JP2017064994A - Print device, carriage device and flexible support - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an electric cable bundle or an ink tube bundle which are connected to a carriage from being damaged by movement of the carriage.SOLUTION: The print device comprises a flexible support 101 that supports an ink tube bundle 103 and a signal cable bundle 102 between a carriage and a fixing portion near a main body thereof and deforms accompanying movement of the carriage. The ink tube bundle 103 and the signal cable bundle 102 are arranged along the outside of the flexible support 101. Outside the flexible support 101 is provided a protruding part 108 for suppressing the supported ink tube bundle 103 or the supported signal cable bundle 102 from touching other portions other than the flexible support 101.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus including a carriage device.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a serial type printing apparatus including a carriage device that reciprocates. This apparatus supplies ink to the print head via an ink tube from an ink tank provided on the main body side separately from the carriage. The ink tube is supported by an auxiliary member (flexible support) so that the ink tube moves stably following the movement of the carriage.

JP 2006-159603 A

  Not only the ink tube but also an electrical signal cable is connected to the carriage, and the signal cable is deformed as the carriage moves. The signal cable often uses a flexible flat cable (FFC) in order to route a large number of wirings without mutual electrical interference. Such cables are physically susceptible to damage and require delicate handling to follow the carriage movement along with the ink tubes.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus, a carriage apparatus, and a flexible support in which an electric cable bundle and an ink tube bundle connected to a carriage are not easily damaged by movement of the carriage.

  The printing apparatus of the present invention includes a carriage mounted with a print head and reciprocating, a tube bundle for supplying ink to the print head, a cable bundle for transmitting a signal to the print head, and fixing the carriage and the main body side. A flexible support that supports the tube and the cable bundle and deforms as the carriage moves, and the tube bundle or the cable bundle is arranged along the outside of the flexible support. A protruding portion is provided on the outer side of the flexible support to prevent the tube bundle or the cable bundle to be supported from touching other than the flexible support.

  According to the present invention, the signal cable bundle, the ink tube bundle, and the like are not easily damaged during the movement of the carriage. Therefore, the apparatus can be stably operated over a long period of time.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the perspective view which showed the periphery of the flexible support. It is the side view which showed the periphery of the flexible support. It is the perspective view which showed the detailed structure of the flexible support. It is sectional drawing of a part of flexible support. It is a comparative example for clarifying the superiority of the present invention. It is a figure which shows a modification.

  An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a printing apparatus will be described. The present invention is not limited to a printing apparatus, and can be widely applied to a carriage apparatus in which a moving body reciprocates.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the printing apparatus. The printing apparatus 100 includes a print unit 7 including a print head 2 and a carriage 3. A plurality of discharge ports (inkjet nozzles) are formed in the print head 2, and a plurality of flow paths are formed inside the print head 2 so as to communicate with the respective discharge ports. Ink jet energy generating elements such as heaters and piezo elements are arranged in each of the plurality of flow paths, and ink droplets are ejected from the ejection ports by the ink jet system. In addition, you may use the print head of not only an inkjet but another printing system. An ink tank that stores ink supplied to the print head 2 is disposed at a position different from the print unit 7.

  The carriage 3 reciprocates in the main scanning direction by a driving force transmission mechanism such as a carriage motor and a belt for transmitting the driving force. The roll sheet is installed in the sheet feeding unit. The printing apparatus 100 includes a conveyance roller 4 that is driven to rotate, and a pinch roller 5 that rotates following the conveyance roller 4. The platen 6 supports the sheet at a position facing the print unit 7. The sheet 1 is conveyed with the sheet sandwiched between the conveying roller 4 and the pinch roller 5. While the print head 2 is moved in the main scanning direction, a printing operation for ejecting ink toward the sheet on the platen 6 and a conveying operation for step-feeding the sheet in the sub-scanning direction are performed. By repeating these printing operations and conveyance operations, an image is printed by the serial printing method. The sheet printed by the printing unit 7 is cut by the cutter 8 and discharged to the basket 9.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the carriage 3 of the printing apparatus 100. FIG. 3 is a side view of the peripheral portion of the carriage 3 of the printing apparatus 100.

  The carriage 3 on which the print head 2 is mounted is supported by the main body of the printing apparatus 100 while being guided by the first guide rail 11 and the second guide rail 12. The first guide rail 11 and the second guide rail 12 are supported by the main body frame 10. The carriage 3 reciprocates along the extending direction of the first guide rail 11 and the second guide rail 12.

  Hereinafter, the flexible support, which is a feature of the present embodiment, will be described. 2 and 3, the flexible support 101 connects the fixing unit on the main body side of the printing apparatus 100 and the carriage 3 that is a moving body. As will be described later, the flexible support 101 has a structure in which a plurality of component parts are repeatedly linked and has a structure such as Caterpillar (registered trademark) that has high rigidity and is deformed flexibly in a predetermined direction. It is.

  The flexible support 101 supports the ink tube bundle 103 and the signal cable bundle 102 (flat flexible cable) over a long range. The flexible support 101 is deformed together with the ink tube bundle 103 and the signal cable bundle 102 as the carriage moves. The ink tube bundle 103 is a bundle of a plurality of flexible ink tubes that supply inks of a plurality of colors from an ink tank fixed on the main body side to the print head 2 on the carriage. The signal cable bundle 102 electrically connects the control unit (control board) fixed to the main body side, the carriage 3 and the print head 2, and a plurality of signal lines are bundled in a flat shape. Is. The ink tube bundle 103 and the signal cable bundle 102 pass through the housing of the carriage 3 and are connected to the print head 2.

  FIG. 4 shows an enlarged perspective view of a portion where the flexible support 101 is curved. In the flexible support 101, a plurality of structural units are repeatedly linked by pins 105. One structural unit is composed of a pair of connecting members 106 facing on both sides, and an outer beam 107a and an inner beam 107b that are connected so as to bridge between them. The outer beam 107a and the inner beam 107b are collectively referred to as a beam portion 107. One structural unit is one part created by resin molding. Using this as a unit, the adjacent links are linked by pins 105 so as to be rotatable, and are connected to each other in a long chain shape to constitute a flexible support 101 as a flexible and long structure.

  In this specification, when the flexible support 101 is curved, the entire side that is outside the curve is referred to as “the outside of the flexible support”. Conversely, the entire side that is the inside of the curve is called “the inside of the flexible support”. The outer beam 107a is provided in parallel to the outer side of the flexible support 101, and the inner beam 107b is provided in parallel to the inner side of the flexible support. When viewed in one structural unit, an inner space S surrounded by a pair of connecting members 106 facing each other and facing outer beams 107a and 107b is formed. Since a plurality of structural units are connected in a chain shape in the flexible support 101, the internal spaces S of the respective structural units are also connected to form an inner space that penetrates without interruption. As will be described later, the ink tube bundle 103 is arranged along the inner space.

  Here, on the surface of the outer beam 107a, a pair of first protrusions 108 protruding outward and another pair of second protrusions 110 are provided. Projections provided outside the flexible support play an important role in this embodiment. Details will be described later.

  As described above, the flexible support 101 is composed of a pair of connection members 106, outer beams 107a, and inner beams 107b arranged at both ends, and the portion is one structural unit, and the structural units are repeatedly linked in series. It has a structure. This structure is deformed flexibly in a predetermined direction while having high rigidity. The flexible support 101 is arranged in a narrow space so that a part thereof is always curved (deformed) in the apparatus, and the curved portion (curved portion) moves following the reciprocating movement of the carriage 3. A protrusion is provided outside the flexible support 101.

  Note that the flexible support 101 is not necessarily a structure in which a plurality of structural units are linked and may be configured by a flexible elastic body as a whole.

  FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view in which a part of the flexible support 101 is cut out. An ink tube bundle 103 is arranged in the inner space S. A signal cable bundle 102 is disposed along the outside of the flexible support 101. Both ends of the signal cable bundle 102 are held loosely between the pair of first protrusions 108. The signal cable bundle 102 is held in the recess 109 formed by the pair of first protrusions 108 and the surface of the outer layer 107a. The pair of first protrusions 108 is more than the signal cable bundle 102 being held. Projects outward. Therefore, the signal cable bundle 102 is positioned on the inner side of the outer end portion 108 a of the first protrusion 108. A pair of second protrusions 110 are provided on the left and right sides of the pair of first protrusions 108. The second protrusion 110 has the same height (protrusion amount) as the first protrusion 108.

  Following the carriage reciprocation in the printing operation, the flexible support 101 moves while deforming. At that time, a part of the outer side of the flexible support 101 comes into contact with the main body frame 10. A part of the outer side of the flexible support 101 may come into contact with the inner surface of the exterior cover 13 of the apparatus. As described above, the first protrusion 108 and the second protrusion 110 that protrude outward from the signal cable bundle 102 are provided outside the flexible support 101. Accordingly, the signal cable bundle 102 is prevented from coming into contact with the main body side surface other than the flexible support, and the signal cable bundle 102 is not damaged.

  Further, the signal cable bundle 102 and the ink tube bundle 103 are physically separated and arranged on the outer side and the inner space of the flexible support 101. No matter how the flexible support 101 is deformed, the separated positional relationship between the signal cable bundle 102 and the ink tube bundle 103 is maintained. For this reason, they do not come into contact with each other, and excessive pulling or compression on the signal cable bundle 102 and the ink tube bundle 103 can be suppressed.

  Here, the first protrusions 108 serve to hold the signal cable bundle 102 so that the signal cable bundle 102 is not detached or laterally displaced, and the second protrusions 110 at both ends serve to stabilize the posture of the flexible support 101. However, both the first protrusion 108 and the second protrusion 110 are not necessarily required, and one of them may be omitted.

  When the tip of the protruding portion of the flexible support 101 comes into contact with the main body frame 10 or the exterior cover 13, a hitting sound is likely to occur. To reduce this sound. As shown in FIG. 3, in each of the main body frame 10 and the exterior cover 13, a buffer member 14 is affixed to a portion that contacts the flexible support 101. The buffer member 14 is required to have elasticity and have a small surface friction. In this example, the cushion member 14 is a member in which a resin film having a smooth surface is provided on a sponge-like elastic body.

  FIG. 6 shows a comparative example for explaining the superiority of the present invention, and is a form in which no protrusion is formed on the flexible support. In this comparative example, the signal cable bundle 102 is arranged along the outside of the flexible support. Since there is nothing to protect the signal cable bundle 102, the signal cable bundle 102 comes into direct contact with the main body frame 10 or the exterior cover 13. As the carriage moves, the contact location also moves, and the signal cable bundle 102 becomes worn when the apparatus is used for a long period of time.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, the 1st protrusion part 108 and the 2nd protrusion part 110 are formed so that it may protrude outside the signal cable bundle 102, and these protrusion parts play a role as a protection means. That is, the protrusion part for suppressing that the cable bundle supported is touching other than a flexible support is provided in the outer side of the flexible support. As a result, the signal cable bundle 102 is prevented from being damaged by direct contact with the surroundings, so that the signal cable bundle 102 is maintained in a good state even when the apparatus is used for a long period of time. In addition, since both sides of the signal cable bundle 102 are loosely held by the first protrusions 108, the signal cable bundle 102 is not easily detached from the flexible support 101 during use without causing a shift in the position in the width direction of the signal cable bundle 102. .

  In this embodiment, the signal cable bundle 102 is arranged outside the flexible support 101, and the ink tube bundle 103 is arranged in the inner space of the flexible support 101. That is, the curvature radius of the signal cable bundle 102 is larger than that of the ink tube bundle 103 at the curved portion of the flexible support 101. This is because the flexible flat cable is physically weaker than the bending force with a smaller curvature than the ink tube. Thus, by arranging the signal cable bundle 102 outside the flexible support 101 and protecting the bundle with the protrusions, the signal cable that requires delicate handling is prevented from being physically damaged.

  However, this arrangement relationship is not an essential configuration, and if the signal cable bundle 102 can have a sufficient radius of curvature, the signal cable bundle 102 is arranged in the inner space, and the ink tube bundle 103 is placed outside the flexible support 101. It may be arranged. Further, both the signal cable bundle 102 and the ink tube bundle 103 may not be supported by the flexible support 101, but only one of them may be supported by the flexible support 101 and the other may not be supported by the flexible support 101. In any case, since the tube bundle and the cable bundle are physically separated, they do not come into contact with each other during the movement of the carriage.

  FIG. 7 shows a further modification. In this example, both the ink tube bundle 103 and the signal cable 104 bundle are arranged along the outside of the flexible support 101a. Neither the ink tube bundle 103 nor the signal cable bundle 104 is arranged in the inner space S of the flexible support. Since the internal space is not used, the flexible support 101a may be a structure having no internal space. The signal cable bundle 104 has a shape in which a plurality of signal lines are gathered into a round shape with a thin diameter, and the signal cable bundle 104 is arranged to the left and right of the ink tube bundle 103 so as not to physically interfere. The first protrusion 108 and the second protrusion 110 are the same as in the previous embodiment, and protrude outward from the ink tube bundle 103 and the signal cable bundle 104. The ink tube bundle 103 and the signal cable bundle 104 are prevented from touching the surrounding wall surface other than the flexible support by the protective action of the protruding portion, and the durability is improved.

  According to the embodiment described above, the signal cable bundle, the ink tube bundle, and the like are not easily damaged when the carriage is moved. Therefore, the apparatus can be stably operated over a long period of time.

2 Print head 2
3 Carriage 100 Printing Device 101 Flexible Support 102 Signal Cable Bundle 103 Ink Tube Bundle 108 Projection 110 Second Projection

Claims (8)

A carriage mounted with a print head and reciprocating;
A tube bundle for supplying ink to the print head;
A bundle of cables for transmitting signals to the print head;
A flexible support that supports the tube and the cable bundle between the carriage and the fixing portion on the main body side and deforms as the carriage moves,
The tube bundle or cable bundle is arranged along the outside of the flexible support,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion is provided outside the flexible support to prevent the tube bundle or the cable bundle to be supported from touching other than the flexible support.   2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flexible support has a structure in which a plurality of structural units are repeatedly linked, and the plurality of structural parts are provided with the protruding portions.   The flexible support has an internal space, and one of the tube bundle and the cable bundle is disposed on the outside, and the other is disposed on the internal space. Printing device.   The printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cable bundle is disposed on the outer side, and the tube bundle is disposed on the inner space.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein both the tube bundle and the cable bundle are arranged along the outer side.   6. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a buffer member is provided on the main body side at a position where the protrusion comes into contact with the protruding portion. A reciprocating carriage;
A bundle of cables for transmitting signals to the carriage;
A flexible support that supports the cable bundle between the carriage and the fixing portion on the main body side, and a curved portion that moves as the carriage moves;
The cable bundle is arranged along the outside of the flexible support,
A carriage device, characterized in that a protrusion for preventing the cable bundle to be supported from touching other than the flexible support is provided outside the flexible support. A flexible support that supports a cable bundle connected to a carriage that reciprocally moves and deforms as the carriage moves,
The cable bundle is arranged along the outside of the flexible support,
A flexible support used in a carriage device, wherein the outer portion of the flexible support is provided with a protrusion for preventing the cable bundle to be supported from touching other than the flexible support. .