JP4428003B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid cartridge that is applied to a liquid ejecting apparatus such as an ink jet recording apparatus and supplies a liquid such as ink to a head, and a carriage that houses the liquid cartridge.

  In Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-115068), a stopper is provided integrally with the case for stopping the carriage movement by contacting the lever when the ink cartridge is not completely mounted by the lever. A configuration has been proposed in which the carriage stop position for operation is a capping position, and the ink cartridge is elastically held by a lever in the carriage movement direction.

  Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-254670) includes a lid portion that the cartridge holder of the carriage rotates to open and close, and when the ink cartridge is mounted, the lid portion is first opened with the lid portion opened. An ink cartridge is provided with a mechanism for engaging an ink cartridge in an engaging portion provided in a base portion, mounting the ink cartridge in an initial mounting position, and then shifting to a main mounting position by closing a lid portion and mounting the ink cartridge. When an abnormal initial mounting that is not locked to the engaging portion is performed, a structure including a rib is proposed as an erroneous mounting preventing means for preventing transition to the fully mounted state.

  Further, in Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-63029), a leaf spring as an elastic member is provided in the lower portion of the carriage, and in the initial mounting state in at least one individual holder, a protruding leaf spring is provided. Thus, the ink cartridge is protruded as compared with the ink cartridge in the initial mounting state in the other individual holder, and in the main mounting state in the individual holder taking the protruding initial mounting state, the ink cartridge is in the initial mounting state in the other individual holder. A configuration has been proposed in which the ink cartridge is recessed as compared with the ink cartridge.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-115064 JP 2002-254670 A JP 2003-63029 A

  In the conventional ink cartridge as described above, information on the presence of the ink cartridge, information on the ink such as the color of the ink stored in the ink cartridge, and the remaining amount of ink are stored on the rear surface side of the ink cartridge. A circuit board (IC chip) provided with a storage means is mounted, and a cartridge side terminal portion for making electrical contact with other terminal portions is disposed so as to be exposed on the surface. Correspondingly, a circuit board is also mounted on the rear side of the carriage, and a main body side terminal portion for making electrical contact with the cartridge side terminal portion is disposed at an inner position of the carriage corresponding to the circuit board. ing. The cartridge side terminal part and the main body terminal part on the carriage side come into contact with each other so that the information stored in the storage means can be read and updated. Therefore, if the ink cartridge is not firmly inserted to a predetermined position in the carriage, the electrical contact between the cartridge side terminal portion and the main body side terminal portion may be insufficient, and accurate exchange of information may not be possible. is there.

  Also, if the ink cartridge is not firmly inserted to the specified position in the carriage, the ink supply will be insufficient and the print quality will be affected, or the sensor will detect a decrease in the remaining ink level and the recording device will unexpectedly It can be a cause of stopping.

  By the way, in the conventional ink cartridge as described above, as shown in FIG. 6, a space 105 is formed inside the rear end portion 103 of the cover 101 that can be pivotably opened and closed at the top of the carriage 100. 6 and FIG. 7 to be described later are characteristic structural portions of the present invention (described later “cover side interference portion”) from the structure of the ink cartridge and the carriage shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 for explaining the embodiment of the present invention. Is equivalent to the state without). That is, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are drawings drawn up to highlight the characteristic portions in the present invention, and the structures described in these drawings are not as they are conventionally known.

  A cartridge fixing means 109 for fixing the rear side of the ink cartridge 107 to the carriage 100 is provided on the rear side of the ink cartridge 107. An engaging piece 113 is formed in the cartridge fixing means 109, and the ink cartridge 107 is fixed by engaging the engaging piece 113 with the engaging portion 115 in the carriage 100. At this time, the upper end portion 111 of the cartridge fixing means 109 is received in the space 105.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, even when the engaging piece 113 of the cartridge fixing means 109 is not locked to the engaging portion 115, that is, when the ink cartridge 107 is not pushed into the predetermined position of the carriage 100, the cartridge fixing means An upper end portion 111 of 109 is received in the space 105 so that the cover 101 can be closed.

  Therefore, when the user closes the cover 101 after replacing the ink cartridge, the user does not notice that the ink cartridge 107 has not been pushed to the predetermined position of the carriage 100. As a result, the above-described various problems occur. Sometimes.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it impossible for the cover to be closed when the ink cartridge is not inserted to a predetermined position in the carriage when replacing the ink cartridge, so that the user can notice the incompletely inserted state of the ink cartridge. Another object of the present invention is to provide a carriage cover closing safety device, a recording apparatus including the same, and a liquid ejecting apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, the carriage cover closing safety device according to the first aspect of the present invention ensures that the ink cartridge is properly stored when the ink cartridge is stored in a scannable carriage. The ink cartridge comprises a cartridge fixing means and a cartridge side interference part, and the carriage is formed in the carriage body and accommodates at least one ink cartridge. And the carriage main body have a pivot fulcrum, and can be opened and closed by pivoting around the pivot fulcrum, and locked to the carriage main body when closed to make it impossible to take out the ink cartridge A cover, a head for recording on a recording medium with ink of the ink cartridge, and the cover. A locking portion formed on the carriage body, a locked portion that locks with the locking portion when the cover is closed, and a locking portion that is formed on the carriage body and that fixes the ink cartridge. A cartridge fixed portion that engages with the means to fix the position of the ink cartridge, and is formed inside the cover, and interferes with the cartridge side interference portion when the ink cartridge is inserted to a predetermined position of the storage portion. The closed state of the cover can be realized by locking the locking portion and the locked portion, but when the ink cartridge is not inserted to a predetermined position of the storage portion, the cartridge side A cover-side interference unit that interferes with the interference unit to make it impossible to close the cover is provided.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the ink cartridge is not inserted to the predetermined position of the carriage housing portion, the cover side interference portion interferes with the cartridge side interference portion, and the cover can be closed. Disappear. As a result, the user notices that the ink cartridge has not been inserted to the predetermined position, and can give an opportunity to reinsert the ink cartridge.

  The carriage cover closing safety device according to the second aspect of the present invention is the hook according to the first aspect, wherein the cartridge fixing means is elastically connected to the end surface of the ink cartridge at the pivot point. The cartridge side interference part is formed on the free end side of the rotating piece, and the engaging piece protruding outward is formed in the middle of the rotating piece. The cartridge fixing portion is formed inside the carriage main body at a position facing the engagement piece.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the cartridge side interference portion is integrally formed on the free end side of the rotating piece, the structure that exhibits the interference action at the position where the cartridge fixing means is not properly engaged. Can be made compact with one member of the cartridge fixing means.

The carriage cover closing safety device according to a third aspect of the present invention is the carriage cover closing safety device according to the first or second aspect, wherein, when the cover is not closed, the cover is not moved when the carriage is scanned. It is characterized by abutting against members around the scanning path.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the user does not notice that the cover is not completely closed, the ink cartridge is not set correctly due to an abnormal movement of the carriage (such as the abutting). Can be notified to the user.

A carriage cover closing safety device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention includes the carriage cover closing safety device according to any one of the first to third aspects.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the adverse effect of the ink cartridge not being firmly inserted to a predetermined position in the carriage, for example, the electrical contact between the cartridge side terminal portion and the main body side terminal portion becomes insufficient. , The information cannot be exchanged accurately, the ink supply is insufficient and print quality is affected, or the sensor detects a decrease in the remaining amount of ink and the recording device stops unexpectedly. Can be reduced.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the recording apparatus according to the fourth aspect, wherein the abutment occurs at the maximum of the platen gap that changes with the vertical movement of the carriage. At the time of replacement, there is provided a control unit that controls to scan the carriage with the platen gap being maximized after the replacement, and to check whether the carriage is in contact with members around the scanning path.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the cover abuts only when the platen gap is maximum, the size of the target portion that abuts when the cover is not closed is kept to a minimum. Can do. Thereby, the user can be surely notified that the ink cartridge is not set correctly.

  Further, the carriage cover closing safety device according to the sixth aspect of the present invention is a device for ensuring that the liquid cartridge is properly stored when the liquid cartridge is stored in a scannable carriage. The liquid cartridge includes a cartridge fixing means and a cartridge side interference portion, the carriage includes a carriage main body, a storage portion formed in the carriage main body for storing at least one liquid cartridge, and the carriage. A cover that has a pivot point on the main body, and that can be opened and closed by pivoting around the pivot point, and that is locked to the carriage body when closed to make it impossible to remove the liquid cartridge; A head for ejecting the medium to be ejected by the liquid in the cartridge; a locking portion formed on the cover; and the key. Formed in the ridge main body and engaged with the locking portion when the cover is closed; and formed in the carriage main body and engaged with the cartridge fixing means of the liquid cartridge to position the liquid cartridge. A cartridge fixed portion to be fixed and formed inside the cover, and when the liquid cartridge is inserted to a predetermined position of the storage portion, the locking portion and the locked portion are not interfered with the cartridge side interference portion. Although the closed state of the cover can be realized by locking with the part, when the liquid cartridge is not inserted to the predetermined position of the storage part, it interferes with the cartridge side interference part and closes the cover. And a cover-side interference unit that cannot be realized.

  A liquid ejecting apparatus according to a seventh aspect of the present invention includes the carriage cover closing safety device according to the sixth aspect.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing an ink jet printer 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer) as an example of a recording apparatus or a liquid ejecting apparatus to which a carriage cover closing safety device of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 shows a carriage cover. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the carriage cover is closed, FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the carriage cover is closed, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part showing a state in which the ink cartridge is not properly stored in the carriage. FIG. 5 is a side sectional view, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of an ink cartridge replacement flow.

  The printer 1 includes a printer main body 3, a feeding unit 5 provided at the upper rear part of the printer main body 3, and a discharge unit 7 formed in front of the printer main body 3. A feeding tray 11 is formed in the feeding unit 5, and a plurality of recording media P can be stacked on the feeding tray 11. A feed roller 13 is provided immediately downstream of the feed tray 11. The feeding roller 13 presses the recording medium P positioned at the uppermost portion of the feeding tray 11 between the opposing separation rollers 14 and feeds it forward.

  The sent recording medium P reaches a feeding roller 19 composed of a lower feeding driving roller 15 and an upper feeding driven roller 17, and receives a precise feeding operation in the recording process by the driving system, while feeding roller 19. Is fed to the recording head 21 side located on the downstream side.

  The recording head 21 is supported by a carriage 23, and eight ink cartridges 22 are mounted on the carriage 23. The carriage 23 can reciprocate along the guide bar 25 in a direction (main scanning direction) orthogonal to the feeding direction. A platen 24 is provided at a position facing the recording head 21, and the platen 24 has a function of supporting the recording medium P from below when the recording head 21 performs recording on the recording medium P.

  A platen gap that is a distance between the recording head 21 and the platen 24 (a distance between a recording medium such as a sheet indicated on the platen and the recording head is referred to as a “paper gap”) is a carriage 23 that supports the recording head 21. Can be adjusted as appropriate according to the thickness of the recording medium P. In a state in which the platen gap is properly adjusted, the recording medium P is recorded on the recording medium 21 with a high quality while the recording medium P smoothly passes over the platen 24 and is recorded. P is sequentially discharged by a discharge roller 27 provided in the discharge unit 7. The discharge roller 27 includes a lower discharge drive roller 29 and an upper discharge driven roller 31, and has a mechanism in which the recording medium P is pulled out by the rotation of the discharge drive roller 29 and discharged.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the ink cartridge 22 has an ink supply path 35 that protrudes downward and an internal pressure adjustment valve 37 formed on the bottom surface 33. The internal pressure adjustment valve 37 is provided with valve means (not shown) that is always urged downward and elastically biased to maintain a closed state. This valve means is formed by a protrusion formed on the carriage body. By being pushed upward against the elastic bias, the external air pressure can be opened to be introduced into the ink cartridge. The internal pressure regulating valve 37 has a function of preventing the internal pressure from being lowered due to the decrease in the ink in the ink cartridge 22 and the supply of the ink from being deteriorated by providing such a structure.

  A cartridge fixing means 39 is formed on one end surface (left side in FIG. 3) of the ink cartridge 22. The cartridge fixing means 39 is in the form of a hook-like turning piece that is elastically deformably connected to the end surface of the ink cartridge 22 at the turning fulcrum 41, extends obliquely upward from the turning fulcrum 41, and is on the other end side. That is, the upper end is the free end 43. A cartridge side interference section 44 is formed to project from the front side directly below the free end 43. An engagement piece 45 is formed below the free end 43 so as to protrude outward. The upper surface side of the engagement piece 45 is formed substantially horizontally, and the lower surface side is formed to be inclined. Two guide walls (vertical wall and horizontal wall) 47 project from one side of the ink cartridge 22 in the vicinity of the free end 43, and the engagement piece 45 is a pivotal fulcrum between the two guide walls 47. In a free state in which the cartridge fixing means 39 is elastically rotatable around 41 and no force is applied to the cartridge fixing means 39, the cartridge fixing means 39 is in an open state as shown in FIG.

  A circuit board (not shown) with the cartridge side terminal portion 49 exposed on the surface is provided on the front end surface of the ink cartridge 22. The circuit board is equipped with storage means (not shown) for storing information relating to the ink cartridge such as information for detecting the presence of the ink cartridge, the color of the ink stored in the ink cartridge, and the remaining amount of ink. Has been.

  Next, a specific configuration of the carriage 23 will be described. The carriage 23 includes a carriage main body 55 and a cover 57 that is provided on the upper front side of the carriage main body 55 and that can be rotated forward and opened about a rotation fulcrum 58 to be opened. Inside the carriage main body 55, a cartridge storage portion 59 for storing the ink cartridges 22 is formed. In the cartridge storage portion 59, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, eight ink cartridges 22 can be stored. It has been.

  Although not shown, an ink supply needle (not shown) is provided at a position corresponding to the ink supply path 35 when each ink cartridge 22 is stored at the bottom of the cartridge storage portion 59. A protrusion (not shown) is formed on the front side of the bottom portion at a position corresponding to the internal pressure regulating valve 37 when each ink cartridge 22 is stored in each compartment. When the ink cartridge 22 is housed in the carriage and pushed in, the upper end of this protrusion is pushed into the internal pressure regulating valve 37 and pushes up the valve means that is always biased downward of the internal pressure regulating valve 37. Thus, the valve means is opened to prevent a decrease in internal pressure in the ink cartridge 22 due to a decrease in ink. Further, on the inner wall on the front side in the cartridge storage portion 59, information is exchanged with a storage means (not shown) on the cartridge side at a position corresponding to the cartridge side terminal portion 49 when each ink cartridge 22 is stored in each section. A main body side terminal portion and a circuit board (not shown) are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1 or 2, two annular support portions 69 are formed on the rear surface side of the carriage main body 55, and these support portions 69 are slidably supported by the guide bar 25, so that the carriage 23. Can be moved in the main scanning direction. A cartridge fixed portion 70 for engaging with the engagement piece 45 is formed on the rear upper side of the carriage body 55. The cartridge fixed portion 70 is formed so as to protrude forward from the rear surface of the carriage, the upper surface side thereof is inclined, and the lower surface side is formed substantially horizontally.

  Accordingly, when the ink cartridge 22 is replaced, the ink cartridge 22 is pushed downward from above, whereby the inclined lower surface of the engagement piece 45 is guided to the inclined upper surface of the cartridge fixed portion 70, whereby the cartridge fixing means 39. Is elastically deformed to the front side. As a result, when the engagement piece 45 moves to the lower side of the cartridge fixed portion 70 and the cartridge fixing means 39 returns to the natural state by its elastic return force, the upper surface of the engagement piece 45 is the surface of the cartridge fixed portion 70. The ink cartridge 22 is fixed by engaging with the lower surface.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cover 57 of the carriage 23 is formed in a substantially rectangular frame shape, and a locking portion 71 is formed at the center of the front end side thereof. At the time of closing, the cover 57 is locked in a snap-fit manner to a locked portion 73 formed on the upper rear surface of the carriage body 55 so that the closed state of the cover 57 can be maintained.

  Next, a characteristic configuration of the present invention will be described. In the carriage cover closing safety device of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, a cover side interference portion 75 is formed to project downward from the lower surface of the rear end side of the cover 57. As shown in FIG. 3, when the ink cartridge 22 is pushed in until the engagement piece 45 is engaged with the lower side of the cartridge fixed portion 70, the cover side interference portion 75 is connected to the upper surface of the cartridge side interference portion 44. At this time, the locking portion 71 of the cover 57 can be snapped onto the locked portion 73 of the carriage body 55, and the cover 57 can be closed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, when the ink cartridge 22 is not pushed to the position where it should be originally positioned, and the engagement piece 45 is not engaged with the cartridge fixed portion 70, the cover 57 is completely Before closing, the cover side interference part 75 comes into contact with the upper surface of the cartridge side interference part 44, and the locking part 71 cannot be snapped onto the locked part 73, so that the cover 57 is in a floating state. End up. When the operator cannot snap-fit the cover 57, the operator can notice that the ink cartridge 22 is not stored in the predetermined position of the carriage, and therefore can reinsert the ink cartridge 22.

  Incidentally, in the present embodiment, the cartridge side interference portion 44 is formed integrally with the upper end portion of the hook-shaped cartridge fixing means 39 so that an interference action is exhibited when the cartridge fixing means 39 is not properly engaged. There is an advantage that the structure can be made compact with only one member of the cartridge fixing means 39.

  However, the structure exhibiting such an interference action does not need to be constituted by only one member of the cartridge fixing means 39, and even if the cartridge side interference portion 44 is formed at a place other than the cartridge fixing means 39 of the ink cartridge 22. I do not care.

  In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the operator recognizes that the cover 57 cannot be closed. However, some workers may not be aware that the cover 57 is not closed. Therefore, assuming such a case, when the cover 57 is not properly closed, a state in which the carriage does not operate normally by lightly hitting a member positioned around the scanning path when the carriage is scanned is notified to the user. You can also An example of such a state will be described with reference to FIG. In the printer 1 that performs the control described below, when the platen gap is maximum, the cover 57 cannot be closed due to the interference between the cartridge side interference unit 44 and the cover side interference unit 75 as described above. Designed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer main body 3 is provided with a control unit 76, and the control unit 76 performs control according to the following flow when the ink cartridge is replaced. That is, when the user first notices that the ink replacement lamp has been turned on and presses the ink replacement switch (step 77), the control unit 76 stores the current platen gap (PG) (step 79), and then maximizes the platen gap. The carriage 23 is raised so as to achieve (step 81). A mechanism for adjusting the platen gap by moving the carriage up and down will be described later. Then, the carriage 23 is moved to the ink cartridge replacement position (step 83), and the user opens the ink cartridge cover 57 in step 85.

  In this state, the user removes the old ink cartridge and installs a new ink cartridge (step 87). When the user closes the ink cartridge cover 57 (step 89) and presses the ink replacement switch (step 91), the carriage starts to move to the capping position in the main scanning direction (step 93). At this time, if the user does not push the ink cartridge to the correct position and set it, the cover 57 is lifted as described above, so that the cover 57 is positioned around the scanning path when the carriage is moved. The carriage will not operate normally. That is, this state is determined as “NO” in step 95 in the flow of FIG. At this time, the flow returns to the position before step 87 to create an opportunity for the user to reinsert the ink cartridge correctly.

  If the user reinserts the ink cartridge correctly, “YES” is determined in step 95, the carriage moves to the capping position, and ink filling operation is performed (step 97). Then, the carriage moves downward so as to return to the platen gap stored in step 79 (step 99).

  Next, a mechanism for adjusting the platen gap by moving the carriage up and down will be described. FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as “printer”) as an example of a recording apparatus provided with a drive transmission mechanism to a platen gap adjusting mechanism, and FIG. 9 feeds a recording medium having rigidity. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the periphery of the transport driven roller holder when feeding a recording medium having no rigidity.

  The printer 201 includes a feeding device 202 that supplies the recording medium P to the upstream side of the printer 201, holds the recording medium P in an inclined posture by the feeding device 202, and stores the recording media P one by one. Feed downstream. When the recording medium can be bent like paper, the recording medium is supplied to the recording process through the feeding path 100A as shown in FIG. 8, and when the recording medium has rigidity, As shown in FIG. 9, the recording medium is supplied to the recording process through the feeding path 100B.

  The feeding device 202 includes a hopper 216, and a plurality of recording media P are stacked and held on the hopper 216 in an inclined posture. The hopper 216 has a rotation fulcrum on the upstream side of the hopper 216, and by rotating about the rotation fulcrum, the hopper 216 can perform separation and compression operations toward the feeding roller 214 having a substantially D shape in a side view. It is configured. The recording medium P is pushed up by the pressing operation toward the feeding roller 214 of the hopper 216, and the uppermost recording medium P is pressed against the feeding roller 214. In this state, the recording medium P is fed downstream by the rotation of the feeding roller 214.

  A plate-like guide 215 is provided almost horizontally below the feed roller 214, and the leading end of the recording medium P fed from the feeding device 202 abuts on the guide 215, and the recording medium P Is smoothly curved and guided downstream. A transport roller 219 composed of a transport drive roller 219a that is rotationally driven by a drive unit (not shown) and a transport driven roller 219b that is driven to rotate in contact with the transport drive roller 219a is disposed downstream of the guide 215. The recording medium P is pinched by the conveying roller 219 and is given a driving force to the downstream side. The transport driving roller 219a is composed of a rod-like roller that is long in the main scanning direction, and a plurality of transport driven rollers 219b are short in the main scanning direction and arranged at predetermined intervals in the main scanning direction.

  The transport driven roller 219b is pivotally supported on the downstream side of the transport driven roller holder 218. The transport driven roller holder 218 is provided so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 218a and is transported by a torsion coil spring (not shown). The driven roller 219b is urged to rotate so as to always come into pressure contact with the transport driving roller 219a.

As shown in FIG. 9, the transport driven roller 219 b can be in a retracted state in which the transport driven roller holder 218 is retracted upward as the transport driven roller holder 218 rotates about its pivot fulcrum 218 a. That is, the driven roller release shaft 231 is provided with the cam portion 236 so as to contact the upstream cam follower portion 218b of the conveyance driven roller holder 218, and the cam rotation shaft 231 rotates to The portion 236 comes into contact with the cam follower portion 218b from above, and the conveyance driven roller holder 218 rotates about the rotation fulcrum 218a. As a result, the conveyance driven roller 219b retreats upward, and is in a retracted state as shown in FIG. It becomes. When the contact of the cam 236 with the cam follower 218b is released, the transport driven roller 219b is urged to rotate toward the transport drive roller 219a by a torsion coil spring (not shown), as shown in FIG. It is possible to return to the contact state. Incidentally, strong rigidity of the recording medium 9, are particularly distinguished by reference numeral P _G what nip difficult by the conveying rollers.

  Further, a recording unit 226 that performs recording on the recording medium P is provided on the downstream side of the conveying roller 219. The recording unit 226 is disposed so that the platen 228 and the recording head 213 face each other in the vertical direction. The platen 228 is long in the main scanning direction, and supports the recording medium P conveyed to the recording unit 226 from below.

  The recording head 213 is provided at the bottom of the carriage 210 that can hold the ink cartridge 211, and the carriage 210 can reciprocate in the main scanning direction while being guided by a carriage guide shaft 212 extending in the main scanning direction. The distance between the upper surface of the platen 228 and the recording head 213, that is, the platen gap (PG) is an important factor that affects the recording accuracy, and needs to be adjusted as appropriate according to the thickness of the recording medium P. The PG adjustment mechanism will be described later.

  On the downstream side of the recording unit 226 is a paper discharge unit for the paper P in the printer 201. The discharge drive roller 220a is rotationally driven by a driving unit (not shown), and is lightly pressed against the discharge drive roller 220a to be driven to rotate. A discharge roller 220 including a discharge driven roller 220b is provided. The recording medium P on which recording is performed by the recording unit 226 is discharged onto the stacker 250 when the discharge driving roller 220a rotates (forward rotation) while being pinched by the discharge roller 220.

  The paper discharge driven roller 220b is a toothed roller having a plurality of teeth on its outer periphery, and is supported by a paper discharge driven roller holder 223 so as to be freely rotatable. The discharge driven roller holder 223 is formed of a plate-like body that is long in the main scanning direction, and extends substantially horizontally from the downstream vicinity of the recording head 213 toward the downstream when viewed from the discharge path of the recording medium P. 225 is fixed. Similarly, the discharge slave frame 225 is long in the main scanning direction and is pressed from above with a discharge main frame 224 formed of a plate-like body that extends substantially horizontally from the downstream vicinity of the recording head 213 toward the downstream by a coil spring 227. It is attached in a state.

  A paper discharge auxiliary roller 22 is provided upstream of the paper discharge driven roller 220 b, and the recording medium P is pressed slightly downward by the paper discharge auxiliary roller 222. Further, the transport driven roller 219b is disposed slightly downstream of the transport driving roller 219a, and the discharge driven roller 220b is disposed slightly upstream of the transport driving roller 220a. It is installed. With such a configuration, the recording medium P is slightly curved downward between the transport roller 219 and the discharge roller 220, and the recording medium P at a position facing the recording head 213 is placed on the platen. Thus, the recording medium P is prevented from being lifted, and the recording is normally performed.

  Next, a driving mechanism for the cam portion 236 for retracting the PG adjusting mechanism and the transport driven roller 219b upward will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 is a perspective view of the periphery of the drive transmission branch gear, FIG. 12 is a side sectional view showing the meshing state of the gears around the drive transmission branch gear, and FIG. 13 shows a structure for moving the carriage guide shaft up and down. FIG. 14 is a front view showing the structure around the gap adjusting cam, and FIG. 15 is a side view around the drive transmission branch gear.

  As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the printer 201 is provided with a drive motor 251 for adjusting the PG and driving the cam portion 236. The drive pulley 252 of the drive motor 251 transmits a driving force to the input gear 255 via an input gear mechanism 253 including a plurality of gear trains, and the input gear 255 meshes with the drive transmission branch gear 257.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the drive transmission branch gear 257 includes a main gear 259 that meshes with the input gear 255, and a first output gear 261 and a second output gear that are fixed to the main gear 259 and rotate integrally. 263 and a three-stage gear structure. The outer periphery of the first output gear 261 is partially formed with a missing tooth portion 265, and the gear teeth formed in the other portions can be engaged with the intermediate gear 267 adjacent to the first output gear 261. . The operation of the toothless portion 265 in the first output gear 261 will be described later.

  The intermediate gear 267 meshes with the guide shaft gear 269, and the carriage guide shaft 212 is fixed to the center of the guide shaft gear 269. A gap adjusting cam 271 that rotates in synchronization with the guide shaft gear 269 is fixed to the carriage guide shaft 212 adjacent to the guide shaft gear 269, and a fixing pin 273 that acts as a cam follower in the vicinity of the gap adjusting cam 271. Is fixed.

  As shown in FIG. 13, since the carriage guide shaft 212 passes through a vertically extending guide groove 277 formed in the frame 275 of the printer 1, only the vertical movement is allowed, and the horizontal movement is not allowed. Can not. With such a configuration, when a rotational driving force is applied from the drive motor 251 to the guide shaft gear 269, the gap adjusting cam 271 is rotationally driven, and the action between the outer peripheral surface of the gap adjusting cam 271 and the fixing pin 273 is achieved. As a result, the carriage guide shaft 212 moves up and down. As a result, the carriage 210 supported by the carriage guide shaft 212 moves up and down, and the platen gap (PG) can be adjusted.

  On the other hand, part of the outer periphery of the second output gear 263 is also formed with a missing tooth portion 279, and the gear tooth formed on the other portion is a cam drive gear fixed to the end of the driven roller release shaft 231. It is possible to mesh with 281. The operation of the missing tooth portion 279 in the second output gear 263 will be described later.

  With this configuration, when a rotational driving force is applied from the drive motor 251 to the driven roller release shaft 231, the driven roller release shaft 231 and the cam portion 236 are rotated. As described above, the cam portion 236 Due to the action of the cam follower 218b, it is possible to realize an upward retracted state of the transport driven roller 219b and a contact state with the transport drive roller 219a.

  As described above, the retracted state and the contact state of the transport driven roller 219b can be realized using the drive mechanism for adjusting the platen gap, so that it is not necessary to prepare separate drive systems and the structure is simple. And cost can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, the adjustment of the platen gap realized by the above structure and the transition of the conveyance driven roller 219b to the retracted state and the contact state will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 16 is a graph showing the displacement of the platen gap, the retracting operation of the transport driven roller 219b, and the detection state of the sensor accompanying the rotation of the drive motor 251, and FIG. 17 is a disk coaxial with the guide shaft gear 269. 270 is a perspective view showing a sensor provided in 270. FIG.

  In FIG. 16, the horizontal axis direction indicates the rotational phase position of the drive motor 251, the right direction is a direction that rotates counterclockwise when viewed from the output shaft side, and the left direction is the direction that rotates clockwise. In FIG. 16, a solid line 283 indicates the displacement of the platen gap accompanying the rotation of the drive motor 251, and in this case, the upward direction of the vertical axis indicates that the displacement increases. A broken line 285 continued to the right of the solid line 283 is a state where the toothless portion 265 of the first output gear 261 is opposed to the intermediate gear 267. At this time, the rotational driving force of the drive motor 251 is applied to the gap adjusting cam 271. Since it is not transmitted, it is indicated by a broken line.

  A solid line 287 indicates the displacement of the driven roller release shaft 231 when the conveyance driven roller 219b is retracted / contacted. In this case, the upward direction of the vertical axis is retracted upward from the contact state. The horizontal portion 287a at the right end of the solid line 287 indicates the retracted completion state of the transport driven roller 219b. A broken line 289 continuing to the left of the solid line 287 is a state in which the toothless portion 279 of the second output gear 263 is opposed to the cam drive gear 281. At this time, the rotational driving force of the drive motor 251 is the driven roller release shaft 231. Since it is not transmitted to, it is indicated by a broken line. A horizontal line represented by a broken line 289 indicates a contact state between the transport driving roller 219a and the transport driven roller 219b.

  In FIG. 16, as apparent from the positional relationship between the boundary point 291 between the solid line 283 and the broken line 285 and the boundary point 293 between the solid line 287 and the broken line 289, the missing tooth portion 265 of the first output gear 261 is The output gear 263 is formed in a range where it meshes with the cam drive gear 281, and conversely, in the missing tooth portion 279 of the second output gear 263, the first output gear 261 meshes with the intermediate gear 267. Formed in a range.

  The reason for forming the toothless portion 279 in the second output gear 263 is that when the driving force of the driving motor 251 is transmitted to the gap adjusting cam 271 via the first output gear 261, this driving force is driven roller release. If it is also transmitted to the shaft 231, when the conveyance driven roller 219 b does not need to be retracted, the conveyance driven roller 219 b performs the retraction operation, or when the conveyance driven roller 219 b should retreat, the conveyance drive roller 219 a is contacted. This is to avoid the contact state.

  On the other hand, the reason why the toothless portion 265 is formed in the first output gear 261 is to prevent the load on the drive motor 251 from increasing when the rotational driving force is transmitted to the driven roller release shaft 231. This is to reduce the load on the drive motor 251 by forming the missing tooth portion 265 and making the first output gear 261 and the intermediate gear 267 idle. If there is no need to reduce the load on the drive motor 251, it is not necessary to form the missing tooth portion 265 in the first output gear 261.

  As indicated by a solid line 283 in FIG. 16, in this example, four stages of platen gaps can be selected. The horizontal portions of the solid line 283 indicate the stable regions 295, 296, 297, and 298 of PG (−, Typ, +, ++) in four stages, respectively. A stable area 296 indicated by “Typ” is a PG corresponding to a sheet having a normal thickness, a stable area 295 indicated by “−” is a PG for a thin sheet, and a stable area 297 indicated by “+” is larger than that of a normal sheet. This is a slightly thicker paper PG, and a stable region 298 indicated by “++” is a thicker paper PG. Transition regions 299, 300, and 301 for shifting to the stable regions are formed between the stable regions 295, 296, 297, and 298.

  In order to keep the platen gap constant during recording on the recording medium, the platen gap needs to be one of the stable regions 295, 296, 297, and 298 instead of the transition regions 299, 300, and 301. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 17, four light shielding plates 303 a, 303 b, 303 c, and 303 d are formed in a protruding state at intervals on the outer peripheral edge of a disk 270 that is coaxial with the guide shaft gear 269. An optical stable region detection sensor 305 is provided at a position adjacent to the outer peripheral edge. The stable region detection sensor 305 includes a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit, and detects the presence of the light shielding plate based on whether or not the light emitted from the light emitting unit is received by the light receiving unit.

  The positions of the four light shielding plates 303a, 303b, 303c, and 303d on the outer peripheral edge of the disk 270 correspond to the stable regions 295, 296, 297, and 298, and any of the four light shielding plates detects the stable region. When the light from the sensor 305 is blocked, a determination device (not shown) determines that the platen gap is in the stable region. The determination device determines which light shielding plate is currently blocking the light by sequentially blocking the light of the stable region detection sensor 305 by the four light shielding plates 303a, 303b, 303c, and 303d. It can be judged whether it is in the stable region.

  In FIG. 16, a solid line 307 is a diagram showing the position where the light of the stable region detection sensor 305 is shielded in correspondence with the solid line 283 representing the stage of the platen gap. In the solid line 307, the one-step higher portion indicates the “light shielding state”, and the one-step lower portion indicates the “light transmission state”. As is apparent from a corresponding comparison between the solid line 307 and the solid line 283, the four light shielding plates 303a, 303b, 303c, and 303d are completely the same as the lengths of the respective stable regions 295, 296, 297, and 298. Instead, the circumferential length of each light shielding plate is determined so as to correspond to the central region excluding the vicinity of the end adjacent to the transition region of each stable region 295, 296, 297, 298. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the stable region detection sensor 305 from erroneously determining the transition region as the stable region due to a tolerance or the like.

  As shown in FIG. 17, an arc-shaped light shielding plate 309 is formed over a certain length on one surface side of the disk 270, and a home having a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion on the one surface side of the disk 270. A position detection sensor 311 is provided. The home position detection sensor 311 is provided to determine the home position of the gap adjustment cam 271. A solid line 313 in FIG. 16 indicates whether the home position detection sensor 311 distinguishes between light shielding and light passing through the platen gap. It is a figure shown corresponding to the solid line 283 showing a step.

  In the solid line 313, the uppermost portion on the right side indicates the “light shielding state”, and the lowermost portion on the left side indicates the “light transmission state”. As is apparent from a corresponding comparison between the solid line 313 and the solid line 283, the home position detection sensor 311 changes from the “light-transmitting state” to the “light-blocking state” at the time of transition from the transition region 301 to the stable region 298 on the solid line 283. You can see that it will migrate. That is, in this example, the time when the platen gap is shifted from the transition region 301 to the stable region 298 is set as the home position, and the home position detection sensor 311 changes from the “light transmission state” to the “light shielding state”, or The position of the home position can be known by detecting the opposite change. In addition, by setting the time point when the platen gap is shifted from the transition region 301 to the stable region 298 as the home position, the user turns on the printer 201 without knowing that there is a foreign object under the recording head 213. Even in this case, since the platen gap is sufficient, the possibility that the recording head 213 is damaged by the foreign matter due to the scanning operation of the recording head 213 can be reduced.

  The carriage cover closing safety device of the present invention has been described by taking an ink jet printer as an example of a recording apparatus as an example. However, in addition to an ink jet printer, a liquid such as ink is ejected from the head to be an ejected medium. The present invention can be similarly applied to other liquid ejecting apparatuses that perform ejection.

  Here, the liquid ejecting apparatus uses an ink jet recording head, and is not limited to a recording apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine that records ink on a recording medium by discharging ink from the recording head. It includes a device that ejects a liquid corresponding to the application from a liquid ejecting head corresponding to the recording head to an ejected medium corresponding to a recording medium and adheres the liquid to the ejected medium.

  In addition to the recording head, as a liquid ejecting head, a color material ejecting head used for manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, and an electrode material (conductive paste) used for forming an electrode such as an organic EL display or a surface emitting display (FED) Examples thereof include an ejection head, a bioorganic matter ejection head used for biochip production, and a sample ejection head as a precision pipette.

  The present invention can be applied to a liquid ejecting apparatus such as an ink jet recording apparatus and a liquid cartridge that supplies a liquid such as ink to a head and a carriage that accommodates the liquid cartridge.

1 is a side view showing an ink jet printer to which the present invention is applied. The perspective view which shows the state which has opened the cover of the carriage. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a state where a cover of the carriage is closed. FIG. 4 is an enlarged side sectional view showing a state where the ink cartridge is not properly stored. 6 is a flowchart showing an ink cartridge replacement flow. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a conventional carriage. The sectional side view which shows the problem of the conventional carriage. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a recording apparatus including a drive transmission mechanism to a PG adjustment mechanism. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a state when feeding a recording medium having rigidity. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the periphery of a conveyance driven roller holder when feeding a recording medium having no rigidity. The perspective view around a drive transmission branch gear. The sectional side view which shows the meshing state of the gear around a drive transmission branch gear. The perspective view which shows the structure which moves a carriage guide axis | shaft up and down. The front view which shows the structure of a gap adjustment cam periphery. The side view of a drive transmission branch gear periphery. The graph which shows PG displacement, the retracting operation | movement of a conveyance driven roller, and a sensor detection state. The top view which shows the sensor provided in the disk coaxial with a guide shaft gear.

Explanation of symbols

1 printer, 3 printer body, 5 feeding section, 7 ejection section, 11 feeding tray,
13 Feeding roller, 14 Separating roller, 15 Feeding drive roller, 17 Feeding driven roller, 19 Feeding roller, 21 Recording head, 22 Ink cartridge, 23 Carriage, 24 Platen, 25 Guide bar, 27 Ejection roller, 29 Ejection driving roller,
31 Ejection roller, 33 Bottom surface of ink cartridge, 35 Ink supply path,
37 internal pressure control valve, 39 cartridge fixing means, 41 rotation fulcrum, 43 free end,
44 cartridge side interference part, 45 engaging piece, 47 guide wall,
49 Cartridge side terminal part, 55 Carriage body, 57 Cover, 58 Rotation fulcrum, 59 Cartridge storage part, 69 Support part, 70 Cartridge fixed part, 71 Locking part, 73 Locked part, 75 Cover side interference part, 76 control unit,
77-99 Each step in the flow, P Recording medium

Claims (1)

A recording device that houses an ink cartridge in a scannable carriage ;
The ink cartridge includes a cartridge fixing means and a cartridge side interference portion,
The carriage is
A carriage body;
A storage portion formed in the carriage body for storing at least one ink cartridge;
A cover that has a rotation fulcrum in the carriage body, can be opened and closed by rotating around the rotation fulcrum, and is locked to the carriage body when closed to make it impossible to take out the ink cartridge;
A head for recording on a recording medium with ink of the ink cartridge;
A locking portion formed on the cover;
A locked portion that is formed on the carriage body and locks with the locking portion when the cover is closed;
A cartridge fixing portion that is formed on the carriage body and engages with a cartridge fixing means of the ink cartridge to fix the position of the ink cartridge;
When the fixing means and the fixed part are engaged with each other, the closed state of the cover can be realized without interfering with the cartridge side interference part. When the fixing means and the fixed part are not engaged , the cover side interference part interferes with the cartridge side interference part and makes it impossible to realize the closing of the cover, and a cover side interference part is provided .
When the cover is not closed, the cover is formed so as to collide with members around the scanning path of the carriage when the platen gap that changes as the carriage moves up and down is maximum. A recording apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls to scan the carriage with the platen gap being maximized after the replacement to confirm the presence or absence of the collision.

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