JP2709477B2 - Serial recording device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to serial recording in which a dot image is formed on a sheet based on print data while scanning in a print digit direction by a recording head mounted on a carriage. Related to the device.

[Conventional technology]

As a recording device such as a printer or a facsimile, a recording head is mounted on a carriage that moves in the printing digit direction, and the recording head is driven based on print data while scanning with the recording head, thereby forming a dot image on a sheet. The types that are being formed, ie, serial recording devices, are widely used.

12 to 15 are partial perspective views each showing a main part of various types of the drive mechanism of the carriage.

FIG. 12 shows a carriage drive mechanism of a rack and pinion system.

In FIG. 12, a carriage on which a recording head 61 is mounted
62 is guided and supported movably along a guide shaft 63 and a guide rail 64. On the carriage 62, a pinion 65 rotated by a carriage motor (not shown) is pivotally supported. The pinion 65 meshes with a long rack 66 installed on the base of the recording apparatus. By controlling the rotation of the pinion 65 by a motor, the position and movement of the carriage 62 can be controlled. A rotary encoder 67 for detecting rotation of the pinion 65 is mounted on the carriage 62.

FIG. 13 shows a carriage drive mechanism of the belt transmission type.

In FIG. 13, a carriage on which a recording head 71 is mounted
72 is connected to a belt 75 stretched over a pair of pulleys 73 and 74. One pulley 73 is a drive pulley that is driven to rotate by a carriage motor 76, and the other pulley 74
Is a driven pulley.

Therefore, by controlling the rotation of the motor 76, the movement and the position of the carriage 72 can be controlled.

FIG. 14 shows a carriage drive mechanism of the wire rope transmission type.

In FIG. 14, a carriage on which a recording head 81 is mounted
82 is driven by a carriage motor 83 via a wire rope 84.

Both ends of the wire rope 84 are connected to the carriage 82, and the wire rope 84 has four guide pulleys 85A, 85A.
Its movement and position are controlled by a drive pulley 86 which is stretched by B, 85C, 85D and rotated by a motor 83.

FIG. 15 shows a lead screw type carriage driving mechanism.

In FIG. 15, a carriage on which a recording head 91 is mounted
92 is threadedly engaged with a screw rod 93, and the screw rod 93 is driven to rotate by gears 95 and 96 by a carriage motor 94. The moving direction and the traveling speed of the carriage 92 are controlled by the rotating direction and the rotating speed of the screw rod 93.

On the other hand, as a speed control method for keeping the moving speed of the carriage constant, an open loop method using a pulse motor, or a drive voltage of a DC motor or a pulse motor based on an output of an encoder 67 as shown in FIG. A closed loop system for controlling the oscillation frequency is used.

As for the printing method in the recording head, a wire dot method, a thermal transfer method, a piezo ink jet method, and the like are mainstream, and the response frequency of each element (dot forming element) of the recording head is 1000 to 3000 Hz in the wire dot method. The thermal transfer method has a frequency of about 500 to 1500 Hz, and the piezo jet method has a frequency of about 1000 to 3000 Hz. The dot density of an image output by these printing methods is in a range of 7 dots / mm to 14 dots / mm.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the conventional serial recording apparatus, the rotational movement of the carriage driving motor is controlled by a rack and a pinion, a pulley and a belt, a wire rope, a lead screw, or the like, as shown in FIGS. 12 to 15, respectively. Therefore, since it is converted to linear reciprocating motion, a mechanism for transmitting and converting power is required, and in order to maintain dot position accuracy in the dot density region as described above, increase the frequency of the pulse motor. In addition, it is necessary to take measures such as reducing the pitch of the encoder (such as the encoder 67 in FIG. 12), so that the carriage driving mechanism has a complicated structure and it is difficult to reduce the size.

In addition, due to backlash between the elements in the mechanism section, backlash of the guide section for linear guidance, and backlash of the meshing section such as gears, noise at the time of reciprocating drive of the carriage is increased, and low noise is generated. There was a problem that conversion was difficult.

In the conventional printing methods such as the wire dot method, the thermal transfer method, and the piezo ink jet method, the printing cycle (print head driving cycle) must be kept constant due to restrictions on the printing method. The running speed of the carriage is also always kept constant.

The control for stabilizing the carriage speed is performed by a method using a motor having a sufficient output torque when the carriage drive motor is a pulse motor and performing open loop control. It has also been performed by a method of performing speed control by a closed loop system between a motor and an encoder.

Here, the relationship between the printing operation and the carriage traveling speed in various conventional printing methods will be described.

FIG. 16 is a graph illustrating the timing of the printing operation of the wire dot method, in which (A) shows the repetitive printing cycle of the print wire, and (B) shows the energizing time to the magnet coil of each print wire of the wire dot head. , (C) show each flight cycle from when the print wire starts to move until it prints and returns.

 FIG. 17 is a schematic sectional view of a wire dot head.

In the case of the wire dot method, when the head response frequency is 2500 Hz, which is close to the maximum speed, as shown in FIG. 16 and FIG.
μs {(A) in FIG. 16}, and the energizing time to the magnet coil 51 is usually set to about 200 μs {(B) in FIG. 16}.

On the other hand, about 390 μs is the shortest flight time from when the print wire 52 starts moving to when it strikes the surface of the sheet (recording medium such as paper) 53 and comes back (FIG. 16C).
Since it is necessary, under conditions close to the maximum speed described above, unless the fluctuation of the printing cycle is restricted to about 10 μs (400 μs−390 μs), the stable operation of the print wire 52 will be impaired.

Also, in the case of the piezo inkjet method,
Similar to the wire dot method described above, instead of the wire flight time, the time for returning the piezo diaphragm and returning the meniscus at the orifice limits the carriage speed variation.

Furthermore, in the case of the thermal transfer method, the frequency is 2500 Hz in the first place.
It is extremely difficult to realize the printing cycle of the above, and it is difficult to compare at the same level. However, since the energization time is longer than that of the above-mentioned two systems, further stability of the carriage speed is required.

FIG. 18 shows an example of a control system of a carriage drive system in a conventional serial recording apparatus.

In FIG. 18, a control circuit (MPU) 101 of the recording apparatus is provided with a ROM 102 storing a control program and the like and a RAM 103 including a working area such as a buffer register for temporarily storing various data. Various data is sent to the control circuit 101 via the interface (I / F).
Sent to.

The control circuit 101 controls a recording head 105 via a head drive circuit 104, controls a carriage motor 108 via a motor timing control circuit 106 and a motor drive circuit 107, and further controls a sheet feed motor drive circuit 109. The sheet feed motor 110 is controlled via the control unit.

On the other hand, an output signal of an encoder for detecting the position and speed of the carriage is generated by a photo sensor 111, shaped into a pulse waveform by a waveform shaping circuit 112, and the head drive circuit 104 and the motor timing control circuit 106
To perform synchronization control of the carriage scanning and the head printing operation.

As is clear from the above description, the control system for driving the carriage in the conventional serial printing apparatus has a complicated configuration.

FIG. 19 is a partial perspective view showing the carriage configuration of the wire dot recording apparatus.

In FIG. 19, a recording sheet 121 as a recording medium such as a sheet of paper or a thin plastic plate is held in close contact with a surface of a platen 122 also serving as a sheet feed roller, and is guided by a guide shaft 123 and a guide rail 124 installed in front of the platen 122 in parallel. The carriage 125 is movably guided and supported.

On the carriage 125, there are mounted a plurality of (for example, 64) print wires and a wire dot head 126 incorporating drive means for the print wires, and an ink ribbon cassette 127 for feeding an ink ribbon for transfer. I have.

FIG. 20 is a partial perspective view showing the carriage configuration of the thermal transfer recording apparatus.

In FIG. 20, in front of a platen 132 for backing up a recording sheet 131, guide shafts 133 and 134 are arranged in parallel with the platen 132.
The carriage 135 is movably guided and supported by these guide shafts 133 and 134.

On the carriage 135, a thermal head 136 having a plurality of (for example, 64) heating elements is supported so as to be able to move up and down. Further, an ink ribbon for transfer is provided between the thermal head 136 and the recording sheet 131. An ink ribbon cassette 137 for feeding is mounted.

19 and 20, in the carriage configuration of the recording apparatus of the wire dot system or the thermal transfer system, the load for winding the ribbon and the sheet Since a load that causes the recording heads 126 and 136 to contact the ribbons 121 and 131 and the ribbon is applied, there is also a problem that the carriage drive motor and its drive circuit become large and complicated.

As described above, in the conventional serial recording apparatus, even if various carriage driving methods and each printing method are properly combined, the structure is complicated when trying to execute high-definition printing at high speed. It has become large, the energy of the operation sound has become large, and it has been extremely difficult or impossible to reduce the size and weight and reduce the noise.

The present invention has been made in view of the above prior art,
The position of the carriage and the timing of the printing operation can be easily controlled by a simple control circuit without being affected by fluctuations in the moving speed of the carriage, and the transmission mechanism for driving the carriage can be made extremely simple and compact. It is an object of the present invention to provide a serial recording device capable of greatly reducing the noise level during a printing operation.

[Means for solving the problem]

According to the present invention, a carriage on which a recording head is mounted is moved in a print digit direction along a guide member, the movement of the carriage is detected by an encoder, and a printing timing of the recording head is controlled by control means in accordance with an output signal of the encoder. A first guide member and a second guide member are provided as the guide member, and a guide roller rotated along the first guide member is provided on the carriage, An ink jet head is used as a recording head, and a circular or elliptical diaphragm is provided on the carriage, and the diaphragm is provided with a comb tooth that contacts the second guide member, and a piezoelectric element is provided. A traveling wave is generated by driving the piezoelectric element with an output pulse of the control means, and the traveling wave is By moving the carriage in the printing digit direction by acting on the second guide member with a fin, the control unit synchronizes the movement of the carriage with the printing operation of the inkjet head. The carriage can be moved by directly applying the traveling wave from the carriage to the guide member, and the transmission mechanism for transmitting the driving force to the carriage can be omitted to realize a small and lightweight carriage drive system. Another object of the present invention is to provide a serial recording apparatus capable of eliminating a decrease in the positional accuracy of the carriage and the generation of noise due to backlash and backlash of the transmission mechanism.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG.

1 to 3 are views showing the features of the present invention best, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway left side view, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the carriage in FIG.

1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a base serving as a reference of the structure of the recording apparatus, and 2 denotes a base that is guided by guides 1a, 1b, and 1c formed on the base 1 and slides along the base. 3 is a platen installed in parallel with the moving direction of the carriage 2, and 4 is an opening 1d of the base 1.
And sheet feed rollers for transporting a sheet (recording medium such as paper) 5 inserted from the front through the front surface (printing portion) of the platen 3.

An ink cartridge 6 constituting an ink tank is removably mounted on the carriage 2. In the illustrated example, the ink cartridge 6 faces the platen 3 at a predetermined interval (for example, 0.8 mm) at the front of the ink tank 6. A recording head (inkjet head) 7 having a plurality of ink ejection ports (orifices) 7a formed therein is provided. The ink jet head 7 can be formed integrally with the ink tank 6, or can be provided detachably (for example, plug-in type) with respect to the ink tank 6.

A base of an arm 8 that swings around the pin 2a is pivotally attached to a pin 2a formed on the rear surface of the carriage 2. A pin member 8a formed at the tip of the arm 8 has a roller. 9 is rotatably supported. The roller 9 is guided along the guide portion 1b (downward surface).

The arm 8 is urged by a coil spring 10 in a direction in which the roller 9 is pressed against the guide portion 1b. In this way, when the roller 9 is pressed against the guide portion 1b, the carriage 2 is pressed against the guide surfaces of the guide portions 1a and 1c from above by the reaction force, and the carriage 2 (specifically, integrally with the carriage 2). (Including a part of the ultrasonic motor provided) is guided and supported along the base 1 so as to slide in a close state without play.

The base 1 is provided with a band-shaped encoder 11 having a density or a slit (window) at a predetermined pitch.
The encoder 11 is used to detect the position and the traveling speed of the carriage 2 as described later.

2 and 3, a vibration plate 13 is mounted and joined to the lower surface of the carriage 2 via a holding plate 12, and two pairs of piezoelectric elements 14A, 14B are provided at predetermined positions of the vibration plate 13.
Is pasted.

As shown in FIG. 3, the holding member 12 and the vibration plate 13 are each formed of an elliptical plate having a predetermined thickness, and are integrally attached to the lower surface of the carriage 2 in a stacked state. I have.

Comb teeth 15 which are uneven at a predetermined pitch in the carriage traveling direction are formed on a portion of the vibration plate 13 which slides on the guide member 1c of the base 1 by pressing. The two pairs of piezoelectric elements 14A and 14B are attached to a region of the vibration plate 13 on the side opposite to the comb teeth, and a predetermined distance (for example, of each piezoelectric element) between each pair of piezoelectric elements 14A and 14B. (A quarter of the total length).

2 and 3, on the lower surface of the carriage 2, a photo sensor for photoelectrically converting a light amount change based on the density of the encoder or a window (slit) at a position sandwiching the encoder 11 on the base 1. 16 are installed.

Further, a flexible printed board 17 for power supply and signal transmission is connected to each of the piezoelectric elements 14A and 14B and the photo sensor 16.

Reference numeral 18 in FIG. 2 denotes a pinch roller for pressing the sheet 5 against the sheet feed roller 4 and giving the sheet 5 an accurate feed.

The ink discharge port (orifice) 7a is provided on the front surface of an ink jet head 7 provided at the front of the ink tank (ink cartridge) 6, that is, on the side facing the platen 3.
Are arranged in the vertical direction.

The vertical pitch between the ink discharge ports 7a is about 0.04.
mm to 0.14 mm, that is, about 23.6 dots / mm to 7.1 dots / mm, and in the examples described below, 1
We will use one with a structure of 4.17 dots / mm.

FIG. 4 is a control system block diagram of the serial recording apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

In FIG. 4, a control circuit (MPU) 21 of the recording apparatus is provided with a ROM 27 storing a control program and the like and a RAM 28 including a working area such as a buffer register for temporarily storing various data. Various data of the control circuit 2 via the interface (I / F)
Sent to one.

The control circuit 21 controls ON / OFF of each heater (printing element) 7b of the recording head 7 via a head live circuit 26, and controls energization to the piezoelectric elements 14A and 14B via a carriage drive circuit 24. I do.

Further, the control circuit 21 controls a sheet feed motor 23 via a sheet feed motor drive circuit 22.

On the other hand, the position and speed of the carriage 2 are
The output signal is sensed by a photo sensor 16 (FIG. 2) cooperating with 11 and shaped into a pulse waveform by a waveform shaping circuit 25 and transmitted to the head drive circuit 26.
In this way, the synchronization control of the scanning of the carriage 2 and the printing operation of the head 7 is performed.

Hereinafter, the operation of the serial recording apparatus according to the present invention described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 will be described.

After the recording sheet (recording medium such as paper or plastic thin plate) 5 is inserted from the opening 1d of the base 1, the control unit (MP
When U) 21 receives a detection signal indicating that a sheet is present (sheet feeding), it drives a sheet feed motor 23 via a sheet feed motor dry circuit 22, whereby the sheet feed roller 4 rotates and is pressed by the pinch roller 18. The fed sheet 5 is fed to the front of the ink discharge port 7a.

Next, when a print command is externally given to the control system shown in FIG. 4 via an I / F (interface), a desired high-frequency current is sent to the piezoelectric elements 14A and 14B via the carriage motor drive circuit 24. .

FIG. 5 is a front view of the piezoelectric element of FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a partial longitudinal section showing the principle of driving force generation by the piezoelectric element.

This piezoelectric element drive system constitutes a traveling wave type ultrasonic motor integrated with the carriage 2.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6, this piezoelectric element drive system has a substantially elliptical shape attached to a substantially elliptical holding member 12, and the comb teeth 15 are partially formed. A vibrating plate 13 and two pairs of the piezoelectric elements 14A and 14B attached on the vibrating plate 13 in opposite directions (opposite sides) of the comb teeth 15;
And a flexible printed circuit board 17 for supplying power to the piezoelectric elements 14A and 14B.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the two pairs of piezoelectric elements 14A and 14B are attached with an interval corresponding to one quarter (λ / 4) of the total length λ.

The operation of the piezoelectric element drive system (ultrasonic motor) will be described below.

When the two pairs of piezoelectric elements 14A and 14B are called an A phase and a B phase, respectively, when an alternating voltage expressed by the following equation is applied to the A phase and the B phase, EA = EOsinωt EB = EOsin (ωt + π / 2) The amplitude of the generated standing wave is: A phase standing wave: ZA = ZOsinK × sinωt B phase standing wave: ZB = ZOsin (KX + π / 2) × sin (ωt ± π /
2) The traveling wave generated by combining the A phase and the B phase is: traveling wave: Z = ZA + ZB = ZOcos (ωtKX) where K = 2π / λ (wave number) and ω = 2πf (angular velocity).

Accordingly, a thrust in a direction opposite to the traveling wave acts on a contact surface between the comb teeth 15 of the diaphragm 13 and the guide surface 1c of the base 1 due to the traveling wave generated here.

The traveling speed V of the carriage 2 due to this thrust is: V = 4π · π · f · Z · e / λ where Z = traveling wave amplitude and e = ｅ of the diaphragm thickness.

As values in this embodiment, f = 40 KHz, Z = 1
Since μ, e = 1.5 mm and λ = 10 mm, the traveling speed V of the carriage 2 is about V = 236.6 mm / s ≒ 240 mm / s.

Here, the value of the drive frequency f of the ultrasonic motor is 40 KHz.
Is the drive frequency of a conventional motor such as a step motor.
Since the frequency is much higher than 4 KHz, the movement of the carriage 2 can be controlled with high precision by using an ultrasonic motor.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing output waveforms generated by the control system of FIG. 4 and energizing pulses to the piezoelectric elements 14A and 14B based on signals from the encoder 11 when the carriage 2 moves at a constant speed.

FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of a photosensor 16 including a light emitting unit 16A and a light receiving unit 16B with an encoder 11 having openings (slits) formed at a predetermined pitch therebetween.

The piezoelectric elements 14A and 14B are energized to drive the carriage, and when the carriage 2 reaches the constant velocity region, the photo sensors 16A and 16B shown in FIG.
An analog output as shown in FIG.

This analog output is used as the waveform shaping circuit of the control system shown in FIG.
25, the pulse is shaped into a pulse waveform as shown in FIG. 5C, and then a head drive pulse (dot pinch restriction pulse) having a predetermined period (250 μs in the illustrated example) as shown in FIG. ) Is created.

The horizontal axes in FIGS. 7A to 7E are common axes representing time or carriage position.

FIG. 7E shows an ultrasonic motor drive pulse waveform applied to the above-described piezoelectric elements 14A and 14B at an energizing cycle of 25 μs.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing the driving state of the ink jet head 7. FIG. 8 (A) shows the driving signal of the ink jet head 7, that is, the energizing pulse width and energizing cycle, and FIG. FIG. 9 shows a waveform of a heat current flowing through a heater 7b of the thermal type ink jet head 7, which will be described later. FIG. 8 (C) shows a meniscus (droplet 7d) at the ink ejection port of the thermal ink jet head 7 shown in FIG. The change in the amount of protrusion and retreat of 7c is shown.

Symbols a, b,..., F in FIG. 8C indicate meniscus positions corresponding to the respective states of FIGS. 9A, 9B,.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a process of forming ink droplets near the ink discharge port (orifice) 7a of the thermal ink head 7.

In FIG. 9, reference numeral 7a denotes an ink discharge port, 7b denotes a heater composed of a heating element, 7c denotes a liquid surface tip (meniscus) near the ink discharge port, and 7d denotes an ink droplet.

In FIG. 9, (a) shows a standby state, (b) shows a state in which the heater 7b is energized and foaming starts in the ink,
(C) shows the state immediately before the ink droplet 7d flies by stopping the energization to the heater 7b, and (d) shows the state immediately before the ink droplet 7d flies. (E) shows the state in which the meniscus 7c rises from the ink ejection port surface due to the recoil of the meniscus retreat in (d).
(F) shows a state where the same standby state as in (a) is returned.

As exemplified in FIGS. 8 and 9, the heater 7b
According to the thermal inkjet system that drives each ink ejection port, a very short energization time (10 μs) and excellent responsiveness (ink droplet ejection operation time: 180 μs) are achieved compared to other recording systems. Can be done.

Therefore, even if the traveling speed of the carriage 2 fluctuates by about ± 10% and the energization cycle changes between 225 μs to 275 μs,
Since the stability of ink ejection is maintained, the carriage motor drive circuit 24 and the head drive circuit 26 can operate completely in separate systems, and the drive circuit can be simplified.

According to the embodiment described above, since the ultrasonic motor using the piezoelectric elements 14A and 14B is used as the drive source of the carriage 2,
The mechanism for power transmission and conversion can be eliminated,
A carriage drive system capable of simplifying the structure and reducing the size was realized.

In addition, since there is no mechanism for transmitting and converting power, the noise level during operation can be greatly reduced to realize a quiet recording apparatus.

At the same time, the responsiveness during operation could be improved (speeded up).

Further, by using the piezoelectric elements 14A and 14B driving method, a self-holding force is applied when the carriage 2 is stopped, so that
No special mechanism for holding the carriage 2 is required, and since there is no winding, the level of magnetic noise due to the flow of current is extremely low. (For example, a printed circuit board structure, a magnetic shield exterior, or the like) is not required, and therefore, a serial recording device having a simple structure and achieving low cost can be obtained.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a carriage cartridge of a serial recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, which is turned upside down and viewed from below, and FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a carriage mounting part in FIG. .

In FIG. 10, a piezoelectric element 33 and a vibrating plate 34 are fixed to the lower surface of the carriage 31 via a holding plate 32 in a stacked state.

A photo sensor 16 and a flexible printed circuit board 35 are attached to the lower surface of the carriage 31 as in the case of FIG. 3, and power is supplied to the piezoelectric element 33 via the flexible printed circuit board 35 and the photo sensor 16 Is taken out from the terminal.

In FIG. 11, the flexible printed board 35 includes an electrode portion 35a electrically connected to the piezoelectric element 33 and the photosensor 16 and a control circuit 21 of a recording apparatus or a circuit board taken out of the control circuit 21. And a connector 35b for connection to the connector.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the holding plate 32, the piezoelectric element 33, and the vibration plate all have a circular ring shape, and a comb tooth 36 is formed on the surface of the vibration plate 34. .

A rotor (not shown) constituting the ultrasonic motor is rotatably supported by a shaft (not shown) concentric with the diaphragm 34 and provided on the lower surface of the carriage 31. The other surface is in contact with the guide plate 1c on the base 1 shown in FIG.

In order to configure an ultrasonic motor, the diaphragm 34 can be directly contacted (pressed) with the guide surface 1c of the base 1 without using the rotor.

Other parts of the embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 are substantially the same as those of the embodiment described with reference to FIGS.

According to the embodiment described above with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11,
The same effects as those of the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9 can be obtained, and the manufacturing of the ultrasonic motor (piezoelectric element driving system) and the carriage 31 is facilitated because the parts have a uniform circular shape. Further, the effect that the thrust generated by the diaphragm 34 can be efficiently converted to the straight-traveling force by interposing the rotor is obtained.

As described above, according to the serial recording apparatus of the present invention, the ultrasonic motor including the piezoelectric elements 14A, 14B, 33 and the vibration plates 13, 34 is used for driving the carriage, so that the structure can be simplified, It is possible to reduce the size and weight,
It is possible to greatly reduce the noise level during operation, and furthermore, it is possible to configure a serial recording device that has a self-holding force when the carriage is stopped and has very little magnetic noise when driving the piezoelectric element. As a result, it was possible to achieve stable printing quality, high reliability, and cost reduction in the recording apparatus.

〔The invention's effect〕

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the carriage on which the recording head is mounted is moved in the print digit direction along the guide member, the movement of the carriage is detected by the encoder, and the movement of the carriage is detected according to the output signal of the encoder. A first guide member and a second guide member are provided as the guide members, and are rotated along the first guide members. A guide roller is provided on the carriage, an ink jet head is used as the recording head, and a circular or elliptical diaphragm is provided on the carriage, and the diaphragm has a comb tooth contacting the second guide member. Is formed and a piezoelectric element is provided, and the piezoelectric element is driven by an output pulse of the control means. A further traveling wave is generated, and the traveling wave is caused to act on the second guide member by the comb teeth, thereby moving the carriage in the printing digit direction, and moving the carriage and printing the ink jet head by the control means. Since the operation is synchronized with the operation, the traveling wave from the carriage is directly applied to the guide member to move the carriage, and the movement of the carriage and the printing operation of the inkjet head are synchronized by common control means. Therefore, the transmission mechanism for transmitting the driving force to the carriage can be omitted to reduce the size and weight of the carriage drive system, and reduce the positional accuracy and noise of the carriage due to backlash and backlash of the transmission mechanism. A serial recording device capable of eliminating occurrence is provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is a perspective view of a main part of an embodiment of a serial recording apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of a carriage in FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control system of the recording apparatus of FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a plan view of a diaphragm and a piezoelectric element in FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a schematic partial sectional view of a main part of FIG. , FIG. 7 is a graph showing the encoder of the recording apparatus of FIG. 1, its output waveform and ultrasonic motor drive pulse, FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing the drive state of the thermal ink jet head of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 10 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing an ink discharging process of the thermal inkjet head of FIG. 1, FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective view of a carriage of another embodiment of the serial recording apparatus according to the present invention, FIG.
The figure is an exploded perspective view of the ultrasonic motor part in FIG. 10, and FIG.
15 is a perspective view showing various structural examples of a conventional carriage drive mechanism, FIG. 16 is a graph showing a drive pulse waveform of a wire dot head, FIG. 17 is a schematic sectional view of the wire dot head, and FIG. Is a block diagram of a control system of a conventional serial recording apparatus, FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a main part of a wire dot recording apparatus, and FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a main part of a thermal transfer recording apparatus. 1a, 1b, 1c: guide portion, 2: carriage, 5: sheet, 6: ink tank (cartridge), 7: recording head (inkjet head), 11: encoder, 13: diaphragm, 14A, 14B: Piezoelectric element, 16: Photo sensor, 31: Carriage, 33: Piezoelectric element, 34:
Diaphragm.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-60-133764 (JP, A) JP-A-60-230883 (JP, A) JP-A-61-57364 (JP, A) JP-A-62 57009 (JP, A) JP-A-62-57010 (JP, A) JP-A-55-101485 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A carriage on which a recording head is mounted is moved in a print digit direction along a guide member, the movement of the carriage is detected by an encoder, and printing of the recording head is performed by control means in accordance with an output signal of the encoder. In a serial recording device for controlling timing, a first guide member and a second guide member are provided as the guide members, and a guide roller rotated along the first guide member is provided on the carriage. An ink jet head is used as the recording head, and a circular or elliptical vibration plate is provided on the carriage, and the vibration plate has a comb tooth that is in contact with the second guide member and a piezoelectric element is provided. The piezoelectric element is driven by the output pulse of the control means to generate a traveling wave, and the traveling wave is The second with the comb teeth
A serial recording apparatus, wherein the carriage is moved in the print digit direction by acting on the guide member, and the control unit synchronizes the movement of the carriage with the printing operation of the inkjet head.