JP3867766B2 - Method for manufacturing recording apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus including a gap adjusting device that adjusts a paper gap between a recording unit and a recording material by displacing a vertical position of a guide shaft that is to be arranged orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording material. It relates to the manufacturing method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
There is a printer as one of the recording apparatuses, and the printer includes a carriage that reciprocates while being guided by a guide shaft that is arranged perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording material, and an ink cartridge that is accommodated in the carriage. There is an ink-jet printer that performs printing by discharging ink to be supplied from a recording head (recording unit) also provided on the carriage. The prior art will be described below using the ink jet printer as an example.
[0003]
In an ink jet printer, in order to improve recording quality, the distance between the recording surface of the recording material and the recording head, that is, a paper gap (hereinafter referred to as “PG”) can be adjusted. It is desirable to be configured. In particular, when the printing paper as the recording material is thick glossy paper or the like, and when it is thin plain paper, the PG of both is different due to the difference in the paper thickness, so that the user can obtain an appropriate printing result. However, it is desirable that the height position of the recording head can be adjusted by simple means. Accordingly, a gap adjusting device is provided that shifts the vertical position of the guide shaft that guides the carriage by rotating the lever member linked to the guide shaft, thereby adjusting the PG.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the gap adjusting device is provided on the side of the ink jet printer main body, and the lever member as the operation unit of the gap adjusting device easily adjusts the PG at any time from the outside of the cover member. In order to be able to do this, the knob is protruded outward on the side surface of the cover member, so that the PG adjustment can be performed without removing the cover member.
FIG. 5 shows such a lever member according to the prior art. FIG. 5A is an external perspective view of an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as “printer”) 500 including the lever member. ) Is a front view of an operation unit of the gap adjusting device including the lever member. Hereinafter, the problem to be solved by the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 5A, the ink jet printer 500 includes a main body cover 501. The main body cover 501 constitutes the external appearance of the printer 500. A discharge stacker 502 that receives printed printing paper is disposed on the front side of the main body cover 501, and a plurality of printing sheets are stacked and stored on the rear side of the main body cover 501. A sheet feeding device 503 is attached.
[0005]
A gap adjusting device (not shown) for adjusting the vertical position of a guide shaft (not shown) for guiding a carriage (not shown) is arranged on the right side of the main body of the printer 500 (the right side in FIG. 5A). The operation unit indicated by reference numeral 504 in the drawing is an operation unit (operation window) of the gap adjusting device. As shown in the figure, the operation unit 504 is provided on the right side of the main body of the printer 500 and can perform PG adjustment without removing the cover member 501.
[0006]
More specifically, the operation unit 504 is as shown in FIG. In FIG.5 (b), the code | symbol 505 is a lever member for displacing PG in a gap adjustment apparatus. The lever member 505 is provided so as to be rotatable along the main body cover right side surface 501a around the rotation center 505a. The lever member 505 is rotated along the main body cover right side surface 501a around the rotation center 505a. The omitted cam mechanism is activated so that the PG is displaced. Reference numeral 506 denotes a knob in the lever member 505. The knob portion 506 is provided on the upper portion of the lever member 505. When the knob portion 506 is picked and displaced in the direction of “0” or “+” in the drawing, the lever member 505 is rotated and PG adjustment is performed. Is called.
[0007]
Incidentally, reference numeral 507 in FIG. 5B denotes an operation unit cover. The operation unit cover 507 has a rectangular shape in a plan view, is fitted to the operation unit frame 501b formed in the main body cover 501, and is attached to the main body cover 501 by being hooked by the hooking portion 507b. Further, the operation portion cover 507 is formed with a fan-shaped window portion 507a, and the window portion 507a plays a role of projecting the knob portion 506 outward when the operation portion cover 507 is attached. .
[0008]
Here, without forming the window portion 507a directly on the main body cover 501, the operation portion frame 501b is first formed, and then the operation portion cover 507 as a separate part is attached, and only the knob portion 506 is placed outside the main body cover 501. The protrusion is for assembly reasons. That is, the knob 506 projects outward from the side surface of the main body cover 501 when the main body cover 501 is attached to the main body of the recording apparatus 500. Therefore, when the main body cover 501 is attached to the main body of the recording apparatus 500, Becomes "disturbing". Accordingly, an operation unit frame 501b having a size larger than the window 507a from which the knob 506 is projected is formed, so that the body cover 501 can be easily attached. The operation unit cover 507 is necessary to prevent the entry of dust and the like into the apparatus and to ensure an aesthetic appearance.
In this manner, if there is a knob 506 protruding outside the main body cover 501, the mounting of the main body cover 501 becomes complicated, and the number of parts increases, which is a factor in increasing the cost.
[0009]
Further, in order to stably rotate the lever member 505 along the side surface of the main body cover 501a, it is desirable that the lever member 505 be rotated while being in sliding contact with the inner side of the main body cover right side surface 501a. However, in order to configure in this way, it is necessary to make the positional relationship between the lever member 505 and the cover member 501 precise when the main body cover 501 is attached to the recording apparatus 500 main body, or the number of parts is increased. This also causes a cost increase.
[0010]
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the problem is that even if a lever member serving as an operation portion of the gap adjusting device has a knob portion protruding from a cover member that constitutes the appearance of the recording device, An object of the present invention is to provide a gap adjusting device that can easily and inexpensively attach a cover member to a recording apparatus main body. Another object of the present invention is to provide a gap adjusting device that can be stably rotated when the lever member is rotated along the side surface of the cover member.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problem, a manufacturing method of a recording apparatus according to claim 1 of the present application includes a guide shaft that is to be arranged orthogonal to a conveyance direction of a recording material, and guided in the main scanning direction by the guide shaft. A reciprocating recording unit for recording on a recording material, a cover member that covers these and constituting the appearance of the apparatus, and a lever member that is linked to the guide shaft are provided on the side surface of the cover member. And a gap adjusting device that adjusts a gap between the recording material and the recording portion by changing the vertical position of the guide shaft by rotating the guide shaft along the lever. The member has a knob portion that should protrude from a window portion formed on a side surface of the cover member, and an elastic deformation portion that swings the knob portion in a direction orthogonal to the rotation direction of the lever member, The knob is the window The cover member is lowered until the window portion comes to the position of the knob portion while the knob portion is retracted to the inside of the cover member by the inner surface of the cover member. Then, by fitting the knob portion into the window portion by the repulsive force of the elastic deformation portion, and after fitting the knob portion into the window portion by the repulsive force of the elastic deformation portion, further lowering the cover member, The locking portion is locked to an edge of the window portion.
[0012]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, even if the lever member serving as the operation portion of the gap adjusting device has a knob that protrudes from the side surface of the cover member constituting the appearance of the recording apparatus, the knob is used as the lever. Since there is an elastically deformable portion that swings in a direction orthogonal to the rotation direction of the member, that is, the elastically deformable portion that can temporarily retract the knob inside the cover member. The member can be easily attached to the recording apparatus main body.
[0013]
In addition, in order to easily project the knob portion to the outside of the cover member when the cover member is attached, a window portion having a large size is formed on the cover member, and after the cover member is attached, the window portion having the large size is formed. It is not necessary to provide a cover member that covers only the knob and covers only the knob. Therefore, the cover member can be reduced in cost and the appearance is improved by reducing the number of parts. In addition, there is an effect that the degree of freedom in designing the cover member is improved.
Further, when the lever member is rotated by picking the knob, it is possible to prevent a problem that the knob is buried inside the cover member from the window portion and it is difficult to rotate the lever member. That is, since the knob is swingable in the direction protruding / buried from the window, when the knob is picked, the knob is easily buried from the window. However, since the knob has a latching part that latches on the edge of the window part, this prevents the knob part from being buried from the window part when the knob part is picked and the lever member is rotated. can do.
[0014]
Further, a guide shaft that should be arranged perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording material, a recording portion that records on the recording material that is guided by the guide shaft and reciprocates in the main scanning direction, and covers these, A cover member constituting the appearance of the apparatus, and a lever member linked to the guide shaft, and changing the vertical position of the guide shaft by rotating the lever member along the inner surface of the cover member, thereby A gap adjusting device for adjusting a gap between the recording material and the recording portion, wherein the lever member is a knob portion to be exposed from a window portion formed in the cover member; and the cover According to the sliding surface that is in sliding contact with the inner surface of the member and the elastic deformation portion that urges the sliding surface against the inner surface of the cover member, the lever member is in sliding contact with the inner surface of the cover member. And the sliding surface -It has an elastically deforming portion that urges the inner surface of the member, so that the lever member can be rotated while being in elastic contact with the inner surface of the cover member. Rotation can be performed.
[0016]
Further, according to the lever member integrally formed by resin molding, the lever member is integrally formed by resin molding, thereby simplifying the elastic deformation portion and the knob portion described above. In addition, the lever member can be provided at a low cost.
[0017]
Further, according to the lever member and / or the cover member, display means for indicating a relationship between an increase / decrease in a gap between the recording portion and the recording material and a rotation direction of the lever member is provided. When the lever member is rotated, there is a display means that makes it possible to recognize in which direction the paper gap will increase or decrease, so that the operability is improved, and A paper gap adjustment operation without error can be performed.
[0018]
Further, the display means includes a “+” mark displayed on the rotation side of the lever member where the gap between the recording unit and the recording material increases, and a rotation side of the lever member where the gap decreases. The “0” mark is displayed, and the portion where the “+” mark is displayed is convex, and the portion where the “0” mark is displayed is concave. The "+" mark is used as a display means for increasing the gap between the recording portion and the recording material, and the "0" mark is used as a display means for reducing the gap similarly (the gap returns to the reference position from the increasing direction or the gap is reduced). Is displayed on the rotating side of the corresponding lever member or cover member, and the portion where the “+” mark is displayed is convex and the “0” mark is displayed. The part is concave Because it is the operator visually and sensuously, even it is possible to recognize the increase or decrease direction of the tactile paper gap.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, an outline of a gap adjusting device (hereinafter referred to as “PG adjusting device”) 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 shows an operation unit 4 of a PG adjusting device 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is a front view, and FIG. 1 (b) is a side view (side sectional view). Yes. FIG. 2 is a front view of the PG adjusting device 50 according to the present embodiment. Note that the external configuration of the recording apparatus on which the PG adjusting device 50 according to the present embodiment is mounted is the same as that of the recording apparatus 500 according to the prior art shown in FIG. Omitted. The operation unit 4 is also provided at the same position (side surface of the recording apparatus) as the operation unit 504 according to the prior art shown in FIG.
[0021]
In FIG. 1A, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body cover as a “cover member” constituting the appearance of a recording apparatus (not shown). Reference numeral 5 denotes a lever member in the PG adjusting device 50. The lever member 5 is provided so as to rotate along the side surface of the main body cover 1 about the rotation center 5a (clockwise / counterclockwise in FIG. 1A). The PG between the recording unit 15 (see FIG. 2) and the recording material (not shown) is adjusted. Reference numerals 7a to 7c in FIG. 1 (a) are display means for visually displaying the direction in which the lever member 5 should be rotated, and the “+” and “0” marks indicated by reference numerals 7a and 7b. Indicates the increasing / decreasing direction of PG, and the arrow 7c indicates the rotating direction of the lever member 5. Here, the “+” mark indicated by reference numeral 7a indicates the direction in which PG increases. In this embodiment, the mark is engraved so as to rise from the surface of the main body cover 1, that is, in a convex shape. Further, the “0” mark indicated by reference numeral 7b means that the PG returns to the initial state (0). In this embodiment, the PG is depressed from the surface of the main body cover 1, that is, in a concave shape. It is engraved. With the display means shown in 7a to 7c displayed in this way, it is possible to visually recognize the direction in which the lever member 5 should be rotated at first glance.
[0022]
Here, the configuration of the PG adjusting device 50 will be outlined with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the PG adjusting device 50 is attached to the side frame 12 serving as a base of the recording apparatus. The lever member 5 is attached to the side frame 12 so as to be rotatable around a rotation center 5a, and the cam engagement portion 8 extending obliquely downward from the lever member 5 is engaged with the first bush 9 at the tip thereof. Match. The first bush 9 passes through the carriage shaft 10, and the portion through which the carriage shaft 10 passes is fitted to the second bush 11 so as to be rotatable. Further, the second bush 11 is further attached to the side frame 12 so that a portion in which the first bush 9 is fitted can be rotated with respect to the side frame 12. The shaft center of the carriage shaft 10 is provided at a position deviated from the center of rotation of either the first bush 9 or the second bush 11, whereby the first bush is linked with the rotation of the lever member 5. When 9 rotates, the vertical position is displaced and PG can be adjusted. Further, the PG can be finely adjusted by rotating the second bush 11 regardless of the rotation of the lever member 5.
[0023]
2 indicates a carriage guided by the carriage shaft 10 in the main scanning direction (the front and back direction of the paper surface in FIG. 2), and reference numeral 14 indicates an ink cartridge mounted on the carriage 13. . Reference numeral 15 denotes a recording unit provided at the bottom of the carriage 13, and printing is performed on a recording material (not shown) by ejecting ink supplied from the ink cartridge 14. .
[0024]
Next, returning to FIG. 1A, reference numeral 1a denotes a fan-shaped window as shown in the figure. When the main body cover 1 is attached to the recording apparatus main body, the window 1a As shown in FIG. 4B, the knob 6 protrudes outward (to the left in the figure), and thereby the knob 6 is picked from the outside of the main cover 1 to rotate the lever member 5. It becomes possible.
[0025]
Hereinafter, the detailed configuration of the lever member 5 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, Fig.3 (a) is a top view of the lever member 5, FIG.3 (b) is the same side view. 3A, the lever member 5 includes a fan-shaped portion 16, a knob portion 6 formed so as to protrude from the fan-shaped portion 16, a disk-shaped shaft center portion 17 forming a rotation center 5a, and a fan-shaped portion. The elastic deformation portion 18 that connects the portion 16, and the cam engagement portion 8 and the spring engagement portion 19 that are formed to extend from the shaft center portion 17. In the present embodiment, these are: All are formed at low cost by integral molding by resin molding.
[0026]
The elastically deformable portion 18 is composed of two rod-like bodies extending in the direction of expanding from the shaft center portion 17 as shown in the figure, and in the rotating direction of the lever member 5, that is, clockwise / counterclockwise in FIG. Has rigidity that does not elastically deform. However, it has the property of being elastically deformable in the clockwise / counterclockwise direction in FIG. 3 (b), so that the knob 6 can move in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 3 (b) (the rotation of the lever member 5). It can swing in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction).
[0027]
Hereinafter, the effect of the elastic deformation portion 18 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows the positional relationship between the main body cover 1 and the knob 6 when the main body cover 1 is attached to the recording apparatus main body, and the positional relationship changes in the order of FIGS. First, in the present embodiment, the knob portion 6 protrudes from the main body cover 1 when the main body cover 1 is attached to the recording apparatus main body, and the lower portion of the knob portion 6 is an elastic deformation portion. Therefore, when the main body cover 1 is attached, the inner surface 1c of the main body cover 1 retracts the knob 6 to the inside of the main body cover 1 (the right side shown in FIG. 4A). The arrows shown in FIG. 4 indicate the moving direction of the main body cover 1.
Next, the main body cover 1 is lowered until the window 1a comes to the position of the knob 6 (FIG. 4B), and when the window 1a is lowered to the position of the knob 6, the repulsive force of the elastic deformation part 18 The knob 6 fits into the window 1a (FIG. 4 (c)). Here, since the latch portion 6a is formed in the knob portion 6 so as to be latched to the upper edge portion 1b of the window portion 1a, the main body cover is in a state where the latch portion 6a is latched to the upper edge portion 1b. 1 is lowered (FIG. 4D), and the attachment of the main body cover 1 is completed in a state where the knob portion 6 protrudes from the window portion 1a and the hook portion 6a is hooked on the upper edge portion 1b of the window portion 1a.
[0028]
As described above, the elastically deforming portion 18 is provided, and the knob portion 6 is swingable (can be retracted), so that the knob portion 6 does not get in the way when the main body cover 1 is attached. Since the knob portion 6 is naturally fitted into the window portion 1a by the repulsive force of the elastic deformation portion 18, the window portion 1a and the knob portion 6 can be easily aligned. Further, as shown in FIG. 4D and FIGS. 1A and 1B, the lever member in a state in which the latching portion 6a formed on the knob portion 6 is latched on the upper edge portion 1b of the window portion 1a. 5 can be rotated, so that even if the knob portion 6 is pushed from the outside of the main body cover 1, the knob portion 6 is not depressed and always protrudes to the outside of the window portion 1a, and the lever member 5 is appropriately rotated. The operation can be performed.
[0029]
Further, when the main body cover 1 is attached to the recording apparatus main body, the repulsive force due to the elastic deformation of the elastic deformation portion 18 remains so that the lever member 5 can be rotated more stably. That is, by utilizing the elastic deformation of the elastic deformation portion 18, the main body cover 1 is attached to the surface 16 a as a “sliding surface” formed with the knob portion 6 of the fan-shaped portion 16 shown in FIG. When the lever member 5 is in a state of being elastically contacted with the inner surface 1c of the main body cover 1, the lever member 5 is always slidably contacted with the inner surface 1c of the main body cover 1 during its rotation. It is possible to perform a stable rotation operation.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, even if the lever member serving as the operating portion of the gap adjusting device has a knob protruding from the side surface of the cover member that constitutes the appearance of the recording apparatus, the knob is used as the lever. Since there is an elastically deformable portion that swings in a direction orthogonal to the rotation direction of the member, that is, the elastically deformable portion that can temporarily retract the knob inside the cover member. The member can be easily attached to the recording apparatus main body. In addition, since the lever member can be rotated while being urged against the inner surface of the cover member, it is possible to perform a stable rotation operation of the lever member.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1A is a front view of an operation unit of a PG adjusting device according to the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a side view (side sectional view).
FIG. 2 is a front view of a PG adjusting device according to the present invention.
3A is a plan view of a lever member, and FIG. 3B is a side view of the lever member.
FIG. 4 is a side view (side sectional view) showing the positional relationship between the main body cover and the knob when the main body cover is attached to the recording apparatus main body.
5A is an external perspective view of an ink jet printer according to the prior art, and FIG. 5B is a front view of an operation unit of the gap adjusting device according to the prior art.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body cover 1a Window part 1b Upper edge part 1c Inner surface 4 Operation part 5 Lever member 6 Knob part 6a Latch part 10 Carriage shaft 12 Side frame 13 Carriage 15 Recording part 16 Fan-shaped part 18 Elastic deformation part 50 Gap adjustment apparatus

Claims (1)

A guide shaft to be arranged orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording material;
A recording unit for recording on a recording material that is guided by the guide shaft and reciprocates in the main scanning direction;
A cover member that covers these and constitutes the appearance of the device;
A lever member linked to the guide shaft is provided, and the vertical position of the guide shaft is changed by rotating the lever member along the side surface of the cover member, whereby the gap between the recording material and the recording portion is changed. And a gap adjusting device for adjusting the recording device,
The lever member has a knob portion that should protrude from a window portion formed on a side surface of the cover member, and an elastic deformation portion that swings the knob portion in a direction orthogonal to the rotation direction of the lever member. And
The knob portion has a locking portion that locks to an edge of the window portion,
The cover member is lowered by the inner surface of the cover member to the inside of the cover member, and the cover member is lowered until the window portion comes to the position of the knob portion, and the knob portion is repelled by the repulsive force of the elastic deformation portion. In the window,
After the knob portion is fitted into the window portion by the repulsive force of the elastic deformation portion, the cover member is further lowered to lock the locking portion to the edge of the window portion,
A method of manufacturing a recording apparatus.

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