JP3346470B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus such as an ink jet printer which requires maintenance of nozzles of an ink cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art JP-A-4-27555 and JP-A-4-27555
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 94943/94 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-151255 disclose capping in which a nozzle portion of an ink cassette used in an ink jet printer is covered with a cap as a measure for preventing ink from drying out. . In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
No. 54 discloses that wiping is performed by rubbing a nozzle of an ink cassette mounted on a carriage of an ink jet recording apparatus with a wiper blade.

On the other hand, in a printing apparatus such as an ink jet printer, as shown in FIG. 18, a carriage 1 is guided by a horizontally long guide 3 laid on a frame 2 and reciprocated. In addition, the ink cassette 4 is attached to and detached from the carriage 1.
A sheet (not shown) is fed in a direction perpendicular to the reciprocating direction A of the carriage 1, and the sheet is supported from below by the base member 5 during printing. The carriage 1 is moved by an arrow a by a pulse motor (not shown).
Is connected to the timing belt 6 which reciprocates.

In this type of printing apparatus, a carriage 1
A print area and a maintenance area are provided in the reciprocating movement area of. In the conventional printing apparatus shown in FIG. 18, the maintenance area M is provided outside the printing area P on the side thereof, and has a function of performing the above-described capping and wiping. A maintenance unit (not shown in FIG. 18) having a receiving portion for the ink to be preliminarily ejected is provided in the maintenance area M.
It was installed in.

[0005]

However, if the maintenance area M is provided on the side of the printing area as in the conventional printing apparatus described with reference to FIG. 18, the horizontal width W1 of the printing apparatus can be reduced to a minimum. Since the length of the print area P and the length of the maintenance area M are combined, it is difficult to reduce the overall width W1.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and by improving the positional relationship between a printing area and a maintenance area, the width of the printing apparatus is made closer to the length of the printing area so that the width can be reduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing device that can shorten the printing time.

Further, according to the present invention, when a maintenance unit provided in a printing area is of a lifting type, a motor originally provided for feeding a sheet to a printing apparatus is used as a drive source for raising the maintenance unit. An object of the present invention is to provide a printing device that utilizes the same.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus.
The following a to k configurations are provided. a. Attached to the carriage that reciprocates in the print area
Capping and wiping of ink cassette nozzles
The maintenance unit that performs
A receiving portion for ink to be ejected; b. Supply for feeding the paper placed on the paper support member
A paper roller and a filter for moving paper in the printing area.
And the roller are driven by the same motor
Cage, c. The output shaft of the motor rotates on the feed roller.
Feed roller side gear train that transmits the
And the feed roller side gear train that transmits rotation to
Is, d. On the base member that supports the paper in the print area,
In cooperation with the cam receiving part provided in the maintenance unit
Cam and driven teeth for raising and lowering the maintenance unit
A shaft with a car is mounted, e. The first time formed by the gear train on the feed roller side
A first clutch for interrupting the transmission path,
A second rotation transmission path formed by the
A second clutch for intermittently connecting with the dynamic gear; f. The clockwise rotation of the rotation output shaft of the motor
Then, the first clutch enters the connection mode, and
While the paper is fed out of the material,
Is rotated counterclockwise without feeding paper; g. The counterclockwise rotation of the motor's rotary output shaft
Then, the first clutch is set in the disconnection mode and the paper support
While the paper is no longer fed from the material,
The roller is rotated clockwise to feed paper; h. When the rotation output shaft of the motor is the second clutch,
When rotated in the measuring direction, the cam receiving portion and the cam portion and
Operate the maintenance unit in cooperation with the driven gear
The motor and the rotation output shaft of the motor is
When rotated in the measuring direction, the cam receiving portion and the cam portion and
Retract the maintenance unit by cooperating with the driven gear
In printing apparatus adapted to be lowered to location, i. The carriage is moved within the print area where the carriage reciprocates.
The maintenance area is located and the maintenance area
The maintenance unit moves the ink cassette
And the retracted position below the operating position.
Is installed so as to be able to be moved up and down between the jigs and j. When the rotation output shaft of the above motor rotates clockwise
The first clutch can be set to the disconnection mode.
A topper, k. The mechanism for operating this stopper is
Home where the ridge is the reference position of the maintenance area
When you move to the position, press on the carriage.
And the stopper sets the first clutch to the disconnection mode.
To protrude to a position.

According to the present invention, since the maintenance area is located within the printing area, the maintenance area can be as long as the length of the maintenance area as compared with the conventional case where the maintenance area is located at the side of the printing area. It is possible to reduce the width of the printing device.

[0010] The maintenance unit has a function to perform the capping and wiping the nozzle of the ink cassette, also, the maintenance unit is provided with a receiving portion of the ink to be preliminarily ejected from the nozzles of the ink cassette Therefore, capping and wiping of the nozzles of the ink cassette and preliminary ejection of ink can be performed, so that all maintenance required for printing can be performed.

In the printing apparatus of the present invention, the maintenance unit can be moved up and down between an operation position facing a movement path of the ink cassette reciprocated by the carriage and a retracted position below the operation position. Therefore, when the maintenance unit is raised to the operating position , maintenance such as capping and wiping as described above, and preliminary ink ejection is performed. Further, when the maintenance unit is lowered to the retreat position, the carriage reciprocates to perform printing in the printing area. In this case, since the maintenance unit is lowered to the retracted position, the maintenance unit does not interfere with the printing operation or the movement of the paper.

In the present invention, a motor originally provided for feeding paper in the printing apparatus is used as a drive source for raising the maintenance unit . Sand
As a driving source for raising the maintenance unit, a feed roller for feeding out the paper placed on the paper support member and a feed roller for moving the paper in the printing area are driven by the same motor. Came to
ing.

In the printing apparatus, a single motor is used for both the motor for driving the paper feed roller and the motor for driving the feed roller, and the rotation transmission path of the single motor is used. Some printers are configured to be selectively switched between a paper feed roller side and a feed roller side. In such a printing apparatus, a drive source of the paper feed roller is used as a drive source for raising a maintenance unit. It is possible to use a single motor that is also used for driving the feed roller.

[0014] In the printing apparatus according to the present invention, in order to position the maintenance area to the printing area, attaching the maintenance unit to a base member for supporting the paper on SL print area to be movable up and down, to the base member, the driving A shaft rotatably driven by the motor as a source is attached, and a cam provided on the shaft and a cam receiving portion provided in the maintenance unit cooperate to perform the elevation operation of the maintenance unit .

In the printing apparatus according to the present invention,
A feed roller side gear train for transmitting rotation to the feed roller, and a feed roller side gear train for transmitting rotation to the feed roller, on a rotation output shaft of the motor as a drive source for raising the maintenance unit. And a first clutch for intermittently interposing a first rotation transmission path formed by the paper feed roller side gear train is interposed between the paper feed roller side gear train, and a base for supporting a paper in the printing area. A shaft having the member, on which the maintenance unit is vertically movable, and having, on the base member, a cam for moving up and down the maintenance unit in cooperation with a cam receiving portion provided on the maintenance unit, and a driven gear. And a second rotation transmission path formed by the feed roller side gear train and the driven Second clutch intermittently the vehicle is interposed.

By employing this configuration, the rotation of the motor is transmitted to the paper feed roller via the gear train on the paper feed roller side, and transmitted to the feed roller via the gear train on the feed roller side. Then, the second clutch is in the connection mode (the state in which the second rotation transmission path is connected to the driven gear of the shaft).
In this case, the rotation of the motor is transmitted to the shaft, and the maintenance unit moves up and down by cooperation of the cam and the cam receiving portion. In this case, when the second clutch is switched to the disconnection mode (a state in which the second rotation transmission path and the driven gear of the shaft are disconnected) when the maintenance unit is raised to the operating position, the maintenance unit stops at the operating position. On the other hand, when the second clutch is switched to the disconnection mode when the maintenance unit is lowered to the retreat position, the maintenance unit stops at the lowered position. Further, when the maintenance unit is raised to the operating position and stopped, the first clutch is set to the disengagement mode so that the rotation is not transmitted through the first rotation transmission path, and the power is supplied during the maintenance. paper roller is stopped, the sheet supporting member or al
The paper is not fed.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic front view for explaining a printing apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG.
The difference from the conventional printing apparatus described in (1) is that the maintenance area M is located in the printing area P, and the maintenance unit U is provided in the maintenance area M. With this configuration, the width of the printing device is set to be equal to the length of the maintenance region M as compared with the case where the maintenance region M is located on the side of the printing region P as in the printing device described with reference to FIG. The size W becomes shorter. The maintenance unit U is provided with the nozzle 41 of the ink cassette 4.
And has a function of performing capping and wiping on the. Further, the maintenance unit U is provided with a receiving section (described later) for ink that is preliminarily ejected from the nozzle 41 of the ink cassette 4. Procedures for performing maintenance such as capping, wiping, and preliminary ejection of ink, and the specific structure of the maintenance unit U will be described later.

The rotation transmitting means employed in the printing apparatus of the present invention and the operation thereof will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 7. In these figures,
Arrows indicating clockwise rotation are denoted by reference symbol X, and arrows indicating counterclockwise rotation are denoted by reference symbol Y, as needed.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a motor constituted by a stepping motor. The motor 10 drives a paper feed roller R1 (see FIG. 3) for sending out the paper 100 placed on the paper support member (paper stocker) S from the paper support member S, and prints the paper 100. It is installed for driving a feed roller R2 for moving in a region P (see FIG. 1). That is, the output gear 20 is fixed to the rotation output shaft 12 of the motor 10, and the start gear 31 of the paper feed roller side gear train 30 transmitting the rotation to the paper feed roller R <b> 1 is provided at two places of the output gear 20. The start gear 41 of the feed roller side gear train 40 that transmits rotation to the feed roller is meshed.

The feed roller side gear train 30 has a start gear 31 and an end gear 3 on which the feed roller R1 is coaxially provided.
2 and a plurality of intermediate gear groups 33 interposed between the gears 31 and 32, and a first rotation transmission path formed by the paper feed roller side gear train 30 has a first clutch. 34 are interposed. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the reference numeral “a” indicates the same gear located at a predetermined position in the intermediate gear group 33 of the feed roller side gear train 30.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 7, the first clutch 34 has a small diameter gear 35 fixed coaxially with the start gear 31.
A swing arm 37 swingably connected to a support shaft 36 of these gears 31 and 35, and a swing gear 38 attached to the swing arm 37 and meshed with the small diameter gear 35.
And In the first clutch 34, when the output gear 20 rotates in the clockwise direction X and the start end gear 31 rotates in the counterclockwise direction Y as shown in FIG. nutation gear 38 swings in the counterclockwise direction are in connected mode meshes with the first gear 33a of the intermediate gear group 33, rotation of the motor 10 is transmitted to the feed roller R1 in. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, when the output gear 20 rotates in the counterclockwise direction Y and the start gear 31 rotates in the clockwise direction X, the swing arm 37 swings clockwise as indicated by an arrow X '. And the oscillating gear 38 is the first of the intermediate gear group 33.
The separation mode is set off from the gear 33a, and the rotation of the motor 10 is not transmitted to the paper feed roller R1. In the example shown,
At the free end of the swing arm 37, a projection 39 is provided.
The swing angle of the swing arm 37 in the clockwise direction X ′ is restricted by locking the stopper 9 to a stopper 25 attached to a frame (not shown).

The feed roller side gear train 40 includes a start gear 41, an end gear 42 provided with a feed roller R2 coaxially, and a plurality of intermediate gears 43 interposed between the gears 41 and 42. Is formed by

In the printing apparatus provided with the above-described feed roller side gear train 30 and feed roller side gear train 40, when the motor 10 is started and the output gear 20 rotates clockwise X as shown in FIG. When the clutch 34 enters the connection mode, the rotation of the motor 10 is transmitted to the paper feed roller R1, and the paper 100 placed on the paper support member S as shown by the arrow b in FIG. S is sent out. Then, the sheet 100 is guided by the guide surface G, and the leading end thereof is fed by the feed roller R2 and the pinch roller R.
3 (this position is shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 7).
(Indicated by a dashed-dotted line B in FIG. 2), this is detected by a sheet detection sensor (not shown), and the rotation direction of the rotation output shaft 12 of the motor 10 switches to the opposite direction. When the rotation direction of the rotary output shaft 12 is switched in this way and the output gear 20 rotates in the counterclockwise direction Y as shown in FIG.
Is not transmitted to the paper feed roller R1. On the other hand, the terminal gear 42 of the feed roller side gear train 40 includes:
Since the rotation of the output gear 20 is transmitted via the second rotation transmission path formed by the feed roller side gear train 40, the terminal gear 42 rotates clockwise X.
Therefore, the paper 100 which has been fed to the position shown by the dashed line B is fed between the feed roller R2 and the pinch roller R3 as shown by the arrow c, and moves on the base member 5 shown in FIG. Moving. Then, printing is performed on the paper P supported by the base member 5 from which the ink has been ejected from the nozzles 41 of the ink cassette 4 that reciprocates in the print area P together with the carriage 1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the maintenance unit U is attached to the base member 5 so as to be able to move up and down. That is, an opening 51 is opened at a predetermined position of the base member 5, and a pair of left and right support pieces 52, 52 protrudes downward from both left and right edges of the opening 51, and the support pieces 52, 52 are mutually connected. A maintenance unit U is provided in the space between the two. Maintenance unit U
Has a box-shaped support frame 61.
The vertically protruding pieces 62, 62 protruding left and right are fitted into the vertically long guide holes 53, 53 formed in the left and right support pieces 52, 52 described above. Therefore, the elevation of the maintenance unit U is guided by the guide holes 53. A shaft 81 is horizontally supported between the left and right support pieces 52, 52.
, A cam 82 and a driven gear 83 are fixed. Then, the support frame 6 of the maintenance unit U is mounted on the cam 82.
The cam receiving portion 63 of the support frame 61 is supported by a spring body 84 while the cam receiving portion 63 formed in
Are constantly biased toward the cam 82 side. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the cam surface 85 of the cam 82 includes a curved guide portion 86 and a flat support portion 87 located at a position farthest from the shaft 81. And the support frame 6
When the first cam receiving portion 63 is supported by the supporting portion 87 of the cam 82, the maintenance unit U is located at the operation position facing the movement path of the ink cassette 4 reciprocated by the carriage 1, whereas When the receiving portion 63 is supported by the guide portion 86 of the cam 72, the maintenance unit U is located at the retracted position below the above operation position.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 to 9, the second rotation transmission path formed by the feed roller side gear train 40 and the support member 52,
Driven gear 8 of a shaft 81 mounted via
The second clutch 44 is interposed between the second clutch 44 and the third clutch 44.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 5, 6, 8 and 9, the second clutch 44 is connected to the support shaft 47 of the terminal gear 42.
Arm 45 which is swingably supported on the end gear 4 and which is attached to the free end of the
The swing gear 46 meshing with the shaft 2 and the shaft 81
And a receiving piece 49 provided on the swing arm 45 side corresponding to the claw piece 48.

In the second clutch 44, when the terminal gear 42 rotates in the counterclockwise direction Y as shown in FIG. 5, the swing arm 45 swings counterclockwise as shown by the arrow Y '. The swing gear 46 meshes with the driven gear 83 to enter the connection mode. When the second clutch 44 enters the connection mode in this manner, the rotation of the terminal gear 42 is transmitted to the driven gear 83 via the oscillating gear 46, and the driven gear 83 rotates in the counterclockwise direction Y together with the claw piece 48. The piece 48 pushes the receiving piece 49 as shown in FIG. 6 to swing the swing arm 45 clockwise as indicated by an arrow X ′, and the swing releases the engagement between the swing gear 46 and the driven gear 83. The mode becomes the cutoff mode, and the rotation of the shaft 81 stops. When the rotation of the shaft 81 is stopped in this way, the support portion 87 of the cam 82
Is located in the upper position. Therefore, the maintenance unit U described in FIG. 11 is located at the operating position.

On the other hand, when the terminal gear 42 rotates clockwise X as shown in FIG. 8, the swing arm 45 swings clockwise as indicated by an arrow X ', and the swing gear 46 becomes driven gear. The connection mode is established by engaging with 83. When the second clutch 44 enters the connection mode in this manner, the rotation of the terminal gear 42 is transmitted to the driven gear 83 via the oscillating gear 46, and the driven gear 83 rotates in the clockwise direction X together with the claw 48. 48 pushes the receiving piece 49 as shown in FIG. 9 to swing the swing arm 45 in the counterclockwise direction as indicated by the arrow Y ', whereby the meshing between the swing gear 46 and the driven gear 83 is released. The mode becomes the cutoff mode, and the rotation of the shaft 81 stops. When the rotation of the shaft 81 is stopped, the guide portion 86 of the cam 82 is located at the upper position. Therefore, the maintenance unit U described in FIG. 11 is located at the retracted position.

Here, as can be seen in FIG. 2, when the rotation output shaft 12 of the motor 10 rotates in the clockwise direction X, the terminal gear 42 of the feed roller side gear train 40 moves in the counterclockwise direction Y.
To rotate the maintenance unit U to the operating position. Therefore, when the maintenance unit U is located at the operating position, the paper is not fed into the print area P or the base section 5 shown in FIG. in this way,
When the paper is not fed into the base unit 5, the maintenance unit U is located at the operating position, and the maintenance of the nozzle unit 41 of the ink cassette 4 is performed.

However, the rotation output shaft 1 of the motor 10
2 rotates clockwise X, the first clutch 34 of the feed roller side gear train 30 enters the connection mode as shown in FIG. 2, so that the feed roller R1 (FIG. 3) rotates and the arrow in FIG. The sheet 100 is fed to the position indicated by the dashed line B as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, in order to prevent such a situation from occurring, the first clutch 34 can be set to the disconnection mode even when the rotation output shaft 12 of the motor 10 rotates in the clockwise direction X. I have.

That is, the rotation of the rotary output shaft 12 of the motor 10 in the clockwise direction X causes the start end gear 31 and the small diameter gear 35 to rotate.
When the swing arm 37 swings in the counterclockwise direction Y ′ at the same time as the swing arm 37 swings in the counterclockwise direction, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. The engagement with the gear 33a is prevented. By doing so, even when the rotation output shaft 12 of the motor 10 rotates in the clockwise direction X, the first clutch 34 can be set to the disconnection mode, whereby the feeding of the paper 100 by the paper feed roller R1 can be performed. Will not be done.

FIG. 10 illustrates a mechanism for operating the stopper 91. When the ink cassette 4 or the carriage 1 equipped with the ink cassette 4 moves to the home position, one end 94 of a lever 93 having a swing fulcrum 92 at an intermediate portion is pushed, and the mechanism shown in FIG. The stopper 91 provided at the other end of the shaft 93 projects to a position facing the projection 39 of the swing arm 37. Further, since the lever 93 is constantly urged in the direction of the arrow d by the spring 94, when the ink cassette 4 or the carriage 1 equipped with the ink cassette 4 comes out of the home position, the stopper 91 does not face the projection 39. Evacuated to Note that the home position here refers to a reference position for performing maintenance of the nozzles of the ink cassette 4.

Next, the specific structure and maintenance procedure of the maintenance unit U will be briefly described with reference to FIGS.

The support frame 61 of the maintenance unit U is provided with a cam groove 64 and an engagement protrusion 65. The movable frame 66 is accommodated in the support frame 61. The movable frame 66 can move on a reciprocating path that rises to the right according to the shape of the cam groove 64 by its support shaft 67 being guided by the cam groove 64. An intermediate portion of a lever 68 is swingably supported by a left support shaft 67 of the movable frame 66. The lever 68 has a hook 69 and a projecting piece 70. Further, the lever 68 is constantly urged clockwise in the figure around the support shaft 67 by the spring body 71. Further, the tension of the spring body 71 is determined by the lever 68 and the support shaft 6.
7 to the movable frame 66. The swing range of the lever 68 is restricted by a stopper 72 provided on the movable frame 66, and the forward movement limit of the movable frame 66 is such that the support shaft 67 hits the end of the cam groove 64. Therefore, it is regulated.

On the other hand, the movable frame 66 has a rubber cap 73 for capping the nozzle 41 of the ink cassette 4, a receiving portion 74 (FIG. 12) for ink preliminarily ejected from the nozzle 41, and a rubber wiper. 75 are provided. At the right end of the movable frame 66, an engaged portion 76 protruding upward is provided, and an engaging portion 77 corresponding to the engaged portion 76 is provided on the carriage 1.

The maintenance unit U having the above configuration is provided in the maintenance area M located in the print area P as described with reference to FIG. Before printing, that is, when maintenance is performed on the nozzles 41 of the ink cassette 4 by the maintenance unit U, the lever 93 is pushed by the carriage 1 or the ink cassette 4 as shown in FIG. Then, the stopper 91 faces the projection 39 of the swing arm 37 of the first clutch 34. Further, the maintenance unit U is moved by the cam 82 in FIG.
And the maintenance unit U faces the movement path of the ink cassette 4. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, the cap 73 on the movable frame 66 side caps the nozzle 41 of the ink cassette 4 located at the home position to prevent the ink from drying.

In this state, the motor 10 is started, and FIG.
When the rotation output shaft 12 rotates in the clockwise direction X, the swing arm 34 of the first clutch 34 swings in the counterclockwise direction Y ′, and the protrusion 39 engages with the stopper 91. As a result, the first clutch 34 is maintained in the disconnection mode. Further, the rotation of the rotation output shaft 12 in the clockwise direction X causes the second clutch 44 to enter the connection mode shown in FIG. 5, and the oscillating gear 46 rotates the driven gear 83 in the counterclockwise direction Y, as shown in FIG. The pawl piece 48 kicks the receiving piece 49 to swing the swing arm 45 in the clockwise direction X ′, and the engagement between the swing gear 46 and the driven gear 83 is released. This allows the second
The clutch 44 is in the disengagement mode of FIG. 6 and the maintenance unit U remains elevated to the operating position by the cam 82.

In this state, when the carriage 1 moves forward as indicated by an arrow h in FIG.
1, the movable frame 6 remains engaged with the engagement portion 77 on the carriage 1 and the engaged portion 76 on the movable frame 66.
6 reciprocates in synchronism with the carriage 1 on the reciprocating movement path formed by the cam groove 64. When the movable frame 66 moves forward in this manner, as shown in FIG. 14, the hook portion 69 of the lever 68 engages with the engaging projection 65 on the support frame 61 to be in a locked state, so that the movable frame 66 stops. . After this,
Subsequently, when the carriage 1 moves forward as indicated by an arrow h, the wiper 75 rubs the nozzle 41 of the ink cassette 4 to perform wiping as shown in FIG.

After this wiping, the carriage 1
15 moves in the horizontal direction as indicated by the arrow i in FIG. 15 and the arrow j in FIG. 16, the protrusion 1 a provided on the carriage 1 kicks the protruding piece 70 of the lever 66. The hook 69 is pivoted counterclockwise about the center, and the hook 69 is disengaged from the engagement protrusion 65 on the support frame 61 side, and the lock is released. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16, the movable frame 66 moves forward to the forward limit position by the bias of the spring body 71 and stops. At this time, the movable frame 66 is lowered to the lowest position, and the wiper 75 and the cap 73 are located at a lower level than the nozzle 41 of the ink cassette 4.

Next, as shown by an arrow k in FIG. 17, when the carriage 1 moves back and the nozzle 41 reaches a position above the ink receiving portion 74 of the movable frame 66, the ink is discharged from the nozzle 41 as shown by an arrow D. And a preliminary injection is performed on the receiving portion 74 (FIG. 12). This preliminary ejection is performed in order to increase the reliability and reliability of the ink ejection at the time of the next printing.

When the maintenance described above is performed,
The stopper 91 of the lever 93 shown in FIG. 10 is released from the position facing the projection 39 by the spring 94. Therefore, the first clutch 34 is switched to the connection mode as shown in FIG. 2, and the sheet feeding roller R1 shown in FIG. 3 is rotated to start feeding the sheet 100 from the sheet supporting member S. When the sheet 100 is fed in this way and reaches the position indicated by the one-dot chain line B in FIG. 2, the rotation direction of the rotary output shaft 12 of the motor 10 is switched in the counterclockwise direction, and as shown in FIG. become. At the same time, the terminal gear 42 of the feed roller side gear train 40 rotates in the clockwise direction X as shown in FIG. 8, so that the second clutch 44 switches to the connection mode, and the driven gear 83 rotates in the clockwise direction X. When the driven gear 83 is rotated in the clockwise direction X, the cam 82 is also rotated in the same direction.
The maintenance unit U descends from the operation position in conjunction with the movement of the operation position, and reaches the retreat position. When the maintenance unit U is lowered to the retracted position in this manner, the claw 48 kicks the receiving piece 49 to release the engagement between the swing gear 46 and the driven gear 83 as shown in FIG. U stops at the retracted position. In parallel with such a lowering operation of the maintenance unit U, the paper 100 is fed into the print area P by the feed roller R2 as shown by an arrow c in FIG. Therefore, printing is performed on the paper 100 supported by the base member 5 while the carriage 1 reciprocates along the guide 3.

When printing is completed, the carriage 1 moves to the home position, so that the stopper 91 moves to the position facing the projection 39 as described with reference to FIG. Is switched in the clockwise direction X as shown in FIG. 4, the first clutch 34 is kept in the disconnection mode by the stopper 91 as described above, and the maintenance operation described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 17 is repeated.

[0043]

According to the printing apparatus of the present invention, since the maintenance area is located in the printing area, the width of the printing apparatus can be made closer to the length of the printing area to reduce the width. Will be possible. Further, when the maintenance unit provided in the printing area is of a lifting type, the motor originally provided for feeding the paper in the printing apparatus can be used as a drive source for raising the maintenance unit. There is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view illustrating a printing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a part of a feed roller side gear train, a feed roller side gear train, a second clutch, and the like when a first clutch is switched to a connection mode.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a remaining portion of the gear train on the paper feed roller side.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a first clutch and a second clutch during maintenance.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged connection mode of a second clutch when the maintenance unit is raised to an operation position.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of a disconnection mode of a second clutch when the maintenance unit is maintained at an operating position.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a part of the feed roller side gear train, the feed roller side gear train, the second clutch, and the like when the first clutch is switched to the cutoff mode.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged connection mode of a second clutch when the maintenance unit is lowered to a retracted position.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged explanatory view showing a disconnection mode of the second clutch when the maintenance unit is kept at the retracted position.

FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing a state of the first clutch when the carriage 1 or the ink cassette is located at a home position.

FIG. 11 is a schematic partial longitudinal front view showing a state in which the maintenance unit has been raised to an operating position.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the maintenance unit.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the maintenance unit when the carriage is located at the home position.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of an operation at the time of wiping.

FIG. 15 is an operation explanatory diagram when the lock of the lever is released.

FIG. 16 is an operation explanatory diagram when the lock of the lever is released.

FIG. 17 is an operation explanatory diagram at the time of preliminary injection.

FIG. 18 is a schematic front view illustrating a conventional printing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 P Print area M Maintenance area U Maintenance unit 1 Carriage 4 Ink cassette 5 Base member 10 Motor 12 Rotary output shaft 30 Feed roller side gear train 34 First clutch 40 Feed roller side gear train 41 Nozzle 44 Second clutch 63 Cam receiving portion 74 ink receiving portion 81 shaft 82 cam 83 driven gear R1 paper feed roller R2 feed roller 100 paper

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A carriage reciprocated in a printing area.
Capping for the nozzle of the installed ink cassette
The maintenance unit that performs
The paper feed unit is provided with a receiving portion for ink preliminarily ejected from the nozzle and feeds out the paper placed on the paper support member.
Feed for moving the roller and paper in the printing area
The rollers are driven by the same motor.
Ri, the rotational output shaft of the motor, the rotation to the sheet feeding roller Den
To the feed roller side gear train and the feed roller
The maintenance roller is connected to a feed roller side gear train that transmits the rotation, and the maintenance member is attached to a base member that supports the paper in the printing area.
Cooperating with the cam receiving part provided in the nonce unit
Cam and driven gear for raising and lowering the maintenance unit
A first rotation transmission formed by the gear train on the paper feed roller side.
A first clutch for intermittently connecting to the feed path and the feed roller side
Second rotation transmission path formed by a gear train and the driven tooth
A second clutch for intermittent connection with the car, and a clockwise rotation of the rotation output shaft of the motor,
The first clutch enters the connection mode and the paper support member
While the paper is fed out, the feed roller
The paper is rotated in a counterclockwise direction without performing paper, and by the rotation of the rotation output shaft of the motor in a counterclockwise direction,
If the first clutch is in the cutoff mode and the paper support member
Paper is no longer fed from the feed
The roller is rotated clockwise to feed paper, and the second clutch is rotated clockwise by the rotation output shaft of the motor.
The cam receiving part, the cam part, and the driven part
Move the maintenance unit to the operating position by cooperating with the gear.
And the rotation output shaft of the motor is turned counterclockwise.
The cam receiving part, the cam part, and the driven part
Move the maintenance unit to the retracted position by cooperating with the gears.
In the and are printing apparatus adapted to descend, the carriage maintenance area located within the print area to be reciprocated in the maintenance area, the member
The maintenance unit faces the movement path of the ink cassette.
And the retracted position below the operating position.
Between the motor and the motor when the output shaft of the motor rotates clockwise.
The first clutch can be put into the disengagement mode.
It has a path, a mechanism for operating the stopper, the Kyari'
Home position is the reference position of the maintenance area
Is pushed by the carriage when
The stopper sets the first clutch to a disconnection mode.
A printing device characterized in that the printing device protrudes from the printer.