JP2550594B2 - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Outline] The present invention relates to, for example, a drop-on-demand type ink jet printer, in which a plurality of ink jet heads are aligned on a carrier and individually attachable and detachable. And an inkjet head having a first engaging portion opening toward the front side on the front side and a second engaging portion on the rear side, and the inkjet head penetrating laterally in the front side. The positioning sections of the inkjet head unit having the receiving shaft with which the first engaging portion of the head is engaged and the engaging shaft with which the second engaging portion of the inkjet head is engaged are arranged in parallel on the rear side. And a carrier for reciprocating an ink jet head mounting portion formed in a plurality of compartments in a direction parallel to a printing surface. The first engaging portion and the receiving shaft of the inkjet head mounting portion are engaged with each other, and the second engaging portion and the engaging shaft of the inkjet head mounting portion are engaged with each other, so that the plurality of inkjet heads respectively The head mounting portion is configured to be detachably positioned and mounted in the positioning section.

[Industrial applications]

The present invention relates to an inkjet printer of a drop-on-demand type or the like.

Various serial printers are used for input / output terminals of data processing devices and word processors.
Among them, the serial dot printer is a terminal in office automation (OA) that can create an extremely large number of characters in order to record characters by composing them with dots. Applications are expanding.

In recent years, an ink jet printer capable of performing high density and high speed recording without generating noise has been attracting attention as an alternative to the wire dot printer.

[Conventional technology]

A conventional ink jet printer is as shown in a plan view of a main part of FIG. 7, and roughly, while reciprocating the ink jet head 1 having a plurality of ink ejecting nozzles in the left-right direction, pressurizes a predetermined ink. Ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles, and the ink droplets are used to perform recording on recording papers that are arranged opposite to each other.

The recording paper 4 is wound around a platen 3 which is rotatably held by the side frames 2a and 2b on both sides, and is transported and discharged in the direction of arrow A.

The carrier 5 slidably engaged with the guide shafts 6 and 7 provided in parallel to the platen 3 on the front side (lower front side in the figure) of the platen 3 is stretched between the pulleys 9 and 10 at the left and right ends. It is mounted on one of the endless belt-shaped timing belts 8 mounted in parallel with the guide shafts 6 and 7, and the arrow B corresponds to the forward / reverse rotation of the pulley 9 connected to the motor 11.
-Move back and forth in the C direction.

A plurality of (for example, four) inkjet heads 1 are mounted on the carrier 5 for multicolor printing. The inkjet head 1 eliminates errors such as misalignment and misalignment between the inkjet heads 1 so as not to cause defective printing, and corrects these errors in order to align them accurately. In order to omit the adjusting mechanism to be individually mounted on the carrier 5 by providing a complicated adjusting mechanism provided in the above, a plurality of them are preliminarily aligned and mounted integrally by means such as bonding.

The ink jet head 1 and the ink tank 13 that stores a different color are connected to each other by flexible tubes 12, and ink is supplied.

With the above-described configuration, the inkjet head 1 is reciprocally moved with the movement of the carrier 5, a predetermined nozzle is selected from a plurality of noises of the inkjet head 1, and, for example, the ink in the head is pressurized by a piezoelectric element or the like to generate the nozzle. The ink is ejected in the form of a droplet from the recording medium to record on the recording paper 4.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

As described above, the plurality of inkjet heads 1 are
Since it is formed in one block by means of adhesion or the like, if any one of them becomes defective, the expensive inkjet head must be replaced in block units, which causes a problem of high cost.

In view of the above, the present invention has an object to provide an inkjet printer in which a plurality of inkjet heads can be arranged on a carrier in an aligned state and individually detachably attached.

[Means for solving problems]

The above-mentioned gist of the means of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is that the inkjet head has a first engaging portion opening toward the front side on the front side and a second engaging portion on the rear side. And a receiving shaft that penetrates the front side in the lateral direction and is engaged with the first engaging portion of the inkjet head, and an engaging shaft that is engaged with the second engaging portion of the inkjet head in the rear side. And a carrier for reciprocating an inkjet head mounting portion in which a plurality of positioning sections of the inkjet head are formed in parallel, and a first engaging portion of the inkjet head. By engaging the receiving shaft of the inkjet head mounting portion with the second engaging portion and the engaging shaft of the inkjet head mounting portion, a plurality of inkjet heads are connected. In which each de is attached detachably positioned in the positioning section of the inkjet head attachment.

[Action]

The first and second engaging parts at the front and rear of the inkjet head,
By engaging the front-side receiving shaft and the rear-side engaging shaft of the inkjet head mounting portion on the carrier respectively, the inkjet head can be individually mounted in the positioning section with high accuracy and detachably mounted. To be

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the inkjet printer of the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the drawings based on embodiments based on the gist of the configuration. Note that the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the drawings.

1 to 6 show one embodiment of the ink jet printer of the present invention. As shown in the plan view of the main part of FIG. 1, the recording paper 4 is wound around the platen 3 rotatably held by the side frames 2a, 2b on both sides, and is transferred and discharged upward in the drawing. It is like this.

The carrier 15 slidably engaged with the guide shafts 6 and 7 provided in parallel to the platen 3 on the front side (the lower front side in the figure) of the platen 3 is stretched between the pulleys 9 and 10 at the left and right ends. The timing belt 8 is mounted on one side of the endless belt 8 and is fixed in parallel with the guide shafts 6 and 7, and is fixed by one locking portion 8a. -Move back and forth in the C direction.

A plurality of inkjet heads 1 and the inkjet heads 1 are aligned and mounted in the positioning section of the inkjet head mounting portion, and each of them is individually removable.

In this embodiment, the ink jet head mounting portion is formed on the sub carrier 14, and the sub carrier 14 is reciprocally moved in parallel to the platen 3.
It is designed to be installed and mounted on. The plurality of inkjet heads 1 are, for example, 1a to 1d,
There are four.

The ink jet head 1 and the ink tank 13 that stores a different color are connected to each other by flexible tubes 12, and ink is supplied.

With the above-described configuration, the inkjet head 1 is reciprocally moved along with the movement of the carrier 15, a predetermined nozzle is selected from a plurality of nozzles of the inkjet head 1, and, for example, the ink in the head is pressurized by a piezoelectric element or the like, and the nozzle is pressed. The ink is ejected in a droplet form from the recording medium, and recording is performed on the recording sheet 4 which is the printing surface.

The subcarrier 14 is a plan view shown in FIG. 2A, and a view (b) showing a DD cross section of FIG.
Is like. That is, the inkjet head mounting portion 16 for positioning and partitioning each of the four inkjet heads 1 is provided, and the positioning partition is provided with four side walls 18 having a front vertical leaf spring 17, and the left end of the inkjet head mounting portion 16 ( A side wall 18 'at the lower end of the drawing, an engagement hole 22 for engaging the nozzle surface protruding from the front surface of the inkjet head 1 to the front side, and laterally penetrating each positioning section in the lower part on the front side and protruding to both sides. A receiving shaft 23, a groove 20 having a leaf spring 19 in the horizontal direction on the rear side, and an engaging shaft 21 formed of a protrusion that faces the leaf spring 19 and projects on the inner side surface of the groove 20.
And consisting of

The inkjet head 1 is as shown in FIG. 3 as a perspective view (a) viewed obliquely from the front and a perspective view (b) viewed obliquely from the rear. That is, the main body 24 made of stainless steel and the like and the plastic covers 25 covering both sides of the main body 24 are provided, and the second engaging portion 26 formed as a through hole in the lower rear side of the main body 24 and the front lower portion are provided. And a first engaging portion 27 that is a notch that opens in the front direction.

With the above configuration, in order to mount the inkjet head 1 on the inkjet head mounting portion 16, the front side of the inkjet head 1 is a positioning section of the inkjet head mounting portion 16, between the side walls 18, 18, or 18, 1.
8'is inserted against the urging force of the leaf spring 17 and, as shown in the side view of FIG.
The receiving shaft 23 is engaged. Next, the rear side of the main body 24 of the inkjet head 1 is pushed down to move the leaf spring 19 in the groove 20.
The second engaging portion 26 is engaged with the engaging shaft 21 by being inserted into the groove 20 against the biasing force of the second engaging portion 26.

Each of the inkjet heads 1 has a leaf spring 17 or 19
Then, the side wall 18, 18 'which is each positioning section,
The side wall surface in the groove 20 is pressed and urged to be positioned in a close contact state.

The ink jet head mounting portion 16 is formed by molding a plastic with good shape and dimensional accuracy.

The subcarrier 14 is a carrier, as shown in FIG.
The receiving shafts 23 projecting on both sides of the inkjet head mounting portion 16 are inserted into the notches 29 in the horizontal direction, which are provided in the side walls 28 at both ends on the front side (left side in the drawing) of the upper part of the 15 and open rearward. The screw 30 is inserted into the through hole 31 (see FIG. 2) of the carrier, and the screw is screwed into the screw hole of the carrier 15 to be fixed.

In the above embodiment, the inkjet head mounting portion 16
Inkjet head 1 because the material is plastic
The engagement shaft 21 may be worn away by repeatedly attaching and detaching.

With respect to such a possibility, the configuration shown in FIG. 6 can be adopted. In FIG. 6, the receiving shaft 23 is provided on the front side of the subcarrier 32 that is the ink jet head mounting portion 16, the engaging shaft 33 that also penetrates the rear side, the lateral wall portion 34 on the rear side, and the wall portion 34. The leaf springs 35 for individually biasing the inkjet heads 1'to the front side of the front side of the
And,

The inkjet head 1'includes a first engaging portion 27 that is a notch that opens forward in the lower portion on the front side,
A second coupling portion 36, which is a notch that is bent at a right angle toward the rear side and is opened downward, is provided on the lower portion of the rear side.

With the above configuration, the ink jet head 1'is attached to the leaf spring 35.
The second engaging portion 36 is engaged with the engaging shaft 33 and the first engaging portion 27 is engaged with the receiving shaft 23 while pressing the second engaging portion 36 against the urging force of the wall portion 34. By slidably moving the inkjet head 1'on the inkjet head mounting portion, the inkjet head 1'is positioned and fixed in the illustrated state by the biasing force of the leaf spring 35.

As described above, for ease of understanding, the ink jet head mounting portion has been described as a sub-carrier, but it is of course possible to form it directly on the carrier without any particular problem. is there.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described in detail above, according to the inkjet printer of the present invention, it is possible to align a plurality of inkjet heads with high positional accuracy and easily attach and detach them individually. Since the replacement unit of the ink jet head can be carried out as a single unit, it is extremely economically and practically extremely effective.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an essential part of an inkjet printer of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sub-carrier, FIG. 3 is an external view of an inkjet head, and FIG. 4 is a side view of a state in which the inkjet head is attached to an inkjet mounting portion. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state in which the sub-carrier is attached to the carrier, FIG. 6 is a side view of another means for attaching the inkjet head to the inkjet head attaching portion, and FIG. 7 is a plan view of a main portion of a conventional inkjet printer. Shown respectively. In the drawings, 1,1 'is an inkjet head, 2a and 2b are side frames, 3 is a platen, 4 is recording paper, 5 is a carrier, 6,7 is a guide shaft, 8 is a timing belt, and 9 and 10 are Pulley, 11 is a motor, 12 is a tube, 13 is an ink tank, 14 is a sub carrier, 15 is a carrier, 16 is an inkjet head mounting portion, 17 is a leaf spring, 18, 18 'is a side wall, 19 is a leaf spring, 20 is Grooves, 21 is an engaging shaft, 22 is an engaging hole, 23 is a receiving shaft, 24 is a main body part, 25 is a plastic cover, 26 is a second engaging part, 27 is a first engaging part, and 28 is a side wall. , 29 is a notch, 30 is a screw, 31 is a through hole, 32 is a subcarrier, 33 is an engaging shaft, 34 is a wall portion, 35 is a leaf spring, and 36 is a second engaging portion.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An inkjet head having a first engaging portion opening toward the front side on the front side and a second engaging portion on the rear side, and the inkjet head penetrating laterally in the front side. A plurality of positioning sections are arranged in parallel for each inkjet head, the positioning section having a receiving shaft with which the first engaging section is engaged and an engaging axis with which the second engaging section of the inkjet head is engaged on the rear side. A carrier that reciprocates the formed inkjet head mounting portion in a direction parallel to the printing surface, and the first engaging portion of the inkjet head and the receiving shaft of the inkjet head mounting portion are engaged with each other to form a second carrier. The plurality of inkjet heads are aligned with each other by engaging the engaging portion of the inkjet head with the engaging shaft of the inkjet head mounting portion. An inkjet printer characterized by being removably positioned and attached to a compartment.