JP3232073B2 - Inkjet printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improvement in a pump mechanism and a driving unit for driving the pump mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, in an ink jet printer, when the ink ejection surface of a recording head is exposed to air for a long time when the power of the printer is turned off or non-printing, the ink existing on the ink ejection surface dries and increases. In some cases, problems such as stickiness and clogging may occur. In order to prevent this trouble, a cap for shielding the ink ejection surface of the recording head from the outside air is provided, and a capping mechanism for opening and closing the cap under predetermined conditions is provided. In addition, in an ink-jet printer, in order to maintain a proper printing state, the ink is initially charged, the ink circulation state is adjusted when the power is turned on after the printer is stopped (recovery of the ink discharge function), and the ink remains in the nozzle after the printing operation is completed. It is necessary to perform a maintenance operation such as removal of the ink droplets. A pump mechanism is required for this maintenance operation. In cooperation with the capping mechanism, the pump mechanism sucks ink from the ink tank to the recording head and collects excess waste ink discharged from the recording head to the waste ink tank. Perform the operation.

[0003] The pump mechanism moves a pressing point in the longitudinal direction of the tube while pressing a part of an elastic tube forming an ink flow path, so that a positive pressure is applied forward of the pressing point and an elastic tube is applied rearward of the pressing point. A method (tube pump) used for supplying ink and collecting waste ink by generating a negative pressure by restoring the ink is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-26186.
No. 4 (conventional example 1) and JP-A-8-25653 (conventional example 2). Conventional example 1 is a typical example of a pump which also uses a paper feed motor as a driving source of a pump, and moves a pressure roller for deforming a tube while elastically urging the same by a spring, and plays a role of a pump. I have. It is described that the spring plays a role in suppressing an increase in driving torque in consideration of variations in the accuracy of the tube, the pressure roller, and their attachment parts. Conventional example 2 is a typical example in which a carrier motor is also used as a driving source of a pump. A tube is extended in a moving direction of a carrier, and a roller that follows the movement of the carrier is pressed against the tube by a cam to perform pumping. are doing. The recording head is coupled to the pump means at a predetermined position, and only the carrier that can be coupled and separated moves. One of the reasons that the recording head can be coupled and separated is that the control of the driving of the paper feed roller and the driving of the carrier require extremely high precision, so that the transmission system is not disconnected. It is stated that it is desirable.

[0004]

In the current situation where ink jet printers have become widespread as general commercial products, the functional components inside the printer are also approaching an established area. However, for specific applications, such as passbook printers and device-embedded passbook printing units, high-quality full-color printing is also not necessary, and almost black is all that is needed. For applications, there is a strong demand for further miniaturization of the device, improvement in reliability, ease of maintenance, reduction in price, and the like. The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
As a result of reviewing the functional elements in order to reduce the number of parts, focusing on the pump mechanism and its driving means, and improving this, it is intended to provide an inkjet printer for specific applications that approximates the market requirements It is. Generally, a passbook printer has a clamp mechanism for holding or releasing a medium (a passbook or a slip) inside the apparatus. In addition, the required functions are medium insertion detection /
The operations of medium suction / print processing / medium ejection / waiting for next medium insertion are repeated. By the way, the initial filling of the ink, the recovery of the ejection function after the printer is stopped, and the disposal of the residual ink after the end of the printing operation can be performed when the medium is not transported. The present invention focuses on this point, and its object is to simplify the structure of the pump mechanism to facilitate assembly, installation, and maintenance, and to use the drive source of the medium transport means as a power source of the pump mechanism. By using a common transfer motor, the dedicated power source (motor) for rotating the pump, which is used in the conventional pump mechanism, can be omitted, and the cost can be reduced and the apparatus can be downsized. It is in.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a chamber of a pump mechanism is formed by a pump base and a pump rotor, and a part of a waste ink tube is connected to the chamber.
Fitted in grayed form, place the rollable of the pressing rotating member in the chamber, by rotating the pump rotor, is rotated moving to crush the elastic tube the press rotating member, functions as a fluid pump It is to let . As a driving means of the pump, a rotational force of a transport motor for rotating the drive roller in conjunction with a separation / pressing operation of a drive roller and a pressure roller constituting a medium transporting means of the ink jet printer is used. Power transmission means for transmitting or canceling transmission to the pump rotor is provided.
However, in the present invention, the power transmission means is driven
Consists of rotating body, driving rotating body, planetary rotating body, and link mechanism
Connecting the planetary rotator to a power transmission path, or
The drive source for separating from the transmission path is
Pressing and separating pressure roller to drive roller
From the clamp mechanism to be
It is characterized by. That is, a passbook printer is usually
Focusing on the opening and closing operation of the clamping mechanism
The driving force of the transport motor is pumped in conjunction with the
By adding power transmission means for transmitting and releasing
Therefore, the transport motor that the passbook printer naturally has
It can be used as a pump drive source. According to the above configuration, the power transmission unit cancels the transmission of the rotational force of the conveyance motor to the pump rotor of the pump mechanism while the medium conveyance unit performs the medium conveyance operation by pressing the drive roller and the pressure roller. On the other hand, the power transmission unit transmits the rotational force of the conveyance motor to the pump rotor while the medium conveyance unit separates the drive roller and the pressure roller and is not performing the medium conveyance operation. The pressing rotator itself is made of an elastic body.
In this case, the spring for adjusting the pressing force of the roller and related elements in the first conventional example, that is, a means for suppressing an increase in torque fluctuation in consideration of the variation in the accuracy of the mounting components becomes unnecessary, and the configuration of the pump itself becomes unnecessary. Be simple. Also, in order to obtain the driving force of the pump from the transport motor, a power transmission means is provided, and the operation of the pump is associated with the separation / pressing operation of the pressure roller against the drive roller. And can be easily synchronized. Therefore, an inexpensive and highly reliable pump mechanism is realized.

The invention of claim 2 is an improvement focusing on the specialty of the passbook printer, wherein the power transmission means comprises a driven rotating body, a driving rotating body, a planetary rotating body, and a link mechanism, and To a power transmission path or to obtain a drive source for separating from the power transmission path from the clamp mechanism that presses and separates the pressure roller of the medium conveying means with respect to the drive roller via the link mechanism. Features. In other words, in order to achieve the second object, the present invention focuses on the opening and closing operation of the clamp mechanism normally provided in the passbook printer, and applies the driving force of the transport motor to the pump rotor in conjunction with the opening and closing operation of the clamp mechanism. By adding a power transmission means for transmitting and releasing, the transport motor naturally provided in the passbook printer can be used as a pump drive source. According to the present invention, since the mechanical mechanism element originally possessed by the passbook printer is used and the pump mechanism is operated when the medium is not conveyed, the pump can be used without adding new pump driving means. Since the purpose of driving can be achieved, and the pump suction operation is performed during the idling time of the business in which the medium is not handled, as described in the conventional example 2, “the driving of the paper feeding roller and the driving of the carrier” are respectively performed. Because control requires very high precision, it is desirable not to disconnect the transmission system. ''
Or the disadvantage that "a lot of work is allocated to the paper feed motor, which increases the size and complexity of the apparatus, thereby increasing the cost". Therefore, it is possible to provide an ink jet printer which can reduce the size of the entire apparatus, can be downsized, and has improved reliability and maintainability.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, an elastic planetary rotating body is provided at a free end of an arm which is rotated in conjunction with the pressing and separating operations of a pressure roller and a drive roller by the clamp mechanism. And a triangle constituted by a center point of rotation of the arm, a center point of the driving rotator, and a center point of the driven rotator holds the planetary rotator with an appropriate pressing force, and is driven to rotate. A power transmission path is formed between the body and the driven rotating body. In the above configuration, to form a power transmission path,
Energize the arm to rotate in one direction to bring the planetary rotator into close contact with the drive rotator, then rotate the drive rotator in one direction to move the planetary rotator from outside the triangle to the inside Let it. Once the power transmission path is formed, the rotational driving force in one direction of the driving rotator acts to press the planetary rotator against the driven rotator, so that the power transmission path is more reliably formed. Conversely, to release the power transmission path, the arm is urged to rotate in the other direction, and then the driving rotator is driven to rotate in the other direction to move the planetary rotator out of the triangle. And move. After the movement, the rotational urging force on the arm in the other direction acts so as to keep the planetary rotator and the drive rotator apart. From outside to inside this triangle,
Or, in the process of moving from inside to outside, the planetary rotator receives physical resistance from the driving rotator, but this resistance is absorbed by the elastic force of the planetary rotator, so no special adjustment mechanism is required. It is.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a carriage support mechanism, a capping mechanism, and a pump mechanism of an inkjet printer. FIG. 2 shows FIG.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the pump mechanism 23 taken along the line ZZ in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line YY in FIG. 2 and conceptually additionally shows a configuration of a power transmission means for driving the pump. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part of another embodiment of the pump mechanism. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views of another embodiment of the pump mechanism, corresponding to the cross-sectional view of FIG. FIG. 7 is a side view of an embodiment of a transport mechanism of a conventional printer, and FIG. 8 is a front view thereof. FIG. 9 is a side view of an embodiment of the transport mechanism and the power transmission means of the ink jet printer according to the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a front view thereof. FIG.
1 is an enlarged view of a main part of the link mechanism, and FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram for explaining features of the power transmission means. FIG.
5 is a time chart for explaining a driving method of the pump mechanism.

[0009] (carriage-related) Figure 1 shows the main components of an inkjet printer. In addition to the inkjet printer,
Platen (described below with reference to FIG. 9, 10.) (Not shown) and medium-member transport mechanism also comprises such, by each of the components work together in a recording medium (not shown) Characters and graphics are recorded, but the configuration of the portion not shown is not particularly different from that of the prior art, and thus the description is omitted. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a carriage, which removably mounts a cartridge 3 accommodating an ink tank 2 in a replaceable manner and a recording head 4 fixed to a lower portion of the cartridge. When the cartridge 3 is mounted on the carriage 1, the recording head 4 to which ink is supplied from the ink tank 2 is mounted with the ink ejection surface 4 a of the ink jet nozzle facing the lower surface of the carriage 1. FIG. 1 shows a case of a monaural printer having only one ink tank, but it does not matter whether the ink jet printer of the present invention is a monaural printer or a color printer. That is, a color printer having a plurality of ink tanks may be used. The carriage 1 is supported by a shaft 5 extending horizontally in the left-right direction in FIG. 1 so as to be able to reciprocate along its axis, and is coupled to a timing belt 7 wound between left and right pulleys 6. CPU that controls each part of the printer
The carriage 1 is reciprocated in a predetermined range along the shaft 5 by the forward or reverse rotation of the pulley 6 by the stepping motor 10 that is rotationally driven through a drive circuit 9 to which a control signal is given from the drive circuit 9. It has become.

(Home Position) The carriage 1 is moved to the left, and the carriage 1 is stopped at a position where the carriage 1 comes into contact with or close to a stop member 11 fixed near the left end of the shaft 5.
Home position. When the carriage 1 reaches the home position, the home position sensor S1
In the case where the actuating member to be N, for example, the home position sensor is constituted by a photoelectric switch, the light shielding plate 12 for blocking the light beam of the photoelectric switch is, for example, a screw 12.
a. The above configuration does not differ from the prior art. In the home position, a pump mechanism described later of the present invention performs its function in cooperation with a capping mechanism described below.

(Capping Mechanism) Next, an example of the configuration of the capping mechanism will be outlined. Below the carriage located at the home position, a cap holder 13 is attached so as to be swingable about a fulcrum 14. A cap 15 is provided on the horizontal portion of the cap holder 13.
Is attached, and is urged by the urging means 16 so as to cover the ink ejection surface 4a of the recording head 4. This cap can be separated from the recording head 4 by the driving means 21. Ru Tei formed ink reservoir 15b is extended integrally beneath the cap 15. A dust removal filter 15f is installed in the ink reservoir,
It plays a role of removing paper powder etc. sucked together with the waste ink. A connector 15c is formed below the ink reservoir 15b to facilitate connection to the waste ink tube.

(Pump Mechanism) A pump mechanism 23 is provided at an intermediate portion of the waste ink tube 22 connected to the connector 15c.
Are combined. This pump mechanism applies a negative pressure to the cap 15 and collects waste ink into the waste ink tank 24 during the initial filling operation of the recording head 4 with ink and the operation of restoring the ink circulation state after a long-term suspension of the printer. It is used for This will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Principal Components of the Pump Mechanism) The pump mechanism 23 generally includes a part of the waste ink tube 22 and
It comprises a pump base 26, a pump rotor 27, and a pump ball 29 corresponding to a pressing rotating body. In the pump mechanism 23, instead of using a part of the waste ink tube 22, another waste ink tube may be used, and the waste ink tube 22 may be connected to both ends thereof. Subsequently, each component of the pump mechanism 23 will be described.

(Pump Base) A pump base 26 is fixed to a mounting board 25 fixed to the printer body by a screw 26a as an example. The pump base 26 includes a mounting portion 261, a peripheral wall portion 262 formed on an outer peripheral portion of the mounting portion, and a mounting portion 261.
And a base shaft 263 extending at a right angle in the center of the one side surface of the base member. An annular chamber 264 that opens toward the other end of the base shaft is formed between the peripheral wall portion 262 and the base shaft 263. In the illustrated example, the pump base 26 includes, as one method of facilitating the manufacture of the peripheral wall portion 262, a mounting portion 261 provided with a rising wall 262a on an outer peripheral portion and a base shaft 263, as shown in FIG. Main base 26m and an annular sub-base 26s having a substantially L-shaped cross section, and a rising wall 262a of the main base and one end of the sub-base 26s are fitted inside and outside, and connected by screws 26n or the like. It is. However, the structure and manufacturing method of the pump base 26 are not particularly limited.

(Pump Rotor) The pump rotor 27 integrally has a disk portion 271 and a rotor shaft 272 extending in a direction perpendicular to the center of one surface of the disk portion and having a through hole at the center. The base shaft 263 is rotatably inserted into the through hole of the rotor shaft 272 so that the rotor shaft 272 is positioned on the inner peripheral side of the chamber 264 of the pump base and closes the open surface of the chamber. Then, a stopper 28 such as an E-ring is attached to the tip of the base shaft 263 and connected to the pump base 26.

(Chamber) Peripheral wall 262 and rotor shaft 2
72, more specifically, the rising wall 262a, the sub base 26s, and the rotor shaft 272 form a chamber 264 for housing the elastic tube 22 and the pump ball 29.

(Waste Ink Tube) The waste ink tube 22 is introduced into the chamber 264 through a part of the peripheral wall of the pump base 26.
Substantially as an example along the outer circumferential surface of the chamber 264 36
The chamber 264 is extended by 0 degrees and penetrates the peripheral wall again.
And is connected to the waste ink tank 24. That is, the waste ink tube 22 is
64 in a ring shape. The waste ink tube 22 is fitted at least in the chamber 264.
The portion of the ink tube 22 in the chamber is crushed as the pump ball 29 rolls due to the rotation of the pump rotor 27, and the pressing point is a clock in FIG. Move in the direction. As a result, a positive pressure is generated in the waste ink tube forward from the pressing point of the pump ball 29 in the moving direction of the pressing point, and a negative pressure is generated in the waste ink tube behind the pressing point by the restoring force of the tube.

(Tube Cover) When it is necessary to prevent the waste ink tube 22 from bending and hanging down in the chamber 264 when the pump ball 29 rolls to apply a pressing force to the waste ink tube 22, FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 4, a tube cover 22c is formed by intermittently forming a groove in the circumferential direction of the pump base on the fitting surface between the main base 26m and the sub base 26s, and fitted and fixed in the groove.
Accordingly, it is preferable to hold the waste ink tube 22 disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the chamber 264. Tube cover 2
2c can be made of a plastic film or the like that is pressed by the pump ball 29 to be flattened and restored by the elasticity of the waste ink tube 22.

(Pump Ball) Inside the chamber 264, a pump ball 29 made of an elastic material is placed between the outer peripheral surface of the rotor shaft of the pump rotor 27 and the waste ink tube 22.
Are rollably stored. This pump ball 29
In the existing position, while crushing a part of the waste ink tube 22 to block the flow path in the tube,
With the rotation and revolution of the pump ball, the pressing point of the waste ink tube is moved in the longitudinal direction of the tube.

(Prevention of Idling) The pump rotor 27 is rotated in a predetermined direction with respect to the waste ink tube 22 in the chamber 264, that is, clockwise in FIG. Then, when the pump rotor 27 is rotated, the pump ball 29 abutting on the outer periphery of the rotor shaft 272 moves clockwise in the chamber 264 while rotating counterclockwise, that is, revolves. . In order to prevent the rotor shaft 272 from idling with respect to the pump ball 29 during rotation of the pump rotor 27, a knurl is cut on the outer peripheral surface of the rotor shaft 272 of the pump rotor 27, a rubber ring is fixed, or It is desirable to provide a means for increasing the coefficient of friction by molding to have irregularities.

(Other Configuration Examples) In the examples shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the pressing rotator 29 is formed in a spherical or almost spherical shape, so that the chamber 264 has a semicircular cross section on its outer peripheral surface. Although formed, as shown in FIG.
May be formed into a circular rod or a cylindrical shape, and the cross-sectional shape of the chamber 264 may be rectangular. In the example of FIG. 5, the number of tubes in the chamber is one, but a plurality of waste ink tubes can be used as shown in FIG.

(Outline of Configuration of Power Transmission Means) FIG. 3 shows a concept of a power transmission means for driving the pump mechanism. In FIG. 3, the stepping drive circuit 3
0a, the transport motor 30, the drive roller 31, the pressure roller 32, the clamp mechanism 32a, and the clamp mechanism drive circuit 32b are components commonly found in a conventional passbook printer, and will not be described in detail. . More specifically, the print medium (not shown) is sandwiched between the drive roller 31 and the pressure roller 32, and the print medium is transported by the driving force of the transport motor 30. In connection with this transport operation, the clamp mechanism 32a holds and releases the print medium by pressing and separating the pressure roller 32 from and to the drive roller 31. Transport motor 3
0 and the clamp mechanism 32a are 30
A is controlled by the CPU 8 in FIG. 1 via a and 32b. The power transmission means is a link mechanism 33 shown in FIG.
, A planetary rotator 35, a drive rotator 34, and a driven rotator 273. The present invention has one feature in that the pump mechanism 23 is driven by newly adding this power transmission means and using components commonly found in a conventional passbook printer. The driving rotator 34 is connected via a link mechanism 33 to a rotating shaft that rotates synchronously with the rotating shaft of the drive roller 31. Driven rotator 273
Is formed on the outer periphery of the disk portion 271 of the pump rotor, and is mounted to face the drive rotating body 34 at a predetermined distance. The planetary rotator 35 is engaged with the pressure roller 32 via a link mechanism, and
Drive roller 31 of pressure roller 32 by 2a
In conjunction with the pressure contact / separation operation with respect to, the drive rotator 34 and the driven rotator 273 are separated / pressed. That is,
When the pressure roller 32 is pressed against the drive roller 31, the planetary rotator 35 is separated from both (or one) the drive rotator 34 and the driven rotator 273, and the driving force of the drive rotator 34 is rotated by the driven rotation. Do not tell body 273.
Conversely, when the pressure roller 32 is separated from the drive roller 31, the planetary rotator 35
4 and the driven rotator 273 to form a power transmission path, and the driving force of the driving rotator 34 is applied to the driven rotator 273.
Tell As the power transmission means, a gear or a timing belt can be used, but in the present embodiment, the driving rotator 34 and the driven rotator 273 are composed of pulleys, and the planetary rotator 35 is an elastic roller. As a rubber roller. As a result, the planetary rotator 35 is driven and rotated.
The center point of the rolling member 34, the center point of the driven
When it is moved into a triangle connecting the pivot point of the arm holding the star rotator to form a power transmission path, and when it is moved outside the triangle to release the power transmission path. When the planetary rotator transiently receives the resistance from the drive rotator, the rubber roller, which is an elastic body, absorbs the resistance, and when the planetary rotator is moved into the triangle, the drive rotator and the driven rotator are Since the planetary rotating body is held with an appropriate pressing force and generates an appropriate friction, an automatic adjustment mechanism for the resistance, the pressing force and the friction is not required.

(Conventional Example of Conveying Mechanism) Prior to a specific description of the power transmission means, a configuration example of a conveying mechanism in a conventional passbook printer will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a side view showing a configuration necessary for explaining the transport mechanism. 7, the side plates 49R and 49L in FIG. 8 are omitted. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a front view for supplementing the description of FIG. 7, and the platen 51 in FIG. 7 is omitted. Note that, in FIGS. 7 and 8, carriage-related parts that are not directly related to conveyance-related descriptions are also omitted. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 50 denotes a transport plate on which a medium (not shown) moves.
Reference numeral 51 denotes a platen, on which a carriage mechanism (not shown) for mounting a print head is incorporated. Supplementary explanation, as a print head in a conventional passbook printer, a print head of a wire dot impact print system was used. However, whether a wire dot type and will try in-click jet method, differences in functional said to printing without does not affect to explain the conventional transport mechanism, here not shown carriage mechanism, also described Omitted. Reference numeral 47 denotes a transfer stepping motor (hereinafter, referred to as a transfer motor 47), which corresponds to the transfer motor 30 in FIG. The transport motor 47 has a drive shaft 47a, and rotationally drives a timing belt pulley 47b attached to the drive shaft 47a. 43, 4
Drive rollers 2 and 41 each correspond to the drive roller 31 in FIG. 43b, 42b, 42
Reference numerals c and 41c denote timing belt pulleys, respectively.
Reference numeral 43a denotes a shaft, and the drive roller 43 and the pulley 43b
Hold. Similarly, a shaft 42a holds the drive roller 42 and the pulleys 42b and 42c. Similarly 41
a is a shaft, which holds the drive roller 41 and the pulley 41c. An idle pulley 47f is rotatably held by a shaft 47g. Reference numeral 47d denotes a timing belt, and timing belt pulleys 47b, 43b,
42b and the idle pulley 47f,
The rotational driving force of the transport motor 47 is transmitted to the drive rollers 43 and 42. Reference numeral 42d denotes a timing belt which is wound between the pulleys 42c and 41c for the timing belt and transmits the rotational driving force of the transport motor to the drive roller 41 via the drive shaft 42a. A pressure roller 46 is rotatably attached to the arm 46b via a shaft 46a, and is urged toward the drive roller 43 by a spring 46c with a fixed shaft 49 as a rotatable fulcrum. Reference numeral 45 denotes a pressure roller, and a shaft 45a
Is rotatably attached to the arm 45b via a rotary shaft 48a, and the spring 45c
Urged in the direction of the drive roller. 44
Is a pressure roller, and the arm 4 is connected via a shaft 44a.
4b, and is attached so as to follow the operation of the lever 48 via the biasing force of the coil spring 48b with the rotation shaft 48a as a fulcrum. One end of the coil spring 48b is fixed to the arm 44b, and after the rotation shaft 48a is wound, the other end is connected to the rotation shaft 48a.
It is fixed to. One end of the lever 48 is fitted into the rotation shaft 48a in a non-rotatable shape, and then fixed with an E-ring 48c. Biased in the opposite direction. 51d is a holding plate for fixing one end of the spring 51b. 48d is a stopper for the lever 48. The arm 44b and the lever 48 are attached via a coil spring 48b so as to have an angle of about 90 degrees. The coil spring 48b applies the rotational force of the lever 48 to the arm 4
4b, the pressure roller 44 is pressed against and separated from the drive roller 41 as the latching magnet 51 attached to the holding plate 51c sucks and releases the plunger 51a. The pressure roller 44 corresponds to the pressure roller 32 in FIG. Further, an arm 44b, a coil spring 48b, a lever 48, a rotating shaft 48a, an E-ring 48c, a plunger 51
a, latching magnet 51, pin 51p, and spring 51
The b, the holding plates 51c and 51d, and the stopper 48d constitute the clamp mechanism 32a in FIG. In FIG. 8, 49L and 49R are side plates, and the shafts 43a, 42a, 41a,
It holds a fixed shaft 49, a rotating shaft 48a, a transport motor 47, and the like. Reference numeral 48s shown in FIG. 8 is a sleeve for rotatably holding the rotating shaft 48a. Similarly, for the rotating shafts 41a, 42a, and 43a, the sleeve 4
1 s is provided. The following describes how the power transmission means added in the present invention is configured with respect to the conventional transport mechanism described above.

(Example of Structure of Power Transmission Means) FIG. 9 shows an example of the structure of a transport mechanism corresponding to FIG. 7, and includes a link mechanism 33, a driving rotating body 34, a planetary rotating body 35, and a driven rotating body in FIG. 273 is a view for explaining a specific configuration example of the power transmission means configured by 273. FIG. 10 is a front view for supplementing the description of FIG. 9 and corresponds to FIG. This will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Structural example of driven rotating body) 63 in FIG.
a is a pump mechanism corresponding to the pump mechanism 23 shown in FIG. 2 and is shown in a perspective view. As shown in FIG. 10, the pump mechanism 63a includes a holding plate 63b with screws 63d.
It is fixed to. The holding plate 63b is attached to the side plate 49R by screws 63c. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 63 denotes a driven rotary member, which corresponds to the driven rotary member 273 in FIG. 3, and as shown at 63 in FIG. 10, the outer peripheral surface is concave.

(Example of the structure of the driving rotary member) 61 in FIG.
Denotes a driving rotator, which corresponds to the driving rotator 34 in FIG. In the embodiment of FIG. 9, the driving rotary body 61 is directly attached to the driving shaft 47a of the transport motor 47, and the outer peripheral surface thereof is concave as shown by a dotted line as 61 in FIG.

(Example of structure of planetary rotating body) 62 in FIG.
Is a planetary rotator and corresponds to the planetary rotator 35 in FIG. The outer peripheral surface is convex as shown by a dotted line as 62 in FIG. In this embodiment, the planetary rotator 6
2 is made of an elastic material such as rubber.

(Example of Structure of Link Mechanism) A link mechanism is constituted by 62a, 62b, 62c, 62d, 62e, 62f, and 62g shown in FIGS. They are,
A link mechanism 33 shown in FIG. 3 is embodied, and the planetary rotator 35 in FIG. 3 is separated between the driving rotator 34 and the driven rotator 273 in conjunction with the pressing and separating operations of the pressure roller 32. Pressing is performed to make the transport motor 30 a power source of the pump mechanism 23. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 62a denotes a rotation shaft of the planetary rotator 62, and a round hole 62b formed at an end of the arm 62b near the conveyance motor.
Both ends are rotatably held by R. Arm 6
2b is a round hole 6 drilled at the end remote from the transport motor.
2bL, it is held rotatably with respect to the rotating shaft 48a via a sleeve 62c on one side. Arm 62
b is formed of a sheet metal having a U-shaped cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, has open portions at both ends in the longitudinal direction, and holds the rotating shaft 62a of the planetary rotating body at one end. The other end is rotatably held with respect to the rotation shaft 48a,
It is connected to the lever 48 by coil springs 62d and 62e. 62g is a stopper for restricting the arm 62b from moving excessively. A connection portion between the arm 62b and the lever 48 will be described with reference to an enlarged FIG. The arm 62b and the lever 48 are held in the through-holes 62bL and 48e through the rotating shaft 48a. 62f is a stopper for fixing the arm 62b in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 48a, and a screw 62n
Is fixed to the rotating shaft 48a. Rotary shaft 48a
The portion from the insertion side of the lever 48 to the position through which the lever 48 penetrates is formed by cutting the upper and lower surfaces perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the round bar in parallel, for example, to form a non-circular cross section. Is inserted into a through hole of a lever 48 formed in the same shape as the cross-sectional shape of the lever 48, so that the rotation shaft 48a follows the swinging motion of the lever 48. Reference numeral 62c denotes a sleeve which has a through-hole having the same size and shape as the through-hole of the lever 48 inside, and a round bar portion 62c 'having an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the through-hole 62bL inside. The arm 62b is rotatably held with respect to the rotation shaft 48a by penetrating the round bar portion through the through hole 62cL. The coil springs 62d and 62e are wound in opposite directions, and one end is fixed to the lever 48,
The other end is fixed to the arm 62b. This coil spring 6
By 2d and 62e, the swinging motion of the lever 48 is transmitted to the arm 62b with an appropriate force. With the above configuration, when the plunger 51a is released, the arm 62b is about to rotate in one direction by the urging force of the spring 51b. That is, the planetary rotator 62 is pressed against both the drive rotator 61 and the driven rotator 63 and is urged in a direction to move to a predetermined position (pressed position) so as to form the power transmission path. When the plunger 51a is sucked, the arm 62b is about to rotate in the other direction. That is, the planetary rotator 62 is urged in a direction to move it to a predetermined position (separated position) by removing it from the driving force transmission path between the driving rotator 61 and the driven rotator 63.

(Features of power transmission means) Referring to FIG.
The features of the power transmission means in the present invention will be described. 630
Is the center point of the driven rotor 63, 610 is the center point of the drive rotor 61, 620 is the center point when the planetary rotor 62 is in contact with both the drive rotor 61 and the driven rotor 63, 48a
0 is the rotation center point of the arm 62b. The line segment “48a
"0-620" indicates the position of the arm 62b when the planetary rotator 62 is moved to the pressure contact position. At this time, the line segment “48
a0-620 "is the triangle" 48a0,610,63 "
0 ", the outer peripheral surface of the planetary rotator 62 (rubber roller) is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the drive rotator 61 (drive pulley) and the outer peripheral surface of the driven rotator 63 (driven pulley). The dotted line “48a0-620 ′” indicates the position of the arm 62b ′ when the planetary rotator 62 is moved to the separated position. At this time, the dotted line “48a0-620 ′” exists outside the triangle “48a0, 610, 630”. To move the planetary rotator 62 'from the separated position to the pressure contact position,
The line segment “48a0-620 ′” becomes the line segment “48a0-61”.
0 ", the planetary rotator 62 'receives an increased resistance from the drive rotator 61 at the time of the overlap. Therefore, the urging force of the spring 51b as a result of simply releasing the latching magnet is obtained. The center point of each is positioned and the biasing force of the spring 51b is set so that it cannot be moved only by itself. Therefore, in order to move the planetary rotator 62 from the separated position to the pressure contact position, in addition to releasing the latching magnet 51, the transport motor 47 is driven to rotate the drive rotator 61 clockwise, so that the resistance is increased. Is moved to the pressed position (from 620 'to 620). Once moved to the pressure contact position, the triangle "48a0,610,630"
Acts to prevent the pressing force of the planetary rotator 62 against the drive rotator 61 and the driven rotator 63 by holding the line segment “48a0-620”, so that even if the drive rotator 61 is stopped, the planetary The body 62 does not return to the separated position. Further, when rotating the rotation driving body 61 in the clockwise direction, the planetary rotation body 62 acts to be pressed against the driven rotation body 63, so that the rotation transmitting effect is further enhanced. At this time, the planetary rotator 62 rotates counterclockwise, the driven rotator 63 rotates clockwise, and the pump mechanism 63a sucks waste ink from the ink ejection surface 4a, and the waste ink tank 24 rotates.
It works to accumulate in. To return the planetary rotator 62 to the open state, the latching magnet 51 is attracted, and the transport motor 47 is rotated counterclockwise by a fixed amount. By this control, the drive rotating body 61 causes the planetary rotating body 62 to
Since it acts so as to push it from the position of 0 to the position of 620 ′, the planetary rotator 62 is removed from the driving force transmission path,
This state is maintained by the action of the latching magnet 51. When the transport motor is rotated in the counterclockwise direction, the waste ink tube 22 is temporarily moved in a direction in which a slight positive pressure is applied to the ink ejection surface until the planetary rotator 62 separates from the driven rotator 63. However, this is not a problem because the control of opening the cap 15 from the ink ejection surface 4a in advance can prevent the ink from being pushed in. If necessary, a check valve can be provided in the middle of the waste ink tube 22 connected between the pump mechanism 23 and the connector section 15c, but the printing process can be performed according to the procedure of the time chart shown in FIG. Open capping mechanism prior to (c)
(2) After that, the clamp mechanism is turned on (3), and then the conveyance motor is controlled in a procedure of rotating counterclockwise (4). Therefore, the positive pressure is applied after the cap 15 is separated from the recording head 4. Therefore, a check valve is not required.

(Control of Printer) The control of the printer in the present invention will be described with reference to the time chart of FIG. The processing of the handling business in FIG. 13 includes the four types of processing shown in the figure, namely, (a) medium insertion detection, (b) medium suction, (c) printing processing, and (d) medium discharge (&).
Is repeatedly executed. The process will be described with reference to the symbol numbers shown in FIG. (a) Medium insertion detection processing (1) When a medium insertion detection sensor (not shown) detects that a medium has been inserted into the printer, the operations (2) to (7) for sucking the medium are started. (b) Medium suction processing (2) Prior to medium suction, the capping mechanism is opened. That is, the electromagnet 21 in FIG. 1 is attracted, the cap 15 is separated from the ink ejection surface 4a, and the contact between the projection 18 and the spacer 20 is released. (3) Turn on the clamp mechanism. That is, the latching magnet 51 shown in FIG.
a of the pressure roller 44 and the drive roller 4
1 so that the inserted medium (not shown) is sandwiched and held. At this time, a force that tends to deviate from the power transmission path acts on the arm 62b in FIG. 9 via the coil springs 62d and 62e, but is held by the driving rotating body 61 so as to be pressed against the driven rotating body 63. Has not yet come off. (4) The conveyance motor 47 in FIG. 7 is rotated counterclockwise to suck the medium to the position of the platen 51. In this process, the driving rotator 61 rotating in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 9 acts to remove the planetary rotator 62 from the power transmission path. After the planetary rotator 62 is disengaged from the power transmission path, the coil springs 62d and 62e transmit the urging force accompanying the movement of the lever 48, and thus keep the disengaged position. (5) Prior to printing, pre-discharge ink. That is, FIG.
The preliminary discharge of a small amount from the ink discharge surface 4a into the ink reservoir 15b at the time of (1), thereby adjusting the state of the recording head 4. (6) Move the carriage to the position on the medium where printing is to be performed. That is, the carriage 1 is moved to a predetermined position by rotating the carriage motor 10 in FIG. On the way, the home position sensor S1 changes from the ON state to the OFF state. (7) When the medium has been inhaled to the predetermined position, the print processing “(8) to (15)” is started. (c) Printing process Data to be printed is transmitted from an external device to the printer via the external device interface 8a.
The printing process is performed according to this. (8) The carriage moves at a constant speed within the range of the print position and stops. (9) In synchronization with the movement of the carriage, a dot pattern to be printed is formed, and ink is ejected. (10) When the printing for one line is completed, the medium is moved by rotating the transport motor 47 counterclockwise to move the medium to the next line to be printed. (11), (12) and (13) are repeated according to the data instructed from the external device. After printing the last line according to (14) and (15), the medium discharge processing (16) to (27) is started. (d) Medium Ejecting Process (and Medium Extraction Waiting Process) (16) When all printing processes are completed, the transport motor 47 in FIG. 7 is continuously rotated clockwise in order to eject the medium out of the printer. (17) At the same time, the carriage motor 10 in FIG. 1 is rotationally driven in a direction approaching the home position, the carriage 1 is returned to the home position, and it is confirmed that the home position sensor S1 has changed to the ON state and stopped. (18) While the transport motor is continuously rotating in the discharge direction,
Since the medium insertion detection sensor (not shown) changes from the present state to the non-present state, (19) detecting this, the rotation of the transport motor is stopped. (20) Subsequently, the clamp mechanism is turned off. That is,
When the latching magnet 51 in FIG. 7 opens the plunger 51a, the urging force of the spring 51b is
8, the pressure roller 44 is separated from the drive roller 41 via the coil spring 48b and the arm 44b. At the same time, the coil springs 62d and 62e in FIG.
And the biasing force of the spring 51b via the arm 62b causes the planetary rotator 62 to be joined to the drive rotator 61. (21) Change the capping mechanism from the open state to the closed state. That is, the energization of the electromagnet 21 in FIG. 1 is stopped, the cap 15 is joined to the recording head 4 by the urging force of the urging means 16, and the carriage 1 is fixed by holding the spacer 20 by the projection 18. (22) Drive the pump. That is, when the transport motor 47 in FIG. 9 is rotated clockwise, the driving rotator 61 is moved in the direction in which the planetary rotator 62 is pressed against the driven rotator 63 to form a power transmission path. (23) When the transport motor 47 is further rotated, the driven rotor 6
3 starts to rotate, so that the pump mechanism 63a, ie,
The pump mechanism 23 acts to push out the waste ink inside the waste ink tube 22 toward the waste ink tank 24 and acts to suck the ink from the recording head 4. (24) The state of the recording head 4 is adjusted by discharging ink from the recording head 4 in accordance with the suction operation of the pump. (25) After performing the required number of ink ejection operations, the transport motor 47 is stopped, and (26) the suction operation of the pump mechanism 23 is stopped. (27) It is determined that the discharged printed medium (not shown) has been removed by the operator based on the absence of the medium removal detection sensor (not shown). Usually, this confirmation is performed in parallel with other controls after the medium ejection is completed. By controlling as described above, the power transmission means in the present invention is combined with the existing mechanism of the conventional printer to drive the pump mechanism, and in cooperation with the capping mechanism,
The recording head 4 of the inkjet printer can be maintained. Note that the medium insertion detection sensor and the medium removal detection sensor are usually attached to the conventional printer, but it is added that they are not shown because the drawing is involved.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, a chamber is formed by a pump base and a pump rotor of a pump mechanism , and a waste ink tube is fitted into the chamber in a ring shape.
The pump ball rollably coordinated <br/> location in Mutotomoni chamber, and a pump ball rotates moved by frictional force of each other by rotating the pump rotor, the waste in
By moving the pressure point of the work tube to function as a fluid pump, the structure of the pump mechanism itself is simple, and it is hard to be affected by variations in the accuracy of the mounting parts. Also,
In order to obtain the driving force of the pump from the medium transport drive system, a power transmission means for transmitting / releasing the rotational force is provided.
A dedicated pump drive source is not required. Further, the power transmission means includes a driven rotating body provided concentrically with the rotor shaft of the pump rotor, a driving rotating body synchronously rotated with the drive roller of the medium transporting means, a planetary rotating body, A link mechanism for separating and connecting the planetary rotator from a power transmission path between the driving rotator and the driven rotator in conjunction with the pressing and separating operations of the pressure roller and the drive roller performed by the clamp mechanism. In this case, since a conventional transport mechanism of the printer is used and components are added to the transport mechanism, the total number of components is reduced.
Therefore, it is possible to provide an ink jet type passbook printer in which the cost of the entire apparatus can be reduced, the size can be reduced, and the reliability and maintainability are improved. Claim 2
Akira is a pressure roller and drive by a clamp mechanism
The arm that rotates in conjunction with the roller
A link mechanism is provided by providing an elastic planetary rotating body at the free end.
A center point of rotation of the arm and a center point of the driving rotary body.
And the center point of the driven rotor is
Holds the star rotating body with an appropriate pressing force and follows the driven rotating body
To form a power transmission path between the rotators
Once the power transmission path has been formed,
Rotational driving force in one direction pushes planetary rotator against driven rotator
Power transmission path.
On the contrary, after releasing the power transmission path,
Rotation biasing force on the planetary
The action is assured to keep the body separated and the planetary rotation
The process of moving a body triangle from outside to inside or from inside to outside
Smell Te, planet rotator physical resistance from the driving rotator
This resistance is caused by the elastic force of the planetary rotating body.
The advantage is that no special adjustment mechanism is required because it is absorbed.
There is a point.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a carriage support mechanism, a capping mechanism, and a pump mechanism of an inkjet printer.

FIG. 2 shows the embodiment of the pump mechanism in FIG.
Sectional drawing along the -Z line.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line YY in FIG. 2, in which the configuration of power transmission means for driving the pump is conceptually added.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of another embodiment of the pump mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the pump mechanism, corresponding to the sectional view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of still another embodiment of the pump mechanism, corresponding to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating an example of a transport mechanism of a conventional printer.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 9 is a side view of an embodiment of a transport mechanism and a power transmission unit of the inkjet printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view showing a connection portion between an arm of a link mechanism and a lever of a clamp mechanism.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the features of the power transmission means .

FIG. 13 is a time chart for explaining a driving method of the pump mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 22, 22 'Waste ink tube (elastic tube) 22c Tube cover 23, 63a Pump mechanism 25 Mounting board 26 Pump base 26a, 26n Screw 26m Main base 26s, 26s' Sub base 261 Mounting section 262 Peripheral wall section 262a Rising wall 263 Source shaft 264 Chamber 27 Pump rotor 271 Disk portion 272 Rotor shaft 273, 63 Driven rotating body (driven pulley) 28, 48c Retaining stopper (E-ring) 29 Pump ball (rotation pressing body) 30, 47 Transport motor (stepping) Motor) 30a Stepping motor drive circuit 31 Drive roller 32 Pressure roller 32a Clamp mechanism 32b Clamp mechanism drive circuit 33 Link mechanism 34,61 Drive rotating body (drive pulley) 35,62 Planetary rotating body (planetary roller) 7a Drive shaft 48 Lever 48a, 62a Rotation shaft 48b, 62d, 62e Coil spring 48d, 62f Stopper 51 Latching magnet 51a Plunger 51b Spring 51c, 51d, 63b Holding plate 51p Pin 62b Arm 62g Arm stopper 62bL, 62bR Round hole ) 62n, 63c, 63d Screws 41s, 48s, 62c Sleeve 63a Pump mechanism 62b 'Arm position (at the time of separation) 48a0 Center point of rotation of arm 610 Center point of driving rotating body 620 Center point of planetary rotating body (pressed state) 62 'Planetary rotating body (separated state) 620' Center point of planetary rotating body (separated state) 630 Center point of driven rotating body

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-7-237332 (JP, A) JP-A-9-11568 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/165 B41J 2/18 B41J 23/02

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] An end of one end is provided for a cap for closing and opening a nozzle surface for discharging ink of a recording head, and the other end is provided for a waste ink tank.
Installed in the middle of the waste ink tubes connected to
Vignetting, in an inkjet printer having a pump mechanism for discharging the Sharing, ABS ink tank prior to suck waste ink accumulated in the waste ink tube when it is operated, the pump mechanism, the central base over scan axis a pump base having an annular chamber in the outer periphery, a pump rotor having a rotor shaft forming the inner peripheral surface of the rotatably supported by in the chamber to the base axis of the pump base, the tea
The chamber is rotatably accommodated in the circumferential direction of the chamber between the waste ink tube fitted in a ring shape and the rotor shaft of the pump rotor, and is frictionally rotated with the rotation of the pump rotor. It consists of the pressing rotating body and you revolves the chamber while crushing a portion of said waste ink tube, in conjunction with spaced-pressure operation of the drive roller and the pressure roller constituting the medium conveying means before Symbol inkjet printer power transmission means for releasing the rotational force of the conveying motor for rotating and transmitted to the pump rotor of the pump mechanism or transmission is provided with the drive roller and, before Symbol power transmission means, the pump rotor of the pump mechanism, A driven rotator provided concentrically with the rotor shaft, a driving rotator synchronously rotated with the drive roller, and a planetary rotator. Pressure to the drive roller of the pressure roller clamp mechanism of the medium conveying means performs,
An ink jet printer comprising a link mechanism for separating and connecting the planetary rotator from a power transmission path between the driving rotator and the driven rotator in conjunction with the separating operation. 2. The ink jet printer according to claim 1,
Oite, the link mechanism, the in conjunction with pressure-separating operation of the pressure roller and the drive roller is formed by providing the planetary rotary member having elasticity to the free end of the arm is rotated, said arm in one direction when energized twice movement includes a pivot center of the arm in which the said arm planetary rotating body is held with the center point of the center point of the previous SL drive rotor the driven rotating body the planet rotator is moved by a rotational driving force in one direction before SL drive rotor in a direction which is embraced in a triangle formed by connecting the forming a power transmission path, after being embraced in the triangle the drive rotor The planetary rotator is pressed against and driven by the driven rotator by the rotational driving force in one direction, and when the arm is urged to rotate in the other direction, the other direction of the drive rotator is The rotation drive force causes the arm and the planetary rotating body to rotate. Features and to Louis inkjet printers that are moved out of the serial triangular releasing the power transmission path.