JP3591355B2 - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus in which an ink supply unit and a head unit are both provided on a carriage, and the carriage reciprocates to perform recording.
[0002]
[Prior art]
There are two types of ink supply for ink-jet printers: the type that has an ink supply unit and a head unit on the carriage, and the ink supply unit that is located separately from the carriage and supplies ink to the head unit by a tube or the like. .
[0003]
The latter has an advantage that a large amount of printing can be performed by one ink exchange because the ink supply unit can be made large. However, the cost increases because the ink supply path becomes complicated.
[0004]
The former has an ink supply section on the carriage, so that the size is strictly limited, but the ink supply system can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. For this reason, the former type is often used in low-cost inkjet printers.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
If the cartridge holder is formed on the head unit, there is a possibility that ink will leak from the ink cartridge connecting portion when the cartridge is inserted and removed, and the ink will be applied to the head unit, and the substrate and the actuator will be short-circuited.
[0006]
An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus in which a shielding member is formed in a cartridge holder so that ink does not flow into a head unit.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve such a problem, the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is configured such that an ink cartridge is removably mounted on an upper surface of a reciprocally movable carriage via a cartridge holder, and an ink jet head is mounted on a lower surface via a circuit board. in fixed ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the cartridge holder is formed of at least the circuit board or the shield member to a position to cover the exposed portion of the ink jet head, the shield member is in a direction perpendicular to the nozzle surface of the inkjet head A part of the shielding member is inserted into a hole formed in the carriage so as to restrict the movement.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0009]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the internal structure of an inkjet recording apparatus (inkjet printer). Reference numeral 13 denotes a carriage on which the head unit 1 and the ink cartridge holder 2 are mounted. The ink cartridge 12 is mounted on the ink cartridge holder 2. A pulse signal for driving the ink jet head 10 is transmitted to the carriage 13 by the connector cable 105, and a driving element (for example, a piezoelectric element, a heating resistor, or the like) for ejecting ink droplets (not shown) from a signal input terminal of the head unit 1 from the signal input terminal. Is applied to
[0010]
The carriage 13 is fixed to a drive belt 106 and slidably mounted on two guide shafts 107 and 107 '. Reference numeral 108 denotes a drive motor disposed near one end of the reciprocating path of the carriage 13, and a pulley 109 is attached to the rotation shaft. Similar pulleys are also provided at the other end of the reciprocating path of the carriage 101, and a drive belt 106 is stretched by these pulleys 109. With such a mechanism, the rotational driving force of the driving motor 108 is converted into a linear driving force by the driving belt 106, and the carriage 13 on which the inkjet head 10 is mounted can reciprocate in the width direction of the recording paper 100.
[0011]
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the head unit, the ink cartridge holder, and the carriage. The ink in the ink cartridge 12 is supplied to the head unit 1 through the connecting portion 50 below the ink cartridge 12 and the hollow needle 51 formed on the lower surface of the cartridge holder 2 and communicated with the head unit 1. When the ink runs out, the connecting portion 50 of the ink cartridge 12 is detached from the hollow needle 51, and the ink cartridge 12 is replaced with a new ink cartridge 12.
[0012]
The head unit 1 is composed of an ink jet head 10 and a head substrate 11. These are integrally fixed, and then fixed to the carriage 13 by a head fixing bracket 30. A shielding member 3 is formed on the cartridge holder 2 so as to cover at least the exposed area of the head substrate 11. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface of the shielding member 3 is horizontal with the nozzle surface, but may be angled with respect to the nozzle surface 21 or may be concave. Further, the shape of the lower surface or the side surface of the shielding member 3 is not limited as long as it satisfies the above-mentioned shape.
[0013]
In this embodiment, when the ink runs out, the ink cartridge 12 is removed from the ink cartridge holder 13 and replaced with a new one. At this time, the connecting portion 50 of the ink cartridge 13 has a hole formed by the hollow needle 51 formed in the ink cartridge holder 2. Therefore, when the ink cartridge 13 is removed, ink drops from the hole. The dropped ink is received by the shielding member 3 formed so as to cover the head substrate 11, and is prevented from directly hitting the head unit 1, thereby preventing a short circuit due to the conductivity of the ink.
[0014]
A structure for further improving the ability of the head unit 1 to prevent a short circuit will be described below.
[0015]
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a top structure of the shielding member 3. An ink holding groove 4 is formed on the upper surface of the shielding member 3 so that more ink can be held on the shielding member 3 than when the ink holding groove 4 is not formed. Further, if printing is performed in a state where the ink is not sufficiently dried even if the ink stops at the shielding member 3, the carriage 13 reciprocates, so that the ink on the shielding member 3 starts flowing and travels along the carriage 13. Although it is conceivable that the ink flows into the unit 1, the formation of the ink holding groove 4 can reliably prevent the ink from flowing out of the shielding member 3 due to surface tension.
[0016]
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the ink cartridge holder 2. The shielding member 3 is formed so as to surround the entire circumference of the cartridge holder 2. According to this embodiment, since it is possible to hold more ink and there is no restriction that the head unit 1 must be arranged at a position covered by the ink cartridge holder 2, the head unit 1 and the The degree of freedom of the mounting structure with the ink cartridge holder 2 is increased.
[0017]
FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the ink cartridge holder 2. The ink cartridge holder 2 is provided with a shielding member 3, an ink escape rib 5, and an ink escape groove 6.
[0018]
According to these two embodiments, since the ink escape rib 5 or the ink escape groove 6 is formed so as to be connected to the shield member 3, the ink of the shield member 3 is supplied with the ink escape rib 5 or the ink escape groove 6 by the surface tension. It flows toward. At this time, if the ink escape rib 5 or the ink escape groove 6 is formed so that ink flows to the end and does not flow into the head unit 1 therefrom, it is difficult for ink to flow to the head unit 1 below the shielding member 3. Become. In addition, since the ink can be held in the ink escape rib 5 or the ink escape groove 6, the amount of ink that can be held increases.
[0019]
FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of the head unit 1, the ink cartridge holder 2, and the carriage 13. When the head unit 1 and the ink cartridge holder 2 are fixed to the carriage 13, a projection 14 is formed on the carriage so as to overlap the upper surface of the shielding member 3. At this time, the projection 14 is provided such that its lower surface contacts the upper surface of the shielding member 3.
[0020]
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7B, the tip of the shielding member 3 enters the insertion opening 15 of the carriage 13, and the upper surface of the shielding member 3 contacts the insertion opening 15. Thus, the head unit 1 and the ink cartridge holder 2 are fixed by the head fixing bracket 30 and the shielding member 3.
[0021]
A so-called cleaning operation is performed in which the suction cap 20 is pressed against the nozzle surface 21 to suction the ink by the pump when filling the head with ink or recovering from clogging. At this time, the suction cap 20 is pressed against the nozzle surface 21 in order to increase the airtightness between the suction cap 20 and the nozzle surface 21. However, since the head unit 1 is fixed by the head fixing bracket 30 and the shielding member 3, the nozzle surface 21, the movement of the head unit 1 can be restricted with respect to the force in the vertical direction, the airtightness between the suction cap 20 and the nozzle surface 21 can be sufficiently maintained, and suction can be reliably performed.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention has the following effects.
[0023]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the shield member is formed in the ink cartridge holder, even if the ink leaks due to the attachment and detachment of the ink cartridge, the ink stops at the shield member and does not directly touch the head unit. Can be prevented , and the blocking member can be inserted into the hole formed in the carriage to restrict the movement in the vertical direction with respect to the nozzle surface, so that even if the suction cap is pressed against the nozzle surface, the nozzle surface can be prevented. Can not be moved, so that suction can be performed reliably.
[0024]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is a danger that the ink overflows from the shielding member and flows out to the head unit because the ink that has leaked to the shielding member due to the formation of the ink holding groove in the shielding member can be retained more by the surface tension. Therefore, the reliability of the ink jet recording apparatus can be improved.
[0025]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the shielding member is formed over the entire circumference of the ink cartridge holder, the amount of ink that can be held by the shielding member increases, and the ink does not easily flow out. Further, the degree of freedom of the configuration of the head unit and the ink cartridge holder is increased.
[0026]
According to the fourth and fifth aspects of the present invention, since the ink escape rib or the ink escape groove is formed in the ink cartridge holder, the ink flowing out of the shielding member is held by the ink escape rib or the ink escape groove by surface tension. Since the ink can be flowed to an arbitrary location, a short circuit of the head unit can be prevented.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an internal structure of an inkjet printer.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a carriage and a head unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of a shielding member according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cartridge holder according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a head unit and a cartridge holder according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cartridge holder according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a head unit, a cartridge holder, and a carriage according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Head unit 2 Cartridge holder 3 Shielding member 4 Ink holding groove 5 Ink escape rib 6 Ink escape groove 10 Ink jet head 11 Head substrate 12 Ink cartridge 13 Carriage 14 Projection 15 Insertion opening 20 Suction cap 21 Nozzle surface 30 Head fixing bracket 50 Connection Part 51 hollow needle 100 recording paper 105 connector cable 106 drive belt 107 guide shaft 108 drive motor 109 pulley

Claims (5)

In an ink jet recording apparatus in which an ink cartridge is detachably mounted via a cartridge holder on an upper surface of a reciprocally movable carriage, and an ink jet head is fixed via a circuit board on a lower surface,
The cartridge holder is formed, at least the circuit board or the shield member to a position to cover the exposed portion of the ink jet head, the shield so that the shield member to regulate the movement in a direction perpendicular to the nozzle surface of the inkjet head An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein a part of the member is inserted into a hole formed in the carriage. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an ink holding groove is formed on a surface of the shielding member. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shielding member is formed over the entire circumference of the ink cartridge holder. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an ink escape rib is formed in the ink cartridge holder. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an ink escape rib is formed in the ink cartridge holder.

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