JP3212066B2 - Ink jet printing and recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable printing of high resolving power by an inexpensive apparatus while performing interlace printing by simple constitution without enhancing the preciseness of a paper feed mechanism and complicating said mechanism in a ink jet printing recording apparatus. SOLUTION: A carriage 3 is supported on a carriage shaft 7 in a freely revolvable and slidable manner and also supported on a guide plate 8 in a freely slidable manner through a slider 30 composed of a cam having long and short sides (or a roller supported by an inclined groove). The slider 30 changes a posture corresponding to the moving direction of the carriage 3. By this constitution, the carriage 3 is revolved around the carriage shaft 7 when moved forwardly and rearwardly and the printing position of a printing head 2 becomes different and interlace printing is performed by the reciprocal movement of the printing head 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printing apparatus, and more particularly to an ink jet printing apparatus having a print head and a carriage capable of interlaced printing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an ink jet type printing recording apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as an ink jet printer),
The first and second printings by the reciprocating or unidirectional movement of the print head have an interlaced printing function that enables high-resolution printing even if the nozzle pitch of the print head is large by shifting the printing position. is there. When such interlaced printing is performed, 1
It is known that the paper feed is made half the nozzle pitch of the print head in the second and the second printing.

[0003]

However, in the conventional ink jet printer for performing interlaced printing as described above, the paper feed mechanism for interlaced printing must have a high resolution. It is necessary to increase the precision of the drive gear, which has been expensive.
In addition, there is a problem that if the paper feed by the paper feed mechanism slips, interlaced printing cannot be performed with high accuracy. The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and has a simple configuration so that the position of the print head is different between the forward pass and the return pass of the print head, thereby performing interlaced printing with high accuracy. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet printing and recording apparatus which can perform high-resolution printing with an inexpensive apparatus without requiring a high-precision paper feeding mechanism.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet print recording apparatus including an ink jet print head for discharging ink to a printing medium to perform printing. A print head unit,
A carriage to be moved for printing on the printing material by mounting the print head unit, the carriage, the rotation itself
A carriage shaft and the guide plate for guiding freely standing and linearly reciprocate, the reciprocation of the carriage
And the posture differs between the forward movement and the return movement of the carriage.
To change the angular attitude of the carriage.
Means for moving the carriage forward and backward.
The angular attitude of the carriage changes based on the movement of the means.
Is further is thereby obtained by enabling interlaced printing.

[0005] In the above configuration, recovery and during forward carriage are more operations to that motion during reciprocation of the carriage
By differing means posture as when road, carriage angle position is changed by the time of forward time and backward, different positions in the mounted printhead that during forward during a return to it, thereby, inter Race printing can be performed. Therefore, high-resolution printing can be performed with a simple configuration without increasing the precision and complexity of the feed mechanism of the printing medium and with a constant nozzle pitch of the print head.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink-jet printing / recording apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the carriage is rotatable and linearly reciprocated on the carriage shaft. The carriage is movably guided and linearly reciprocally guided on the guide plate via a slide member provided on the carriage, and the slide member moves when the carriage moves forward and backward. Based on the above, the posture is changed, thereby changing the angular posture of the carriage. In the above configuration, the posture of the slide member is changed between the forward movement and the backward movement to change the angular posture of the carriage, thereby enabling interlaced printing. Thus, the same operation as described above can be obtained only by providing a simple constituent member on the carriage. Claim 3
Inkjet printing and recording apparatus according to the invention described in,
3. The ink jet printing and recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the slide member is constituted by a rotatably provided cam having a long side and a short side. And the printing position by the print head is different by half the pitch of one nozzle of the print head.

In the above construction, a cam rotatably provided having long sides and short sides is provided as a slide member, and the attitude of the carriage is changed by changing the attitude between the forward path and the backward path. In addition, interlaced printing can be performed by shifting the printing position by half the nozzle pitch between the forward and backward passes of the print head. Thus, the same operation as described above can be obtained only by providing a simple constituent member on the carriage. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ink jet print recording apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein the slide member has a shaft supported by an inclined groove provided in the carriage. The carriage is configured such that the attitude of the roller is different between the forward movement and the backward movement of the carriage, and the printing position by the print head is different by half the pitch of one nozzle of the print head. is there. In the above configuration, a roller whose axis is supported by an inclined groove provided in the carriage is provided as a slide member, and interlaced printing can be performed in the same manner as described above by changing the posture between the forward path and the backward path. Thus, the same operation as described above can be obtained only by providing a simple constituent member on the carriage.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the ink jet printer according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of the ink jet printer. The inkjet printer 1 includes a carriage 3 that holds a print head 2 that performs printing by ejecting ink onto printing paper. The print head 2 is provided integrally with the head unit 4, and together with the head unit 4, an ink cartridge 5 (also referred to as an ink tank) for supplying ink to the print head 2 is removably mounted on the carriage 3. The rear part of the carriage 3 is movable along a carriage shaft 7 provided in parallel with the paper feed roller 6, and the front part is slidably supported on a guide plate 8. Both ends of the carriage shaft 7 and the guide plate 8 are held by the frame 1a. The reciprocating movement of the carriage 3 is driven by a carriage motor 9 via a belt 10. A platen 11 is provided at a position facing the print head 2. The platen 11 and the print head 2 constitute a printing unit that performs printing on the fed printing paper. Below the platen 11, a paper feed roller 6 that conveys the print paper while facing the print head 2 is provided. A pressure roller 12 is provided opposite to the paper feed roller 6 to bring printing paper into close contact with the paper feed roller 6. The paper feed roller 6 is driven by a motor (not shown). The printing paper conveyed to the position of the print head 2 in this manner is printed by the printing unit, and then discharged by the paper feed roller 13 and the pressure roller 14 provided above the platen 11.

A purge device 15 is provided beside the platen 11.
Is provided. Ink jet print head 2
In order to solve this problem and to recover to a good ejection state, air bubbles may be generated inside during use, and ink droplets may adhere to the ejection surface, which may cause ejection failure. There is a purge device 15. The purge device 15 is
When the print head 2 is covered with a cap provided at the tip thereof, a negative pressure is generated by the pump, and the defective ink inside the print head 2 is sucked to recover the print head 2.

Next, a description will be given of the carriage 3 provided in the ink jet printer 1 and on which the head unit 4 of the print head 2 and the ink cartridge 5 are mounted.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a first embodiment of the carriage 3. FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) are a front view and a side view showing the carriage 3 during a forward trip. )
(B) is the front view and side view which show the carriage 3 at the time of a return trip. As described above, the carriage 3 has its rear portion slidably supported by the carriage shaft 7 and its front portion has:
It is slidably supported by the guide plate 8 via a slider 30 provided below the front part. The slider 30 is provided to change the posture of the carriage 3 between the forward path and the backward path, and is composed of a cam having a long side and a short side, and a shaft 34 provided on the carriage base 3b below the carriage 3. Is rotatably supported. Further, the slider 30 is provided with protruding pieces 32a and 32b, and the posture of the slider 30 is maintained in a state where the protruding pieces 32a and 32b are in contact with a stopper 33 provided on the carriage base 3b. The carriage 3 is connected with a carriage motor 9 and a belt 10 at a lower driving piece 3a, so that the carriage 3 can reciprocate linearly.

The print head 2 is provided with a piezoelectric element for ejecting ink, and a plurality of nozzles 2a serving as a plurality of ink ejection ports as viewed from the front are continuously provided obliquely. in this way,
By providing the nozzles 2a obliquely, many nozzles 2a can be provided within a certain width, so that the nozzle pitch can be substantially reduced, and the resolution is improved. When interlaced printing is performed using the print head 2 configured as described above, the resolution is further improved. The print head 2 performs printing by ejecting ink from the nozzles 2 a on the platen 11 onto the printing paper p conveyed by the paper feed roller 6 and the pressure roller 12. The printing paper p after printing is discharged by the paper feed roller 13 and the pressure roller 14.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are a front view and a side view showing a state of the slider 30 when the carriage 3 moves to the left (outward path). The long side (c + Δ) of the slider 30 is the guide plate 8. Is in contact with FIGS. 5A and 5B are a front view and a side view when the carriage 3 moves to the right (return path). The short side (c) of the slider 30 is in contact with the guide plate 8. As described above, the slider 30 rotates between the forward movement and the backward movement of the carriage 3, and the projecting piece 3 of the slider 30 is rotated.
With the 2a or 32b in contact with the stopper 33, the rotation is suppressed and the posture is maintained. Thus, the height of the shaft 34 from the guide plate 8 changes by Δ between the forward movement and the backward movement of the carriage 3. Therefore, the carriage 3 rotates around the carriage shaft 7 at the time of its forward movement and at the time of movement, and the vertical position orthogonal to the reciprocating direction is different. As a result, the vertical position of the print head 2, That is, the printing positions are different.

Here, the length ratio of the long side and the short side of the slider 30 is set so that each printing position by the print head 2 at the time of forward movement and at the time of backward movement is shifted from each other printing position by a half pitch. ing. That is, when the nozzle pitch of the nozzles 2a of the print head 2 in printing is 2P, as shown in FIG. 2B, the length H2 from the carriage shaft 7 to the slider 30 and the print head Nozzle 2
If each dimension is set such that the relationship between the length H1 to a and the height change amount Δ of the slider 30 becomes P = (H1 / H2) × Δ, the print position by the print head 2 becomes Since there is a shift of P for the forward path and the return path, interlaced printing can be performed with two printings by the reciprocating operation of the carriage 3.

By performing interlaced printing in this manner, for example, even when a print head of 90 dpi (dot per inch) is used, normal printing is performed using a print head equivalent to 180 dpi. A printing result with the same high resolution as in the case is obtained. Therefore, it is possible to perform high-resolution printing using a print head that can be manufactured relatively inexpensively. Note that, for example, even if two rows of 90 dpi nozzles are arranged side by side and shifted from each other by a half pitch to perform normal printing, a print result equivalent to 180 dpi can be obtained.
There is a problem that the number of nozzles is two and the print head becomes large and heavy, but such a problem does not occur. The rotation of the print head 2 caused by the change in the height of the slider 30 causes the print head 2 to incline with respect to the printing paper p. However, since H1 is larger than P, the amount of the inclination is neglected. Can be.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are views showing a second embodiment of the carriage 3. FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b) are a front view and a side view showing the carriage 3 at the time of going forward, and FIG. 7 (a). (B)
7A and 7B are a front view and a side view showing the carriage 3 at the time of returning. In this embodiment, an inclined groove 40 whose right side is inclined downward when viewed from the front of the print head 2 is formed in two carriage bases 3c provided at the lower part of the carriage 3, and is movable in the inclined groove 40. And a roller 42 on which a shaft 41 is supported. The rear portion of the carriage 3 is slidably supported by the carriage shaft 7, and the front portion is slidably supported by the guide plate 8 by rollers 42.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are a front view and a side view showing a state of the roller 42 when the carriage 3 moves to the left (outward path). The roller 42 is located at the lowermost part of the inclined groove 40. . FIGS. 9A and 9B are a front view and a side view showing a state of the roller 42 when the carriage 3 moves to the right (return path). The roller 42 is located at the uppermost part of the inclined groove 40.
As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, when the carriage 3 moves on the outward path, the roller 42 is positioned at the end of the inclined groove 40 in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the carriage 3, that is, at the end of the inclined groove 40. It is in the lower position. When the carriage 3 is switched to the backward movement, as shown in FIG.
2 moves in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the carriage 3 and moves to the uppermost position on the left end of the inclined groove 40. Thus, the distance between the carriage 3 and the guide plate 8 is d + Δ on the outward path, but becomes d on the return path, and
Of the printing paper p with respect to the printing paper p changes by Δ,
Accordingly, the print head 2 rotates around the carriage shaft 7. Accordingly, the printing position of the print head 2 is different between the forward movement and the backward movement of the carriage 3.

Here, the heights of the uppermost portion and the lowermost portion of the inclined groove 40 are set so that each printing position of the print head 2 on the outward path and the return path is shifted by half a pitch with respect to the other printing positions. Is done. Thus, interlaced printing can be performed by the reciprocating operation of the carriage 3. That is, the roller 42 provided on the carriage 3 changes its height by changing its position in the inclined groove 40 in accordance with the moving direction of the carriage 3, thereby performing interlaced printing in the same manner as with the slider 30. High resolution printing results are obtained.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a printing state when interlaced printing is performed by shifting the printing position of the print head 2 by a half pitch of the nozzle pitch. Black circles are dots by printing. As described above, according to the inkjet printer 1 of the present embodiment, the slider 30 provided on the carriage 3 rotates according to the moving direction of the carriage 3 and changes its height, so that the carriage 3 is And the print position of the print head 2 is different from that of the nozzle pitch 2P by a half pitch P, so that the configuration of the paper feed mechanism is not complicated and the accuracy is high. Race printing can be performed, and high-resolution printing results can be obtained.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the interlaced printing is performed by changing the attitude of the carriage 3 by changing the height of the slider 30 or the roller 42 and changing the printing position by the print head 2. Interlaced printing may be performed by performing paper feeding by a paper feeding mechanism and shifting the relative printing position pitch between the print head 2 and the printing paper p. In the above embodiment, the rear part of the carriage 3 is supported by the carriage shaft 7 and the front part thereof is the slider 3.
However, the carriage 3 is supported by the guide plate 8 via the roller 42 or the roller 42. On the contrary, the front part (the print head 2 side) of the carriage 3 is supported by the carriage shaft 7, and the rear part is the slider. It may be supported by the guide plate 8 via the roller 30 or the roller 42. In the present invention, the print position of the carriage 3 on the outward path is shifted by a half pitch of the nozzle pitch. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0021]

As described above, according to the ink jet printing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the carriage is operated by reciprocating movement of the carriage between the forward movement and the backward movement of the carriage.
It is made by means that the posture is different between the forward trip and the return trip.
By changing the angular posture of the carriage , the print position of the print head mounted on the carriage differs between the forward pass and the return pass, whereby interlaced printing can be performed. Therefore, high-resolution printing can be performed with a simple configuration using the movement of the carriage without increasing the precision and complexity of the feed mechanism of the printing medium while keeping the nozzle pitch of the print head constant. . Further, according to the ink jet printing and recording apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the attitude of the slide member provided on the carriage is changed between the forward movement and the backward movement to change the angular posture of the carriage, and the interlaced printing is performed. Becomes possible. This allows
The same operation as described above can be obtained only by providing simple components on the carriage. Further, according to the ink jet printing and recording apparatus according to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the rotatable cam provided on the carriage or the roller whose shaft is supported by the inclined groove is used for the forward travel and the return travel. Interlaced printing is possible by changing the attitude of the print head from time to time and shifting the printing position by the print head by a half pitch of one nozzle. Thus, the same effect as described above can be obtained only by providing a simple constituent member on the carriage.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a front view showing a carriage during a forward trip according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is a side view of the carriage.

FIG. 3A is a front view showing the carriage at the time of a return trip according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a side view of the carriage.

FIG. 4A is a front view showing a state in which a long side of a slider is in contact with a guide plate, and FIG. 4B is a side view of the same.

FIG. 5A is a front view showing a state in which a short side of a slider is in contact with a guide plate, and FIG. 5B is a side view of the same.

FIG. 6 (a) is a front view showing a carriage during a forward trip according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 (b) is a side view thereof.

FIG. 7A is a front view showing a carriage at the time of a return trip according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7B is a side view of the same.

FIG. 8A is a front view showing a state in which a roller is at the lowermost part of an inclined groove, and FIG. 8B is a side view of the same.

FIG. 9A is a front view showing a state where a roller is at the uppermost part of an inclined groove, and FIG. 9B is a side view of the same.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a printing state when interlaced printing is performed by shifting the printing position of the print head by a half pitch of the nozzle pitch.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink-jet printer 2 Print head 3 Carriage 7 Carriage shaft 8 Guide plate 30 Slider 40 Inclined groove 41 Axis 42 Roller

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A print head unit including an ink jet type print head that discharges ink to a printing medium to perform printing , a carriage mounted with the printing head unit and moved for printing on a printing medium , The carriage can be freely rotated and reciprocated linearly.
The carriage shaft and the guide plate to be guided, and the carriage is operated by the reciprocating movement of the carriage.
The attitude is different between the forward and return trips,
Means for changing the angle attitude of the ridge, wherein the angle attitude of the carriage is changed based on the movement of the means at the time of forward movement and at the time of homeward movement of the carriage, thereby enabling interlaced printing. Ink jet printing and recording apparatus. 2. The carriage is rotatably and linearly reciprocally guided by the carriage shaft, and is linearly reciprocally guided on the guide plate via a slide member provided on the carriage. Wherein the sliding member changes the posture of the carriage between the forward movement and the backward movement of the carriage based on the movement thereof, thereby changing the angular posture of the carriage. 3. The ink jet print recording apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The printing device according to claim 2, wherein the slide member is rotatably provided by a cam having a long side and a short side, and the posture of the cam is different between the forward movement and the backward movement of the carriage. The print position by the head is 1
3. The ink-jet type printing and recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pitch differs by a half of the nozzle pitch. 4. The print head, wherein the slide member is constituted by a roller whose shaft is supported by an inclined groove provided in the carriage, and the posture of the roller is different between the forward movement and the backward movement of the carriage. 3. The ink-jet printing / recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the printing position is changed by a half of one nozzle pitch of the print head.