JP2023078954A - head unit - Google Patents

Abstract

To retain locking by a lock mechanism even in a case where a joint portion is provided in a side surface of a head.SOLUTION: A front surface 10d of a head 10 is provided with a joint portion 70 to which an external member can be attached. An arm member 52 constituting a lock mechanism 50 includes a support portion 522s that supports the joint portion 70 from below when the head 10 is mounted to a mounting member 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a head unit comprising a cartridge-type head having a plurality of nozzles and a mounting member to which the head is detachably mounted.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200003 discloses a print cartridge container device (head) that includes a print cartridge container (mounting member) that detachably accommodates and supports a print cartridge (head), and a lock mechanism that locks the print cartridge to the print cartridge container. units) are shown. A plurality of nozzles are formed in the print cartridge. The print cartridge receptacle supports the lower portion of the print cartridge when the print cartridge is installed in the print cartridge receptacle. A locking mechanism locks the print cartridge to the print cartridge receptacle by pressing against the top surface of the print cartridge.

JP-A-2000-141688

By locking the head to the mounting member using a lock mechanism as in Patent Document 1, it is possible to prevent the head from being detached from the mounting member (which in turn prevents the nozzle from deviating from the desired position and degrading the recording quality). . However, when a joint portion to which an external member (such as a tube) can be attached is provided on the side surface of the head, the weight of the external member may disengage the locking mechanism and tilt the head. In this case, the positions of the nozzles may deviate from the desired positions, and the print quality may deteriorate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a head unit that can maintain locking by a locking mechanism even when a joint portion is provided on the side surface of the head.

A head unit according to the present invention includes a cartridge-type head having a plurality of nozzles formed thereon, a mounting member to which the head is detachably mounted, and a locking mechanism for locking the head to the mounting member, The head has an upper surface, a lower surface, a first side surface, and a second side surface opposite to the first side surface, and the mounting member, when the head is mounted on the mounting member, The lock mechanism includes a pressing member that supports a lower portion of the head provided with the bottom surface, covers the first side surface, and exposes the second side surface, and is fixed to the pressing member. and an arm member extending from the pressing member, the arm member extending downward from the first side surface toward the second side surface, and a joint portion to which an external member can be attached to the second side surface. is provided, and the arm member has a support portion that supports the joint portion from below when the head is attached to the attachment member.

1 is a perspective view of a head unit 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention; FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which an external member 90 is removed in the head unit 1; FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a pressing member 51 of the head unit 1 rotates from a pressing position toward a releasing position; FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the pressing member 51 has reached the release position; FIG. 2 is a right side view of the head unit 1; FIG. 2 is a left side view of the head unit 1; FIG. 2 is a front view of the head unit 1; FIG. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the head unit 1 taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG. 7; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a head unit 201 according to a second embodiment of the invention;

<First embodiment>
A head unit 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a head 10, a mounting member 30, and a lock mechanism 50, as shown in FIG.

Although illustration is omitted, the head 10 includes a sub-tank for storing ink supplied from a main tank via an ink transfer tube 91 (a “liquid transfer tube” according to the present invention), and a channel for supplying ink from the sub-tank. member. The channel member is formed with a channel through which the ink supplied from the sub-tank flows. A plurality of nozzles (not shown) are formed at the bottom surface 10b (see FIG. 8) of the head 10, which are the tips of the flow paths.

A head unit 1 is applied to a printer. In this embodiment, the head unit 1 is fixed at a fixed position, and when a recording medium (for example, a packaging material such as food) passes under the head 10 by driving a transport mechanism (not shown), the driver IC (not shown) is driven, ink is ejected from the nozzles, and the ink lands on the packaging material, thereby recording an image on the packaging material. Driving of the transport mechanism and the driver IC is controlled by the printer controller based on signals from the signal line 92 and the substrate 93 (see FIG. 1). Note that the substrate 93 is housed in the box shown in FIG. 1 and cannot be seen from the outside.

The head 10 is of a cartridge type and is detachably attached to the attachment member 30 in the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the head 10 is mounted on the mounting member 30, the mounting member 30 supports the lower portion 10x provided with the lower surface 10b of the head 10, and supports the rear surface 10c (according to the present invention) of the head 10. "first side") of the head 10 and expose the front surface 10d ("second side" according to the present invention) of the head 10. The front surface 10d is the surface opposite to the rear surface 10c. The lower surface 10 b is exposed through a through hole 30 x formed in the lower wall of the mounting member 30 .

1, 2, 5 and 6, when the head 10 is mounted on the mounting member 30, the mounting member 30 has a right surface 10e (a "third side surface" according to the present invention). ”) and the left side 10f (the “fourth side” according to the invention) at least partially. Both the right surface 10e and the left surface 10f are sandwiched between the front surface 10d and the rear surface 10c. The left surface 10f is a surface opposite to the right surface 10e.

The front face 10d of the head 10 is provided with a joint section 70 to which an external member 90 (ink transfer tube 91, signal line 92, substrate 93, etc.) can be attached. The joint portion 70 projects obliquely upward (projection direction D shown in FIG. 6) from the front surface 10d. Both the ink transfer tube 91 and the signal line 92 are about 6 m. The weight of the entire external member 90 is about 2 kg.

A contact 18 (“first contact” according to the present invention) is provided on the rear surface 10c of the head 10, as shown in FIG. When the head 10 is mounted on the mounting member 30, the contact 18 is electrically connected to the contact 38 of the mounting member 30 (the "second contact" according to the invention). Signals are sent and received between the printer control section and the head unit 1 control section via the contacts 18, 38 and the signal line 92 (see FIG. 1). The signal may include a signal indicating that the head 10 has been mounted on the mounting member 30, a signal indicating the amount of ink remaining in the sub-tank of the head 10, recording data, and the like.

The locking mechanism 50 is a mechanism for locking the head 10 to the mounting member 30, and includes a pressing member 51 and an arm member 52 extending from the pressing member 51, as shown in FIG.

The pressing member 51 is rotatably supported by the mounting member 30 about a rotating shaft 51x (see FIG. 8). The rotating shaft 51x extends in the left-right direction (the direction intersecting the direction from the rear surface 10c to the front surface 10d of the head 10).

The pressing member 51 rotates about the rotating shaft 51x to move from a pressing position (see FIGS. 1, 2, and 5 to 8) for pressing the upper surface 10a of the head 10 and from the upper surface 10a of the head 10. A remote release position (see FIG. 4) can be selectively assumed. When the user of the printer attaches and detaches the head 10 to and from the mounting member 30, the user rotates the pressing member 51 from the pressing position toward the release position and holds the pressing member 51 at the release position.

A coil spring 51s (see FIG. 8) is provided inside the pressing member 51 . The coil spring 51s strengthens the pressing force of the pressing member 51 against the upper surface 10a of the head 10 when the pressing member 51 is at the pressing position.

The arm member 52 is fixed to the pressing member 51 by screws 55 and 56 (see FIG. 2), and is rotatable together with the pressing member 51 (see FIGS. 2 to 4).

A torsion spring 526 (“second biasing member” according to the present invention) is provided around the screw 56, as shown in FIGS. The torsion spring 526 has one end that contacts the front end surface of the mounting member 30 and the other end that contacts the rear end surface of the arm member 52 . The arm member 52 is urged by the torsion spring 526 in the direction from the pressing position toward the release position.

As shown in FIG. 5, the arm member 52 is arranged along the right surface 10e of the head 10 and extends downward from the rear surface 10c of the head 10 toward the front surface 10d. The arm member 52 includes a main body 521 extending along the right surface 10e of the head 10 and a swinging piece 522 supported by the main body 521 so as to be swingable. The rocking piece 522 may be made of rubber, resin, metal (for example, aluminum), or the like.

The rocking piece 522 is rockably supported by the main body 521 via a rocking shaft 522x (see FIG. 6). The rocking shaft 522x extends in the front-rear direction (a direction intersecting a straight line connecting the one end 522a and the other end 522b) between the one end 522a and the other end 522b of the rocking piece 522 .

One end 522a of the swing piece 522 is provided with a support portion 522s that supports the joint portion 70 from below when the head 10 is attached to the attachment member 30, as shown in FIG. The end surface of the support portion 522s (the surface that supports the joint portion 70) extends in the projecting direction D (the direction in which the joint portion 70 projects from the front surface 10d).

A coil spring 525 is provided around the swing shaft 522x as shown in FIG. One end 522a including the support portion 522s of the swinging piece 522 faces leftward (from the right surface 10e to the left surface 10f of the head 10) by the coil spring 525 (the "first biasing member" of the present invention), The end 522b is biased toward the right. As a result, when the head 10 is mounted on the mounting member 30, one end 522a of the swing piece 522 overlaps the head 10 in the front-rear direction, and the other end 522b overlaps the head 10 in the front-rear direction, as shown in FIG. It is designed not to

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the surface of the support portion 522s facing the joint portion 70 when the pressing member 51 rotates about the rotation shaft 51x (see FIGS. 2 to 4) has a A notch 522 y is provided to prevent the joint portion 70 from being caught by the joint portion 70 . The notch 522y is formed so as to incline rightward (in a direction away from the head 10) toward the rear.

One end 522a of the swing piece 522 is covered from the right side by a rectangular plate 53, as shown in FIGS. The plate 53 is fixed to the main body 521 with screws 57 . The other end 522b of the swinging piece 522 is not covered with the plate 53 and is exposed.

When attaching/detaching the head 10 to/from the mounting member 30, the user of the printer pushes the other end 522b of the swinging piece 522 to the left against the biasing force of the coil spring 525 (see the arrows in FIGS. 3 and 4). ), the main body 521 of the arm member 52 is moved upward, and the pressing member 51 is rotated from the pressing position toward the releasing position. By pushing the other end 522b of the rocking piece 522 leftward, the one end 522a of the rocking piece 522 moves rightward. At this time, one end 522a of the swinging piece 522 does not overlap the head 10 in the front-rear direction, and the other end 522b of the swinging piece 522 does not overlap the head 10 in the front-rear direction. By rotating the arm member 52 together with the pressing member 51 in this state and by providing the notch 522y as described above, the swinging piece 522 is not caught on the joint portion 70, and the pressing member 51 is released from the pressing position. It can be rotated smoothly towards the position.

After mounting the head 10 on the mounting member 30, when locking the head 10 on the mounting member 30, the user of the printer moves the main body 521 of the arm member 52 downward without pressing the other end 522b of the swing piece 522. and rotate the pressing member 51 from the release position toward the pressing position. At this time, one end 522a of the swinging piece 522 first contacts the joint portion 70, and is slightly moved to the right against the biasing force of the coil spring 525 by the pressing force from the joint portion 70. As shown in FIG. After that, when the pressing member 51 reaches the pressing position and the one end 522a of the swinging piece 522 is arranged below the joint portion 70, the one end 522a moves leftward by the biasing force of the coil spring 525, and moves forward and backward. It overlaps with the head 10 (see FIG. 7). At this time, the support portion 522s provided at the one end 522a supports the joint portion 70 from below.

As described above, according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the front surface 10d of the head 10 is provided with the joint portion 70 to which the external member 90 (see FIG. 1) can be attached. The arm member 52 that constitutes the lock mechanism 50 has a support portion 522 s that supports the joint portion 70 from below when the head 10 is attached to the attachment member 30 . In this configuration, the joint portion 70 that tends to move downward due to the weight of the external member 90 is supported from below by the support portion 522s of the arm member 52 . As a downward force is applied to the support portion 522s by the weight of the joint portion 70, a downward force is applied to the pressing member 51 fixed to the arm member 52, and the pressing member 51 acts on the upper surface 10a of the head 10. pressure increases. As a result, the head 10 is firmly locked to the mounting member 30 . That is, according to this embodiment, even when the joint portion 70 is provided on the front surface 10d of the head 10, the lock by the lock mechanism 50 can be maintained.

A contact 18 is provided on the rear surface 10c of the head 10, and the contact 18 is electrically connected to the contact 38 of the mounting member 30 when the head 10 is mounted on the mounting member 30 (see FIG. 8). In this case, if the head 10 tilts due to the weight of the external member 90, the electrical connection between the contacts 18, 38 may become defective. In this respect, in the present embodiment, since the support portion 522s that supports the joint portion 70 from below is provided, the lock by the lock mechanism 50 can be maintained, and the weight of the external member 90 prevents the head 10 from tilting. Electrical connection failure as described above is less likely to occur.

The end surface of the support portion 522s (the surface that supports the joint portion 70) extends in the projecting direction D (the direction in which the joint portion 70 projects from the front surface 10d) (see FIG. 6). In this case, the joint portion 70 can be supported over a certain length along the projecting direction D by the support portion 522s. That is, the joint portion 70 can be more reliably supported, and the locking by the locking mechanism 50 can be more reliably maintained.

When the head 10 is mounted on the mounting member 30, the rear surface 10c, the right surface 10e and the left surface 10f of the head 10 are at least partially covered, and the front surface 10d is exposed (see FIGS. 1-8). Therefore, the mounting direction of the head 10 with respect to the mounting member 30 is the direction from the front surface 10d to the rear surface 10c. Here, a support portion 522s that supports the joint portion 70 is provided on the arm member 52 extending from the rear surface 10c toward the front surface 10d. Therefore, when the head 10 is attached to the attachment member 30, the joint portion 70 can be smoothly supported by the support portion 522s.

The arm member 52 includes a main body 521 extending along the right surface 10e of the head 10, a swinging piece 522 that is swingably supported by the main body 521 and provided with a support portion 522s, and a support portion 522s that extends along the right surface 10e of the head 10. and a coil spring 525 that biases the swing piece 522 toward the left surface 10f (see FIGS. 2, 6 and 7). When attaching/detaching the head 10 to/from the mounting member 30, the attaching/detaching operation can be performed by swinging the swinging piece 522 against the biasing force of the coil spring 525 to retract the support portion 522s. After mounting the head 10 on the mounting member 30, when the head 10 is locked to the mounting member 30, the swinging piece 522 is returned by the biasing force of the coil spring 525, and the joint portion 70 is supported by the support portion 522s. can be made

A swing shaft 522x of the swing piece 522 with respect to the main body 521 extends in the front-rear direction (a direction intersecting a straight line connecting the one end 522a and the other end 522b) between the one end 522a and the other end 522b (FIG. 6). reference). In this case, by pushing the other end 522b, the rocking piece 522 can be rocked, and the one end 522a provided with the support portion 522s can be retracted (and thus the head 10 can be easily attached to and detached from the mounting member 30). .

The pressing member 51 is rotatably supported by the mounting member 30 about a rotation shaft 51x (see FIG. 8) extending in the left-right direction (direction intersecting the direction from the rear surface 10c to the front surface 10d of the head 10). 1, 2, and 5 to 8) and a releasing position separated from the upper surface 10a of the head 10 by rotating around the rotating shaft 51x. position (see FIG. 4). In this case, by rotating the pressing member 51 and disposing it at the release position, it is possible to easily attach and detach the head 10 to and from the mounting member 30 .

The head unit 1 includes a torsion spring 526 that biases the arm member 52 in the direction from the pressing position to the release position of the pressing member 51 (see FIGS. 2 to 4). In this case, it is possible to prevent the weight of the arm member 52 from making it difficult to rotate the pressing member 51 from the pressing position toward the release position. Therefore, when attaching and detaching the head 10 to and from the mounting member 30, the pressing member 51 can be moved to the release position with a relatively small force, and attachment and detachment work can be easily performed.

A notch 522y is provided on a surface of the support portion 522s facing the joint portion 70 when the pressing member 51 rotates about the rotation shaft 51x (see FIGS. 2 to 4) (see FIG. 6). ). In this case, when the pressing member 51 and the arm member 52 rotate, the surface of the support portion 522s is prevented from being caught on the joint portion 70, and the rotation can be performed smoothly.

The external member 90 is at least one of an ink transfer tube 91, a signal line 92 and a substrate 93 (see FIG. 1). Since the ink transfer tube 91, the signal line 92, and the substrate 93 are all generally heavy, the problem of unlocking due to the weight of the external member 90 easily occurs, but this problem can be effectively solved in this embodiment.

<Second embodiment>
A head unit 201 according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes two heads 10, two mounting members 30, and two locking mechanisms 50, as shown in FIG.

The two mounting members 30 are arranged in the left-right direction (an arrangement direction that intersects the direction from the rear surface 10c to the front surface 10d). The two heads 10 are detachably attached to the two attachment members 30, respectively. Two locking mechanisms 50 are provided on each of the two mounting members 30 . The arm members 52 of the two lock mechanisms 50 are arranged outside the two heads 10 in the left-right direction.

If the arm members 52 of the two lock mechanisms 50 are arranged between the two heads 10, it becomes necessary to increase the distance between the two heads 10 by the space of the arm members 52, and the heads 10 cannot be arranged densely. The unit 1 becomes large in the horizontal direction). According to this embodiment, in a configuration including two mounting members 30 arranged in the horizontal direction, the heads 10 can be densely arranged by arranging the arm member 52 outside the two heads 10 in the horizontal direction. (As a result, the size of the head 10 can be reduced in the horizontal direction).

<Modification>
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design changes are possible within the scope of the claims.

The torsion spring (second biasing member) biases the arm member in the above embodiment, but may bias the pressing member, or may bias both the pressing member and the arm member. .

The pressing member is not limited to being rotatable. For example, the pressing member may selectively take the pressing position and the releasing position by sliding relative to the mounting member.

The number of heads included in the head unit is one or two in the above embodiment, but may be three or more.

The head may be either serial type or line type.

The liquid ejected from the nozzles is not limited to ink, and may be liquid other than ink (for example, a treatment liquid that aggregates or deposits components in ink).

A recording medium is not limited to a packaging material. Also, the material constituting the recording medium may be any material (plastic, paper, cloth, etc.).

The present invention is not limited to printers, but can also be applied to facsimiles, copiers, multi-function machines, and the like. The present invention can also be applied to a liquid ejection apparatus used for purposes other than image recording (for example, a liquid ejection apparatus that ejects a conductive liquid onto a substrate to form a conductive pattern).

1;201 head unit 10 head 10a upper surface 10b lower surface 10c rear surface (first side surface)
10d Front (second side)
10e right side (third side)
10f left side (fourth side)
10x bottom 18 contacts (first contact)
30 mounting member 38 contact (second contact)
50 locking mechanism 51 pressing member 51x rotating shaft 52 arm member 521 main body 522 swinging piece 522a one end 522b other end 522s supporting portion 522x swinging shaft 522y notch 525 coil spring (first biasing member)
526 torsion spring (second biasing member)
70 joint part 90 external member 91 ink transfer tube (liquid transfer tube)
92 Signal line 93 Substrate D Protruding direction

Claims (11)

a cartridge type head in which a plurality of nozzles are formed;
a mounting member to which the head is detachably mounted;
a locking mechanism that locks the head to the mounting member;
the head has a top surface, a bottom surface, a first side, and a second side opposite to the first side;
When the head is mounted on the mounting member, the mounting member supports a lower portion of the head provided with the lower surface, covers the first side surface, and exposes the second side surface,
The lock mechanism includes a pressing member that presses the upper surface, and an arm member fixed to the pressing member and extending from the pressing member, the arm member extending downward from the first side surface toward the second side surface. , has
A joint portion to which an external member can be attached is provided on the second side surface,
A head unit, wherein the arm member has a support portion that supports the joint portion from below when the head is mounted on the mounting member. A first contact is provided on the first side surface of the head,
2. The head unit according to claim 1, wherein said first contact is electrically connected to a second contact of said mounting member when said head is mounted on said mounting member. The joint portion protrudes in a protruding direction from the second side surface,
3. The head unit according to claim 1, wherein a surface of said support portion that supports said joint portion extends in said projecting direction. The head has a third side sandwiched between the first side and the second side, and a fourth side sandwiched between the first side and the second side and opposite to the third side,
4. The mounting member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the mounting member at least partially covers each of the third side surface and the fourth side surface when the head is mounted on the mounting member. head unit as described above. The arm member includes a body extending along the third side surface, a rocking piece supported by the body so as to be rockable and provided with the support portion, and a support portion extending from the third side surface to the fourth side surface. 5. The head unit according to claim 4, further comprising a first biasing member that biases the swinging piece toward the side. The swing piece has one end provided with the support portion and the other end,
2. A swing axis of said swing piece with respect to said main body extends between said one end and said other end in a direction intersecting a straight line connecting said one end and said other end. 5. The head unit according to 5. The pressing member is rotatably supported by the mounting member about a rotation shaft extending in a direction intersecting a direction from the first side surface toward the second side surface, and is supported about the rotation shaft. 7. The head unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it can selectively take a pressing position that presses the upper surface and a releasing position that is separated from the upper surface by rotating. . 8. The pressing member according to claim 7, further comprising a second biasing member that biases at least one of the pressing member and the arm member in a direction from the pressing position toward the releasing position. head unit. 9. The support part according to claim 7 or 8, wherein a notch is provided on a surface of the support part that faces the joint part when the pressing member rotates about the rotation shaft. head unit. A head unit according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said external member is at least one of a liquid transfer tube, a signal line and a substrate. The two mounting members are arranged in an arrangement direction that intersects the direction from the first side surface to the second side surface,
The two heads are detachably attached to each of the two attachment members,
11. The head according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the arm members provided on each of the two mounting members are arranged outside the two heads in the arrangement direction. unit.

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