JP2012218419A - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recording device allowing desirable recording without increasing cost and device size when manufactured.SOLUTION: A shielding member shielding light from the outside is disposed within an inside observation window disposed in a recording device to intercept the light from outside radiating a detection region of a recording medium.

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus in which an internal observation window is provided in a casing in order to confirm a recording state or the like.

  Conventionally, in order to confirm the recording state and the like, a transparent material is used for the housing cover so that the inside can be seen through (see Patent Document 1). This is because if the recording state can be visually confirmed during recording, the recording can be stopped immediately if an ink ejection defect or a recording medium conveyance defect occurs. In particular, in the case of a large-format recording apparatus, if a defect occurs immediately after the start of recording, a large amount of ink and recording media are wasted. In order to prevent this, many apparatuses have a transparent housing cover through which the inside can be seen through. .

JP 2003-225993 A

  A general ink jet recording apparatus is provided with a media detection sensor that detects the position of a recording medium. If the housing cover is transparent, external light such as sunlight or indoor lighting enters the apparatus from various angles. When incident external light illuminates the detection area of the media detection sensor, the electrical output of the media detection sensor changes only in that area, and the end and type of the recording medium are erroneously recognized, making it impossible to perform desired recording. There was a problem.

  As a countermeasure to this problem, when the media detection sensor is sensitive to infrared rays, an infrared absorbing film or the like is attached to the inside of the housing cover. By sticking an infrared absorbing film or the like, it is possible to prevent misrecognition of the media detection sensor due to external light to some extent while maintaining transparency. However, when the housing is large, it is necessary to stick an infrared absorbing film over a wide area, which increases the cost. In addition, there are some which aim at the same effect by adding an infrared absorbent to the material of the housing cover itself, but the material cost is increased and the cost is also increased. Furthermore, the carriage provided inside the recording apparatus can be enlarged horizontally so that outside light does not enter the detection area of the media detection sensor. However, the enlargement of the carriage results in an increase in the size of the apparatus. End up.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of performing desired recording without increasing the cost at the time of manufacture or increasing the size of the apparatus.

  Therefore, the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention includes a recording unit that performs recording by discharging ink to a recording medium that is conveyed, a moving unit that moves the recording unit in the main scanning direction, and a detection that detects the position of the recording medium. And an opening / closing means provided with an internal observation window having a transparent region capable of confirming recording on the recording medium during recording by the recording means, and an opening / closing means forming a part of the exterior A shielding member is provided that blocks a straight line connecting a point on the recording medium detected by the media detection sensor and a point on the transparent area of the internal observation window.

  According to the present invention, the ink jet recording apparatus includes a shielding member that blocks a straight line connecting a point on the recording medium detected by the media detection sensor and a point on the transparent area of the internal observation window. As a result, it is possible to realize an ink jet recording apparatus capable of performing desired recording without increasing costs during manufacturing or increasing the size of the apparatus.

1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. It is the figure which expanded the peripheral part of the media detection sensor of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the recording device main body at the time of enlarging an internal observation window. It is sectional drawing which showed the conventional recording device. It is the figure which expanded the media detection sensor part of FIG.

First, before describing this embodiment, the principle of external light reaching the media detection sensor in a conventional recording apparatus will be described.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional recording apparatus. Since the opening / closing cover 106 is a transparent material, it is indicated by a broken line. The ink head 110 ejects ink to the recording medium 107a for recording. The media detection sensor 111 automatically detects the end and type of the recording medium 107a. The carriage 112 holds the ink head 110 and the media detection sensor 111, and is movable in the left-right direction (main scanning direction) for recording on the recording medium 107a. External light L is external light incident on the inside of the recording apparatus.

  FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the media detection sensor unit of FIG. The area limits S1 and S2 are detection limits that can be detected by the media detection sensor 11. The area indicated by hatching is the detection range, and S on the recording medium 107a is the detection area. Although some external light incident on the inside of the recording apparatus is blocked by the corner 112a of the carriage 112, it cannot be blocked by the corner 112a of the carriage 112 as in the case of the external light L in FIG. Some of them irradiate a part of the 111 detection region S. As described above, when the incident external light illuminates the detection area of the media detection sensor, the electrical output of the media detection sensor 111 changes, and the end and type of the recording medium are erroneously recognized, making it impossible to perform desired recording. .

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applicable. An exterior cover of an ink jet recording apparatus main body (hereinafter also simply referred to as a recording apparatus main body) 1 includes a left cover 2, a right cover 3, a front cover 4, a paper discharge cover 5, and an open / close cover (open / close means) 6. The opening / closing cover 6 can be opened and closed around a hinge (not shown) when removing a clogging of a recording medium (hereinafter also referred to as a recording medium) or performing various maintenance. The exterior covers 2 to 6 are plastic molded products and are formed of an opaque material. The long recording medium 7 is supplied in a roll shape to the recording apparatus main body 1. The recording medium 7 is fed from the rear side of the recording apparatus main body 1, cut by a cutter (not shown) after recording, and discharged to the front as a recording medium 7a after recording. The transparent area of the internal observation window 8 is formed of a transparent material so that the recording medium being recorded can be confirmed, and a shielding member 9 that blocks outside light is provided inside thereof.

  2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. Since the internal observation window 8 is a transparent material, it is indicated by a broken line. The ink head (recording means) 10 has a mechanism for discharging ink droplets by heating. The nozzles 10a and 10b are provided at positions facing the recording medium 7a of the ink head 10 and eject ink. The media detection sensor (detection means) 11 automatically detects the end and type of the recording medium 7a. A carriage (moving means) 12 holds the ink head 10 and the media detection sensor 11. The carriage 12 normally stands by in the right cover 3, but when a recording job is sent from the recording apparatus, in order to perform recording on the recording medium 7 a, the carriage 12 moves in the left-right direction (the main scanning direction which is the arrow M direction). It is guided by a shaft (not shown) and can reciprocate. External light La and Lb indicate the external light incident on the inside of the recording apparatus by straight lines. The outside light La is a straight line connecting one point of the boundary portion 6a between the opening / closing cover 6 and the shielding member 9 and the end portion 12a of the carriage 12, and the outside light Lb is one point of the boundary portion 6b between the opening / closing cover 6 and the window 8. And a straight line connecting the end 12 a of the carriage 12. The external light Lb is shielded by the surface of the shielding member 9 that intersects the main scanning direction and does not reach the carriage 12. The shielding member 9 may be formed of a material that absorbs external light. In the drawing, the locus of the external light Lb when there is no shielding member 9 is indicated by a dotted line. At this time, an angle formed between the external light La and the recording medium 7a is θa, and an angle formed between the external light Lb and the recording medium 7a is θb. In FIG. 2, the angles θa and θb are represented in two dimensions. However, the angles θa and θb are actually represented in three dimensions because the recording medium 7a has a length in the transport direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface). When the recording state is confirmed, the shielding member 9 does not hinder the visual observation by viewing from the front of the internal observation window 8.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the media detection sensor 11 of FIG. The media detection sensor 11 is accommodated in the recess 12b. The area limits S1 and S2 are detection limits that can be detected by the media detection sensor 11. The shaded area is the detection range, and S on the recording medium 7a is the detection area. Here, as described with reference to FIG. 2, the external lights La and Lb are incident on the recording medium 7a at angles θa and θb, pass through the corner 12a of the carriage 12, and irradiate the surface of the recording medium 7a. At this time, there is no problem if the portion irradiated with the external light is always outside the detection region S of the media detection sensor 11 like the external light La having the angle θa calculated in three dimensions. However, in the case where the light is not shielded by the shielding member 9 as in the case of the external light Lb having the angle θb, when the external light irradiates the inside of the detection region S of the media detection sensor 11, only that portion of the media detection sensor 11 is electrically connected. The output changes, and the end and type of the recording medium 7a are erroneously recognized. By blocking the external light Lb having this angle θb by the shielding member 9, the electrical output of the media detection sensor 11 does not change even if any external light enters the inside of the recording apparatus, and the end of the recording medium 7a. There is no problem of misrecognizing the type and making it impossible to perform desired recording.

  In this way, by providing a shielding member that blocks external light inside the internal observation window provided in the recording apparatus, external light applied to the detection area of the recording medium is blocked. In this way, by preventing misrecognition of the media detection sensor, it was possible to realize an ink jet recording apparatus capable of performing desired recording without increasing the manufacturing cost or increasing the size of the apparatus. .

(Other embodiments)
An embodiment in which the internal observation window 8 is enlarged will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the recording apparatus main body when the internal observation window 8 is enlarged. External light Lc, Ld, and Le are external light incident on the recording apparatus main body, and are incident on the recording medium 7a at angles θc, θd, and θe, respectively. Also, shielding members 9c, 9d, and 9e are provided inside the recording apparatus main body.

  The external light Lc, Ld, Le is shielded by the shielding members 9c, 9d, 9e and does not reach the carriage 12, but the locus when the shielding members 9c, 9d, 9e are not present is indicated by dotted lines. When the internal observation window 8 is enlarged as described above, a shielding member capable of blocking external light having each angle may be provided. At this time, if the shielding member is lengthened, the interval between the shielding members can be widened, and the number of shielding members is reduced. If the shielding member is shortened, the interval between the shielding members is narrowed and the number of shielding members is increased.

  As described above, by providing a shielding member that blocks outside light in accordance with the size of the internal observation window provided in the recording apparatus, the outside light irradiated on the detection area of the recording medium is blocked. In this way, by preventing misrecognition of the media detection sensor, it was possible to realize an ink jet recording apparatus capable of performing desired recording without increasing the manufacturing cost or increasing the size of the apparatus. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet recording device main body 6 Opening / closing cover 8 Internal observation window 9 Shielding member 10 Ink head 11 Media detection sensor 12 Carriage

Claims (3)

Recording means for recording by ejecting ink to the recording medium being conveyed, moving means for moving the recording means in the main scanning direction, detection means for detecting the position of the recording medium, and recording by the recording means In addition, an ink jet recording apparatus provided with an internal observation window provided with a transparent region capable of confirming recording on the recording medium, and an opening / closing means forming a part of the exterior,
An ink jet recording apparatus, comprising: a shielding member that blocks a straight line connecting a point on the recording medium detected by the media detection sensor and a point on the transparent area of the internal observation window.   The shielding member shields a straight line connecting a point on the recording medium detected by the media detection sensor and a point on the transparent area of the internal observation window by a surface intersecting the main scanning direction. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1.   The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shielding member is made of a material that blocks or absorbs external light.

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