressing spring 38 and tends to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. At the same time, the rotation is stopped by a stopper (adjustment screw) 37 and the posture (tilt) is defined. Therefore, the head posture adjustment can be performed by rotating the stopper (adjustment screw) 37.

  The stopper 37 needs to be disposed at a position where the rotation of the head holder 33 by the pressing spring 38 is stopped as described above. Specifically, the position from the rotation axis position E to the pressing position by the pressing spring 38 is required. It is necessary to set the distance L3 and the distance L4 from the rotation axis position E to the pressing position by the stopper 37 so as to satisfy L4> L3.

  Here, this relationship does not depend on the magnitude of the pressing force F3 by the pressing spring 38. This will be described below. In FIG. 7, reference numeral F1 denotes a reaction force (rotational axis position) that the second cylindrical surface 33b receives from the second support portion 36, which acts on the contact point between the second cylindrical surface 33b and the second support portion 36. To E). Reference numeral F2 similarly represents a reaction force (toward the rotational axis position E) that the first cylindrical surface 33a receives from the first support portion 35, which acts on the contact point between the first cylindrical surface 33a and the first support portion 35. Show.

Considering the balance between the horizontal direction (first direction) component force and the vertical direction (second direction) component force in FIG. 7 and the pressing forces F3 and F4, the following equation is established.
First direction: F1 * cos α = F2 * cos β
Second direction: F3 = F1 * sin α + F2 * sin β + F4
Moment: L3 * F3 = L4 * F4
From the above formula, the following formulas (1) and (2) are derived.
F1 = F3 * [(L4-L3) * cosβ] / [L4 * sin (α + β)] (1)
F2 = F3 * [(L4-L3) * cosα] / [L4 * sin (α + β)] (2)
Since F1> 0 and F2> 0, L4> L3 is derived from the above formulas (1) and (2).

  As described above, according to the present invention, the head assembly 30 including the ink jet recording head 31 has the first cylindrical surface 33a and the second cylindrical surface 33b having the same center position but different diameters on the outer periphery thereof. The head assembly 30 rotates while the cylindrical surface is in sliding contact with the first support portion 35 and the second support portion 36 that are in pressure contact with the cylindrical surface.

  Therefore, even if the rotation center of the head assembly 30 is shifted, only the outer peripheral shape of the head assembly 30 changes slightly, so that the rotation center of the head assembly 30 can be freely set without increasing the size of the head assembly 30. Can be set to

  In the present embodiment, since the rotation axis position E is set as the reference nozzle position, the ink ejection timing can be obtained even if the head assembly 30 is rotated, that is, the posture (tilt) of the inkjet recording head 31 is adjusted. No adjustment is required.

  In the present embodiment, the rotational axis position E of the head assembly 30 is set as the reference nozzle position, but it may be set at the center position of the head surface 31a. In this case, the occupation area of the head holder 33 accompanying the rotation is reduced, so that the carriage can be reduced in size. In addition, since the maximum distance from the rotation center position to each ink discharge nozzle can be reduced, adjustment of ink discharge timing is facilitated.

  In the present embodiment, the head assembly 30 is configured to rotate in a plane parallel to the head surface 31a of the ink jet recording head 31, but is not limited thereto, and is configured to rotate in a desired rotation direction. Needless to say, the above-described head posture adjusting means can be applied.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer (device main body), 2 frames, 4 side frames, 5 carriage guide shaft, 6 paper support member, 8 endless belt, 10 carriage, 11 cover, 13 main carriage, 13a bearing portion, 13b screw hole, 13c boss, 13d Spring lock hook, 15 Slider, 17 Cam shaft, 18 Cam, 19 Cam drive gear, 20 Tooth wheel train, 21 Drive motor, 22 Connection member, 22a Spring lock hook, 22b Guide groove, 22c Cam follower, 22d Screw hole , 22e Spring locking hook, 23, 24 Tension spring, 27 Subcarriage, 29 Head attitude adjusting means, 30 Head assembly, 31 Inkjet recording head, 32 Ink introduction needle, 33 Head holder, 33a First cylindrical surface, 33b First 2 yen Surface, 35 the first support portion, 36 the second support portion, 37 a stopper (adjustment screw) 38 pressure spring, E rotation axis position, N nozzle rows

Claims (3)

A head assembly including a recording head for recording on a recording medium;
A head posture adjusting means for adjusting the posture of the recording head by rotating the head assembly,
The head posture adjusting means is formed along a first arc formed in the head assembly and having a predetermined radius around the rotation axis position in a plane orthogonal to the rotation axis of the head assembly. A first cylindrical surface, and a second cylindrical surface formed along a second arc having a radius different from the first arc around the rotational axis position in the plane;
A first support portion in pressure contact with the first cylindrical surface, and a second support portion in pressure contact with the second cylindrical surface;
The head assembly has a tendency to press the first cylindrical surface and the second cylindrical surface against the first support portion and the second support portion, respectively, and to rotate the head assembly around the rotation axis position. Urging means to be given to Lee,
A stopper capable of advancing and retreating with respect to the outer periphery of the head assembly and stopping rotation of the head assembly due to a force received from the urging means by contacting the outer periphery of the head assembly. Yes,
A carriage characterized by that. 2. The carriage according to claim 1, wherein the recording head has a nozzle array in which ink discharge nozzles are arranged at predetermined intervals along a first direction in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. Provide multiple at intervals,
The rotational axis position is set to a position of a reference nozzle located at an end portion in the first direction of a nozzle row located at an end portion in the second direction.
A carriage characterized by that. A recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium, comprising the carriage according to claim 1 or 2.
A recording apparatus.

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