JP2015150749A - printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer that can keep tension of a belt when fastening a support member to a frame.SOLUTION: A printer comprises: a frame 18; a carriage 26 that is mounted with a recording head 30 for discharging ink to a recording medium 4 and supported in the frame 18 to be capable of freely reciprocating; a support member 40 fastened to the frame 18; a driven pulley 36 supported rotatably in the support member 40; a timing belt 38 that is wound around the driven pulley 36 and converts rotation of the driven pulley 36 to a reciprocating movement of the carriage 26; a coil spring 70 for energizing the support member 40 in a direction of applying predetermined tension to the timing belt 38; and a screw 72 that fastens the support member 40 to the frame 18 by penetrating the support member 40 and the frame 18 therethrough in a direction approximately orthogonal to a rotating shaft 36a of the driven pulley 36, in a state where the support member 40 is energized by the coil spring 70.

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer that performs printing by ejecting ink onto a recording medium.

  A printer that performs printing by discharging ink onto a recording medium is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). A frame is arranged inside the housing of the printer. A carriage on which the recording head is mounted is supported on the frame so as to be reciprocally movable. Further, a support member that rotatably supports the pulley is fastened to the frame. A timing belt (which constitutes a belt) for driving the carriage is wound around the pulley. The support member is fastened to the frame by screws in a state in which the support member is biased in a direction in which a predetermined tension (tension) is applied to the timing belt by a coil spring.

JP 2013-129107 A

  In the conventional printer described above, the screw fastens the support member to the frame in a direction substantially parallel to the rotation axis of the pulley. Therefore, when the support member rotates together with the screw (so-called co-rotation) when the screw is rotated in the tightening direction, the rotation shaft of the pulley moves in the radial direction, so that the support member is biased by the coil spring. The power to be changed. As a result, there arises a problem that the tension of the timing belt changes from the predetermined tension.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a printer that can maintain belt tension when a support member is fastened to a frame.

  In order to achieve the above object, a printer according to one aspect of the present invention is a printer that performs printing by ejecting ink onto a recording medium, and includes a frame and a recording head that ejects ink onto the recording medium. And a carriage supported reciprocally on the frame, a support member fastened to the frame, a pulley supported rotatably on the support member, wound around the pulley, and A belt that converts the rotation of the pulley into a reciprocating movement of the carriage; a biasing member that biases the support member in a direction to apply a predetermined tension to the belt; and the support member is biased by the biasing member In this state, the support member and the frame are passed through the support member and the frame in a direction substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis of the pulley. Comprising a fastening member, the.

  According to this aspect, the fastening member fastens the support member to the frame by penetrating the support member and the frame in a direction substantially orthogonal to the rotation axis of the pulley. As a result, when the fastening member is rotated in the tightening direction, even if the support member rotates together with the fastening member (so-called co-rotation), the rotation shaft of the pulley moves in the axial direction. As a result, the force with which the support member is urged by the urging member hardly changes, and the support member can be fastened to the frame while maintaining the belt tension.

  For example, in the printer according to one aspect of the present invention, the printer further includes a housing that covers the frame, and the fastening member fastens the support member to the housing via the frame. It may be configured.

  According to this aspect, since the fastening member fastens the support member to the housing via the frame, the step of fastening the support member to the frame and the step of fastening the frame to the housing during the assembly operation of the printer, Can be performed simultaneously. Thereby, the assembly work of the printer can be performed efficiently.

  For example, in the printer according to one aspect of the present invention, the frame includes a first frame portion extending in a moving direction of the carriage and a lower end portion of the first frame portion with respect to the first frame portion. A second frame portion extending in a vertical direction, wherein the support member rotatably supports the pulley and is supported by the first frame portion; And a second support portion that extends in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the first support portion from a lower end portion of the one support portion and is fastened to the second frame by the fastening member. The rotating shaft of the pulley extends in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the first frame portion, and the fastening member extends in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the second frame portion. Also good.

  According to this aspect, the frame can include the first frame portion and the second frame portion, and the support member can include the first support portion and the second support portion.

  For example, in the printer according to one aspect of the present invention, the second frame portion has one of a hook portion and a hole, and the second support portion has the other of the hook portion and the hole. The first support portion may be configured to be restricted from moving away from the first frame portion when the hook portion is inserted into the hole.

  According to this aspect, the second frame portion has one of the hook portion and the hole, and the second support portion has the other of the hook portion and the hole. When the hook portion is inserted into the hole, the support member can be prevented from being lifted from the frame when the hook member is rotated in the tightening direction.

  According to the printer of one aspect of the present invention, the belt tension can be held when the support member is fastened to the frame.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a printer according to an embodiment. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an internal structure of a printer according to an embodiment. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a part of the internal structure of the printer according to the embodiment. FIG. It is a perspective view which extracts and shows a flame | frame etc. FIG. It is a perspective view which expands and shows the site | part by which the supporting member of the flame | frame was fastened. It is a perspective view which extracts and shows a supporting member etc. It is a perspective view which shows the state which looked at the supporting member from the bottom face side. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the state which removed the supporting member from the flame | frame. It is a figure which shows the state which looked at the site | part by which the supporting member of the flame | frame was fastened from the side surface side. It is a figure which shows the state which looked at the site | part by which the support member of the flame | frame was fastened from the bottom face side.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Each of the embodiments described below shows a preferred specific example of the present invention. The numerical values, shapes, materials, constituent elements, arrangement positions and connecting forms of the constituent elements shown in the following embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The invention is specified by the claims. Therefore, among the constituent elements in the following embodiments, constituent elements that are not described in the independent claims are not necessarily required to achieve the object of the present invention, but are described as constituting more preferable embodiments. Is done.

(Embodiment)
[External structure of printer]
First, the external structure of the printer 2 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a printer according to an embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 2 is an ink jet printer that performs printing by ejecting ink onto a recording medium 4, for example. The recording medium 4 is, for example, plain paper, photographic paper, or a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) having a printable label surface.

  The printer 2 includes a housing 6. A supply port 8 for supplying the recording medium 4 to be printed to the inside of the housing 6 is provided at the upper end of the back surface of the housing 6. The recording medium 4 is inserted into the supply port 8 from above. A supply tray 10 for supporting the recording medium 4 inserted into the supply port 8 from the rear is attached to the upper end of the back surface of the housing 6.

  On the front surface of the housing 6, a discharge port 12 for discharging the printed recording medium 4 to the outside of the housing 6 is provided. A cover member 14 is attached to the discharge port 12 so as to be freely opened and closed. In the open state, the cover member 14 functions as a discharge tray for supporting the recording medium 4 discharged from the discharge port 12 from below.

  On the upper surface of the housing 6, an operation panel 16 is provided for executing operations of the printer 2 (for example, turning on / off the power or starting printing).

[Internal structure of printer]
Next, the internal structure of the printer 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the printer according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a part of the internal structure of the printer according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the frame and the like extracted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 6 of the printer 2 is arranged so as to cover the frame 18. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the frame 18 is formed by pressing a sheet metal, for example, and includes a first frame portion 20 and a second frame portion 22. The first frame part 20 and the second frame part 22 are each configured in a horizontally long plate shape. The length direction of the first frame portion 20 extends in the X-axis direction (that is, the moving direction of the carriage 26), and the width direction of the first frame portion 20 extends in the Z-axis direction. The second frame portion 22 extends from the lower end portion of the first frame portion 20 in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the first frame portion 20. The length direction of the second frame portion 22 extends in the X-axis direction, and the width direction of the second frame portion 22 extends in the Y-axis direction. The second frame portion 22 is supported by the upper end portions of the plurality of post portions 24 provided on the inner bottom portion of the housing 6.

  A guide shaft (not shown) is supported on the first frame portion 20. The guide shaft extends in a direction (X-axis direction) substantially orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording medium 4 (direction indicated by arrow P in FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 4, a carriage 26 is supported on the guide shaft so as to be reciprocally movable. A plurality of ink cartridges 28 are exchangeably mounted on the carriage 26. Each of the plurality of ink cartridges 28 is filled with, for example, black, cyan, magenta, and yellow inks. A recording head 30 is further mounted on the carriage 26. The recording head 30 is provided with a plurality of nozzles (not shown) for discharging ink supplied from each of the plurality of ink cartridges 28. The carriage 26 reciprocates in the X-axis direction along the guide shaft by a drive mechanism described later.

  When an image is printed on the recording medium 4, the recording medium 4 is transported in the direction indicated by the arrow P in FIG. 2 by a transport mechanism (not shown) disposed inside the housing 6. In this state, the carriage 26 reciprocates in the X-axis direction along the guide shaft, and ink is ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 30 toward the recording medium 4, thereby printing an image on the recording medium 4. .

  Here, a drive mechanism for driving the carriage 26 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the drive mechanism for driving the carriage 26 includes a motor 32, a drive pulley 34, a driven pulley 36 (which constitutes a pulley), and a timing belt 38 (which constitutes a belt).

  The motor 32 is composed of a servo motor, for example, and is supported by the first frame unit 20 described above. The motor 32 can rotate in the forward direction or the reverse direction. A drive pulley 34 is fixed to the output shaft of the motor 32. As the output shaft of the motor 32 rotates, the drive pulley 34 rotates integrally with the output shaft.

  The drive pulley 34 is rotatably supported at one end of the first frame portion 20. The driven pulley 36 is rotatably supported by the other end portion of the first frame portion 20 via a support member 40. The configuration related to the support member 40 will be described later. Note that the rotation shaft (not shown) of the drive pulley 34 and the rotation shaft 36 a of the driven pulley 36 each extend in a substantially vertical direction (Y-axis direction) with respect to the surface of the first frame portion 20.

  The timing belt 38 is an endless belt, and is rotatably wound around the drive pulley 34 and the driven pulley 36. The timing belt 38 is for converting the rotational motion of the driving pulley 34 and the driven pulley 36 into the reciprocating motion of the carriage 26. The timing belt 38 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the drive pulley 34. The driven pulley 36 rotates following the rotation of the timing belt 38. The portion of the timing belt 38 above the drive pulley 34 and the driven pulley 36 is connected to the carriage 26.

  When the motor 32 rotates in the forward direction, the timing belt 38 rotates in the direction indicated by the solid line arrow in FIG. 3 (clockwise in FIG. 3). At this time, the driven pulley 36 follows the rotation of the timing belt 38 and rotates in the direction indicated by the solid arrow in FIG. As a result, the carriage 26 moves in the X-axis direction along the guide shaft in the direction indicated by the solid arrow in FIG. 4 (the direction from the upper left to the lower right in FIG. 4) while being pulled by the timing belt 38.

  On the other hand, when the motor 32 rotates in the reverse direction, the timing belt 38 rotates in the direction indicated by the dashed arrow in FIG. 3 (counterclockwise in FIG. 3). At this time, the driven pulley 36 follows the rotation of the timing belt 38 and rotates in the direction indicated by the dashed arrow in FIG. Thus, the carriage 26 moves in the X-axis direction along the guide shaft in the direction indicated by the broken-line arrow in FIG. 4 (the direction from the lower right to the upper left in FIG. 4) while being pulled by the timing belt 38.

[Configuration related to support member]
Next, a configuration related to the above-described support member 40, which is a feature of the printer 2 of the present embodiment, will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing a portion where the support member of the frame is fastened. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the support member and the like extracted. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the support member is viewed from the bottom surface side. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which the support member is removed from the frame. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state where a portion of the frame where the support member is fastened is viewed from the side. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which a portion where the support member of the frame is fastened is viewed from the bottom surface side. For convenience of explanation, the timing belt 38 is not shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the support member 40 is made of, for example, resin and includes a first support portion 42, a second support portion 44, and a third support portion 46. The first support portion 42 and the second support portion 44 are each configured in a plate shape. The second support portion 44 extends from the lower end portion of the first support portion 42 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the first support portion 42. The third support portion 46 extends in a substantially L shape from the surface of the first support portion 42 (that is, the surface opposite to the first frame portion 20). That is, the third support portion 46 includes a first portion 48 extending from the surface of the first support portion 42 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the first support portion 42, and a first portion 48 from the tip portion of the first portion 48. And a second portion 50 extending in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the first portion 48.

  As shown in FIG. 6, substantially semicircular cutout portions 52 and 54 are provided at the end portion of the first support portion 42 and the tip portion of the second portion 50 of the third support portion 46, respectively. ing. These notches 52 and 54 are rotatably supported at both ends of the rotation shaft 36a of the driven pulley 36, respectively.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a guide portion 56 that protrudes toward the first frame portion 20 is provided on the back surface of the first support portion 42 (that is, the surface facing the first frame portion 20). It has been. A pair of guide protrusions 58 projecting upward (upward in the Z-axis direction) are provided at an upper end of the guide part 56 at an interval. A pair of guide protrusions 60 projecting downward (downward in the Z-axis direction) are provided at the lower end of the guide part 56 at an interval.

  Correspondingly, as shown in FIG. 8, the first frame portion 20 is provided with a guide hole 62 into which the guide portion 56 is movably inserted. A pair of guide recesses 64 extending upward is provided at the upper end of the guide hole 62 so as to correspond to the pair of guide protrusions 58 of the guide portion 56. A pair of guide recesses 66 extending downward is provided at the lower end of the guide hole 62 corresponding to the pair of guide protrusions 60 of the guide portion 56. As described later, the first support portion 42 is supported by the first frame portion 20 by inserting the guide portion 56 into the guide hole 62.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a bent portion 68 that is bent substantially perpendicularly to the support member 40 side is provided at the end portion of the guide hole 62. As shown in FIG. 5, a coil spring 70 (constituting a biasing member) is disposed between the bent portion 68 and the first portion 48 of the third support portion 46. One end of the coil spring 70 is supported by the bent portion 68, and the other end of the coil spring 70 is supported by the first portion 48 of the third support portion 46. The coil spring 70 is for urging the support member 40 in a direction in which a predetermined tension is applied to the timing belt 38 (a direction indicated by an arrow T in FIG. 5). The coil spring 70 has a spring coefficient that can apply a predetermined tension to the timing belt 38.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a through hole 74 for inserting a screw 72 (which constitutes a fastening member) is provided at one end of the second support portion 44. The through hole 74 extends in a substantially oval shape in the X-axis direction.

  Correspondingly, as shown in FIG. 8, a substantially circular through-hole 76 for inserting the screw 72 is provided in a portion corresponding to the through-hole 74 of the second frame portion 22. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a screw hole 78 for screwing the screw 72 is provided in the upper end portion of the post portion 24. As will be described later, by inserting the screw 72 into the through holes 74 and 76 and screwing the screw 72 into the screw hole 78 of the post portion 24, the second support portion 44 is connected to the post portion 24 via the second frame portion 22. Fastened to (housing 6).

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a hook portion 80 is provided on the bottom surface (that is, the surface facing the second frame portion 22) at the other end of the second support portion 44. The hook portion 80 extends in a substantially L shape from the bottom surface of the second support portion 44 toward the second frame portion 22.

  Corresponding to this, as shown in FIG. 8, the second frame portion 22 is provided with a hole 82 into which the hook portion 80 is movably inserted. The hole 82 extends substantially in an L shape. That is, the hole 82 includes a first portion 84 extending in the Y-axis direction, and a second portion 86 extending in the X-axis direction from the end of the first portion 84 on the first frame portion 20 side. ing.

  Next, a procedure for fastening the support member 40 to the frame 18 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 8 to 10. From the state shown in FIG. 8, first, the support member 40 is set on the frame 18 as follows. After the hook portion 80 is inserted into one end portion of the first portion 84 of the hole 82, the support member 40 is slid in the direction approaching the first frame portion 20 (Y-axis direction). At this time, the hook portion 80 moves from one end portion of the first portion 84 of the hole 82 to the other end portion of the first portion 84 as indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. At the same time, the pair of guide protrusions 58 are inserted into the pair of guide recesses 64, and the pair of guide protrusions 60 are inserted into the pair of guide recesses 66, respectively. Is inserted into the guide hole 62.

  Thereafter, the support member 40 is slid in the direction away from the drive pulley 34 (X-axis direction), so that the hook portion 80 has one end of the second portion 86 of the hole 82 as shown by the solid line in FIG. To the other end of the second portion 86. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the tip 80 a of the hook portion 80 is caught by the peripheral edge 86 a of the second portion 86. Thereby, the movement of the first support part 42 in the direction away from the first frame part 20 is restricted, and the second support part 44 moves in the direction away from the second frame part 22. Be regulated. The support member 40 is movable with respect to the frame 18 in a predetermined stroke (that is, a stroke corresponding to the length of the second portion 86 of the hole 82 in the X-axis direction).

  At the same time, the guide portion 56 moves in the X-axis direction along the guide hole 62, so that the pair of guide protrusions 58 are respectively caught on the upper peripheral edge 62a of the guide hole 62, and the pair of guides Each of the projecting protrusions 60 is caught on the lower peripheral edge 62 b of the guide hole 62. This also restricts the movement of the first support part 42 in the direction away from the first frame part 20 and the movement of the second support part 44 in the direction away from the second frame part 22. Is regulated.

  When the support member 40 is set on the frame 18 as described above, the coil spring 70 is elastic between the bent portion 68 and the first portion 48 of the third support portion 46 as shown in FIG. Placed in a contracted state. The support member 40 is biased in a direction in which a predetermined tension is applied to the timing belt 38 by the elastic restoring force of the coil spring 70. At this time, the through hole 74 provided in the second support portion 44 overlaps the through hole 76 provided in the second frame portion 22. In such a state that the support member 40 is biased (that is, a state in which a predetermined tension is applied to the timing belt 38), the screw 72 is inserted into the through holes 74 and 76 to the screw hole 78 of the post portion 24. Screw on. Thereby, the screw 72 comes to fasten the support member 40 to the housing 6 via the frame 18.

  At this time, the screw 72 moves the support member 40 (second support portion 44) and the frame 18 (second frame portion 22) in a direction (Z-axis direction) substantially orthogonal to the rotation shaft 36a of the driven pulley 36. The support member 40 is fastened to the frame 18 by passing through. That is, the screw 72 extends in a substantially vertical direction (Z-axis direction) with respect to the surface of the second frame portion 22.

[effect]
Next, effects obtained by the printer 2 of the present embodiment will be described. As described above, the screw 72 passes through the support member 40 and the frame 18 in a direction substantially orthogonal to the rotation shaft 36 a of the driven pulley 36, thereby fastening the support member 40 to the frame 18. Thus, when the screw 72 is rotated in the tightening direction, even if the support member 40 rotates together with the screw 72 (so-called co-rotation), the rotation shaft 36a of the driven pulley 36 moves in the axial direction. It becomes like this. As a result, the force with which the support member 40 is urged by the coil spring 70 hardly changes, and the support member 40 can be fastened to the frame 18 while maintaining the tension of the timing belt 38.

(Modification)
The printer according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  In the above embodiment, the rotation shaft 36a of the driven pulley 36 extends in the Y-axis direction, but it may extend in the Z-axis direction. In this case, the screw 72 fastens the support member 40 to the frame 18 in a direction substantially orthogonal to the rotation shaft 36a of the driven pulley 36, for example, in the Y-axis direction.

  In the above embodiment, the hook portion 80 is provided in the second support portion 44 and the hole 82 is provided in the second frame portion 22. On the contrary, the hole is provided in the second support portion 44, A hook portion may be provided on the second frame portion 22.

  In the said embodiment, although the housing | casing 6 and the flame | frame 18 were comprised separately, it is not limited to this, For example, these can also be integrally comprised by integral molding etc. of resin.

  The printer of the present invention can be applied as, for example, an inkjet printer that performs printing by ejecting ink onto a recording medium.

2 Printer 4 Recording medium 6 Housing 8 Supply port 10 Supply tray 12 Discharge port 14 Cover member 16 Operation panel 18 Frame 20 First frame portion 22 Second frame portion 24 Post portion 26 Carriage 28 Ink cartridge 30 Recording head 32 Motor 34 Drive pulley 36 Driven pulley 36a Rotating shaft 38 Timing belt 40 Support member 42 First support portion 44 Second support portion 46 Third support portions 48 and 84 First portions 50 and 86 Second portions 52 and 54 Notch portion 56 Guide portion 58, 60 Guide protrusion 62 Guide holes 62a, 62b, 86a Peripheral portion 64, 66 Guide recess 68 Bending portion 70 Coil spring 72 Screw 74, 76 Through hole 78 Screw hole 80 Hook portion 80a Tip Part 82 hole

Claims (4)

A printer that performs printing by ejecting ink onto a recording medium,
Frame,
A carriage mounted with a recording head for ejecting ink on the recording medium, and supported by the frame so as to be reciprocally movable;
A support member fastened to the frame;
A pulley rotatably supported by the support member;
A belt wound around the pulley and converting the rotation of the pulley into a reciprocating movement of the carriage;
A biasing member for biasing the support member in a direction in which a predetermined tension is applied to the belt;
The support member is fastened to the frame by penetrating the support member and the frame in a direction substantially orthogonal to the rotation axis of the pulley in a state where the support member is biased by the biasing member. And a fastening member. The printer further includes a housing that covers the frame,
The printer according to claim 1, wherein the fastening member fastens the support member to the housing via the frame. The frame is
A first frame portion extending in a moving direction of the carriage;
A second frame portion extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the first frame portion from a lower end portion of the first frame portion,
The support member is
A first support portion that rotatably supports the pulley and is supported by the first frame portion;
A second support portion extending in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the first support portion from a lower end portion of the first support portion, and fastened to the second frame by the fastening member. And
The rotation shaft of the pulley extends in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the first frame portion,
The printer according to claim 1, wherein the fastening member extends in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the second frame portion. The second frame part has one of a hook part and a hole,
The second support part has the other of the hook part and the hole,
The printer according to claim 3, wherein the first support portion is restricted from moving in a direction away from the first frame portion when the hook portion is inserted into the hole.

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