JP4600465B2 - Carriage and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, and a copying machine. More specifically, the recording head position can be adjusted in parallel with a recording medium conveyance path, and the recording surface is parallel to the recording medium conveyance path. The present invention relates to a carriage that can be adjusted and the structure of an image forming apparatus on which the carriage is mounted.

In these image recording apparatuses, when the distance from the nozzle surface to the recording medium is greatly deviated from the design value, the position where the ink ejected from the nozzle adheres to the recording medium changes, and good print quality cannot be obtained. There are many. This is the same in the dot impact type recording head, but these are, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, in which the shaft supporting the carriage is decentered to adjust the distance between the head and the recording medium. . And by using this method also in the ink jet recording system, by moving the entire carriage assembled with the recording head,
The distance between the recording head (nozzle surface) and the recording medium is adjusted.
The recording unit of the image forming apparatus as described above is shown in FIG. FIG. 11A is a front view of the recording unit, and FIG. 11B is a side view of the recording unit. The recording unit includes a carriage 110 that can reciprocate along a guide shaft 111, a recording head 115 mounted on the carriage 110, and a platen 125 on which the recording medium P is supported. In the nozzle portion 115a of the recording head 115, nozzles that eject ink of the same color are in the sub-scanning direction (Y direction in FIG. 11), and nozzles that eject ink of different colors are in the main scanning direction (X direction in FIG. 11). Is arranged. As for the main scanning direction, the assembly position (inclination) in the height direction of the guide shaft 111 (direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 11a) so that the distance between the nozzle surface and the recording medium P does not change at the left and right ends of the printing range. ) Was adjusted.

However, when the nozzles that discharge ink of the same color are arranged, the nozzles can be arranged at a relatively high density, but as the number of nozzles increases, it becomes difficult to mount a nozzle drive system. Therefore, if the nozzles are arranged at a high density so as to complete printing in one main scan in order to increase the printing speed at the time of high density printing, the head length in the sub-scanning direction is often shortened.

Thus, when the head length in the sub-scanning direction is short, even if the nozzle surface of the recording head 115 is inclined in the transport direction, the influence is small, and the influence on the print quality is reduced. That is, if the head length in the sub-scanning direction is short, the difference between the gaps g1 and g2 between the both ends of the gap G between the nozzle surface and the recording medium P is small, so the print quality is less affected. The tilt adjustment in the (sub-scanning direction) was not necessary.

In other words, regarding the inclination of the nozzle surface, the quality has been maintained with the component accuracy in the sub-scanning direction.

However, in order to increase the printing speed, it is effective to increase the head length by arranging a large number of nozzles with a predetermined interval in the sub-scanning direction, particularly at low density printing. In this case, the gap between the nozzle surface in the sub-scanning direction and the recording medium is maintained with the accuracy of the parts. Therefore, if the head length is doubled in the sub-scanning direction, for example, the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction. Therefore, the distance between the nozzle surface and the recording medium is shifted by a factor of two.
Therefore, with the conventional structure, it is necessary to increase the dimensional accuracy requirements for the component parts and to strictly manage them, resulting in high costs. As another method, when assembling the product, it may be possible to adjust the guide shaft or the like so that the nozzle surface is parallel to the recording medium.
A complicated adjustment and positioning mechanism is required.

The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and provides a carriage capable of easily adjusting the parallelism between a nozzle surface and a recording medium with a simple configuration, and an image forming apparatus equipped with the carriage. It is intended to do.

To achieve this object, the carriage according to the first aspect of the present invention reciprocates in the direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and reciprocates to accommodate the recording head unit including the recording head. In a carriage provided with right and left side plates made of resin and provided orthogonal to the direction, the carriage is fixed to the left and right side plates.
The reinforcing member for improving the rigidity of the carriage and the left and right side plates are arranged at the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium so as to connect the left and right side plates, and one end and the other end thereof are A support shaft that is fixed to each side plate and supported by the reinforcing member, and a support point that is provided on the upstream side and the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium and supports the recording head unit. A plurality of support portions, and the downstream support portion of the plurality of support portions is disposed on the support shaft, and the support portion disposed on the support shaft is in contact with the contact portion An adjustment unit is provided that can move a supporting point to be moved toward or away from the recording medium, and the adjustment unit is configured to adjust the parallelism in the transport direction between the recording head and the recording medium. Characterized in that the.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the first aspect, the support portion is provided at two positions on the upstream side and one position on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the second aspect, two support portions provided on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium are in the vicinity of the left and right side plates, respectively. The support portion disposed at one location on the downstream side is disposed at a substantially central portion between the left and right side plates.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the first aspect, the support portion is provided at one location on the upstream side and two locations on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium. is there.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the fourth aspect, the support portion provided at one upstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium has a substantially central portion between the left and right side plates. The support portions disposed at two locations on the downstream side are respectively disposed in the vicinity of the left and right side plates.

Further, in the invention described in claim 6, in the carriage described in claims 1, 4 and 5, the support portion provided with the adjusting means can be adjusted independently.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the adjusting means is a means for adjusting a height of a support point of the support portion. Is.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the seventh aspect, the adjustment means includes an eccentric cam, and the support portion contacts and supports the recording head by rotating the eccentric cam. The point height is adjusted.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the seventh aspect, the adjustment means includes a screw, and the height of a support point at which the support portion contacts and supports the recording head by rotating the screw. Is configured to adjust.

The invention according to claim 1 0, reciprocates in an image forming apparatus comprising a carriage according to any one of claims 1 to 9, in the direction the image forming apparatus intersecting the transport direction of the recording medium said carriage A guide shaft that can be guided and a frame body that holds the guide shaft and supports the carriage, and the carriage is positioned with respect to the recording medium by the frame body and the guide shaft. It is characterized by.

The invention of claim 1 1, in the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 0, the image forming apparatus is characterized in that for forming an image by an ink-jet recording method.

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the reciprocation is performed in a direction intersecting with the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and the reciprocation is orthogonal to the reciprocation in order to store the recording head unit including the recording head. In the carriage having left and right side plates made of resin, the carriage is fixed to the left and right side plates, so that the carriage is rigid.
A reinforcing member for improving the performance and the recording medium on the downstream side of the recording medium in a direction perpendicular to the side plate so as to connect the left and right side plates, and one end and the other end of the left and right side plates. is fixed to a support shaft therefore supported by the reinforcing member, the provided on the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium, the plurality having a supporting point abutting supporting the recording head unit A support portion, and the downstream support portion of the plurality of support portions is disposed on the support shaft, and the support portion disposed on the support shaft supports the abutting support. The adjusting means is capable of moving the point in a direction approaching or separating from the recording medium, and the adjusting means is configured to adjust the parallelism in the transport direction between the recording head and the recording medium. In this way, since the parallelism can be adjusted with a simple configuration, there is no need to strictly manage the dimensional accuracy of the members around the recording unit and the platen, improving the yield of the corresponding part, reducing part inspection, and reducing the cost of the part. The parallelism between the recording head and the recording medium can be easily adjusted even during maintenance inspection. Furthermore,
In the carriage, the rigidity of the carriage is improved by the support shaft to support the recording head more firmly, and the parallelism between the recording head and the recording medium once adjusted is stably maintained. In addition, the carriage has a carriage that is improved in rigidity by the support shaft to support the recording head more firmly, and the parallelism between the recording head and the recording medium that has been adjusted is stably maintained. In addition, the rigidity of the carriage is further improved by the reinforcing member, and recording is performed more firmly.
In addition to supporting the head, the parallelism between the recording head once adjusted and the recording medium is more stable.
Held.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the first aspect, the support portion is provided at two positions on the upstream side and one position on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the parallelism between the recording head and the recording medium with only one adjustment, and the manufacturing adjustment process can be shortened.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the second aspect, two support portions provided on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium are in the vicinity of the left and right side plates, respectively. The support portion disposed at one location on the downstream side is disposed at a substantially central portion between the left and right side plates. With such a configuration of the support portions, each support portion forms an isosceles triangle, and furthermore, since the apex portion of the isosceles triangle becomes the adjustment support portion, balanced adjustment and support are possible.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the first aspect, the support portion is provided at one location on the upstream side and two locations on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium. is there. By making it possible to adjust the two support parts by the structure of such a support part,
It is possible to adjust the gap including the inclination with respect to one support portion located upstream in the conveyance direction of the recording medium.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the fourth aspect, the support portion provided at one upstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium has a substantially central portion between the left and right side plates. The support portions disposed at two locations on the downstream side are respectively disposed in the vicinity of the left and right side plates. With such a configuration of the support portion, an isosceles triangle is formed at each support portion, and further, the apex portion of the isosceles triangle is a fixed point, and adjustment is performed at the other two points, so adjustment is performed with a good balance. As well as stable support.

Further, in the invention described in claim 6, in the carriage described in claims 1, 4 and 5, the support portion provided with the adjusting means can be adjusted independently.
Therefore, when there are a plurality of support portions provided with adjusting means, by adjusting them individually, it becomes possible to adjust the parallelism of the gap including the inclination with respect to one fixed support portion, This is particularly effective for adjusting a recording head having a wide nozzle portion or a recording head having nozzles corresponding to a plurality of colors, and can improve the recording quality.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the adjusting means is a means for adjusting a height of a support point of the support portion. Is. Therefore, the adjustment of the gap between the recording head and the recording medium is performed by the vertical movement of the recording head on the side where the adjusting means is provided, and it is easy without removing the mechanism on the bottom or back side of the apparatus such as a platen. Can be performed.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the seventh aspect, the adjusting means includes an eccentric cam, and the support portion contacts and supports the recording head by rotating the eccentric cam. The point height is adjusted. Therefore, by using an eccentric cam, the ratio between the rotation angle and the eccentricity can be reduced, and the height of the support portion, that is, the parallelism between the recording head and the recording medium can be finely adjusted. Become.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the seventh aspect, the adjustment means includes a screw, and the height of a support point at which the support portion contacts and supports the recording head by rotating the screw. Is configured to adjust. Therefore, since a screw is used as the adjusting means, a complicated mechanism can be omitted, the number of parts can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

The invention according to claim 1 0, reciprocates in an image forming apparatus comprising a carriage according to any one of claims 1 to 9, in the direction the image forming apparatus intersecting the transport direction of the recording medium said carriage A guide shaft that can be guided and a frame body that holds the guide shaft and supports the carriage, and the carriage is positioned with respect to the recording medium by the frame body and the guide shaft. It is characterized by. By using such a carriage for an image forming apparatus, it is possible to realize an apparatus with excellent recording quality without strictly managing the accuracy of parts.

The invention of claim 1 1, in the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 0, the image forming apparatus is characterized in that for forming an image by an ink-jet recording method. Accordingly, since the ink flies in the gap section, if the parallelism of the gap is deviated, the ink landing point changes depending on the position of the nozzle, which greatly affects the recording quality. Further, since the inkjet image forming apparatus is sensitive to cost, the present invention that can adjust the parallelism between the recording head and the recording medium without strictly managing the accuracy of related parts facilitates the cost reduction. Is.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic right sectional view of a printer apparatus 1 serving as a facsimile as an example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a front view of a recording unit, and FIG. 3 is a diagram of a carriage with a recording head unit and an ink cartridge attached. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of part A in FIG. 3, (a) shows the first and second embodiments, (b) shows the third embodiment, and FIG. 5 shows FIG. FIG. 6 is a left side sectional view of the carriage with the side surface of the ink cartridge taken as a cross section, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the recording head unit, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the carriage showing the gap adjusting mechanism. ) Shows the first embodiment,
(B) shows the second embodiment, FIG. 9 is a front view of a state in which the recording head unit is mounted in the carriage head accommodating portion, (a) shows the first embodiment, and (b) shows the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a front view showing a state in which the recording head unit is mounted on the carriage head accommodating portion. FIG. 10A is a first embodiment using a set screw, and FIG. 10B is a set screw. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printer device 1 according to the present invention sets various processing operations, reads a document image by the document reading unit 5, and converts the document image to transmission data according to various key operations on the operation panel unit 6. , Encoding of transmission data, transmission / reception of facsimile data to be transmitted to other facsimile apparatuses via a communication line such as a telephone line, decoding of received data, and recording of the decoded facsimile data on a paper P in a recording unit In addition to the normal facsimile function of executing, a copy (copying) processing function of reading a document by CIS (contact image sensor) of the document reading unit 5 and forming a color image on the paper P by each unit of the recording unit,
A printer processing function for receiving print data transmitted from an external device such as a personal computer (not shown) via a printer cable or wireless such as infrared rays, and forming a color image on the paper P according to the data, the document reading unit 5 A scanner processing function is also provided for transmitting image data read by using to the external device.

The main body case of the printer apparatus 1 is made of a synthetic resin that houses an ink jet recording unit 2 and is provided with a paper feed tray 3 for supplying paper P for forming an image on the rear side in an inclined manner. The main lower case 1a and a synthetic resin upper case 1b covering the upper side of the main lower case 1a. A document stacking unit 4 is disposed at a rear portion of the upper surface of the upper case 1b, and a document reading unit 5 as a document reading unit is attached to the front portion of the upper case 1b. Various functions are provided on the upper side of the document reading unit 5. An operation key section 6a having a key, a numeric keypad, etc. and a display section 6
It is covered with the operation panel part 6 provided with b. The document stacking unit 4 is provided with a pair of left and right document guide bodies 8 for guiding left and right side edges of a document to be conveyed.

The lower surface of the main lower case 1a is closed by a bottom cover plate 7 made of a metal plate or the like, and the inner space of the main lower case 1a is not shown but can be connected via a control board, a power supply board, and a telephone line. A control unit 9 such as an NCU (network control unit) board is provided for enabling conversation and facsimile data transmission / reception between the telephone apparatus and the facsimile apparatus. Further, although not shown, a handset for carrying out a conversation with another telephone device is placed on a cradle projecting outward from the side of the main lower case 1a. Also, a calling speaker and a monitor speaker are fixed to the rear side of the right side surface of the main lower case 1a.

Further, the sheets P stacked on the sheet feeding tray 3 are fed one by one by a sheet feeding roller 21 as a conventionally known horizontal sheet feeding mechanism disposed in the rear portion of the main lower case 1a and a separating unit. The separated paper P is once adjusted in the position of the paper P at the position of the conveyance roller 22 and then slidably and rotatably mounted on the round shaft-shaped guide shaft 11. The drive motor 19 (see FIG. 3) in which the carriage 10 is attached to the frame 12 is fed between the lower portion of the plate 10 and the platen 25 and is nipped and conveyed by the pair of upper and lower discharge rollers 23 and 24 on the downstream side of the conveyance. And a pulley 20 (see FIG. 3) fixed to the drive motor 19 and a timing belt 18 (see FIG. 3) spanned around the pulley 20 and moved along the guide shaft 11, and according to a print command, ink cartridge The ink supplied from 6 to record an image by ejecting from the recording head unit 15 on the upper surface of the sheet P, then, have been made horizontal to be discharged at a location of the discharge tray 26.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the carriage 10, the carriage support portion 12a protruding from the frame body 12 and the sliding portion 10a provided on the carriage 10 come into contact with each other, and the position with respect to the frame body 12 is determined. Support portion 12a and sliding portion 1 provided on carriage 10
0a moves while sliding.

When the distance between the recording head unit 15 and the recording medium (paper P) needs to be changed depending on the thickness of the paper, the protruding amount of the sliding portion 10a is changed by a switching mechanism (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 8, the carriage 10 in the recording unit 2 has a shaft hole 10b at the lower rear end thereof, and a guide shaft 11 parallel to the frame 12 passes through the shaft hole 10b.
The carriage 10 is configured to be slidable and rotatable on the guide shaft 11 in parallel with the frame 12. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the timing belt 18 extending in parallel with the guide shaft 11 is driven by a driven pulley (not shown) disposed near one side of the frame 12 and a DC motor or the like that can rotate forward and backward. The carriage 1 is wound around a driving pulley 20 fixed to the output shaft of the motor 19, and one position of the timing belt 18 is connected to the carriage 10.
0 can reciprocate in parallel with the guide shaft 11.

Next, the outline of the printing operation by the carriage 10 will be described with reference to FIG. On the right side of the platen 25 outside the recording area and in the vicinity of the moving end of the carriage 10, a maintenance unit 27 is provided.
Have The maintenance unit 27 includes a nozzle wiping device (wiper device) for wiping ink drops adhering to the surface (face surface) of the nozzle unit 15 a of the recording head unit 15.
And a purge device (nozzle suction device) 28 for recovering the ink ejection failure of the recording head unit 15. The purge device 28 includes the recording head unit 1.
No. 5 nozzle 15a is covered with a suction cap 28a, and the defective ink in the recording head unit 15 is sucked by the negative pressure generated by the pump to recover from the recording defect. Note that the purge device 28 in the maintenance unit 27 is at the home position (the right end in FIG. 2) of the moving end of the carriage 10, and the recording head unit 1 of the carriage 10.
5 also serves as a cap mechanism (protection device) for preventing ink drying by covering all the nozzle portions 15a, and the suction cap 28a also has a function of a protection cap. Platen 25
A flushing section 29 is provided at the left end of the color recording head unit 15 so as to eliminate ink clogging by ejecting ink from each nozzle section 15a of the color recording head unit 15 on a trial basis.

Next, the configuration of the recording unit 2 will be described. A color ink jet type cartridge type recording head unit 15 shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 6 and the like is detachably mounted on the carriage 10 downward. The recording head unit 15 for executing color recording is:
An ink cartridge 16 for each color having four nozzle portions 15a for ejecting ink of each color of cyan, yellow, magenta, and black on the lower surface side and storing ink to be supplied to the recording head unit 15 is provided. The recording head unit 15 can be detachably mounted on the upper surface side. Each ink cartridge 16 can be pressed and fixed downward by a presser lever 17 (four in this example) that can be rotated upward and downward on the upper end side of the carriage 10.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the recording head unit 15 is mounted downward, and a spring hooking pin 34 is provided so as to protrude outward at a substantially central portion of the left and right side plates 15c. Each side plate 32 is inserted into a recess 35 provided at the center from obliquely above. The left and right side plates 32 of the carriage 10 are connected by support shafts 81 at their front edge portions. Furthermore, a wire spring 36 made of metal or the like having elasticity as an example of an elastic pressing body,
The base end portion 36a is wound in the shape of a coil inside the left and right side plates 32, and is attached so as to be rotatable around the support shaft 81 (the left side is shown in FIG. 3). The spring hook pin 34 includes:
The holding portion 36b of the wound wire spring 36 is wound from the outside of the left and right side plates 32 of the carriage 10, respectively. In this state, when the free end 36c of the wire spring 36 is pressed downward and locked so as not to move upward by the locking portion 37, a downward pressing force is applied to the spring hooking pin 34, and the recording head unit 15 is moved into the carriage. The recording head unit 15 is securely fixed to a support portion described later by being pressed downward with an appropriate load while being housed in the storage unit 10.

As shown in FIG. 7, the recording head unit 15 itself has a nozzle portion 1 on the lower surface side of the bottom plate 15b.
5a, which is surrounded by a bottom plate 15b, left and right side plates 15c, 15c, a back plate 15d, and a front plate 15e, and contains an ink cartridge 16 that is open upward to store the ink cartridge 16 (see FIG. 3). Part D2 is configured. In the ink cartridge housing portion D2, as described above, the ink discharge ports 1 on the lower surface of the four color ink cartridges 16 are provided.
Four manifold ports 62 matching 6a open upward on the upper surface of the bottom plate 15b (
5 and FIG. 6), and a partition plate 15f is erected so that the ink cartridges 16 of the respective colors can be partitioned and arranged.

Next, the configuration for attaching and detaching the ink cartridge 16 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, a pivot shaft 63 is horizontally installed on the upper end portions of the left and right side plates 32 and 32 in the carriage 10. The presser lever 1 for individually pressing the upper surface of each ink cartridge 16
7 is supported by the pivot shaft 63 through a mounting hole 64 having a downward dharma shape, and is always urged upward by a spring (not shown). A pressing block 66 for pressing the upper surface of each ink cartridge 16 downward is mounted on the lower side of the lower U-shaped portion of the U-shaped section. The pressing block 66 is biased downward via a biasing spring 67 arranged between the pressing block 66. The pressing point of the ink cartridge 16 by the pressing block 66 is set to be in the vicinity of the manifold port 62 in the recording head unit 15. As a result, when the recording head unit 15 is pressed and fixed by the wire spring 36 (see FIG. 3), the ink cartridge 16 is pressed by the presser lever 17.
By pressing the recording head unit 15 downward via the ink cartridge 16, the ink cartridge 16 can be more appropriately held and mounted. In this state, since the nozzle portion 15a of the recording head unit 15 faces the recording surface of the recording medium (paper P) positioned below the recording head unit 15, recording (printing) can be performed.

The method for mounting the recording head unit 15 on the carriage 10 has been outlined above. Next, the parallelism between the nozzle portion 15a and the platen 25 (recording surface) is adjusted by adjusting the support portion of the carriage 10. Details of the adjusting mechanism and method will be described.
<First Embodiment>
As is clear from the drawing, the front side and the upper side of the carriage 10 are openings. A pressing lever 17 is arranged on the upper side, and this pressing lever 17 has a pivot shaft 6.
3 can be rotated further upward with the rotation center being 3, and the upper side of the carriage 10 is also an opening. The recording head unit 15 is detachably mounted from the opening. In order to accurately position and securely hold the recording head unit 15 disposed in the upwardly open head storage portion of the carriage 10, first, as shown in FIG. The protruding spring hook pin 34
Is disposed in the recess 35 formed in the left and right side plates 32 of the carriage 10 and is held by the wire spring 36 as described above. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the bottom support portions 47 provided on the left and right of the bottom of the recording head unit 15 are mounted on the bottom support portions 33 on the left and right rear bottoms of the carriage 10, and the carriage The positioning projection 47a of the recording head unit 15 is fitted and supported in the receiving groove 48 formed in the bottom support portion 33 of the ten. In this way, the left and right two portions of the bottom surface of the rear portion of the recording head unit 15 are securely held at the bottom of the carriage 10 so as to be received together with the pressing from above by the urging force of the wire spring 36 (see FIG. 3). As described with reference to FIG. 3, the rear side gap g1 between the nozzle portion 15a and the platen 25 is determined.

Next, a positioning mechanism on the front side of the recording head unit 15, that is, a mechanism for adjusting the front gap g2 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (a), a support shaft 81 extending in the left-right direction is inserted into a shaft hole provided in the front edge portion of the left and right side plates 32 of the carriage 10, and a screw or the like (not shown) is used. The left and right side plates 32 are fixedly held.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the left and right side plates 32 have a highly rigid reinforcing plate 3 made of metal or the like.
2a is fixed to each by screws or the like (not shown). Since the side plate 32 is integrally formed of resin or the like, the reinforcement plate 32a is provided to compensate for insufficient rigidity when the side plate 32 supports the support shaft 81.

Also, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 9A, an eccentric cam-like adjustment cam 80 is coaxially attached to the support shaft 81 that connects the left and right side plates 32, 32 of the carriage 10, and is stopped. It is fixed to the support shaft 81 by a fixing screw 80a such as a screw. A plurality of adjustment grooves 80b are provided at one end of the adjustment cam 80. When the fixing screw 80a is loosened, the adjustment cam 80 is supported by the support shaft 81.
Can be rotated about the axis, and the height of the circumferential upper surface thereof is raised or lowered depending on the eccentric angle. The adjustment cam 80 is rotated so that the tip of the adjustment jig (not shown) contacts the adjustment groove 80b, and the gap g2 (see FIG. 3) is measured with the measurement jig (not shown). The adjustment cam 80 is fixed by tightening the fixing screw 80a at the obtained position. In this example, the adjustment cam 80 is located at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction of the support shaft 81.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 9A, on the upper surface of the circumferential portion of the adjustment cam 80, a contact portion 83 on the lower surface of the front edge end portion 82 of the recording head unit 15 is provided. Abutting by pressing from above, the front side of the recording head unit 15 is supported by the carriage 10 via the adjustment cam 80. In other words, as described above, the recording head unit 15 is supported by the carriage 10 at the left and right two positions on the bottom portion at the rear portion, and is supported at one central portion (contact portion 83) at the front edge end portion at the front portion. It will be. In the rear part, the positioning protrusion 47a (see FIG. 5) is fitted in the receiving groove 48 and is reliably supported by pressing from above, so the rear side gap g1 is fixed. On the contrary, in the front part of the recording head unit 15,
By rotating the adjustment cam 80 described above, the height of the circumferential upper surface thereof is raised and lowered, so that the abutting portion 83 of the recording head unit 15 is raised and lowered, and the front portion of the recording head unit 15 is located on the carriage 10. It will move up and down with respect to the front. For this reason, the front side gap g2 can be adjusted, and the parallelism of the gap G before and after the apparatus (difference between the rear side gap g1 and the front side gap g2).
Can be fine-tuned. Therefore, the recording head unit 15 is supported on the front side and the back side of the opening portion of the carriage 10, and in the present embodiment, the adjustment cam 80 and the like are provided on the front side of the opening portion of the carriage 10. Therefore, the operator can easily finely adjust the parallelism.

As a result, for example, by adjusting the reference recording head unit at the time of assembly, the accuracy of the mounting height of the recording head unit relative to the carriage can be guaranteed only by the carriage. Since it can be obtained and adjustment at the time of assembly or adjustment after assembly is not required, the number of man-hours can be reduced.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10A, for the purpose of simplifying the adjustment mechanism, for example, an adjustment screw 86 such as a set screw may be used instead of using the eccentric adjustment cam 80. Is possible. In this case, a screw groove that penetrates in the thickness direction of the support shaft 81 is provided at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction of the support shaft 81 that connects the left and right side plates 32 of the carriage 10, and the adjustment screw 86 is tightened from below. Accordingly, the abutting portion 83 of the recording head unit 15 at the tip end portion of the adjusting screw 86.
Will be supported. After the adjustment, the adjustment screw 86 may be prevented from loosening with a so-called lock paint or the like, or if there is a space, a loosening prevention process may be performed using a lock nut or the like. <Second Embodiment>
As is clear from the drawing, the carriage 10 of the second embodiment also has openings on the front side and the upper side. The presser lever 17 is disposed on the upper side, but the presser lever 17 can move upward with the pivot shaft 63 as the center of rotation, so the upper side of the carriage 10 is also an opening. is there. The recording head unit 15 is detachably mounted from the opening. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, an example in which four ink cartridges 16 are mounted on the recording head unit 15 is shown, but a plurality of ink cartridges 16 are usually used in an apparatus for recording in color. The As a result, a plurality of nozzles are also arranged in the left-right direction of the recording head unit 15. In the second embodiment, a configuration that allows the parallelism of the gap G to be adjusted including the left and right inclinations of the nozzle portion 15a will be described with reference to the drawings.

In order to accurately position and securely hold the recording head unit 15 disposed in the upwardly open head storage portion of the carriage 10, first, as shown in FIG. The protruding spring hook pins 34 are disposed in the recesses 35 formed in the left and right side plates 32 of the carriage 10 and are held down by the wire springs 36 as described above. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the bottom support 47 provided at the bottom of the recording head unit 15 is mounted on the bottom support 33 at the bottom of the substantially central portion of the carriage 10 in the left-right direction. The receiving groove 4 that is recessed in the bottom support portion 33 at the substantially central portion in the left-right direction of the carriage 10.
8, the positioning projection 47a of the recording head unit 15 is fitted and supported. In this way, it is ensured that one central portion in the left-right direction on the bottom surface of the rear portion of the recording head unit 15 is received at the bottom of the carriage 10 together with the pressing from above by the urging force of the wire spring 36 (see FIG. 3). As described with reference to FIG. 3, the rear side gap g1 between the nozzle portion 15a and the platen 25 is determined.

Next, a positioning mechanism on the front side of the recording head unit 15, that is, a mechanism for adjusting the front gap g2 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (a), a support shaft 81 extending in the left-right direction is inserted into a shaft hole provided in the front edge portion of the left and right side plates 32 of the carriage 10, and a screw or the like (not shown) is used. The left and right side plates 32 are fixedly held.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the left and right side plates 32 have a highly rigid reinforcing plate 3 made of metal or the like.
2a is fixed to each by screws or the like (not shown). Since the side plate 32 is integrally formed of resin or the like, the reinforcement plate 32a is provided to compensate for insufficient rigidity when the side plate 32 supports the support shaft 81.

Also, as shown in FIGS. 8B and 9B, an eccentric cam-like adjustment cam 80 is coaxially attached to the support shaft 81 that connects the left and right side plates 32, 32 of the carriage 10, and is stopped. It is fixed to the support shaft 81 by a fixing screw 80a such as a screw. A plurality of adjustment grooves 80b are provided at one end of the adjustment cam 80. When the fixing screw 80a is loosened, the adjustment cam 80 is supported by the support shaft 81.
Can be rotated about the axis, and the height of the circumferential upper surface thereof is raised or lowered depending on the eccentric angle. The adjustment cam 80 is rotated so that the tip of the adjustment jig (not shown) is in contact with the adjustment groove 80b, and the gap g2 is measured with the measurement jig (not shown), and the adjustment is performed at a position where the desired gap g2 is obtained. The cam 80 is fixed by tightening the fixing screw 80a. In this example, the two adjustment cams 80 are located at both ends of the support shaft 81 in the longitudinal direction.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 9B, the contact portion 83 of the lower surface of the front edge end portion 82 of the recording head unit 15 is formed on the upper surface of the circumferential portion of the adjustment cam 80 as described above. The recording head unit 15 is supported so that the carriage 10 receives the front side of the recording head unit 15 via the adjustment cam 80. In other words, as described above, the recording head unit 15 is supported by the carriage 10 at one position in the center of the bottom in the left-right direction at the rear, and at the front, the two left and right of the front edge 82 are contacted. It is supported by the contact portion 83. In the rear part, the positioning protrusion 47a (see FIG. 5) is fitted in the receiving groove 48 and is reliably supported by pressing from above, so the rear side gap g1 is fixed. On the other hand, at the front part of the recording head unit 15, the adjustment cam 80 is rotated so that the height of the circumferential upper surface thereof rises and falls, so that the contact part 83 of the recording head unit 15 rises and falls. Thus, the left and right front portions of the recording head unit 15 are moved up and down with respect to the left and right front portions of the carriage 10. For this reason, the front side gap g2 can be adjusted at two places on the left and right, and the parallelism of the gap G before and after the apparatus (difference between the rear side gap g1 and the front side gap g2) can be adjusted on the left and right sides. Therefore,
In this embodiment as well, as in the first embodiment, support portions for the recording head unit 15 are provided on the front side and the back side of the opening portion of the carriage 10, and both the left and right sides on the front side of the opening portion of the carriage 10. Since two adjustment cams 80 and the like are provided, the operator can easily finely adjust the parallelism on the left and right sides.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10B, for the purpose of simplifying the adjustment mechanism, for example, an adjustment screw 86 such as a set screw may be used instead of using the eccentric adjustment cam 80. Is possible. In this case, screw grooves that penetrate in the thickness direction of the support shaft 81 are provided in the vicinity of the left and right ends in the longitudinal direction of the support shaft 81 that connects the left and right side plates 32 of the carriage 10, and the adjustment screw 86 is tightened from below. By moving the recording head unit 1 at the tip of the adjusting screw 86,
5 abutment portions 83 are supported. After the adjustment, the adjustment screw 86 may be prevented from loosening with a so-called lock paint or the like, or if there is a space, a loosening prevention process may be performed using a lock nut or the like. <Third Embodiment>
In the first and second embodiments described above, the adjustment cam 80 shown in FIG. 8 is rotated with respect to the support shaft 81 by an adjustment jig (not shown) and adjusted by changing the eccentric angle of the adjustment cam 80. Explained. These methods do not pose a problem when adjusting while assembling the device, but are difficult to adjust because there is no adjustment jig as described above at the time of readjustment after assembly, adjustment for maintenance and inspection, or replacement of applicable components. A case is assumed. Here, no special jig is required, and the first and second described above.
A configuration capable of obtaining the same effect as the embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (b), a support shaft 81 extending in the left-right direction is inserted into a shaft hole provided in the front edge portion of the left and right side plates 32 of the carriage 10, and a screw or a fastening pin (not shown) Alternatively, it is locked by a stop ring or the like so as not to drop off from the left and right side plates 32 and to be rotatable with respect to its own axis. Further, one end of the support shaft 81 shown in FIG.
After passing through the zero side plate 32, it is fixed to the adjustment lever 84 outside the side plate 32. The adjustment lever 84 is rotatable together with the support shaft 81 in the illustrated R direction. On the back surface of the adjustment lever 84, a convex portion (not shown) that fits into one of the plurality of stopper grooves 84a is formed in order to fix the adjustment lever 84 at a predetermined position. Therefore, in a state where the adjustment lever 84 is fitted and locked in any of the stopper grooves 84a, the support shaft 81 is also restricted in the axial direction and fixed.

In this case, as described in the first and second embodiments, the adjustment cam 80 itself can be used as the support shaft 8.
The position can be adjusted independently with respect to 1, and the adjustment can also be performed by rotating the adjustment lever 84 shown in FIG. 4B in the R direction. Therefore, once the adjustment lever 84
Is adjusted to an appropriate position (for example, the central portion), and the adjustment cam 80 is rotated to adjust the front side gap g2 as described in the first and second embodiments. In this case, the adjustment can be easily performed only by adjusting the adjustment lever 84. At the time of maintenance and inspection of the device, it is a convenient mechanism without the need to disassemble the device for adjustment.

The present invention can be applied to a carriage on which a recording head is mounted, and is not limited to the above-described ink jet method. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied not only to other recording methods and printers, but also to copying machines and image scanners. .

1 is a schematic right cross-sectional view of a printer apparatus 1 serving as a facsimile as an example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. It is a front view of a recording part. FIG. 6 is a left side view of the carriage with the recording head unit and the ink cartridge mounted. It is the elements on larger scale of the A section of FIG. 3, (a) has shown 1st and 2nd embodiment, (b) has shown 3rd Embodiment. It is the elements on larger scale of the B section of FIG. FIG. 4 is a left side sectional view of a carriage with a side surface of an ink cartridge taken as a cross section. It is a perspective view of a recording head unit. It is a perspective view of the carriage which shows a gap adjustment mechanism, (a) shows a 1st embodiment and (b) is a figure showing a 2nd embodiment. FIG. 4 is a front view of a state in which a recording head unit is mounted on a carriage head housing, where (a) shows the first embodiment and (b) shows the second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a front view of a state in which a recording head unit is mounted on a head storage portion of a carriage, (a) showing a first embodiment using a set screw, and (b) showing a second embodiment using a set screw. . It is a figure which shows the recording part of the conventional image recording apparatus. (A) is a front view of a recording part, (b) is a side view of a recording part.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer apparatus 1a Main lower case 1b Upper case 2 Recording part 3 Paper feed tray 4 Original stacking part 5 Original reading unit 6 Operation panel part 6a Operation key part 6b Display part 7 Bottom cover plate 8 Original guide body 9 Control part 10 Carriage 11 Guide shaft 12 Frame 15 Recording head unit 15a Nozzle part 15b Bottom plate 15c Side plate 15d Back plate 15e Front plate 15f Partition plate 16 Ink cartridge 16a Ink discharge port 17 Lever 18 Timing belt 19 Drive motor 20 Drive pulley 21 Feed roller 22 Transport roller 23 Discharge roller 25 Platen 26 Discharge tray 27 Maintenance portion 28 Purge device 28a Suction cap 29 Flushing portion 32 Side plate 33 Bottom support portion 34 Spring hook pin 35 Recess 36 Wire spring 36a Base end portion 36b Holding portion 36c Free end 37 Locking Part 7a Projection 48 Groove 62 Manifold port 63 Pivoting shaft 64 Mounting hole 66 Press block 67 Biasing spring 80 Adjustment cam 80a Fixing screw 80b Adjustment groove 81 Support shaft 82 Front edge end 83 Abutment 84 Adjustment lever 84a Stopper groove 86 Adjustment screw D2 Ink cartridge storage part G Gap g1 Rear side gap g2 Front side gap

Claims (11)

Reciprocating in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the recording medium, provided perpendicular to the reciprocating direction to store the recording head unit including the recording head so as to sandwich the recording head unit , and made of resin In the carriage with each side plate,
The carriage is
A reinforcing member that improves the rigidity of the carriage by being fixed to the left and right side plates;
On the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium, the right and left side plates are arranged so as to be connected to each other, and one end and the other end thereof are fixed to the left and right side plates, respectively.
A support shaft supported by the reinforcing member ;
A plurality of support portions provided on the upstream side and the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and having a support point for contacting and supporting the recording head unit;
Of the plurality of support parts, the support part on the downstream side is disposed on the support shaft,
The support portion disposed on the support shaft includes an adjustment unit capable of moving the support point for contact and support in a direction in which the support point approaches or separates from the recording medium,
A carriage configured to be able to adjust parallelism in the transport direction between the recording head and the recording medium by the adjusting means. The carriage according to claim 1, wherein the support portion is provided at two locations on the upstream side and one location on the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium. Two support portions provided on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium are arranged in the vicinity of the left and right side plates, and one support portion provided on the downstream side is provided between the left and right side plates. The carriage according to claim 2, wherein the carriage is disposed at a substantially central portion. The carriage according to claim 1, wherein the support portion is provided at one location on the upstream side and two locations on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium. A support portion provided at one upstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium is disposed at a substantially central portion between the left and right side plates, and two support portions provided at the downstream side are provided on the left and right sides. The carriage according to claim 4, wherein the carriage is disposed in the vicinity of each side plate. The carriage according to claim 1, wherein the support portion provided with the adjusting means is configured to be independently adjustable. The carriage according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the adjusting means is means for adjusting the height of a support point of the support portion. The adjusting means includes an eccentric cam, and the height of a support point at which the support portion abuts and supports the recording head is adjusted by rotating the eccentric cam. 8. The carriage according to 7. 8. The carriage according to claim 7, wherein the adjusting means includes a screw, and the height of a support point at which the support portion contacts and supports the recording head is adjusted by rotating the screw. . A guide that guides the carriage so as to be able to reciprocate in a direction that intersects the conveyance direction of the recording medium.
A shaft,
  A frame body that holds the guide shaft and supports the carriage;
  The carriage is positioned relative to the recording medium by the frame body and the guide shaft.
An image comprising a carriage according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein
Image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus forms an image by an ink jet recording method.
Item 15. The image forming apparatus according to Item 10.

Images