JP4174635B2 - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium in a facsimile machine or a copying machine, and more particularly, to prevent the nozzle portion of an ink jet recording head from drying when waiting. It relates to the structure of the storage means.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a facsimile machine or a copying machine, a recording unit for ejecting ink is well known as a recording unit for forming an image on a sheet as a recording medium.
In order to prevent ink discharge failure from occurring due to drying of the nozzle portion of this type of recording head and to maintain the state of the recording head satisfactorily, for example, it is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-14185. As described above, the carriage on which the recording head is mounted is configured to be able to reciprocate in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording medium, while a storage cap is mounted at a standby position outside the recording area on the recording medium. The moving member is supported so as to be able to move substantially parallel to the moving direction of the carriage, and to be rotatable so that the storage cap contacts and separates from the nozzle portion of the recording head. Is spring-biased in a direction approaching the recording area. Then, as the carriage moves toward the standby position, the moving member is pushed against the urging force of the spring, and at this time, the moving member is rotated by a cam member as direction changing means. In addition, when the storage cap approaches the nozzle portion of the recording head and the recording head stops at a predetermined standby position, a configuration is known in which the storage cap is synchronized so that the storage cap is completely covered. .
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above configuration, since the moving member is only pressed in one direction by the biasing spring with respect to the carriage stopped at the standby position, the moving member can move in a direction opposite to the pressing direction. Therefore, when an external force is applied to the apparatus, such as when transporting this type of ink jet recording apparatus, or when the apparatus is tilted in a direction in which the moving member is separated from the carriage, the storage cap is detached from the nozzle portion. As a result, there has been a problem that the nozzle portion of the recording head cannot be used to prevent drying and maintain.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described conventional problems, and provides an ink jet recording apparatus that can maintain a state in which a storage cap is put on the nozzle portion of the recording head regardless of external force applied to the apparatus. It is intended to provide.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve this object, an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium by reciprocating a recording head that ejects ink. A storage cap for preventing ink drying, and a pressed object that moves in the same direction as the movement direction of the recording head by being pressed by a protrusion provided on a carriage on which the recording head is mounted by the movement of the recording head And a direction changing means for moving the storage cap in the direction of capping with respect to the nozzle portion of the recording head as the pressed part moves, and the storage cap is moved to the recording head via the direction changing means. carry when Kyappyingu to the nozzle portion, the pressed portion to be pressed by the protrusion, and the protrusion the Those that are configured to be sandwiched fits between the regulating piece provided in the di.
[0006]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the direction in which the pressed portion fits between the protrusion and the restricting piece is the nozzle portion of the recording head. Further, the storage cap intersects with the capping direction.
[0007]
[0008]
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view of a facsimile apparatus 1 having an inkjet recording apparatus 2 to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view of the facsimile apparatus 1, and FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing carriage moving means and a maintenance unit. 4 is a side view of the ink jet recording apparatus, FIG. 5 is a plan view of a maintenance portion, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main portion.
[0010]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the main body case of the facsimile apparatus 1 accommodates the ink jet recording apparatus 2 and has a paper feed cassette 3 for supplying paper P for forming an image from the upper rear side. It consists of a synthetic resin main lower case 1a that can be mounted, and a synthetic resin upper case 1b that covers the upper side of the main lower case 1a. The upper case 1b is arranged on the side of the main lower case 1a so that it can be pivoted up and down largely around a cylindrical shaft portion 4 (shown only on one side in FIG. 2) protruding from the middle in the front-rear direction. It is pivotally attached to the bracket.
[0011]
One end of the metal bracket is locked, the coil portion is wound around the outer periphery of the cylindrical shaft portion 4, and the other end is locked at an appropriate location such as a metal chassis in the upper case 1b. A torsion spring (not shown) is made to urge the upper surface of the upper case 1b toward the front, and the upper case 1b is usually fixed by a hook (not shown) so that the upper surface faces upward. Has been.
[0012]
Further, a document reading unit 5 as a document reading unit is mounted on a front portion of the upper surface of the upper case 1b, and the operation panel unit 6 covers the upper side of the document reading unit 5. Operation provided with an operation key section 6a such as various function keys and numeric keys on the surface, and a display section 6b such as a liquid crystal panel capable of displaying input values at the operation key section 6a and various command characters. The panel portion 6 is configured such that the front side can be largely turned up and down around the pivot shafts 7 on the left and right sides of the rear portion. A document placing portion 9 is integrally formed adjacent to the rear end of the operation panel portion 6 near the rear portion of the upper surface of the upper case 1b, and is conveyed to the document placing portion 9. A pair of left and right document guide bodies 10 for guiding the left and right edges of the document are mounted so as to be able to move left and right in synchronization.
[0013]
The lower surface of the main lower case 1a is covered with a bottom cover plate 11 made of a metal plate or the like, and the internal space of the main lower case 1a is not shown, but is connected via a control board, a power supply board, and a telephone line. An NCU (network control unit) board or the like for enabling conversation and transmission / reception of facsimile data between the telephone apparatus and the facsimile apparatus is located. Furthermore, a handset 8 for carrying out a conversation with another telephone device is placed on a cradle 12 projecting outward from the side of the main lower case 1a. A calling speaker (not shown) is fixed to the rear side of the right side surface of the main lower case 1a.
[0014]
As shown in FIG. 2, in the unit case 5a of the document reading unit 5, a document separation feed roller 28a disposed in the vicinity of the document placement unit 9, a horizontally long contact image sensor (CIS) 29, and its conveyance A pair of transport rollers 30 disposed on the upstream side, a pair of transport rollers 31 disposed on the downstream side of the transport, a drive motor and a gear train for driving the rollers 28a, 29, and 30 are housed in the frame. And a document transport system drive unit. The document separation feed roller is disposed on the lower surface side of the operation panel 6 that is configured so that the front side can be largely rotated up and down around the pivot shaft 7 when the upper surface of the unit case 5a is covered. A separation pad 28b that comes into contact with the upper surface of 28a, and a pressing plate 32 that has a lower surface that comes into contact with the upper surface of the contact image sensor 29 are coated in white. In response to the document reading command by the document, the document on the document placement unit 9 is separated and sent one by one via the document separation feed roller 28a and the separation pad 28b, and the document is fed to the upper surface of the pressing plate 32 and the CIS 29. The image of the original is read when passing between the two.
[0015]
The paper P stacked on the paper feed cassette 3 is separated from a rotating paper feed roller that rotates intermittently as a paper feed mechanism having a well-known structure (not shown) disposed in the rear portion of the main lower case 1a. The separated paper P is separated one by one by the pad, and the position of the leading edge of the paper P is once adjusted at the position of a registration roller (not shown), and is moved below the recording head 14 by the transport upstream roller 33. In the course of being fed and nipped and transported by a pair of upper and lower transport rollers 34 on the downstream side of transport, an image is recorded by ejecting ink droplets onto the upper surface of the paper P in accordance with a print command, and then a paper discharge tray It is comprised so that it may discharge | emit to 27 places.
[0016]
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5, the carriage 18 in the ink jet recording apparatus 2 is pivotally supported by a round shaft-shaped guide shaft 17 that is mounted on a chassis frame 16 having a left and right longitudinal portion. The upper part is in sliding contact with the vertical guide piece 16a of the chassis frame 16 so as to be movable left and right. A color ink jet recording head 14 is mounted on the carriage 18 with the nozzle portion 15 facing downward. The recording head 14 for performing color recording has four nozzle portions for ejecting inks of cyan, yellow, magenta, and black, and ink to be supplied to each recording head 14 is stored. The cartridges 19 for the respective colors are detachably mounted on the carriage 18.
[0017]
The carriage 18 is driven by a carriage such as a stepping motor or the like in which a timing belt 20 as an endless belt extending in parallel with the guide shaft 17 can rotate forward and backward with a driven pulley 21 disposed on one side of the chassis frame 16. It is wound around a drive pulley 23 fixed to the output shaft of the motor 22, and one position of the timing belt 20 is connected to the carriage 18 so that the carriage 18 can reciprocate in parallel with the guide shaft 17. It is configured.
[0018]
Next, details of the configuration of the maintenance unit 29 and the storage unit 35 at the standby position will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5 to 8. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. The maintenance section 29 and the storage means 35 are collectively arranged at the right end portion of the left and right longitudinal chassis frame 16 so that the frame support pieces 16b and 16c are arranged as shown in FIG. A synthetic resin collective case 36 as shown in the plan view of FIG. A nozzle wiping device (wiper device) 37 for wiping ink drops adhering to the surface of the nozzle portion of the recording head 14 is disposed on the left end side of the collecting case 36, and the ink of the recording head 14 is adjacent to the right side thereof. A purge device (nozzle suction device) 38 for recovering the non-discharge or defective discharge is disposed, and on the right side thereof (the standby position (home position) on the opposite side of the recording area from the purge device 38) is the recording head 14. Storage means 35 having the same number of storage caps 39 as the number of nozzle portions 15 (four in the embodiment) is arranged.
[0019]
That is, a synthetic resin frame-shaped moving member 40 as a storage cap moving means for supporting each storage cap 39 is formed integrally with the collecting case 36 and parallel to the moving direction of the carriage 18. It is mounted so as to be movable along the round shaft 41 and rotatable about the axis. A support 42 that supports each of the storage caps 39 made of soft rubber is mounted in the frame of the moving member 40 so as not to be able to come out upward and move up and down, and is biased upward via a biasing spring 43 (see FIG. 6).
[0020]
Then, one of the rotation base end portions 40a of the frame-shaped moving member 40 is integrally formed with a pressed portion 45 protruding upward (see FIGS. 8 and 11 (a) to 11 (d)). On the lower surface side of the carriage 18, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIGS. 11A to 11D, the protrusion 46 and the regulation piece 47 are directed laterally and stepped toward the pressed portion 45. The gap L1 between the protruding portion 46 and the restricting piece 47 is formed to be substantially equal to the width of the pressed portion 45, and the front and rear edges of the pressed portion 45 are set at the standby position described later. The protrusion 46 and the restricting piece 47 are sandwiched.
[0021]
When the carriage 18 is moved in the standby position (home position) direction (arrow A direction), the pressed portion 45 is engaged by, for example, pressing the pressed portion 45, and the moving member 40 is slid along the round shaft 41. . At this time, a cam plate 49 as direction changing means is provided at a location of the collective case 36 so as to face the sliding piece 48 projecting downward on the lower surface side of the rotation base end portion 40a of the moving member 40. . The shape of the cam plate 49 is such that, based on the movement of the moving member 40 in the direction of arrow A, the storage cap 39 is moved in a direction substantially perpendicular to the movement direction of the carriage 18, and each storage position is set at the standby position. A cap 39 is formed so as to cover and cover each nozzle portion 15 from below (see the two-dot chain line state in FIG. 6).
[0022]
Further, a tension spring 50 as an urging means is mounted between the collective case 36 and the moving member 40, and as the amount of movement of the moving member 40 in the direction of arrow A increases, It is urged to increase the return force.
When the pressed portion 45 is started to be pushed in the direction of arrow A by the protrusion 46 in the carriage 18 (see the state of FIG. 8), the restricting piece 47 is pressed against the pressed portion as shown in FIGS. 11 (a) and 11 (b). 45 does not interfere.
[0023]
As shown in FIG. 10, when moving further upward along the sliding piece 48 along the cam plate 49, the moving member 40 rotates upward, and each storage cap 39 is moved in a direction substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage 18. In the capping state indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6, as shown in FIGS. 11 (c) and 11 (d), the pressed portion 45 is placed between the regulating piece 47 as the regulating means and the front pressing portion 46. Fits in. As a result, as long as the carriage 18 is stopped at the standby position, the relative movement between the pressed portion 45 and thus the moving member 40 and the carriage 18 and thus the nozzle portion 15 of each recording head 14 is restricted and shifted. It will not move. Therefore, even when the facsimile apparatus 1 is transported, the storage cap 39 is not removed from each nozzle portion 15.
[0024]
As can be understood from the above description, when returning from the standby position in the direction opposite to the arrow A and returning to the recording area, the urging force of the tension spring 50 so that the storage cap 39 is removed from each nozzle portion 15. The moving member 40 is returned to the original posture while rotating. The tension spring 50 is also urged in the direction in which the sliding piece 48 always presses the cam plate 49, so that the moving member 40 does not fluctuate around the axis of the round shaft 41.
[0025]
Next, the configuration of a nozzle wiping device (wiper device) 37 and a purging device 38 as suction means will be described. The recording head 14 may cause defective ejection due to bubbles generated in the nozzle portion 15 during use or ink droplets adhering to the ejection surface. In order to recover the state, the purge device 38 covers the nozzle portion 15 of the recording head 14 with the suction cap 53, and in this state, the negative ink generated by the suction pump 54 sucks the defective ink in the recording head 14. It is also activated when the recording head 14 or the ink cartridge 19 is replaced, and functions so that ink in the cartridge 19 is sucked out and smoothly supplied to the nozzle portion 15 of the recording head 14. The sucked defective ink is sent to a storage unit (not shown).
[0026]
The configuration of the purging device 38 will be described in further detail. As shown in FIGS. It is mounted so as to be movable up and down (see FIG. 9). The suction cap 53 and the suction pump 54 are connected by a suction tube 61. Although not shown, the cam body 56 is driven by a gear 57 that is rotated via a driving force switching means using a line feed motor for conveying the paper P that is a recording medium as a driving source. While the sliding portion 55a at the lower end of the lifting member 55 is fitted in the suction lifting cam groove 58 formed on one side of the cam body 56, the suction is also arranged opposite to the other side of the cam body 56. The lower end engaging portions 62a and 63a of the two piston rods of the pump 54 are respectively fitted into two pump cam grooves 59 and 60 formed on the other side surface of the cam body 56, and the cam body 56 is rotated once. The elevating member 55 is lifted so that the suction cap 53 comes into close contact with the nozzle portion 15 of the recording head 14, and after the ink is sucked by the negative pressure of the suction pump 54, the elevating member 55 is moved away from the suction cap 53. Descends.
[0027]
The nozzle wiping device 37 is disposed in a collective case 36 adjacent to the purge device 38 and outside the recording area and close to it, and is a thin plate-like wiper body made of an elastic material such as soft rubber or soft synthetic resin material. The lower end engaging portion 65a of the wiper lifting / lowering member 65 that supports 64 is fitted into the wiper cam groove 66 on one side of the cam body 56, and a predetermined maintenance operation by the suction cap 53 is performed while the cam body 56 makes one rotation. The operation of wiping the nozzle portion 15 of the recording head 14 with the wiper body 64 and the raising / lowering operation are performed in synchronization with the above. The ink suction operation and the wiper operation are performed one by one for the plurality of nozzle portions 15 of the recording head 14.
[0028]
In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the lock lever 68 disposed in the collective case 36 is rotatable around its rotation center portion 68 a, and the convex portion 68 b of the lock lever 68 is formed on the cam body 56. The cam body 56 is urged by a predetermined rotation when it is urged by a spring 69 so as to slide on the outer peripheral cam surface 67 (see FIG. 9) and the carriage 18 stops at every arrangement interval of the nozzle portion 15. Due to the phase, the leading end portion 68c of the lock lever 68 is fitted and engaged with a concave groove-shaped engaging portion 18a (see FIGS. 6 and 7) formed on the lower surface of the carriage 18 so that the carriage 18 does not move. Is regulated.
[0029]
As described above, adjacent to the nozzle wiping device 37 and the purge device 38 as the suction means provided outside the recording area, the storage cap 39 as the nozzle portion protection means and the moving member 40 as the storage cap moving means. If the ink jet recording apparatus 2 is not used for a long time, the carriage 18 can be moved to start the recording operation even if an ink ejection failure occurs due to ink clogging or the like in each nozzle portion 15. With a slight movement, the recording head can be intermittently moved in the direction of the recording area in the direction of the recording area to the suction location adjacent to the standby position, and maintenance of ink discharge failure of each nozzle portion 15 can be performed. There is an effect that the recording operation can be quickly performed.
[0030]
Further, since each storage cap 39 is configured to automatically move away from each nozzle portion 15 when the moving member 40 moves closer to the direction of the suction means, the carriage 18 is moved in the recording area direction. There is no need for extra parts for unlocking, and the structure is simplified.
The facsimile apparatus 1 according to the present invention sets various processing operations and reads a document image by the document reading unit 5 in response to various commands from the user input in response to various key operations on the operation panel unit 6. Document data transmission data, transmission data encoding, transmission / reception of facsimile data to be transmitted to other facsimile apparatuses via a communication line such as a telephone line, reception data decoding, decoded facsimile data recording unit In addition to the normal facsimile function of recording on a sheet P of paper, a copy of reading a document by a CIS (contact image sensor) 34 of the document reading unit 5 and forming a color image on the sheet P by each unit of the recording unit ( Copy) processing function, printer cable or infrared from an external device such as a personal computer (not shown) A printer processing function for receiving a print data transmitted via wireless, etc., and forming a color image on the paper P according to the data, and transmitting image data read using the document reading unit 5 to the external device It also has a scanner processing function.
[0031]
Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to a printer having an ink jet recording head.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, the movement of the recording head is caused by the movement of the recording head and is pressed by the protrusion provided on the carriage on which the recording head is mounted. And a direction changing means for moving the storage cap in the direction of capping with respect to the nozzle portion of the recording head as the pressed portion moves, so that the recording head or The storage cap is moved in the capping direction with respect to the nozzle portion of the recording head as the carriage mounting the recording head is moved, so that the movement of the carriage and the start of movement of the storage cap in the recording head direction are surely synchronized. Thus, the timing of the operation of the carriage and the storage cap can be made accurate. In addition, since a separate drive source is not required for capping the nozzle portion with the storage cap, the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. Further, when the storage cap is capped to the nozzle portion of the recording head via the direction changing means, the pressed portion to be pressed by the protruding portion is formed between the protruding portion and the restriction piece provided on the carriage . Since the storage cap is configured to be fitted and sandwiched between the nozzles, the storage cap restricts the relative movement of the storage cap with respect to the recording head or the carriage. Even if the apparatus is moved and swung, the storage cap does not move with respect to each nozzle part, and the nozzle part can be prevented from drying and protected. And since a to-be-pressed part fits between a projection part and a control piece and the state which the storage cap has covered the nozzle part is hold | maintained, a capping effect is not lost. In addition, since the configuration is such that only the protrusion and the regulating piece are provided on the carriage side, the structure is extremely simple and the manufacturing cost is not increased.
[0033]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the direction in which the pressed portion fits between the protrusion and the restricting piece is a direction in which the storage cap caps the nozzle portion of the recording head. Since they intersect, the moving member is pushed by the projection provided on the carriage so that the moving member and the carriage move in substantially the same direction, and the storage cap is moved in the direction of movement of the carriage by the direction changing means. The storage cap can be moved so as to cover the nozzle portion by moving in a substantially orthogonal direction, the timing of the carriage movement and the storage cap capping operation can be accurately performed, and quick and reliable capping can be performed. There is an effect that can be.
[0034]
[0035]
[0036]
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a facsimile apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional side view of a facsimile apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the ink jet recording apparatus.
FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the ink jet recording apparatus.
FIG. 5 is a plan view of a maintenance unit and storage means.
6 is a partially cutaway side view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG. 5;
7 is a partially cutaway side view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 5;
8 is a view taken along arrow VIII-VIII in FIG. 5;
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing an engagement relationship between a cam body, a nozzle wiping device, suction means, and a suction pump.
FIG. 10 is a partially cutaway view seen from the same direction as FIG. 8 for showing a state in which the movement member is restricted in movement.
11A is an operation explanatory diagram showing the relationship among the protruding portion, the pressed portion, and the regulating piece when the carriage approaches the standby position, and FIG. 11B is a line XIb-XIb in FIG. 11A. An arrow view, (c) is an action explanatory view showing a relation between a projection part, a pressed part, and a regulating piece at a capping completion position by a storage cap, and (d) is an Xid-XId line arrow of FIG. 11 (c). FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Inkjet recording device 18 Carriage 14 Recording head 15 Nozzle part 35 Storage means 36 Collecting case 39 Storage cap 40 Moving member 40a Turning base end part 41 Round shaft 42 Support body 45 Pressed part 46 Protrusion part 47 Restriction piece 48 Slide piece 49 Cam plate 50 Tension spring

Claims (2)

In an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium by reciprocating a recording head that ejects ink,
A storage cap for preventing drying of ink in the nozzle portion of the recording head;
A pressed portion that moves in the same direction as the moving direction of the recording head by being pressed by a protrusion provided on a carriage on which the recording head is mounted by the movement of the recording head;
Direction changing means for moving the storage cap with respect to the nozzle portion of the recording head in accordance with the movement of the pressed portion;
When the storage cap via the direction changing means has Kyappyingu the nozzle portion of the recording head, the pressed portion to be pressed by the protrusions, between the regulating piece provided in the said projecting portion carriage An inkjet recording apparatus configured to be fitted and sandwiched.   The direction in which the pressed portion fits between the protrusion and the restricting piece intersects the direction in which the storage cap is capped to the nozzle portion of the recording head. The ink jet recording apparatus described.

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