JP3798242B2 - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention scans a carriage mounted with a print head for ejecting liquid ink in the main scanning direction and feeds the paper in a sub-scanning direction substantially perpendicular to the main scanning direction, thereby printing on the paper. The present invention relates to an improvement of a recording apparatus, and more particularly to an inkjet recording apparatus that can avoid an increase in size of the apparatus due to the provision of a maintenance unit that prevents clogging of the nozzles of the print head.
[0002]
[Prior art and its problems]
In the ink jet recording apparatus, in order to prevent nozzle clogging provided in the print head, a wiping process for wiping the surface of the print head, a purge process for sucking out old ink, bubbles and dust from the nozzle, and a drying of the print head are performed. A maintenance unit is provided for performing various processes such as capping to prevent the print head.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between the carriage 2 and the maintenance unit 4. The carriage 2 integrated with the print head 1 is guided by the guide bar G and is perpendicular to the conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction) of the paper 5. Are recorded on the paper 5 while moving in the main scanning direction.
A maintenance unit 4 that performs maintenance processing on the print head 1 is provided outside the width of the paper 5 in the main scanning direction.
The maintenance unit 4 rises when the print head moves to the position immediately above it, and performs the processes such as wiping, purge, and capping on the print head as described above.
As described above, the maintenance unit 4 is provided outside the width of the paper 5 because the platen 19 that supports the paper 5 is below the carriage 2 and prevents the maintenance unit 4 from approaching the print head 1. Because. Therefore, the maintenance unit 4 is provided outside the width of the paper 5 as described above as a portion where the platen 19 does not exist.
The actual arrangement is as shown in FIG. 10B. The acceleration area B3 until the carriage 2 reaches a constant scanning speed outside the print scanning range B1 of the carriage 2, and the deceleration area until it stops. B2 is necessary, and the maintenance unit 4 is provided further outside the deceleration area B2.
For this reason, the minimum required width of the ink jet recording apparatus is B0 including the width B4 of the maintenance unit 4, which hinders downsizing of the apparatus.
An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the conventional ink jet recording apparatus as described above and to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can be miniaturized.
[0003]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention scans a carriage having a print head for ejecting ink in the main scanning direction and feeds a sheet in a sub scanning direction substantially perpendicular to the main scanning direction. In the ink jet recording apparatus for printing on the above paper,
An opening is formed within the print scanning width of the platen that guides the paper, and
A lid member that opens and closes the opening and forms part of the platen;
A lid opening / closing mechanism for opening / closing the lid member as the carriage moves on the platen in the absence of the paper;
And a maintenance unit driving mechanism for bringing a maintenance unit for maintaining the print head in accordance with the movement of the lid opening / closing mechanism close to or away from the print head .
The lid opening / closing mechanism is provided in the lid member so as to be freely retractable and is pushed into the lid member as the paper passes, and the carriage moves on the platen in a state where there is no paper. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising an engaging member that engages with a part of a carriage to open the lid member .
The lid opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention may include a guide member that guides the movement of the lid member from the closed position to the open position.
Further, it is appropriate that the lid opening / closing mechanism in the present invention includes an urging means for urging the lid member in the normally closing direction .
[0004]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings for understanding of the present invention. The following embodiments and examples are specific examples of the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an ink jet recording apparatus 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a conceptual view of the main part of the image forming mechanism as viewed from the front.
The ink jet recording apparatus 11 takes out the sheets 13 stacked and stored in the sheet feeding tray 12 one by one by a pickup roller 14, conveys the sheet in a sheet conveyance path 16 by a pair of rollers 17, and unloads the sheet 13 by a pair of PS rollers 17. The timing is adjusted and the sheet is conveyed between the print head 18 and the platen 19. The printed paper 13 is discharged to a paper discharge tray 22 by a pair of paper discharge roller 20 and star roller 21.
In this ink jet recording apparatus 11, the paper feed tray 12 is in the lower stage of the paper discharge tray 22, and the paper transport path connecting them is formed in a U-shape, so that it has a compact configuration.
The carriage 24 is slidably supported in the main scanning direction 25 by a pair of guide shafts 27 and 28. The platen 19 is provided in the main scanning direction 25 so as to be parallel to the guide shafts 27 and 28, that is, at a constant distance from the print head 18.
[0005]
As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, this embodiment is characterized in that an opening 31 is formed in a part of the platen 19 in the print scanning region of the carriage 24, and maintenance is performed below the opening 31. The unit 32 is provided, and the opening 31 is provided with a lid member 33 that forms a part of the platen 19 and opens and closes the opening 31.
Furthermore, it is particularly important that the opening / closing operation of the lid member 33 is performed by using the movement operation of the carriage 24 in the main scanning direction as a driving force.
A mechanism (lid opening / closing mechanism) that causes the lid member 33 to open and close will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in the figure, a pair of guide pins 34 and 35 extending in the sub-scanning direction 23 are attached to the back surface side of the lid member 33 integrally with the lid member 33.
The guide pins 34 and 35 are slidably fitted into a pair of guide rails 36 and 37 provided on the back side of the platen 19 and extending in the main scanning direction 25.
The guide rails 36 and 37 are portions facing the opening 31, and are separated from the platen 19 as the distance from the first parallel portion 38 formed in parallel near the platen 19 is farther from the opening 31. And a second parallel portion 40 that is spaced apart from and parallel to the platen 19.
Since the guide rails 36 and 37 are configured as described above, the guide pins 34 and 35 of the lid member 33 are positioned at the same position as the platen 19 as shown in FIG. 37, when the lid member 33 is pushed in the direction of the arrow 25a shown in FIG. 6, the guide pins 34 and 35 are guided and supported by the first parallel portion 38 to cover the lid. The member 33 moves in the direction of the arrow 25a in parallel with the platen 19. That is, the lid member 33 that has closed the opening 31 is opened.
When the lid member 33 is further pushed in the direction of the arrow 25a, the guide pins 34 and 35 are guided and supported by the inclined portion 39, so that the lid member 33 moves in the main scanning direction indicated by the arrow 25a, and the platen 19 Further away from
Further, when the lid member 33 is further pushed in the direction of the arrow 25a, the guide pins 34 and 35 are guided and supported by the second parallel portion 40, so that the lid member 33 is moved in the main scanning direction indicated by the arrow 25a. While moving, it returns to a state parallel to the platen 19 and stops.
On the other hand, when the lid member 33 is pushed in the main scanning direction 25b, the lid member 33 moves to the position where the opening 31 is closed by the reverse operation.
Thus, the opening / closing operation of the lid member 33 is performed.
[0006]
In this embodiment, the opening operation of the lid member 33 in the main scanning direction 25a is achieved by pressing the lid member 33 against the carriage 24, and the closing operation in the main scanning direction 25b is performed by the lid member 33 being a compression coil. This is achieved by being biased by the spring 41.
That is, the end of the lid member 33 is provided with an engaging member 42 that engages with the pushing member 43 integral with the carriage 24 when the carriage 24 moves in the main scanning direction 25a, as shown in FIG. When the carriage 24 further moves in the main operation direction 25a from the closed position of the lid member 33, the lid member 33 is pushed by the carriage 24 and opens the opening 31 as described above.
The carriage 24 is controlled to stop when it reaches the position of the opening 31 opened as described above.
On the other hand, below the opening 31, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, there are provided integral arms 52a and 52b, which are shaped like a letter and are rotatably supported by a rotating shaft 52.
A maintenance unit 32 having an abutting member 53 elastically biased by a compression coil spring 57 is attached to the end portion of the hem-shaped arm 52a, and the end portion of the arm 52b is an intermediate portion of the compression coil spring 41. It is connected to the part.
The abutment member 53 of the maintenance unit 32 is made of an elastic member such as rubber, and is connected to an absorption means 55 and a waste liquid tank 56 which are negative pressure sources for performing the various processes via a flexible hose 54. .
Therefore, as described above, the carriage 24 moves from the position shown in FIG. 3 in the main scanning direction 25a, and the pushing member 43 integrated therewith opens the lid member 33, that is, in the main scanning direction 25a. When moved, the compression coil spring 41 contracts and the arm 52b connected to the intermediate portion rotates clockwise.
Then, the arm 52a integrated with the arm 52b is also rotated in the same direction, and the print head 18 of the carriage 24 is stopped above the opening 31 through which the contact member 53 of the maintenance unit 32 provided at the end is opened. The various maintenance processes described above are performed.
When the maintenance process is completed, the carriage 24 retreats in the main scanning direction 25b, so that there is no force to push the lid member 33 in the main scanning direction 25a, and the arms 52a and 52b are pushed counterclockwise by the compression coil spring 41. Rotating, the maintenance unit 32 retracts to the position shown in FIG. 3, and the lid member 33 is pushed by the compression coil spring to return to the closed position shown in FIG.
As described above, in this embodiment, a part of the platen 19 can be opened by the openable / closable lid member 33 provided in the middle of the platen 19, and the maintenance process of the print head 18 by the maintenance unit 32 can be performed therefrom. Since the maintenance unit 32 can be installed at an arbitrary position below the platen 19 and the width of the maintenance unit 32 does not increase the width of the recording apparatus, the recording apparatus can be reduced in size.
[0007]
Incidentally, while the engagement member 4 2 attached to an end portion of the lid member 33 as in the above embodiments is projected at all times, not only the cover member 33 each time the carriage 24 reciprocates is opened and closed, the Since the engaging member 42 prevents the conveyance of the paper inserted between the platen 19 and the print head 18, the printing process becomes impossible.
Therefore, the engaging member 4 2, together with the attached rotatably to the rotating shaft 4 2a in the main scanning direction which is provided on the cover member 33 as shown in FIG. 7, the normally cover member 33 by the compression spring 44 It is elastically biased in a direction protruding upward.
The elastic urging force of the compression spring 44 is set to a slight value, and the sheet 13 is conveyed in the conveying direction indicated by the arrow when the engaging member 42 is in the protruding position shown in FIG. Then, the engaging member 42 is hidden inside the lid member 33 as shown in (b) by the force and its own weight due to the rigidity of the paper 13, so that the paper 13 can advance by pushing the engaging member 42 away. I can do it.
When the paper 13 passes, the engaging member 42 returns to the protruding state as shown in (c) by the elastic force of the compression spring 44.
With the configuration described above, when the paper 13 is on the platen 19, the lid member 33 does not move even if the carriage 24 moves on the platen 19, but in the state where there is no paper 13, The lid member 33 is driven to be opened and closed when moved. The lid opening / closing mechanism is constituted by the mechanism described above.
[0008]
【Example】
In the embodiment described above, the ink discharge direction is downward, but in an inkjet recording apparatus that discharges upward, the weight of the maintenance unit 32 installed above the carriage 24 is elastically applied to the compression spring 41. Will be added to the force.
In the above embodiment, the cover member 33 is normally urged in the closing direction by the compression coil spring 41. In order to solve the problem of the bending of the compression spring, the guide member of the coil spring 41 is used. Although it is necessary to provide it, it is desirable to use a tension coil spring in order to fundamentally solve the problem of bending.
Also, during continuous printing, it is desirable that settings such as whether maintenance work is always performed when one sheet of printing is completed or periodically be set so that it can be set appropriately at the time of design or by the user.
[0009]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the system according to the present invention scans the carriage having the print head for ejecting ink in the main scanning direction and feeds the paper in the sub scanning direction substantially perpendicular to the main scanning direction. In the inkjet recording apparatus for printing on the above paper,
An opening is formed within the print scanning width of the platen that guides the paper, and
A lid member that opens and closes the opening and forms part of the platen;
A lid opening / closing mechanism for opening / closing the lid member as the carriage moves on the platen in the absence of the paper;
And a maintenance unit driving mechanism for bringing a maintenance unit for maintaining the print head in accordance with the movement of the lid opening / closing mechanism close to or away from the print head .
The lid opening / closing mechanism is provided in the lid member so as to be freely retractable and is pushed into the lid member as the paper passes, and the carriage moves on the platen in a state where there is no paper. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising an engaging member that engages with a part of a carriage to open the lid member .
With this configuration, in the present invention, the maintenance unit can be provided within the width of the platen, that is, within the range of the printing area B1 as shown in FIG. 10 can be made smaller than the conventional width B0 shown in FIG. 10, which contributes to downsizing of the apparatus. Furthermore, since it is configured without interfering with the paper feed, automation is further facilitated.
Further, if the lid opening / closing mechanism of the present invention can be configured by including a guide member for guiding the movement of the lid member from the closed position to the open position, the movement of the lid member becomes smooth and an accurate operation is guaranteed. Is done.
Further, if the lid opening / closing mechanism of the present invention can be configured to include an urging means for constantly urging the lid member in the closing direction, automation of the opening / closing operation can be achieved .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an entire inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an image forming mechanism unit of the recording apparatus illustrated in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side view including a partial cross section showing a main part of the image forming unit.
4 is a side view showing the operation of the main part shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship between a maintenance unit and an ink carriage.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing details of an opening / closing mechanism for a lid member.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the movement of the engaging member.
FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing a positional relationship between a print area and a maintenance unit.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship between a conventional carriage and a maintenance unit.
10 is a view corresponding to FIG. 8 in a conventional ink jet recording apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
18 ... print head 13 ... paper 19 ... platen 24 ... carriage 33 ... lid member 42 ... engagement member 53 ... contact member 32 ... maintenance unit 41 ... biasing means (compression coil spring)
52a, 52b ... arms 36, 37 ... guide rails 34, 35 ... guide pins

Claims (3)

In an inkjet recording apparatus that scans a carriage having a print head for ejecting ink in the main scanning direction and prints the paper on the paper by feeding the paper in a sub-scanning direction substantially perpendicular to the main scanning direction.
An opening is formed within the print scanning width of the platen that guides the paper, and
A lid member that opens and closes the opening and forms part of the platen;
A lid opening / closing mechanism for opening / closing the lid member as the carriage moves on the platen in the absence of the paper;
And a maintenance unit driving mechanism for bringing a maintenance unit for maintaining the print head in accordance with the movement of the lid opening / closing mechanism close to or away from the print head .
The lid opening / closing mechanism is provided in the lid member so as to be freely retractable and is pushed into the lid member as the paper passes, and the carriage moves on the platen in a state where there is no paper. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: an engaging member that engages with a part of a carriage to open the lid member .   2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lid opening / closing mechanism includes a guide member for guiding the movement of the lid member from the closed position to the open position.   3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lid opening / closing mechanism includes an urging unit that urges the lid member in a normally closing direction.

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