JP2780865B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, and more particularly, to an ink jet recording apparatus.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, a recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium (hereinafter, also referred to as recording paper or simply paper) such as paper, OHP sheets,
It has been proposed in the form of mounting a recording head by various recording methods. The recording head includes a wire dot type, a thermal type, a thermal transfer type, an ink jet type, and the like.

Among them, particularly, the ink jet method, which directly ejects ink onto a recording sheet, has attracted attention as a recording method having advantages such as easy running cost and quiet recording operation.

Further, in recent years, an inkjet recording apparatus, particularly a recording head, is manufactured by a film forming technique or a micro processing technique in a semiconductor device, and a smaller and less expensive recording head is being realized. . For this reason, for example, a disposable recording head in which an ink tank is integrated has also been proposed, and accordingly, the configuration of the apparatus itself is reduced in size and simplicity.

On the other hand, an ink jet recording apparatus having the above-mentioned advantages has been widely used as a recording apparatus for various devices such as an electronic typewriter, a word processor, a facsimile, and a copying machine. In this case, a configuration is provided corresponding to an ink jet recording apparatus, functions unique to these apparatuses, usage modes, and the like.

In electronic typewriters, word processors, etc.,
One of the trends is a portable device that is small and lightweight, and from this point of view, there is a demand for a compact and simple structure of an ink jet recording device used in these devices.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

One of the trends of the inkjet recording apparatus described above
First, when the recording apparatus is used widely and easily, it is an inevitable requirement that the recording paper that can be used for recording must be diversified.

The present invention has been made based on this point of view, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus which can satisfactorily convey various recording papers.

[Means for solving the problem]

Therefore, in the present invention, a recording head for performing recording on a recording medium, and a presser that is supported so as to be displaceable according to the thickness of the recording medium and presses the recording medium near a recording position of the recording head. Means, engages with the holding means in response to a displacement of the holding means by a predetermined amount or more,
Displacement control means for permitting the displacement of the predetermined amount or more and displacing itself and displacing the recording head in a direction away from the recording medium in accordance with the displacement.

(Operation)

According to the above configuration, when the thickness of the recording medium is relatively small, only the pressing means is displaced, and the recording medium is favorably conveyed by the pressing force corresponding to the displacement.

Further, when the thickness of the recording medium is relatively thick, the displacement control means is also displaced in accordance with the displacement of the holding means, and the recording medium is conveyed satisfactorily by the pressing force corresponding to these displacements, and the displacement The recording head is displaced by the control means, and the distance between the recording head and the recording medium is made appropriate.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic external perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 20
01 is a main case that forms part of the equipment case,
It is fixed to a part of a frame of an ink jet recording apparatus which will be described later with reference to the drawings, and covers both end parts of the apparatus, that is, a part excluding a part corresponding to a width of a transport path on which the recording paper is transported. The home position of the print head is defined at one of the two end portions, and the print head at this position during non-printing or the like, and the discharge recovery unit that performs capping of the discharge port surface of the print head at this position are the main case.
Covered by 2001. Thus, when a part of the apparatus case is opened and maintenance and inspection of the apparatus are performed, it is possible to prevent the print head and the ejection recovery unit from being carelessly displaced or damaged. Can be.

Reference numeral 2003 denotes a middle case which also forms a part of the apparatus case, and mainly covers a portion where the recording head moves during recording. The middle case is provided so that 2003 can be easily attached and detached.
A spur provided corresponding to a discharge roller described later is attached to a part of the spur, and the spur is pressed against the discharge roller with an appropriate pressing force by mounting the middle case 2003. 20
Reference numeral 05 denotes a sheet feeding lid which forms a part of the apparatus case and is provided to be freely opened and closed. The paper feeding lid 2005 is provided so that both ends of the near side in the drawing in the substantially rectangular shape are pivotally supported, and is used as a rotation axis to be opened upward in the drawing and held at a predetermined angle. The sheet feeding lid 2005 is substantially linear with a sheet feeding tray described later in a state where the sheet feeding lid 2005 is held at this angle, and the recording sheet can be placed thereon. Reference numeral 2007 denotes an ink cover provided on the front side of the apparatus and constituting a part of the apparatus case. The ink lid 2007 is rotatably supported by a shaft provided at a lower portion on the front side of the apparatus, and the lid 2007 can be opened to the front side as needed. This makes it possible to perform a detaching operation such as mounting and removing the ink cartridge housed therein.

Reference numeral 2009 denotes a paper output tray that is detachably attached to the apparatus. The paper output tray 2009 can be stacked at a rear end of the apparatus at a predetermined angle to sequentially stack the recording papers for which recording has been completed. 2011 is the operation unit, the main case in front of the device
Provided on one side of 2001. The operation unit 2011 includes a display unit 2011B for displaying a state of the device and the like and a key 2011A for inputting various commands to the device.

2 (A) and 2 (B) are a side sectional view and a top view showing an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, except for the apparatus cover shown in FIG. FIG. 2B shows a state in which the recording head, a carriage for mounting and moving the recording head, and a driving system for these movements are omitted.

In FIGS. 2A and 2B, reference numeral 601 denotes a paper feed tray, in which the paper feed cover 2005 shown in FIG. 1 is opened (not shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B). ) Together with this constitutes a paper feed unit. The paper feed tray 601 has a rotating shaft 601A provided at the rear end in the paper feeding direction rotatably supported by a side plate 2017 forming an apparatus frame. FIG. 2 (A) is urged to be stopped. With these configurations, recording paper stacked on the paper feed tray 601 (not shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. In the following, the recording paper includes a plastic sheet or the like, and widely covers a recording medium. ) Is pressed by the pickup roller 604. In the above-described paper feeding mechanism, FIG.
601C is a guide plate for guiding paper feeding according to the size of the recording paper, and 601D is a groove for moving the guide plate 601C according to the size of the recording paper.

The pick-up roller 604 is composed of a pair of rollers, a half-moon roller 604A and an Andra roller 604B. The half-moon roller 604A has a shape in which the cross section is partially cut off as shown in FIG. 2 (A). , Idler roller 604B
Has a circular cross section whose diameter is slightly smaller than the diameter of the circumferential portion of the semicircular roller 604A. Two pairs of pickup rollers 604 composed of a pair of these rollers are provided near the front end of the paper feed tray 601 at a predetermined interval, and these two pairs of pickup rollers 604 are perpendicular to the direction in which the paper is fed. Is fixed to a pickup roller shaft 604C extending in the direction. One end of pickup roller shaft 604C is frame 20
17 is rotatably supported by a part thereof, and the other end is connected to the clutch 619. Thus, the driving force of the motor (not shown) is transmitted to the pickup roller shaft 604C via the clutch 619, and the pickup roller 604 can be rotated.

Since the recording paper stacked on the paper feed tray 601 is pressed by the pickup roller 604 as described above, when the pickup roller 604 rotates, the recording paper firstly has a notch and a circumferential portion of the half-moon roller 604A. The push-out roller 604A
Is fed out to the recording paper transport path in cooperation with the separation plate 605 described in detail in FIG.

Reference numeral 606 denotes a paper feed roller disposed downstream of the pickup roller 604 on the recording paper conveyance path. Paper feed roller 606
As shown in FIG. 2 (B), four paper feed rollers are disposed at predetermined intervals in the width direction of the recording paper to be conveyed, and these four paper feed rollers are provided with a paper feed roller shaft 606A ( (Not shown in FIG. 2 (B)). As a result, the driving force of the paper feed motor (not shown) is
6A, the paper feed motor 606 can be rotated.

Reference numeral 607 denotes a pinch roller provided corresponding to each of the paper feed rollers 606.
Is disposed so as to abut on the circumferential surface of the. Reference numeral 611 denotes a pinch roller holder provided corresponding to each of the pinch rollers 607. One end of the pinch roller 607 rotatably supports the pinch roller 607. Reference numeral 613 denotes a carriage rail, which is provided so as to extend over a movement area of a carriage described later. The other end of the pinch roller holder 611 is pivotally supported by the carriage rail 613, and the spring 614 held between the carriage rail 613 and the pinch roller holder 611 causes the pinch roller holder 611 to move diagonally downward in FIG. Being energized. As a result, the pinch roller 607 presses the recording paper conveyed between the paper feed roller 606 and the paper feed roller 606, and the paper feed roller 606 can convey the recording paper by the frictional force generated by this pressing force. it can.

Reference numeral 608 denotes a platen for regulating the recording surface of the recording paper. The platen 608 is disposed downstream of the paper feed roller 606 or the like on the recording paper transport path and at a position facing a recording head described later. Further, on the downstream side of the platen 608, a discharge roller 609 is provided.
Is provided. As shown in FIG. 2 (B), the discharge rollers 609 have a predetermined interval in the width direction of the conveyed recording paper.
And these are fixed to the paper discharge roller shaft 609A.
The discharge roller shaft 609AHA is rotated by a motor (not shown), and discharges the recording sheet to the discharge tray 2009 shown in FIG. 1 in cooperation with the spur held by the main case 2001 shown in FIG.

In the recording paper transport path described above, the paper feed tray 601
The recording paper stacked thereon is separated one by one by a pickup roller 604 and a separation plate 605 and fed to a conveyance path.The fed recording paper is guided by a paper guide 608A to form a paper feed roller 606. The sheet is conveyed between the pinch roller 607. During this conveyance, the recording paper comes into contact with one end of the paper edge detection sensor lever 615, and the operation of the other end of the lever 615 changes the detection state of the paper edge photosensor 617, thereby causing the recording paper to change. Can be detected. A reflection type paper width sensor 623 is provided below the carriage, which can detect the paper width of the recording paper being conveyed.

The paper feed roller 606 conveys, for example, recording paper for one line of recording by the recording head onto the platen 608 in accordance with the recording operation by the recording head, whereby characters, images, and the like are recorded on the recording paper. . At this time, the recording paper is urged toward the platen 608 by the paper holding plate spring 621,
The recording area of the recording paper can be kept flat. The recording sheet on which recording has been performed is discharged onto a discharge tray by a discharge roller 609.

The recording paper transport path from the above-described paper feed tray 601 to the paper discharge rollers 609 and further to the paper discharge tray 2009 shown in FIG.
As is apparent from FIG. 2A, since the recording paper has a gentle V-shape, the recording paper has a platen 60 due to the stiffness of the recording paper.
8 so that the recording area on the recording paper can be kept flat.

In FIG. 2A, reference numeral 1 denotes a print head unit, which includes four print head chips corresponding to each ink color described in detail in FIG. These head chips are mounted on the carriage body 201 of the carriage unit 200 so that they can be easily attached and detached. 203 is a carriage cover, and 205 is a head cover. These covers are the carriage body 201
By being mounted on the recording head chip, electrical connection to the recording head chip and positioning and fixing of the chip are performed. Reference numeral 300 denotes a sub ink tank attached to a part of the carriage main body 201. The sub ink tank 300 collects bubbles in the ink supply system and buffers a pressure fluctuation generated in the ink supply system due to the movement of the carriage. Is performed so that the influence of air bubbles and pressure fluctuation is not exerted on the recording head. The components mounted on the carriage main body 201 below the recording head unit 1 are slidably engaged with the carriage main body 201 with the guide shaft 213 (only the cross section is shown in FIG. 2A). The carriage connected to the carriage main body 201 and a part thereof are driven by a carriage motor (not shown), so that the carriage can move along the guide shaft 213.

In FIG. 2A, reference numeral 211 denotes a position lever whose position can be manually changed by an operator, and one end of which is rotated by a shaft 211C provided on a part of the carriage body 201. It is freely supported. A hemispherical convex portion 211B is provided at the other end of the position lever 211, and engages with concave portions formed at three places on a side plate (not shown) of the carriage unit 200, whereby the position lever 211 is provided. Can be fixed in three positions. When the position lever 211 is at the positions I and II shown in FIG.
That is, the recording head chip mounted thereon is displaced with the guide shaft 213 as a rotation axis in accordance with each of these positions, and assumes a position corresponding to the contact between the position lever 211 and the carriage rail 613. That is, at the position I of the position lever 211 shown in FIG. 2A, a part of the carriage main body 210 slidably contacts the upper surface of the carriage rail 613 as shown in detail in FIG. Touch
In this contact relationship, the head chip is a platen 60
It is relatively close to 8. On the other hand, when the position lever 211 is at the position II, the pressing member 211A provided integrally with the position lever 211 moves the carriage rail 613.
Abuts the top surface of the As a result, the carriage body 201
2A is rotated upward in FIG. 2A with the contact portion as an action point and the guide shaft 213 as a fulcrum, and the recording head chip is at a position relatively far away from the platen 608.

In the configuration of the position lever described above, for example, when using recording paper having relatively poor ink absorption characteristics, the recording head chip is relatively far away from the platen 608 by setting the lever 211 to the position II. In the above-described case, the recording ink causes a phenomenon such as waving of the recording paper, which may cause a problem that, for example, the recording paper rubs and damages the ejection opening surface of the recording head chip. This is because the occurrence of this problem can be prevented by setting the lever 211 to the position II. When a recording sheet having relatively excellent ink absorption characteristics is used, such consideration is not required, and the position lever 211 may be set to the position I.

The position III of the position lever 211 is a position for preventing the carriage unit 200 from moving rightward when the carriage unit 200 is at the home position. That is, as shown in FIG. 2 (B), a projection 211D provided at the tip of the position lever 211 engages with a locking hole 613B provided near the left end of the carriage rail 613, and the carriage unit 200 (the 2 (not shown in FIG. 2B) is prevented from moving rightward.

It should be noted that a notification relating to the position of the position lever 211 or a sound or the like can be given.

That is, as described above, the position of the position lever 211 is manually changed by the operator of the apparatus.For example, when the carriage unit 200 is at the home position, the user forgets that the position lever 211 is at the position III. If the recording is to be performed while the recording is being performed, a display to the effect that the lock by the position lever is released may be displayed.

Also, according to the three positions of the position lever 211,
The current position of the position lever 211 may be displayed.

Further, when the apparatus is vibrated more than a predetermined amount during transportation or the like, this is detected, and at the same time, the position of the position lever is detected.If this is not the position III, that is, the position for fixing the carriage unit, this fact is notified. The notification may be made by a sound such as a buzzer.

According to the configuration for preventing carriage movement, it is possible to prevent the carriage unit 200 and the recording head unit 1 from moving unnecessarily during transportation of the recording apparatus, and to prevent accidents such as damage to other parts of the apparatus. it can.

In FIG. 2A, reference numeral 230 denotes a cover fixed to the apparatus frame, which protects an ink supply tube, a flexible cable, and the like that follow the carriage unit 200 as it moves.

In FIGS. 2 (A) and (B), 901BK, 901C, 901
M and 901Y are ink cartridges to be mounted in an ink supply unit described later, and each ink color is black (B
K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) ink bags and a waste ink bag for storing ink ejected by ink suction or the like in the ejection recovery process. An ink absorber 911 is provided below the ink supply unit in which the ink cartridge is mounted. The ink absorber 911 has a restoring force against an external force such as pressing, and is inserted in a compressed state between the concave portion of the frame 913 forming the supply unit and the bottom plate 2015 forming the apparatus frame. As a result, even if ink leaks from the ink cartridge 901, it can be absorbed by the absorber 911. In addition, vibration accompanying the drive of the motor transmitted through the bottom plate 2015 etc.
The noise can be absorbed by the 911, thereby reducing the noise generated by driving the device.

Note that the absorber used for absorbing vibration need not necessarily be provided below the ink supply unit as in the above example, but can be provided at a more effective site for reducing apparatus noise.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the carriage unit 200 and the head unit 1 showing the details of the recording head unit 1 mounted on the carriage main body 201 described above.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 10 denotes a recording head chip provided for each of the four color inks. Since four recording head chips are provided in a direction perpendicular to the drawing, only one is shown in the sectional view of FIG. It is. The head chip 10 is connected in a form in which a substrate made of Si is laminated on a substrate made of Al having a shape shown in FIG. An electrothermal transducer for generation and electrode wiring for supplying power to the electrothermal transducer, and a head driver for driving the electrothermal transducer in accordance with a recording signal are further formed. The top plate having a recess for forming a common liquid chamber for supplying ink to the discharge ports and the liquid passages, and the ink to the liquid passages is joined with the recess inside, so that the recording head chip 10 is formed. Is configured. The print head chip of this example has 64 discharge ports on the discharge port arrangement surface on the front surface thereof. A front plate 11 having an opening corresponding to the area where these ejection ports are provided is provided on the front side of the recording head chip 10. The electrothermal converter is disposed in an ink liquid passage communicating with each of the discharge ports. The electrothermal converter generates heat in response to application of an electric pulse to cause film boiling in the ink. The ink is ejected from the ejection port based on the generation of bubbles due to the film boiling.

The carriage cover 203, which constitutes one of the mounting members for the recording head chip 10, has four connectors 207 for making electrical connection with the electric wiring terminals of the recording head chip 10 according to the recording head chip 10. Is held in
When the cover 203 is mounted, that is, when the cover 203 is removed from the state shown in FIG.
207 are connected to the corresponding recording head chips 10. In this connection, the terminals of the recording head chip 10
207 is performed by being inserted into the concave portion.

At this time, the four recording head chips 10 are mounted in predetermined positions of the carriage body 201 in a state where they are accurately positioned, and the connector 207 is connected along the positions. For this reason, in the concave portion of the connector 207, an insertion hole of the concave portion is formed in an R shape so that the terminal can be smoothly inserted.

The operation of the carriage cover 203 is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the shaft 2 provided on the carriage body 201
21 has an elongated hole 223 formed in a part of the carriage cover 203.
Is engaged, the operation is guided. With the carriage cover, the recording head chip and its terminal portion can be particularly protected.

4A to 4C are views for explaining how to mount the print head chip 10, and FIG. 4A is a front view of the carriage main body 201 and the print head 10, and FIG. B)
Is a side partial sectional view of the carriage body 201, and FIG.
3 is a perspective view of the recording head chip 10. FIG.

In these figures, reference numeral 15 denotes a guide groove formed in the recording head 10, which engages with a guide 215 provided in a head mounting portion of the carriage main body 201 when the head chip 10 is mounted. Reference numeral 13 denotes an ink supply pipe for supplying ink to a common liquid chamber in the recording head chip 10, which is inserted into a supply port 219 provided in the carriage main body 201 during the mounting operation. With this configuration, the supply tube 311 and the supply port 219 and the supply tube 1
Ink is supplied to the common liquid chamber via 3.

The mounting of the recording head chip 10 on the carriage body 201 will be described with reference to FIG. Head chip
When mounting 10, first, guide groove 15 of head chip 10
Engages with the guide 215 on the carriage side, the head chip 10 is moved downward in accordance with this engagement, and the supply pipe 13 is inserted into the supply port 219 on the carriage side. The insertion of the supply pipe 13 into the supply port 219 can be smoothly performed by the guide. This movement is stopped when a part of the bottom of the head chip 10 abuts a part of the bottom of the head mounting part on the carriage side. In addition,
At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, a part of the head chip 10 is inserted into a concave portion formed in the carriage main body 201, and the recording head 10 is positioned in the ejection direction. Thereafter, by mounting the head cover 205 described in detail in FIG. 5, the position of each recording head chip and the pitch between these chips are determined.

5 (A) to 5 (C) are views showing details of the head cover 205, FIG. 5 (A) is a front view of the head cover viewed from the back side, FIG. 5 (B) is a perspective view of the head cover viewed from the side, Figure (C)
Is a partial cross-sectional view as viewed from above.

Hereinafter, the positioning of the head chip 10 by the head cover 205 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4A and 5A.
This will be described with reference to FIGS.

As described with reference to FIG. 4, the head cover 20 attached to the carriage body 201 is
5 is mounted on the carriage body 201 so as to cover the side of the recording head chip 10 as shown in FIG. By this mounting, the leaf springs 221 and 223 of the head cover 205 shown in FIGS.
Each of the head chips 10 is connected to a reference surface 21 shown in FIG.
7 and the bottom surface 2 of the head chip mounting portion shown in FIG.
Press towards 21. Thereby, the recording head chip 10
Are positioned in the arrangement direction (the horizontal direction in FIG. 4 (A)) and the arrangement direction of the discharge ports (the vertical direction in FIG. 4 (A)). At this time, the positional relationship between the four reference surfaces 217 and the bottom surface 221 shown in FIG. 4 (A) is accurately determined. The positional relationship in the vertical direction is accurately determined.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the positioning by the head cover.

As shown in FIG. 6, the head cover 205 is provided with a leaf spring 225 corresponding to each recording head chip, instead of the leaf spring 221 shown in FIG. The leaf spring 225 is attached to the end of the head cover 205, and presses the chamfered portion of the head chip 10 by attaching the cover 205. As a result, the pressing force generates a component force in the ejection direction and the ejection port arrangement direction, and the head chip 10 can be positioned in each direction.

7 (A) and 7 (B) are perspective views showing details of the sub tank 300 shown in FIG. 2 (A) and the like, and FIG. 7 (A) shows a surface on the mounting side to the carriage main body 201. (B) shows the surface on the opposite side. FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view showing the sub-tank exploded.

As shown in these figures, the sub tank 300 has three parts. That is, it comprises a tank member 331 for forming the ink chamber and the air chamber, a middle plate 333 having a connection hole, and a connection plate 335 having a connection groove and a connection pipe. These members can be obtained, for example, by molding a resin material, and the members can be joined by ultrasonic welding.

The tank member 331 has four chambers 331 corresponding to each color ink.
BK, 331C, 331M, 331Y.

In the middle plate 333, as shown in detail in FIG.
A connection hole for connecting each chamber of the tank member 332 and the connection groove of the connection plate 335 is formed. Of these connection holes, one indicated by reference numeral 341 is connected to the connection pipe 321 shown in FIG. A part of the dew of each ink supplied from the above-described ink cartridge 901 is connected to a connection pipe 323 shown in FIG. 7A and sucked by a discharge recovery unit described later. A part of a flow path of air sucked from each of the chambers by a force is formed. Although not shown in FIG. 8, connection holes forming a part of an ink supply path to the head chip 10 are formed corresponding to the positions of the connection tubes 325 shown in FIG. 7A. .

As shown in FIG. 7 (A),
Different types of connecting tubes are formed. That is, the connection tube indicated by reference numeral 321 is connected to the ink supply tube from the above-described ink cartridge 901, the connection tube indicated by reference numeral 323 is connected to the tube to the suction pump of the discharge recovery unit, and is indicated by reference numeral 325. Connection tube is recording head chip 10
Is connected to the ink supply tube.

Further, the arrangement of the connection pipe is determined as follows. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, first, the sub-tank 300 is attached to the carriage main body 201 such that the longitudinal direction thereof is along the arrangement direction of the recording heads. At this time, each of the connection tubes 325 is connected to the connection plate 335 so as to be located below the corresponding recording head chip 10.
It is arranged in. Thereby, each connection pipe 32
As shown in FIG. 4 (B), the ink supply tube 311 connecting the recording head chips 5 with each other can be smoothly supplied only by bending in the plane of FIG. In addition, since the bending direction of the tube 311 is limited to the plane, the influence of the carriage movement on the ink supply can be reduced. In consideration of the shortest paths from each chamber of the tank member 331 to each connection chamber and the influence of carriage movement in the above-described conditions for the arrangement of the connection pipe 325, the arrangement position of the connection pipe 325 is shown in FIG. As shown in ()), the positions are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the sub tank 300. Therefore, the connection holes are provided in the middle plate 333 at positions corresponding to the connection pipes 325 as described above.

The arrangement of the connection pipes 321 and 323 is determined as follows.

First, the positions of the connecting tubes are determined so that the tubes connected to these connecting tubes are along the longitudinal direction of the sub-ink tank 300, that is, the moving direction of the carriage portion indicated by the arrow A in FIG. . Secondly, the arrangement of the connecting pipes is determined so that the tubes corresponding to the four color inks are integrally connected to the connecting pipes. From the above first and second arrangement conditions, the arrangement of the connection pipes 323 and 325 is determined so as to be arranged in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage.

FIG. 10 is a top view showing a tube unit connected to the connection pipes 321 and 323, showing joints 351 and 353 connected to the connection pipes 321 and 323, respectively. The tubes 355 and 357 follow the movement of the carriage in the direction indicated by the arrow C in the figure, and the tubes are moved in a certain direction (carriage movement direction) by the arrangement of the connection pipes described above. At this following portion of the tube, the tube only bends in a predetermined direction only. This can reduce the influence of the carriage movement on ink supply and the like.

Connection plate according to the arrangement of connection pipes 321 and 323 shown above
335 are formed with grooves 337 and 339 as shown in FIG. 8, each of these connecting pipes and each tank chamber 331 (BK, C, M, BK).
Y) is linked.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the sub ink tank 300. As shown in the figure, a groove for connecting each tank chamber to the connection pipe may be formed in the middle plate 333.

FIGS. 11 (A) and (B) correspond to FIG. 2 (A), respectively.
3A and 3B are cross-sectional views illustrating details of the paper feeding mechanism illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, wherein FIG. 1A illustrates a case where thin paper is conveyed, and FIG. 1B illustrates a case where thick paper is conveyed.

In these figures, a pinch roller 607 is rotatably supported by a pinch roller holder 611, and the pinch roller holder 611 is rotatably engaged with the carriage rail 613 at an end 611B. Also pinch roller holder 61
A spring 614 is interposed between the carriage rail 1 and the carriage rail 613, and the carriage rail 613 is further fixed by springs 631 hooked on hooks 613B at both ends as shown in FIG. 2 (B). It is urged downward in FIG. 11 to abut a part of the device frame (not shown). As a result, the spring 61
The pinch roller 607 is turned into the paper feed roller 606 by the elastic force of 4.
Can be pressed.

In the above configuration, when a relatively thin recording paper is conveyed, as shown in FIG.
The displacement of the pinch roller 607 caused by the thickness of the recording paper between the paper feed roller 607 and the
Only the upper part is absorbed by being displaced upward in FIG.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11B, in the case of a relatively thick recording paper, the pinch roller 607 due to this paper thickness is used.
Can not be completely absorbed by the displacement due to the rotation of the pinch roller holder 611, the pinch roller holder 611 is further displaced in accordance with the displacement of the pinch roller 607, and its end 611A is brought into contact with the carriage rail 613. 631
Pushes it up against the elastic force of That is, the displacement of the pinch roller 607 when a relatively thick recording sheet is conveyed is absorbed by the displacement of the pinch roller holder 611 and the subsequent displacement of the carriage rail 613.

At this time, since the carriage rail 613 is in contact with the carriage main body 201 or the pressing member 211A according to the position of the position lever 211 described above, the carriage rail 61
In accordance with the displacement of 3, the carriage unit 200, that is, the recording head unit 1 is displaced.

According to the paper feed mechanism described above, when the recording paper used is relatively thin, the pinch roller holder 611 is displaced, and the pinch roller 607 feeds an appropriate pressing force according to the paper thickness via the recording paper. It can act on the roller 606.

If the recording paper is relatively thick, use a pinch roller holder.
By displacing 611 and carriage rail 613,
The pinch roller 607 can act on the paper feed roller 606 with an appropriate pressing force according to the paper thickness, and can make the interval between the recording paper and the recording head appropriate according to the paper thickness. Regardless of the position (I or II) of the position lever 211 described above, it goes without saying that the above-described paper feed mechanism works effectively.

The configuration and operation of the sheet feeding device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 12 (A) and 12 (B).
FIG. 12A shows a case where the recording paper is a thin sheet 610A.
FIG. 12 (B) shows the separation plate when the recording paper is a thick sheet 610B.
605 behavior is shown. In these figures, reference numeral 651 denotes a separating plate 6 provided for a support member 603 which forms a part of the apparatus frame.
05 is a loose fitting groove for support, and the groove 651 is formed such that the direction of the opening is substantially directed to the center of the axis of the pickup roller 604.

The separation plate 605 has a spring 612 held between its spring foot 605A, the loose fitting groove 651 and the bottom, and has a hook-shaped claw portion extending downward from both sides of the spring holding portion 605A.
The separation plate 605 is provided with an engagement hole 651A provided at the bottom of the loose fitting groove 651 to prevent the separation plate 605 from falling out of the loose fitting groove 651. With the configuration described above, the separation plate 605 can swing in the loose fitting groove 651 and move in the vertical direction while being supported by the spring 612. As the spring 612, an appropriate spring constant is selected according to the range of the assumed stiffness of the recording paper used for recording.

In the paper feeder configured as described above, it is assumed that a thin sheet 610A having a relatively weak stiffness as a recording paper is stored in a feed cassette, that is, a paper feed tray 601 as shown in FIG. When the pickup roller 604 is driven by the feed signal in this state, the thin sheet 610A located on the uppermost surface on the feed cassette 601 is fed. Then, the leading end of sheet 610A first comes into contact with separation plate 605. In response, the separation plate 605 is displaced to a position corresponding to the stiffness of the thin sheet 610A and the spring force of the spring 612 supporting the separation plate 605, and the approach angle of the thin sheet 610A with respect to the separation plate 605 ( The angle between the direction in which the recording sheet enters and the plane of the separation plate) can be set to an optimum angle.
Conveying force (frictional force) generated between the recording sheet and the recording sheet.

In the case where a thick sheet 610B having relatively strong stiffness is stored in the feeding cassette 601 and fed as shown in FIG. 12 (B), the thick sheet 610B is similarly moved to the pickup roller 604 and the separation plate. Thick sheet 61 even if guided between 605
The separation plate 605 is pushed down by the strength of the waist of 0B, and its shoulder 605C abuts against the bottom of the groove 651, and rotates with the shoulder 605C as a rotation fulcrum. Thereby, the entering angle formed between the recording sheet and the separation plate 605 can be made smaller than that shown in FIG. 12 (A), and occurs between the half-moon roller 604A and the recording paper. It is possible to prevent the transporting force (frictional force) from becoming excessively large and to avoid a feeding failure in the case of thick paper.

(Recovery Unit) FIG. 13 shows a schematic configuration of a recovery unit 400 according to the present example.

Here, reference numeral 401 denotes a unit housing, and the following units are held in the unit housing 401. Reference numeral 403 denotes a motor which is a driving source for the active part operation in the unit. The driving force is transmitted to the worm wheel shaft 411 via the worm 407 attached to the motor output shaft 405 and the worm wheel 409 meshing with the worm.

Reference numeral 420 denotes a cap which can contact the ejection port forming surface 1A of the recording head 1 and cover the periphery of the ejection port. At least the contact portion with the formation surface is formed of an elastic member such as rubber. Reference numeral 430 denotes a cap pressing / equalizing unit for pressing the cap 420 against the discharge port forming surface 1A and ensuring a close contact state in accordance with the pressing. 440 is a pump,
A suction force is applied via a suction tube 442 connected to the cap portion 420 and a suction tube 444 connected to the above-described sub-tank 300, and the waste ink in the ink tank is absorbed (not shown) via the waste ink tube 446. The ink sucked toward is discharged. This pump 440
It is driven by a pump drive cam 450 provided on the shaft 411 and a pump drive lever 452 engaged with the cam.

In this example, the tube 442 that communicates the cap 420 with the pump 440 is bent vertically upward from the cap communication hole 442 to which the tube 442 is connected, and then connected to the pump 440 below. It has become.
Thus, if the suction process (idle suction) in the non-cap state is not performed or is not sufficiently performed after the ink is suctioned from the discharge port via the cap portion 420, a small amount of ink can be supplied to the tube 42. Remains in That is,
This is because the ink does not entirely flow into the pump due to the presence of the bent portion. By utilizing this, for example, when the recording is interrupted or when the recording is stopped, the ejection port forming surface 1A is kept in a humid atmosphere in the cap state, and the ejection ports can be protected from drying to prevent clogging. Therefore, the suction process at the time of resuming the recording can be made unnecessary or small. In addition, at the time of long-term suspension or when the power is turned off, sufficient empty suction is performed so that the ink does not remain in the tube, and the sticking in the tube can be prevented.

Further, in this example, when the unit 400 is attached to the apparatus, the pump 440 is arranged such that the discharge side is located vertically below and the discharge flow path faces downward. As a result, ink discharge from the pump 440 is smoothly performed under the action of gravity.

FIG. 14A is a side sectional view of the recovery unit 400. FIG.
Here, reference numeral 461 denotes an access lever that causes the cap portion 420 to face the discharge port forming surface 1A by entering the concave portion 205H provided in the print head cover 205 with its tip portion 461A. It can be displaced or deformed in a direction (a direction perpendicular to the drawing). An access lever drive arm 465 is connected to the access lever 461. This arm is also rotatable about a shaft 465A near one end. A cam 467 provided on the shaft 411 is engaged with a pin 468 on the arm 465. 469 is pin 4
A spring for regulating the movement of the arm 465 by making the 68 follow the contour of the cam 467. The spring is stretched between the housing 401 and the projection 463 provided on the access lever 461, and the cam 467 is attached to the arm 465.
Gives the habit of turning to the side.

471 is a cap holder for holding the cap 420, 473
Is a holder guide lever provided integrally with the cap holder 471, and the tip 475 protrudes through a hole provided in the housing 401. Cap holder 471 is the cap part 420
Can be moved forward and backward with respect to the recovery unit 400, and the cap portion 420 and the discharge port forming surface 1A are brought into contact with each other in accordance with the forward movement, and are released in accordance with the backward movement. Further, the cap 420 or the cap holder 471 can be displaced in the print head scanning direction. Reference numeral 477 denotes a spring for aligning the holder-side engaging portion with a cam for restricting the movement of the cap holder 471, and is provided at the holder guide lever tip 475.

An air communication hole to be described later is provided in the cap portion 420,
This communication hole also has a cam 513 and a drive lever 5 which will be described later.
It is opened and closed via 11 etc. The advance / retreat mechanism of the cap portion, the advance / retreat climate of the access lever, etc., including the opening / closing mechanism of the atmosphere communication hole, will be described later with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 14A, reference numeral 481 denotes a lock unit for obtaining a locked state between the recovery unit 400 and the carriage unit 200 at the time of recovery processing or the like.

Also, in this example, the pump 440 is
It is held by a holder 483 provided on A as shown in FIG. 14 (B). The holder 483 has a substantially C shape and holds the pump 440 by its elastic deformation and restoring force. Reference numerals 491 and 493 are locking portions on the housing side and the pump side, respectively, which are used for positioning the pump 440 and holding the mounting position.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the recovery unit centering on the opening / closing mechanism of the air communication hole of the cap unit, and FIG. 16 is a side cross-section of the recovery unit centering on the opening / closing mechanism, the cap unit moving mechanism and the access lever moving mechanism. FIG.

 First, the air communication mechanism will be described.

In these figures, reference numeral 501 denotes an air communication hole of the cap portion 420. An opening / closing lever 503 has an arm 503A provided with a pad 505 for closing the atmosphere communication hole 501 and an arm 503B engaged with the operating lever 511, and is supported rotatably around a shaft 507. Have been. Reference numeral 509 denotes a spring for giving the opening / closing lever 503 a turning behavior in a direction of closing the air communication hole.

The operating lever 511 includes a portion 511A engaging with the communication hole opening / closing cam 513 and a portion 5 engaging with the arm portion 503B of the opening / closing lever 503.
11B and is rotatable about a shaft 515. Reference numeral 517 denotes a spring, which imparts rotation behavior to the operation lever 511 in a direction in which the portion 511A contacts the cam 513. As a result, the space inside the cap portion 420 is communicated / blocked with the atmosphere with the displacement of the cam 513.

 Next, the mechanism for moving the cap portion 420 forward and backward will be described.

In FIG. 16, the cap holder 471 and the holder guide lever 473 are indicated by two-dot chain lines. 521 is a roller provided on the holder guide lever 473, and is engaged with the cap advance / retreat cam 523.

Reference numeral 531 denotes an elongated hole provided in the longitudinal direction of the access lever 461, into which a pin 533 protruding from the cap holder 471 is fitted. Therefore, in the case of this example, the cap portion 420 is guided to the elongated hole 531 at the time of the reciprocating operation. Further, in the recording head scanning direction, it is linked with the access lever 461. Reference numeral 535 denotes a spring that cooperates with the spring 477 to bias the cap 420 in the backward direction. 205H is the access lever 46
1 is a concave portion provided in the recording head cover 205 to receive the intrusion.

In FIG. 16, the access lever drive arm
465 is shown in a different position from FIG. 14 for simplicity.

Next, the reciprocating operation of the access lever 461 and the cap 420 will be described.

Generally, it is difficult to accurately stop the carriage at a position where the recording head discharge port forming surface and the cap face each other. Therefore, for example, a member that can protrude to the recovery unit side and a member that can receive this can be provided on the recording head side,
It is conceivable to forcibly set the carriage at a position where the print head side faces the cap by forcing the former into the latter. However, the carriage as in this example is equipped with four recording heads, and its weight is enormous. Forcibly displacing this as described above requires not only a large force but also a large force. This may cause an excessive load on the protruding member and the cap.

Therefore, in this example, a configuration is employed in which the cap portion 420 is displaced so as to face the recording head discharge port forming surface.

 This will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 (A) to 17 (C).

First, the arrangement range H of the four print heads to be covered by the cap portions and the arrangement range C of the four cap portions separately covering the ejection port forming surfaces of the print heads are represented by Δ as shown in FIG. It is assumed that the carriage has been stopped with a deviation.

When the access lever 461 is protruded from this state, the tapered portion 461T of the distal end 461A eventually becomes a head cover.
If the access lever 461 is engaged with the concave portion 205H of the 205 and is supported so as to be displaceable in the carriage scanning direction S, the access lever 461 moves to the left in the drawing as shown in FIG. You will rush. Further, the leftward movement involves displacement of the cap holder 471 or the cap portion 420 in the same direction since the pin 533 and the elongated hole 531 are engaged.

Thus, in the state of FIG. 9C in which the entry of the access lever tip 461A into the recess 205H is complete, there is no deviation between the range H and the range C, that is, the state in which the recording head and the cap 420 face each other. Therefore, if the cap portion 420 is advanced, accurate capping is performed.

In this example, the access lever can enter the concave portion if a certain degree of accuracy is secured without requiring strict accuracy for the stop position control of the carriage. Conversely, the shape and size of the tip portion of the access lever and the shape and size of the concave portion are selected according to the accuracy of the carriage stop position.

Then, in order for the leading end of the access lever to enter smoothly, the entire access lever is attached to the housing such that the entire access lever can be displaced to translate in the scanning direction S as described above.
Or, it is attached to the housing so that it can be displaced so that it swings around the back swing fulcrum, and at least the tip
The 461A may be elastically deformable to some extent, or a combination thereof. In any case, it is only necessary that the elongated hole 531 constitutes a path for guiding the cap portion 420 to a predetermined position (accurate cap position) via the pin 533 in the entry completed state. For example, if the access lever 461 can swing about the rear fulcrum, unlike FIG. 17, the access lever 461 is inclined when the rush is completed, and the above-described ranges H and C do not face each other when the cap is not capped. However, since the elongated hole 531 is also inclined, if the pin 533 advances along this, the cap portion 420 can eventually cover the recording head ejection port forming surface accurately.

Access lever with cap part side
In order not to restrict and follow the displacement or deformation of the 461 or the long hole 531, and to be able to advance and retreat along the long hole thus displaced or deformed, the cap portion side It is preferable that the camera itself be attached to the housing with some play.

In FIGS. 17 (A) to 17 (C), reference numeral 540 denotes a blade, which can advance and retreat by a cam provided in the recovery unit 400 similarly to the above-described parts, and records according to carriage scanning in a protruded state. The cleaning is performed by engaging with the head discharge port forming surface.

18 (A) to 18 (C) show the pump 44 used in this example.
An example of the configuration of 0 is shown.

The pump 440 includes a cylinder body 551 and a cylinder head 55
3 and 555, a piston 557, and a valve unit 559. The valve unit 559 is attached to one of the cylinder heads 553, and the cylinder head 553 is attached to the cylinder body 551.
The upper projection 561 has a portion 563 to be snap-fastened (so-called patching), so that the valve unit 559 and the cylinder head 553 can be easily mounted.

The valve unit 559 has a valve body 565 that can open and close the ink introduction ports from the cap side and the sub tank side, and a spring 567 that urges this in the closing direction.

The piston 557 is a piston shaft partially formed with a flow path 556.
557A, a valve body 571 and a flange portion 573 provided on the piston shaft 557A, and a top 57 having an ink flow path 570A formed therein, which is disposed between the valve body and the flange while being loosely fitted to the shaft 557A.
0. The cylinder head 555 has a sealing portion 555A for sealing, and is attached to the cylinder body 551 in the same manner as the cylinder head 553.

In this configuration, as shown in FIG. 18B, when the piston 557 is displaced downward in the figure, the valve body 565 introduces ink against the urging force of the spring 567 due to the negative pressure generated in the upper chamber. The mouth is opened, whereby ink is sucked from the cap side and the sub tank side, and the valve body 571 closes the flow path 570A, so that the ink in the lower chamber does not flow back through the pipe section 575. Is discharged. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 11C, when the piston 557 is displaced upward, the valve body 571 opens the flow path 570A, and the ink stored in the upper chamber flows through the lower chamber through the flow paths 570A and 556. Going to be introduced. Further, at this time, since the valve body 565 closes the ink introduction port, the ink does not flow backward to the cap side and the sub tank side.

The pump 440 having the above configuration and operation is the first
4 The recovery unit housing 4
Attached to 01. In this example, one piston 440 is provided for one cap, that is, one recording head, that is, a total of four pistons 440 are provided. This has the following advantages.

In the case of this example, four recording heads are provided corresponding to inks of different colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black). However, the amount of ink to be sucked during the recovery process varies depending on the frequency of use of each recording head, the ink composition, and the like. Therefore, if the pumps are also used, assuming that substantially the same negative pressure acts on each head, it is necessary to adopt a pump whose capacity is determined in accordance with the amount of ink suction from the recording head that requires the most ink consumption. This not only increases the size of the pump, but also causes unnecessary suction of ink from the recording head, which requires less consumption during the recovery process. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, each pump capacity can be determined in accordance with the required ink suction amount of each recording head, and the inconvenience of using the same pump can be avoided.

FIG. 19 is a conceptual diagram of a drive system of four pumps according to this example. As shown in the figure, in this example, two pumps 440 are paired, and each group is driven by a cam 450 and a lever 452 attached to a shaft 471. In this example, the cam phases of each set are made equal, that is, the four pumps 440 are driven in the same phase. Therefore, the assembling work becomes easy.

However, the phases may be different for each set, or the cams and levers may be easily driven for each pump and driven in different phases. This is preferable from the viewpoint of arranging or driving the loads in a well-balanced manner.

The operation timings of the respective cams of the recovery unit or the respective components driven by the cams can be determined, for example, as shown in FIG. In the drawings, the “sensor” may be a sensor that detects a cap open state.
In the “small recovery” mode and the “main recovery” mode, for example, it is possible to make the ink suction amount different, to add so-called preliminary ejection, or the like. After the recovery process, it is preferable to clean the discharge port forming surface by projecting the blade.

Further, in this example, the access lever is projected before the capping, and the capping is released before the access lever is retracted. This is because the cap 420 is advanced and retracted along the above-described elongated hole 531 of the access lever. At the time of performing capping and at the time of releasing the capping, the air communication hole of the cap portion 420 is opened at an appropriate timing. This is effective in preventing undesired pressure fluctuation in the space inside the cap at the time of joining / removing the cap, thereby preventing air from being taken into the ink ejection port and ink leakage.

(Arrangement of Ink Tanks) FIG. 21 is a plan view of an ink tank accommodating portion according to the present example apparatus.

Here, reference numeral 701 (701BK, 701C, 701M, 701Y) denotes an ink tank in the form of a cartridge having an ink storage unit serving as an ink supply source and a waste ink storage unit serving as a waste ink reservoir;
It can be attached to and detached from the device body. 703 (703BK, 703C, 703M, 703
Y) is an ink supply pipe, which is connected to an ink storage section in the ink tank. 707 (707BK, 707C, 707M, 7
Reference numeral 07Y) denotes a waste ink tube, which communicates the pump 440 with a waste ink storage unit in each ink tank.

With respect to the arrangement of the ink tanks and the like, the following points were particularly considered in this example.

Due to the composition of the ink, the susceptibility to thickening and sticking differs for each color. For example, thickening and sticking tend to occur in the order of black (BK), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). Thus, the ink may be thickened and fixed even in the ink supply pipe which is a closed system. In the case of this example, the supply pipe was configured using a polyerylene tube, but whatever the material of the supply pipe, a small amount of air penetrated through the pipe wall,
Alternatively, the evaporation of the ink solvent occurs. Therefore, the longer the supply pipe, the greater the amount of air newly entering or the amount of evaporation of the ink solvent.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the supply pipes are all laid in the same direction (the left side in the figure in the present embodiment), and the ink tanks containing the inks which are likely to thicken and adhere in the order closer to the supply side are arranged. That is, the length of the supply pipe becomes shorter as the ink is more likely to be thickened and fixed (in the order of black, cyan, magenta and yellow from the left in the figure). As a result, it is possible to reduce the amount of invading air or the amount of solvent evaporated as viscosity increases and sticks are more likely to occur.
Incidentally, the above is also applied to the ink discharge system reaching the waste ink storage unit.

In the figure, reference numeral 800 denotes an ink remaining amount detection device described below, which is arranged between the ink storage section in the ink tank 701 and the ink supply pipe 703. Also, 707 is a cable that summarizes the wiring related to the ink remaining amount detection device 800 and the wiring related to the sensor that detects the presence or absence of the ink tank installation,
709 is the connector part.

(Remaining Ink Detecting System) FIG. 22 (A) is a plan view of the ink pressure detecting device, and FIG. 22 (B) is a longitudinal sectional view of the same device.

Reference numeral 801 denotes a flow path member having an ink flow path 803 on the inner side, and includes a pair of upper and lower one-side members 801A and a lower member 801B. The upper member 801A has a circular opening 805. Reference numeral 807 denotes a ring-shaped diaphragm, the periphery of which is sandwiched between the upper member 801A and the pressing member 809, and covers the periphery of the opening 805. In the upper four corners of the upper member 801A, upright stopper members 811 are provided, and in the four corners of the pressing member 809, through holes 813 are formed vertically, and on the upper outer side of the through holes 813. A step 813A is formed. The stopping member 811 has elasticity, and a locking claw 811A is formed on the outside of the distal end portion. The upper surface of the locking claw 811A is inclined.

Each stop member 811 is located in each through hole 813 of the holding member 809, and the holding claw 811A of the holding member 811 is locked to the step 813A, whereby the holding member 809 is fixed to the upper member 801A, Diaphragm 807 is sandwiched between upper member 801A and holding member 809. A protruding portion 881 is formed around the upper surface of the upper member 801A, and a notch 883 is formed around the lower surface of the corresponding pressing member 809. By fitting the two, the pressing member 809 is positioned on the upper member 801A. Is fixed.

A support member 815 is attached to a central portion of the diaphragm 807 so as to close the opening on the inside, and a locking member is fitted so as to fit into a protrusion 815A on the upper center of the support member 815 (located at the center of the opening 805). The base end of 817 is fixed (for example, screwed) to the support member 815. The locking member 817 has two upright locking pieces 819 having elasticity, and a locking claw 819A is formed on the outside of the distal end of each locking piece 819. Locking claw 81
9A has a slope on the top. In addition, two locking pieces 819
Are arranged symmetrically from the center of the opening 805.

A through hole 821 is formed vertically at the center of the pressing member 809, and two locking pieces 819 are located in the through hole 821. A coiled spring 823 and a spring retaining ring 825 are located in the through-hole 821. The spring 823 is outside the two locking pieces 819, and the lower end is a circulating protrusion (spring receiver) below the through-hole 821. Supported by 821A. Spring stop ring 825
Inside the locking piece 819A of the locking piece 819 is prevented from coming off, and in this state, the upper end of the spring 823 is pressed down. The spring 823 is compressed by both (annular projection 821A and spring retaining ring 825). Therefore, due to the repulsive force of the spring 823 (if the pressure of the ink in the ink flow path 803 is ignored)
The diaphragm 807 and the support member 815 are pulled upward so that the corrugated portion of the support member 815 contacts the lower surface of the annular projection 821A.

A notch 827 is formed on one side of the pressing member 809, and a pair of contact members (conductive) 829, 8 are formed at the bottom of the notch 827.
The middle part of 31 is fixed. One pair of contact members 829,83
The front end of the connector 1 is in contact with the lower surface of the annular projection 821A through a hole 827A formed at the bottom of the notch 827, and the rear end is connected to a connector (connected to an electric circuit for detecting the remaining amount of ink). 833 to lead wires 835, 837 are connected. 1
The lower surfaces of the distal end portions of the pair of contact members 829 and 831 are pressed against the peripheral portion (which has conductivity) of the upper surface of the support member 815 by the repulsive force of the spring 823, and the portions are electrically connected to each other.

The ink pressure detecting device having the above configuration can be assembled very simply as follows.

First, the diaphragm 807 is placed on the opening 805 of the flow path member 801, and the holding member 809 is placed in the through-holes 813 at the four corners with the stopping member 81.
The channel member 801 is lowered from above so that 1 is located. As a result, the slope on the upper surface of the locking claw 811A of the stop member 811 hits the inner edge of the through hole 813 of the pressing member 809, and the stop member 811 is tilted inward by being pushed by this, and enters the inside of the through hole 813. (In other words, the pressing member 809 is lowered), and in a state where the pressing member 809 presses the diaphragm 807 from above, the locking claw 811A of the stopper member 811 acts on the end 813A on the upper portion of the through hole 813 by elasticity. 809) Locked and holding member 809
Are positioned and fixed to the upper member 801A.

Next, the spring 823 is inserted into the through hole 821, and the lower end thereof is placed on the annular projection 821A, and is positioned above the two locking pieces 819 of the spring retaining ring 825 and pressed down. As a result, the slope of the upper surface of the locking claw 819A of the two locking pieces 819 is pressed against the inner edge of the spring retaining ring 825, and the two locking pieces 819 are inclined inwardly by elasticity, and the spring retaining ring 825 is lowered. Then, again, due to elasticity, the two locking pieces 819 are tilted outward from each other, and the two locking claws 819A are
5. The spring retaining ring 825 is locked by the two locking pieces 819 in this way, and the spring 823 is locked.
Is compressed by the snap ring 825 and the annular projection 821A. The pair of contact members 829 and 831 are attached to the pressing member 809 in advance.

According to the above configuration, the distance between the spring retaining ring 825 and the annular projection 821A is constant, and the compressive force (repulsive force) of the spring 823 falls within a predetermined range. For this reason, the diaphragm 807 responds to a predetermined range of negative pressure of the ink in the ink flow path 803, and the support member 815 opens the pair of contact members 829 and 831.

Therefore, according to the ink pressure detecting device of the present invention,
The detected pressure falls within the range in which the remaining amount of ink is stable as shown by, for example, an arrow A in FIG. 24 without any adjustment.

Normally, the pressure of the ink in the ink flow path is detected by the ink sensor when the carriage is stopped or while the carriage is running (that is, except when the carriage returns). This is because, as shown in FIGS. 23 (A) and (B), when the carriage 851 returns to the left and when it returns to the left, inertia acts on the ink in the ink flow path 853 as indicated by the arrow in the figure, and the influence is exerted. This is because extra negative pressure is applied to the ink in the ink flow path when returning to the left and extra pressure is applied when returning to the right, and the ink sensor 855 cannot detect the true remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge 857.

For reference, FIGS. 25A and 25B show a plan view and a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional ink pressure detecting device (ink sensor). 859 is a flow path member having an ink flow path 861 inside, 863 is a pressing member, these members 859, 863
The diaphragm 865 is pinched by the diaphragm 865
The center portion 867A of the support member 867 attached to the center of the holding member 867 projects into the center through hole 869 of the pressing member 863, and a ring-shaped adjuster 871 is screwed into the upper portion of the center portion 867A, and this adjuster 871 The spring 873 is compressed by the annular protrusion 869A at the bottom of the hole 869, and the ink flow path 8
When the ink in 61 is higher than the predetermined negative pressure, the spring 873
The diaphragm 865 and the support member 867 are pulled up by the repulsion force of the contact member 875, and the tips of the pair of contact members 875 and 877 located on the lower surface of the annular protrusion 869A are pressed by the upper surface of the peripheral portion of the support member 867 to conduct each other.

According to such a configuration, when the ink in the ink flow path 861 falls below a predetermined negative pressure, the diaphragm 865 responds, and the support member 867 descends. As a result, the tip of the pair of contact members 875, 877 The support member is separated from the above, and a predetermined negative pressure is detected in this manner. Therefore, a pair of contact members
The negative pressure detected by 875,877 corresponds to the repulsive force of spring 873. However, in the above-described conventional ink pressure detecting device, extremely troublesome adjustment must be performed in order to set the negative pressure detected at the time of assembly or the like to a predetermined value. In other words, rotate the adjuster 871
By simply compressing 73, the negative pressure value to be detected varies, and for example, FIG. 24 shows the relationship between the remaining amount (g) of ink in the ink cartridge and the negative pressure of ink in the ink flow path. As shown in the drawing, in order to make the value of the detected negative pressure about 65 ± 5 mmaq, the pressure of the spring 873 must be finely adjusted by the adjuster 871, which is extremely troublesome.

(Supply Pipe Connection) FIGS. 26A and 26B show an example of the configuration of an ink supply pipe connection.

Here, reference numeral 901 denotes, for example, a rubber joint attached to the main body frame 900. The ink supply pipes 703BK to 703Y are fitted from the ink tanks 701BK to 701Y, and the communication pipe parts 925BK to 925Y described below are fitted. It has a receiving part for receiving. In the receiving portion 903, there is provided a valve body 905 that narrows the ink flow path so as not to block or leak ink when the communication pipe portions 925BK to 925Y are not mounted, and opens the ink channel in the mounted state. .

Reference numeral 921 denotes a joint which is coupled to the joint 901 on the main body frame 900 side and introduces ink to the recording head side, and has a tip portion inserted into the receiving portion 903 of the joint 901 and a tube extending rearward. 925B
K to 925Y, a latch portion 927 that engages with the locking portion 907 provided on the main body frame 900, an operating portion 929 for releasing the latched portion 927 by opening the latch portion 927 outward, Two
Projections 931 to be described later with reference to FIG. 8 and a frame portion 923 holding these are integrally formed by, for example, molding a resin or the like. Reference numeral 915 denotes a rubber joint member held on the frame portion 923, for example, and has four flow paths formed therein. The rearwardly extending portions of the communication pipe portions 925BK to 925Y are inserted into one end of these flow paths, and the supply pipes 301BK to 301Y reaching the recording head are inserted into the other end. Reference numeral 917 denotes characters “B”, “C”, “M”, and “Y” provided near the connection portion of the joint member 915 to the supply pipe 301 by printing, sticking a sticker, or the like. Supply pipes 301BK, 301 for, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
This is a display for preventing erroneous connection of C, 301M, and 301Y.

When joining the joint 921 to the joint 901, joint the joint 921 from the state shown in FIG.
When you advance 921, the surface part including the tapered part of the latch part 927
927T Engage with the locking part 907, and the latch part 927
Is pushed outward. When the surface portion 927T gets over the locking portion 907, the latch portion 927 is restored by the spring property, and the joint 921 is locked as shown in FIG. In this state, the communication pipe portion 925 enters the receiving portion 903 in a state where the valve body 905 is pushed and expanded, and therefore, ink communication between the two joints, that is, ink communication between the ink tank side and the recording head side. Will be done.

By the way, in such a mounting operation, it is conceivable that the operator performs an erroneous operation, that is, performs an erroneous mounting operation in which the joint 921 shown in FIGS. 26A and 26B is turned upside down. In order to reliably prevent this with a simple configuration, the present embodiment employs the following configuration.

FIG. 27 is a side end view of the ink supply pipe connection portion. In this example, the operation unit 929 and the projection 931 are arranged on one side of the joint 921, and the operation unit 929 has a shape provided with a portion 943 for preventing erroneous mounting. On the other hand, the main body frame 900 is provided with a locking portion 941 that does not interfere with the portion 943 at the time of normal mounting as shown in the figure, and engages with the portion 943 at the time of erroneous mounting with the front and back reversed to prevent the mounting operation. This prevents erroneous mounting of the joint 921 with the front and back surfaces reversed, and prevents inconveniences such as the introduction of different colors of ink into the recording heads provided for each color and the occurrence of color mixing. Can be prevented.

The portion 943 for preventing erroneous mounting may be provided on the frame portion 923, or may be formed by extending the projection 931 inward of the frame portion and standing up from the extended portion.

According to this example, the ink supply pipe can be connected by a simple operation without causing erroneous mounting, but FIG. 26 (B)
By operating the operation unit 929 from such a state, the latch unit 927
Can be released from the engagement with the locking portion 907, so that the joint 921 can be easily removed. Such ease of removal leads to an improvement in maintenance workability. In addition, the valve body 905 is removed by this removal, as shown in FIG.
As a result, the ink does not leak.

Now, in view of further improving the workability of maintenance involving the removal of the joint 921, it is strongly desirable not to cause a burden on the operator to pay attention to the place of the removed joint 921 and the like.

Therefore, in this example, as shown in FIG.
The side plate 2017 has a receiving portion 2021 having a hole 2023 for receiving 931.
Is provided. The number of the receiving portions 2021 can be provided as one set corresponding to the number of the projections 931. However, the receiving portions 2021 can be provided corresponding to any two that can maintain the balance. Further, the disposition portion may be provided at any predetermined position on the side plate 2017, or may be provided at various locations.

FIG. 28 (B) shows a cross section taken along line AA of FIG. 28 (A) with the joint 921 mounted. As described above, the protrusion 931 is received in the hole 2023, and the lower end surface of the frame portion 923 is
Since the joint 921 is placed on the upper surface of 021, the joint 921 is stably held. In this state, the end of the communication pipe 925 faces upward, so that no ink leakage occurs.

Note that various configurations for holding the joint 921 can be selected. For example, operating part 929 and projection 9
It is also possible to use a gap that appears on the side view with the base member 31 and hook it on the edge of the bar-shaped member or the side plate provided on the side plate 2017 or the like. In this case, the tube 301 is held upside down from the state shown in FIG. 28 (B) due to the presence of the tube 301. What is necessary is just to extend. Even if it falls,
This is because the extending portion can be engaged with the side plate 2017 or the like to prevent further falling.

In the above description, the joint having the valve body on the upstream side in the ink supply direction with respect to the ink supply system is provided with the joint for opening the valve body in accordance with the insertion on the downstream side, but the configuration of both joints may be reversed. Good.

Further, such a connection portion can be employed not only in the ink supply system but also in the ink discharge system leading to the waste ink storage portion (in this example, provided in the ink tank).

Needless to say, appropriate modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, in the above example, a recording head, an ink tank, an ink supply system, an ink discharge system,
Although the ink communication member and the like are provided, each part may be provided not only for inks having different colors but also for inks having widely different color tones such as dark and light inks.

(Others) The present invention can be applied to various printing methods (for example, a thermal method). Among them, the present invention brings about an excellent effect particularly in a bubble jet printing head and printing apparatus. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

As for the representative configuration and principle, it is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740,796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it is arranged corresponding to a sheet or a liquid path holding a liquid (ink). Applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recording information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling to the electrothermal transducer, thereby causing the electrothermal transducer to generate thermal energy, thereby causing the recording head to emit heat energy. This is effective because film powder is generated on the heat-acting surface of the liquid, and as a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding one-to-one with this drive signal can be formed. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of a liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. U.S. Pat. No. 44
Those described in JP-A-63359 and JP-A-4345262 are suitable. Further, when the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As a configuration of the recording head, in addition to a combination configuration (a linear liquid flow path or a right-angled liquid flow path) of a discharge port, a liquid path, and an electrothermal converter as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, The configurations used in U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose the configuration in which the is bent, are also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration is based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to each part. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium on which a recording apparatus can record. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration as one integrally formed recording head.

In addition, even with a serial type printer as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the main unit or attached to the main unit enables electrical connection with the main unit and ink supply from the main unit. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip type print head or a cartridge type print head having an ink tank provided integrally with the print head itself is used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the print head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like provided as a configuration of the printing apparatus in the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If these are specifically mentioned, capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, preheating means using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof, Performing a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from printing is also effective for performing stable printing.

Regarding the type or number of print heads to be mounted, for example, in addition to one provided for single color ink, a plurality of print heads are provided corresponding to a plurality of inks having different print colors and densities. May be used. That is, for example, the printing mode of the printing apparatus is not limited to a printing mode of only a mainstream color such as black, but may be any of a printing head integrally configured or a combination of a plurality of printing heads, or a plurality of different colors, or The present invention is extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full colors by color mixing.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, an ink that solidifies at or below room temperature and softens or liquefies at room temperature, or the ink itself in an inkjet method. In general, the temperature is controlled within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range. I just need. In addition, whether to prevent the temperature of the temperature-raised ink from being changed from the solid state to the liquid state by heat energy by positively using the energy, or to use ink that solidifies in a standing state for the purpose of preventing ink evaporation In any case, the thermal energy may be liquefied by the application of the thermal energy according to the recording signal of the thermal energy, and the thermal energy may be discharged such as a liquid ink is ejected, or the thermal energy is already solidified when the ink reaches the recording medium. The present invention can also be applied to a case where an ink that liquefies for the first time is used. The ink in such a case is disclosed in
No. 56847 or Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 60-71260, in which the porous sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter in a state of being held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. It may be. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, in addition to the one used as an image output terminal of an information processing device such as a computer, a form of a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like and a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function are adopted. Or the like.

〔The invention's effect〕

As is apparent from the above description, when the thickness of the recording medium is relatively thin, only the pressing means is displaced, and the recording medium is favorably conveyed by the pressing force according to the displacement.

Further, when the thickness of the recording medium is relatively thick, the displacement control means is also displaced in accordance with the displacement of the holding means, and the recording medium is conveyed favorably by the pressing force corresponding to these displacements. The recording head is displaced by the displacement control means, and the distance between the recording head and the recording medium is made appropriate.

As a result, favorable conveyance can be performed for recording media having various thicknesses.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams each showing an ink jet recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view and a top view, excluding the apparatus cover in FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a state in which the recording head unit is mounted on a carriage, and FIGS. FIGS. 5 (A) to 5 (C) are explanatory diagrams for explaining details of a head cover according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating positioning of a recording head by a head cover according to another embodiment. 7 (A) and 7 (B) are perspective views showing an example of the configuration of the sub-tank shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view thereof, and FIG. 9 is a sub-tank. Sectional view for explaining another embodiment, FIG. FIG. 0 is a top view showing a configuration example of a connection tube and a tube unit used in the ink supply system. FIGS. 11A and 11B show paper feed according to this example when thin paper and thick paper are conveyed, respectively. FIGS. 12A and 12B are side cross-sectional views for explaining the operation of the paper feeding mechanism according to the present embodiment when thin paper and thick paper are conveyed, respectively. FIG. 13, FIG. 13 is a schematic side sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a recovery unit according to the present example, and FIGS. 14 (A) and (B) are detailed side sectional views of the recovery unit and a pump holding part thereof. FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the recovery unit centered on the opening / closing mechanism of the air communication hole of the cap unit, FIG. 16 is a side sectional view of the recovery unit centered on the opening / closing mechanism, and FIG. A) to (C) depict the mechanism for moving the cap unit forward and backward according to the present embodiment. FIGS. 18 (A) to 18 (C) are explanatory diagrams for explaining the configuration and operation of the pump used in this example, FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the pump drive system, FIG. FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the timing of the operation of each part of the recovery unit according to the present embodiment. FIG. 21 is a plan view of an ink tank housing for explaining the ink tank arrangement according to the present embodiment. (B) is a plan view and a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of an ink pressure detecting device used in the present example. FIGS. 23 (A) and (B) are explanatory diagrams for explaining ink pressure fluctuation due to carriage operation. FIG. 24 is an explanatory view showing the relationship between the remaining amount of ink and the negative pressure in the ink flow path. FIGS. 25 (A) and (B) show a conventional ink pressure detecting device for comparison with the ink pressure detecting device of this embodiment. FIG. 26 (A) is a plan view and a longitudinal sectional view of the ink pressure detecting device. And (B) are top views for explaining a configuration example and operation of the ink supply pipe connecting portion according to this example, FIG. 27 is a side sectional view thereof, and FIGS. 28 (A) and (B) are the same. It is the perspective view and side sectional drawing which show an example of a structure for holding one joint which comprises a connection part on a side plate wall surface. 10: Recording head chip, 11: Front plate, 13: Supply tube, 15: Guide groove, 201: Carriage body, 203: Carriage cover, 205: Head cover, 211: Position lever, 213 ... … Guide shaft, 215… Guide, 217… Reference plane, 221,223… Leaf spring, 300 …… Sub tank, 311 …… Tube, 321BK (C, M, Y), 323BK (C, M, Y), 325BK (C, M, Y) …… Connection pipe, 331 …… Tank member, 311BK (C, M, Y) …… Reservoir, 333 …… Medium plate, 335 …… Connection plate, 337C (M), 339C ( M) Connection groove, 341C (M), 343C (M) Connection hole, 400 Recovery unit, 401 Unit housing, 403 Motor, 407 worm, 409 worm wheel 420 cap part 440 pump 450 cam 452 lever 461 access lever 471 cap holder 501 air communication hole 601 ... Paper feed tray, 602 ... Spring, 604 ... Pickup roller, 605 ... Separator plate, 606 ... Paper feed roller, 607 ... Pinch roller, 608 ... Platen, 609 ... Paper discharge roller, 611 ... Pinch roller holder, 613… Carriage rail, 614… Spring, 701BK (C, M, Y)… Ink tank, 703BK (C, M, Y)… Ink supply pipe, 707BK (C, M, Y) …… Waste ink pipe, 801 …… Flow path member, 803 …… Ink flow path, 807 …… Diaphragm, 809 …… Holding member, 819 …… Hanging piece, 823 …… Spring, 825 …… Spring stopper ring, 901,921 …… Joint, 905… Valve, 925 …… Communication pipe.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Makoto Takemura 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Tetsuji Kurata 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inside (72) Inventor Kazuhiko Shinoda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Koichiro Kawaguchi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. ( 56) References JP-A-1-160666 (JP, A) JP-A-64-75248 (JP, A) JP-A-1-283181 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , (DB name) B41J 25/308

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A recording head for performing recording on a recording medium, and pressing means supported to be displaceable in accordance with the thickness of the recording medium and for pressing the recording medium near a recording position of the recording head. Engaging with the holding means in response to a displacement of the holding means by a predetermined amount or more, displacing itself by allowing the displacement of the holding amount or more, and moving the recording head to the recording medium in accordance with the displacement. And a displacement control means for displacing in a direction away from the recording device. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said holding means and said displacement control means are connected via a spring and have a member provided with a portion opposed to said predetermined distance. Recording device. 3. The recording head has a form in which the recording head is scanned in a predetermined direction with respect to the recording medium during recording, and the recording head or a member on which the recording head is mounted extends in the predetermined direction and moves in the direction. 3. The guide according to claim 2, wherein the guide is supported rotatably about an axis for guiding the movement and supported by the member of the displacement control means extending in the predetermined direction. Recording device. 4. An adjusting means for adjusting the distance between the recording head and the recording medium by adjusting the position of the recording head or the mounting member for mounting the recording head on the member for supporting and guiding the recording head. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said adjusting means has an adjusting lever for adjusting said position, said adjusting lever having a portion for fixing a position of said recording head or said mounting member in said scanning direction. The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recording head is an ink jet recording head which performs recording by discharging ink. 7. The recording head according to claim 1, further comprising an electrothermal transducer for generating thermal energy for causing film boiling of the ink, as an element for generating energy used for discharging the ink. The recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein