JP4692790B2 - Carriage driving device, and liquid ejecting apparatus including the carriage driving device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving force transmitting means for transmitting a driving force of a driving force source to a carriage so as to move a carriage disposed so as to be able to reciprocate in a predetermined direction to an arbitrary position in a reciprocating movable range, and a movement amount of the carriage. Carriage movement amount detection means for detecting, and carriage lock means having a configuration capable of arbitrarily locking the movement of the carriage while the carriage is stopped at a home position set at a predetermined position near one end of the reciprocating movable range In addition, the present invention relates to a carriage drive device that includes a carriage abutting portion that defines a movement limit position of the carriage on the other end side of the reciprocating movable range in a state where the carriage is abutted, and a liquid ejecting apparatus that includes the carriage drive device.

  Here, the liquid ejecting apparatus refers to an ink jet recording apparatus, a copying machine, a facsimile, or the like that performs recording on a recording material by ejecting ink from a recording head as a liquid ejecting head to a recording material such as recording paper. In addition to the recording apparatus, instead of ink, a liquid corresponding to a specific application is ejected from the liquid ejecting head corresponding to the recording head to the ejected material corresponding to the recording material, and the liquid is ejected to the ejected material. Used to include the device to be attached. In addition to the recording head described above, the liquid ejecting head includes a color material ejecting head used for manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, an electrode material used for forming an electrode such as an organic EL display and a surface emitting display (FED) ( Examples thereof include a conductive paste) ejection head, a bio-organic matter ejection head used for biochip manufacturing, and a sample ejection head that ejects a sample as a precision pipette.

  A known ink jet recording apparatus as an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus is such that a carriage equipped with a recording head as a liquid ejecting head that ejects ink as a liquid onto a recording material as an ejected material can reciprocate in the main scanning direction. By alternately repeating an operation of ejecting ink to the recording material while reciprocating the carriage in the main scanning direction and an operation of conveying the recording material by a predetermined conveyance amount in the sub-scanning direction. In general, recording on a recording material is performed. Such an ink jet recording apparatus includes a driving force transmission means for transmitting a driving force of a driving force source to the carriage to move the carriage to an arbitrary position within a reciprocating movable range, and a carriage movement amount detection for detecting the movement amount of the carriage. It is common to provide a means.

As an example of carriage drive control, a home position that is a base point for carriage movement control by drive control of a driving force source based on the carriage movement amount is set at a predetermined position near one end of the carriage reciprocating movable range. A sensor that detects that the carriage has moved to a home position is provided, and the carriage moving position in a state in which the carriage is detected by the sensor is used as a home position. After the carriage is moved to the home position, the home position is determined from the carriage movement direction (the driving direction of a driving force source such as a motor) and the carriage movement amount detected by a carriage movement amount detecting means such as a known linear encoder. The movement position of the carriage with the base point as the base point is specified, and the desired carriage drive control is executed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In addition, a technique for executing carriage drive control without providing a sensor for detecting that the carriage has moved to the home position is also known. For example, the carriage is abutted against a side plate of a chassis (frame of the recording apparatus main body) provided at the end of the reciprocating movable range of the carriage, and a desired carriage drive control is executed using the abutting position as a base point (for example, patents) Reference 2).

JP 2003-246111 A JP 2003-108229 A

However, if a sensor for detecting the movement of the carriage is provided at the home position, there is a problem that the cost increases accordingly. Further, when the detection accuracy of the sensor decreases or the detection position shifts due to aging, etc., there is a risk that high-precision carriage drive control based on the accurate home position position cannot be performed.
On the other hand, when the carriage is abutted against the side plate of the recording apparatus main body frame provided at the end of the carriage reciprocating range and the home position is detected from the abutting position, the carriage is abutted against the abutting position. The impact noise generated on the recording head and the impact on the recording head mounted on the carriage are problematic. If the carriage moving speed at the time of abutting is slowed, the impact sound and the impact on the recording head can be reduced, but this causes the problem that the operation time for detecting the home position becomes longer. . Conversely, if the carriage moving speed is increased, the time to detect the home position is shortened, but a loud collision noise is generated, or the meniscus of the nozzle on the head surface is destroyed by the impact on the recording head, and so-called dot omission occurs. May occur.

  Therefore, for example, if the carriage is moved at a high speed until just before the carriage hits the abutting position and then the carriage is moved at a low speed until it hits the abutting position, the above problems can be solved in general. It is. However, the carriage position at the stage before detecting the home position is assumed to be at an unexpected position, such as when a paper jam occurs and the recording is interrupted or moved by the user's hand. In such a state, if you attempt to move the carriage at high speed to the vicinity of the abutting position, the carriage may hit during high-speed movement, generating a large collision sound or giving a large impact to the recording head. There was sex.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and the problem is that in the carriage drive control for detecting the home position from the abutting position, a loud collision noise is generated when the carriage is abutted against the abutting part. It is to reduce the home position detection time based on the abutting position while preventing the recording head from being subjected to a large impact.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, a driving force of a driving force source is applied to the carriage so as to move a carriage that is reciprocally movable in a predetermined direction to an arbitrary position within a reciprocating movable range. A driving force transmitting means for transmitting; a carriage moving amount detecting means for detecting a moving amount of the carriage; and a state where the carriage is stopped in the vicinity of a home position set at a predetermined position near one end of the reciprocating movable range. A carriage locking unit having a configuration capable of arbitrarily locking the movement of the carriage, and an abutting portion that defines a movement limit position of the carriage on the other end side of the reciprocating movable range in a state where the carriage abuts. The carriage movement control by the driving control of the driving force source based on the movement amount of the carriage with respect to the home position, and A carriage driving device including a control device that performs lock / unlock switching control of the carriage by the carriage lock means at a home position, wherein the control device moves the carriage until it strikes the abutting portion. The carriage is moved to the home position side by a predetermined movement amount α corresponding to the distance between the abutting portion and the home position from the state where the carriage is abutted against the abutting portion. Home position detecting means including an operation of stopping at a position, and before executing the home position detection by the home position detecting means, the carriage lock means is controlled to be locked and then set at a predetermined moving speed or less. The carriage with the movement amount β If the actual movement amount of the carriage is less than the predetermined movement amount β, it is determined that the carriage is locked by the carriage lock means in the vicinity of the home position, and the carriage lock means is Control the unlocked state, move the carriage at high speed until just before hitting the abutting part, then decelerate the moving speed below a certain speed and then move the carriage further until it hits the abutting part When the actual movement amount of the carriage is the predetermined movement amount β, it is determined that the carriage is in an unspecified position other than the vicinity of the home position, and the carriage lock unit is controlled to the unlocked state. From the start of movement until it hits the abutting portion, the carriage is moved at a constant moving speed or less. Moving the support part side, it is the carriage drive apparatus characterized by.

  In detecting the home position of the carriage, first, the carriage is moved until it abuts against the abutting portion. Next, the carriage is accurately stopped at the home position by moving the carriage to the home position side by the predetermined movement amount α from the state where the carriage is in contact with the abutting portion. The predetermined movement amount α is a movement amount corresponding to the distance from the abutting portion to the home position, and is a movement amount set in advance according to the distance from the abutting portion of the carriage driving device to the home position.

  When it is necessary to execute detection of the home position by the home position detection means, some trouble occurs in the reciprocating movable range of the carriage during initialization operation such as when the carriage drive device is turned on and during carriage drive control. Thus, it is roughly classified into the case where the carriage drive control is physically interrupted. For example, in an ink jet recording apparatus or the like as an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus provided with a carriage driving device, when the power of the apparatus is turned off, the carriage is moved to a home position, and the home is moved by vibration or the like when the carriage is moved. Recording is performed to prevent the head surface of the recording head from being dried by a locking means (capping device or the like) that is locked by a carriage lock means so as not to move from the vicinity of the position and that is disposed near the home position. In general, the power supply is turned off while the sealing state of the head surface of the head is maintained.

  Accordingly, during the initialization operation when the power is turned on, the carriage is always present in the vicinity of the home position while being locked by the carriage lock means. Therefore, since the distance from the carriage stop position to the abutting portion is determined to be substantially constant, the carriage is moved to the vicinity of the abutting portion at a high speed in order to reduce the execution time of the home position detection operation, and then the constant moving speed. Decrease to below (low enough speed so that there is no risk of a loud collision noise or a large impact being applied to the recording head mounted on the carriage) before pushing the carriage against the abutment Can do.

  On the other hand, if a failure occurs in the carriage reciprocating movable range during carriage drive control and the carriage drive control is physically interrupted, there is a high possibility that the carriage position cannot be specified. In such a state, even if the carriage is moved to the vicinity of the abutting portion at high speed in order to shorten the execution time of the home position detection operation, the carriage is stopped at an unspecified position. There is a possibility that a large collision noise is generated when the carriage hits the abutting portion, or a large impact is applied to the recording head mounted on the carriage.

  Therefore, in order to determine whether the carriage is stopped near the home position before moving the carriage until it comes into contact with the abutting portion in order to detect the home position, the carriage lock means is controlled to be locked. After that, an attempt is made to move the carriage with a predetermined movement amount β at a certain moving speed or less (at a low speed sufficient not to damage the carriage lock means). The predetermined movement amount β is a conveyance amount sufficient for the carriage to come into contact with the locking portion of the carriage lock means in the lock control state when the carriage is moved in a state where the carriage is in the vicinity of the home position. Set to

  When the actual carriage movement amount is less than the predetermined movement amount β, it is determined that the carriage is locked by the carriage lock means in the vicinity of the home position. That is, the carriage lock means is controlled to the locked state, and the carriage is moved by the predetermined movement amount β. When the actual movement amount of the carriage is less than that, the carriage is locked by the carriage lock means and cannot move. That is, it can be determined that the carriage is stopped in the vicinity of the home position that can be locked by the carriage locking means. In this case, after the carriage lock means is in the unlocked state, the carriage is moved at a high speed until just before it hits the abutting portion, and then the movement speed is below a certain speed and a constant movement speed (a loud collision noise is generated). Or the recording head mounted on the carriage is further slowed down until it hits the abutting portion after being decelerated to a sufficient low speed so as not to cause a large impact on the recording head.

  On the other hand, if the actual movement amount of the carriage is the predetermined movement amount β, it is determined that the carriage is in an unspecified position other than the vicinity of the home position. That is, if the carriage lock means is controlled to be locked and attempts to move the carriage by the predetermined movement amount β, and the actual movement amount of the carriage is the default movement amount β, the carriage is not locked by the carriage lock means. It can be determined that the carriage is movable to the abutting portion side, that is, the carriage is stopped at an unspecified position where the carriage cannot be locked by a carriage lock means other than the vicinity of the home position. In this case, since the carriage stop position cannot be specified, after the carriage lock means is controlled to the unlocked state, the speed is below a certain speed from the start of movement until it hits the abutting portion (a loud collision sound is generated, The carriage is moved at a low enough speed that there is no risk of a large impact being applied to the recording head mounted on the printer.

As described above, before the carriage is moved until it comes into contact with the abutting portion, the carriage lock unit is controlled to be locked to try to move the carriage with the predetermined movement amount β, and the actual carriage with respect to the carriage driving control with the predetermined movement amount β. It is determined whether the carriage is positioned in the vicinity of the home position from the amount of movement. When the carriage is moved until it comes into contact with the abutting portion, carriage drive control corresponding to the stop position of the carriage is executed. As a result, regardless of whether or not the carriage stop position during the home position detection operation is located in the vicinity of the home position, in the carriage drive control for detecting the home position from the abutting position, the carriage is abutted on the abutting portion. There is an effect that it is possible to prevent a large impact sound from being generated or a large impact to the recording head when hitting.
Further, when the carriage is stopped near the home position, the carriage is moved to the vicinity of the abutting portion at a high speed, and then the carriage is abutted against the abutting portion at a sufficiently low speed based on the abutting position. There is an effect that the home position detection time can be shortened.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect described above, before the control device executes the home position detection by the home position detection means, the carriage is moved by the carriage lock means in the vicinity of the home position. If it is determined that the carriage is locked, the carriage lock means is controlled to the unlocked state, and before moving the carriage at a high speed until just before hitting the abutting portion, it is set at a predetermined moving speed or less. Attempting to move the carriage by a movement amount γ, and when the actual movement amount of the carriage is less than the predetermined movement amount γ, it is determined that the carriage is still locked by the carriage lock means. A carriage driving device characterized in that the drive control of the driving force source is stopped and an error is output. is there.

  Thus, after controlling the carriage lock means to the unlocked state, before moving the carriage at high speed until just before hitting the abutting portion, the carriage lock means is again below a certain moving speed (sufficiently enough not to damage the carriage lock means). Attempts to move the carriage with a default travel γ (at low speed). If the actual carriage movement amount is less than the predetermined movement amount γ, the carriage lock means remains locked to the carriage lock means for some reason even though the carriage lock means is controlled to unlock. It can be determined that there is a possibility. Therefore, in such a case, the driving control of the driving force source is stopped and an error is output. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the carriage lock unit from being damaged by moving the carriage at a high speed while the carriage is locked to the carriage lock unit. Note that the predetermined movement amount γ is such that the carriage abuts on the locking portion of the carriage lock means in a state where the carriage lock means remains locked despite the carriage lock means being unlocked. It is set to a movement amount sufficient for this.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect or the second aspect described above, before the control device executes the home position detection by the home position detecting means, the carriage is not in the vicinity of the home position. The carriage lock means is controlled to the unlocked state, and the carriage is moved to the abutting portion side at a constant moving speed or less from the start of movement until it abuts against the abutting portion. When moving, the movement amount of the carriage from the start of movement corresponds to a predetermined amount corresponding to the movement amount when the carriage moves from the position farthest from the abutting portion to the abutting portion in the reciprocating movable range. When the movement amount δ is exceeded, the drive control of the driving force source is stopped and an error is output. It is a device.

  Thus, when the carriage is moved at a constant moving speed or less from the start of movement until it hits the abutting portion, the movement amount of the carriage from the start of movement is the predetermined movement amount δ (the carriage moves from the abutting portion in the reciprocating movable range). If the distance is greater than the amount of movement when moving from the farthest position to the butting portion, for example, some abnormality may have occurred in the carriage movement amount detection means, the driving force source, etc. Therefore, the driving control of the driving force source is stopped and an error is output. As a result, it is possible to detect abnormalities such as the carriage movement amount detection means and the driving force source at an early stage.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects described above, the control device performs the home position detection by the home position detection means before the carriage is moved to the home position. The carriage is determined to be in an unspecified position other than near the position, the carriage lock means is controlled to the unlocked state, and the carriage is moved at a constant moving speed or less from the start of movement until it strikes the abutting part. The carriage is moved to the home position side, and the carriage is moved to the home position side by a predetermined movement amount ε. When the actual movement amount of the carriage is less than the predetermined movement amount ε, the carriage moves in the reciprocating movable range. A carriage driving device that determines that there is an obstacle, stops driving control of the driving force source, and outputs an error.

  In this way, after the carriage is moved to the abutting portion side at a constant moving speed or less from the start of movement until it abuts against the abutting portion, an attempt is made to move the carriage by the predetermined movement amount ε to the home position side. If the actual carriage movement amount is less than the predetermined movement amount ε, it is determined that there is some obstacle in the carriage reciprocating movable range, the drive control of the driving force source is stopped, and an error is output. . Since the carriage is in a state of being moved until it hits the abutting portion, it is unlikely that an obstacle or the like exists in the reciprocating movable range of the carriage. Thereby, it is possible to prevent an erroneous detection of the home position due to the presence of an obstacle in the reciprocating movable range of the carriage. If the predetermined movement amount ε is small, the obstacle detection range is narrowed, but the detection time can be shortened. If it is large, the obstacle detection range can be widened, but the detection time is long. Will be.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid onto a material to be ejected is mounted, the carriage disposed so as to be reciprocable in the main scanning direction, and the material to be ejected in the sub scanning direction. A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a conveying unit that conveys a predetermined amount in a direction; and the carriage driving device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects described above.

  According to the liquid ejecting apparatus of the fifth aspect of the present invention, the liquid ejecting apparatus includes the carriage that is mounted with the liquid ejecting head that ejects the liquid onto the material to be ejected and is reciprocally movable in the main scanning direction. In the apparatus, it is possible to obtain the operational effects of the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects described above.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a driving force transmitting means for transmitting a driving force of a driving force source to the carriage so as to move a carriage disposed so as to be reciprocable in a predetermined direction to an arbitrary position within a reciprocating movable range. A carriage movement amount detecting means for detecting the movement amount of the carriage, and the carriage movement in a state where the carriage is stopped in the vicinity of a home position set at a predetermined position near one end of the reciprocating movable range. A carriage drive device home comprising carriage lock means having an arbitrarily lockable structure, and an abutting portion that defines a movement limit position of the carriage on the other end side of the reciprocating movable range in a state where the carriage abuts. Movement control of the carriage by drive control of the driving force source based on the movement amount of the carriage with respect to a position; And a carriage drive control program for causing a computer to execute control to perform lock / unlock switching control by the carriage lock means of the carriage at the home position, and moving the carriage until it hits the abutting portion. The carriage is moved to the home position by moving the carriage toward the home position by a predetermined movement amount α corresponding to the distance between the abutting portion and the home position from the state where the carriage is abutting against the abutting portion. A home position detection procedure including an operation to stop the vehicle and a home position detection by the home position detection procedure. Of the above If the carriage movement is attempted and the actual movement amount of the carriage is less than the predetermined movement amount β, it is determined that the carriage is locked by the carriage lock means in the vicinity of the home position, After controlling the carriage lock means to the unlocked state and moving the carriage at a high speed until just before hitting the abutting portion, it further reduces the moving speed to a certain speed or less until it hits the abutting portion. If the procedure for moving the carriage and the actual movement amount of the carriage is the predetermined movement amount β, it is determined that the carriage is in an unspecified position other than the vicinity of the home position, and the carriage lock means is Control to the unlocked state so that the movement speed is constant from the start of movement until it hits the butting part. In and a procedure for moving the carriage to the abutment portion, it is the carriage drive control program characterized.

  According to the carriage drive control program described in the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain the same effects as the invention described in the first aspect described above, and to execute the carriage drive control program. The same operation effect as that of the invention described in the first aspect described above can be provided to any carriage driving device that can be used.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided driving force transmission means for transmitting a driving force of a driving force source to the carriage so as to move a carriage arranged to be reciprocable in a predetermined direction to an arbitrary position within the reciprocating movable range. A carriage movement amount detecting means for detecting the movement amount of the carriage, and the carriage movement in a state where the carriage is stopped in the vicinity of a home position set at a predetermined position near one end of the reciprocating movable range. Control of a carriage drive device comprising carriage lock means having an arbitrarily lockable structure, and an abutting portion that defines a movement limit position of the carriage on the other end side of the reciprocating movable range when the carriage abuts The carriage is moved until it comes into contact with the abutting portion, and the carriage abuts against the abutting portion. The home position detection includes a step of stopping the carriage at the home position by moving the carriage to the home position side by a predetermined movement amount α corresponding to the distance between the abutting portion and the home position. And, before executing the home position detection by the home position detecting step, controlling the carriage lock means to the locked state and then attempting to move the carriage by a predetermined moving amount β at a predetermined moving speed or less. When the actual movement amount of the carriage is less than the predetermined movement amount β, it is determined that the carriage is locked by the carriage lock means near the home position, and the carriage lock means is unlocked. Control until it hits the abutting part. After moving the carriage at a high speed, decelerating the moving speed below a certain speed and further moving the carriage until it hits the abutting portion, and the actual moving amount of the carriage is a predetermined moving amount β If it is, it is determined that the carriage is in an unspecified position other than the vicinity of the home position, the carriage lock means is controlled to the unlocked state, and the carriage is fixed from the start of movement until it hits the abutting portion. And a step of moving the carriage to the abutting portion side at a moving speed or lower.

  According to the carriage drive device control method described in the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain the same functions and effects as those of the first aspect described above.

1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus with a scanner unit removed. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus with a scanner unit removed. It is a principal part side view of an inkjet recording device. It is the perspective view which looked at the carriage and the carriage lock member from the back side. It is an enlarged perspective view of the periphery of the locked portion and the locking piece of the carriage lock mechanism. It is a perspective view of a carriage lock member. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an ink jet recording apparatus. It is the flowchart which showed the detection procedure of the home position HP. It is the flowchart which showed the detection procedure of the home position HP. It is the flowchart which showed the detection procedure of the home position HP.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus 1 as a “liquid ejecting apparatus” including a “carriage driving apparatus” according to the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the ink jet recording apparatus 1, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus main body with the scanner unit removed from the ink jet recording apparatus 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view at a different angle of the apparatus main body 1 with the scanner unit removed, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the main part of the ink jet recording apparatus 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet recording apparatus 1 is a type having a scanner function in addition to a printer function, and includes an apparatus main body 3, a scanner unit 5 positioned on the upper surface side of the apparatus main body 3, and a rear side of the scanner unit 5. And a feeding unit 7 provided in the vehicle. The apparatus main body 3 mainly has a function of an ink jet printer, that is, a recording head 38 as a “liquid ejecting head” for recording on a recording paper P as a “material to be ejected” fed from the feeding unit 7, and a recording head 38. And a carriage 37 that can reciprocate in the main scanning direction X. A member denoted by reference numeral 9 indicates a discharge receiving portion 9 for the recording paper P. The discharge receiving portion 9 receives the recording paper P after recording in a state of being rotated approximately 90 ° toward the front side when the printer function is used. To use. An operation panel 11 is provided on the left side of the upper surface of the apparatus main body 3, and a scanning function using the scanner unit 5, a recording function in the apparatus main body 3, a function for recording a scanned image, and the like can be operated on the operation panel 11. It has become.

  The scanner unit 5 includes a lid 15 that can be opened and closed by pivoting upward about a pivot shaft 13, and a glass on which a printed material or the like to be subjected to scanning is placed below the lid 15. A mounting surface (not shown) is formed. Further, a scanning device (not shown) is provided below the glass placement surface. The scanner unit 5 as a whole pivots upward about the pivot shaft 17 as a whole, so that the upper part of the apparatus main body 3 is opened and maintenance of the carriage 37 and the like can be performed. As shown in FIG. 1, the feeding unit 7 is closed by a lid 19 when not in use, and the feeding unit 7 is opened by rotating the lid 19 rearward as shown in FIG. By fixing at a fixed angular position, the recording paper support 23 functions. The recording paper support 23 is provided with an edge guide 25 that can slide in accordance with the width dimension of the recording paper P. When the lid 19 is in an open state, a feeding port 27 is formed in the feeding unit 7, and the recording paper P stacked on the recording paper support 23 is fed one by one by a feeding mechanism (not shown). From the recording head 38 to the recording execution area.

  While the recording paper P fed from the feeding unit 7 is sandwiched between the lower transport driving roller 21 and the upper transport driven roller 22, while receiving a precise transport operation in the sub-scanning direction Y, The recording paper P is transported toward the recording head 38 located downstream in the transport direction (sub-scanning direction Y). The recording head 38 is supported by a carriage 37, and the carriage 37 is disposed so as to be able to reciprocate in a main scanning direction X orthogonal to the conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction Y) of the recording paper P. An ink cartridge (not shown) filled with ink ejected from the recording head 38 is mounted on the carriage 37. A platen 24 formed integrally with the pre-guide member 26 is provided at a position facing the recording head 38. When the recording head 38 performs recording on the recording paper P, the platen 24 removes the recording paper P. Responsible for supporting from below. The distance PG between the recording head 38 and the upper surface of the platen 24 can be adjusted as appropriate according to the thickness of the recording paper P. In a state where the distance PG is properly adjusted, the recording paper P is recorded on the recording paper P recorded by the recording head 38 so that high-quality recording is performed while passing smoothly over the platen 24. Is pulled out by the rotational drive of the discharge drive roller 91 and discharged while being sandwiched between the discharge drive roller 91 and the discharge jagged roller 92 provided on the discharge frame 93. A pressing roller 28 that restricts the lifting of the trailing edge of the recording paper P is provided between the recording head 38 and the discharge jagged roller 92 on the leading end side (upstream in the transport direction) of the discharge frame 93.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the carriage 37 as viewed from the back side of the recording apparatus, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view thereof. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the carriage lock member 39.
As shown in FIG. 3, a carriage support portion 29 is formed on the rear side of the carriage 37, and the carriage support portion 29 is supported so that it can slide smoothly with respect to the slide shaft 31. The apparatus main body 3 is provided with a carriage driving motor 32 as a “driving force source” for moving the carriage 37 to an arbitrary position within the reciprocating movable range. Further, as “driving force transmitting means” for transmitting the driving force of the carriage driving motor 32 to the carriage 37, a driving pulley 331 provided on the output shaft of the carriage driving motor 32 and a driven pulley 332 provided on the opposite side. A toothed endless belt 33 is wound therebetween. The toothed endless belt 33 is connected to a carriage 37 at a fixed portion 35 formed on the upper surface of the carriage support portion 29 as shown in FIG. 3, and the carriage drive motor 32 rotates forward (CW) or reversely (reverse) As the CCW rotation), the toothed endless belt 33 revolves clockwise or counterclockwise, so that the carriage 37 reciprocates in the main scanning direction X.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a home position HP serving as a base point of the movement control position of the carriage 37 is set at a predetermined position near one end (right side) of the “reciprocating movable range” of the carriage 37. In the vicinity of the home position HP, a carriage constituting “carriage locking means” that can arbitrarily lock the movement of the carriage 37 to the other end side (left side) in a state where the carriage 37 is in a standby stop near the home position HP. A capping device 4 for sealing the head surface of the lock member 39 and the recording head 38 is provided. The carriage lock member 39 is pivotally supported in a state having a frictional resistance with respect to a rotation shaft 41 that is rotationally driven via a train wheel of a drive system that feeds the recording paper P. In addition, the other end side (left side) of the “reciprocating movable range” of the carriage 37 is a bump that defines the movement limit position of the carriage 37 on the other end side (left side) of the “reciprocating movable range” with the carriage 37 hitting. The abutting portion 2 is formed by a part of the frame of the apparatus main body 3.

  The carriage lock member 39 includes an annular portion 43 fitted into the rotation shaft 41, a locking piece 47 formed at the tip of the arm 45 projecting to one side in the diametrical direction, and a diametrically opposite side of the annular portion 43. A protruding holding portion 49, a spring 51 as an urging means provided therein, and an elastically deformable slidable contact piece 53 (see FIG. 7) that is always pressed against the surface of the rotating shaft 41 by the spring 51. have. If an external force is not applied to the carriage lock member 39 itself, the sliding contact piece 53 is pressed against the surface of the rotation shaft 41 by the spring 51, thereby rotating integrally with the rotation shaft 41 by a frictional force. When the locking piece 47 touches another member and a force exceeding the frictional force between the sliding contact piece 53 and the surface of the rotating shaft 41 is applied, the annular portion 43 slips around the rotating shaft 41. Only the rotation shaft 41 rotates. The locking piece 47 has a substantially rectangular shape as shown in the figure, and has a flat contact surface 55. An engagement action portion 57 is formed on the engagement piece 47 facing the left side of the apparatus main body 3, and the engagement action portion 57 has a tapered section as shown in the drawing. An engagement inclined surface 58 is formed.

  On the other hand, a locked portion 59 is formed on the rear side (visible on the near side in FIG. 5) of the carriage support portion 29 on the right side (left side of the apparatus main body 3) in FIG. In a state where the locking piece 47 of the carriage lock member 39 is engaged with the locked portion 59, the carriage 37 at the home position HP can be locked so as not to move. The engaged portion 59 is formed with an abutted surface 61 that comes into surface contact with the abutting surface 55 of the locking piece 47 when locked, and an engaged action portion 63 adjacent to the abutted surface 61. Yes. As shown in FIG. 6 in an enlarged manner, the engaged portion 63 has a groove 65 extending in the vertical direction, and has a form in which the horizontal section is formed in a bowl shape. The engaging inclined surface 58 is fitted into the groove 65 in a wedge shape in a state where the locking piece 47 of the carriage lock member 39 is locked to the locked portion 59. That is, when the locking piece 47 of the carriage lock member 39 is locked to the locked portion 59, the carriage lock member 39 first rotates together with the rotary shaft 41, and the contact surface 55 of the locking piece 47 is covered. Surface contact is made with the contacted surface 61 of the locking portion 59. When the carriage 37 moves slightly in this state, the engaging inclined surface 58 enters the groove 65 of the engaged portion 63 so as to be firmly engaged in a wedge shape, and the locking piece 47 is in contact with the locked portion 59. It will be securely fixed.

  Next, the recording control unit 100 as a “control device” of the “carriage driving device” according to the present invention will be described.

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of the inkjet recording apparatus 1.
The recording control unit 100 includes a system bus SB. The system bus SB includes a ROM 121, a RAM 122, a USB controller 123 that implements a USB interface function, a memory card interface 124, an MPU (microprocessor) 126, an I / O 127, A head driver 128 and a scanner control unit 129 for controlling the scanner unit 5 are connected so as to be able to transfer data. The MPU 126 performs various types of processing. In the ROM 121, software programs and data necessary for the arithmetic processing of the MPU 126 are stored in advance. The RAM 122 is used as a temporary storage area for software programs and a work area for the MPU 126.

  The motor driver 131 is a drive control circuit that drives and controls various motors of the ink jet recording apparatus 1 including the carriage driving motor 32. The sensor 132 is each sensor that detects various state information of the inkjet recording apparatus 1. Further, the apparatus main body 3 is provided with a known linear encoder 133 as “carriage movement amount detection means” for detecting the movement amount of the carriage 37. The I / O 127 performs output control on the motor driver 131 based on the calculation processing result in the MPU 126, and inputs status information output from the sensor 132, movement amount information of the carriage 37 output from the linear encoder 133, and the like. .

  The memory card interface 124 reads image data stored in a memory card inserted in the memory card slot 125. Image data read from the memory card via the memory card interface 124 is color-converted from RGB data to YMC data by a program process executed by the MPU 126, and then binarized to perform binarization. The converted data is converted into YMC data, and recording data is generated. The generated recording data is transferred to the head driver 128 in the same manner as when recording data is received from the information processing apparatus 200. The head driver 128 drives the recording head 38 based on the recording data, and ink of each color is ejected from the head surface of the recording head 38 onto the recording surface of the recording paper P.

  The recording control unit 100 having the above-described configuration includes the state information of each unit input from the sensor 132, the rotational position information of the transport driving roller 21 that transports the recording paper P in the sub-scanning direction Y, and the carriage input from the linear encoder 133. Based on the movement amount information 37 and the like, the motors such as the carriage drive motor 32 are driven and controlled, so that the recording paper P is fed by the feeding unit 7 and the recording paper P is rotated by the rotation of the transport driving roller 21. Transport in the scanning direction Y, movement control of the carriage 37 in the main scanning direction X with respect to the home position HP, ink ejection control from the recording head 38, and “carriage lock” of the carriage 37 stopped at the home position HP The lock / unlock switching control by the means is executed.

Next, a procedure for detecting the home position HP that serves as a base point in controlling the movement of the carriage 37 in the main scanning direction X will be described.
Since no sensor for detecting the carriage 37 is provided at the home position HP, the carriage 37 is moved to the home position HP according to a predetermined home position HP detection procedure, and the movement direction of the carriage 37 with that position as a base point The drive control of the carriage 37 is executed while accurately specifying the movement position of the carriage 37 based on the movement amount. Therefore, in a normal operation state, at least during the initialization operation when the ink jet recording apparatus 1 is turned on, the home position HP detection procedure must be executed. Further, as an abnormal operation state, during the drive control of the carriage 37, when some trouble occurs in the reciprocating movable range of the carriage 37 due to the jam of the recording paper P, the drive control of the carriage 37 is physically interrupted. Is assumed. In such a case, an error may occur between the control amount for the carriage drive motor 32 and the actual movement amount of the carriage 37, and the accurate movement position of the carriage 37 may not be specified. It is necessary to execute the home position HP detection procedure in the same manner as the initialization operation at the time of ON.

FIG. 9 (FIGS. 9-1 to 9-3) is a flowchart showing a procedure for detecting the home position HP.
First, carriage lock control for rotating the carriage lock member 39 in the lock direction is executed (step S1). When the carriage 37 is stopped near the home position HP, the locking piece 47 of the carriage lock member 39 is locked to the locked portion 59 of the carriage 37, the carriage 37 is locked, and the carriage 37 is locked to the home position. When stopped at a position other than the vicinity of the HP, the carriage 37 is not locked.

  Subsequently, the carriage 37 is moved in the CW direction at a slow speed (step S2). The CW direction is a direction in which the carriage 37 moves by the forward rotation of the carriage drive motor 32, and the carriage 37 moves from the home position HP side to the abutment portion 2 side. Further, the slow speed is sufficiently high that there is no possibility that a large collision sound is generated when the carriage 37 hits the abutting portion or a large impact is applied to the recording head 38 mounted on the carriage 37. It is sufficient that the speed is low enough to prevent the carriage lock member 39 from being damaged even if the carriage 37 is moved while engaged with the carriage lock member 39, and so on. Then, it is determined whether or not the carriage 37 hits something and stops within the moving amount 42step (predetermined moving amount β) (step S3). That is, the carriage drive motor 32 is rotated in the CW direction to move the carriage 37 in the CW direction at a slow speed, and it is determined whether or not the linear encoder 133 has detected a movement amount exceeding 42 steps. Note that the predetermined movement amount β is the locking piece 47 of the carriage lock member 39 in the lock control state when the carriage 37 is moved to the abutting portion 2 side while the carriage 37 is positioned in the vicinity of the home position HP. The conveyance amount is set so that the carriage is in contact with the carriage.

  If the carriage 37 hits something within the moving amount 42step and does not stop (No in step S3), that is, if the moving amount exceeding 42step is detected by the linear encoder 133, the carriage 37 by the carriage lock member 39 is used. It is determined that the carriage 37 is not locked and the carriage 37 is stopped at an unspecified position other than the vicinity of the home position HP. On the other hand, when the carriage 37 hits something within the moving amount 42step and stops (Yes in step S3), that is, when the moving amount information of the carriage 37 output by the linear encoder 133 does not change before exceeding 42step. In other words, it is determined that the locking portion 47 of the carriage 37 is locked with the locking piece 47 of the carriage lock member 39 and the carriage 37 is locked.

  In this way, when the carriage 37 is moved at a slow speed with the “carriage lock means” being locked, it is detected from the actual movement amount of the carriage 37 whether or not the carriage 37 is stopped near the home position HP. Can do. Then, a procedure corresponding to the state in which the carriage 37 is stopped in the vicinity of the home position HP, the state in which the carriage 37 is stopped in a position other than the vicinity of the home position HP is executed.

  First, the procedure after determining that the carriage 37 is stopped at a position other than the vicinity of the home position HP in step S3 will be described. In this case, since the stop position of the carriage 37 cannot be specified, the carriage 37 is moved at a slow speed until it hits the abutting portion 2.

  If the carriage 37 hits something within the moving amount 42step and does not stop (No in step S3), then the carriage 37 is stopped (step S4), and the carriage is moved in the CCW direction at a slow speed by 30 steps. After (step S5), carriage lock release control for rotating the carriage lock member 39 in the lock release direction is executed (step S6). The CCW direction is a direction in which the carriage 37 moves due to the reverse rotation of the carriage drive motor 32, and the carriage 37 moves from the abutting portion 2 side to the home position HP side. Subsequently, the carriage 37 is moved again in the CW direction at a slow speed (step S7), and it is determined whether the carriage 37 hits something and stops within the movement amount 2600step (predetermined movement amount δ) (step S8). The predetermined movement amount δ is a movement amount corresponding to the movement amount when the carriage 37 moves from the position farthest from the abutting portion 2 to the abutting portion 2 in the reciprocating movable range of the carriage 37. Therefore, if the carriage 37 hits something within 2600 steps and does not stop (No in step S8), there is a possibility that some abnormality has occurred in the linear encoder 133, the carriage drive motor 32, or the like. Then, the drive control of the carriage drive motor 32 is stopped and a fatal error is output.

  On the other hand, if the carriage 37 hits something and stops within 2600 steps (Yes in step S8), it is determined that the carriage 37 has stopped against the butting portion 2, and then the carriage 37 is again moved in the CCW direction. (Step S9), it is determined whether or not the carriage 37 hits something and stops within a movement amount of 60 steps (predetermined movement amount ε) (step S10). If the carriage 37 hits something and stops within the movement amount of 60 steps (Yes in step S10), it is determined that there is some obstacle in the reciprocating movable range of the carriage 37, and the drive control of the carriage drive motor 32 is stopped. Output a fatal error. If the predetermined movement amount ε is small, the obstacle detection range is narrowed, but the detection time can be shortened. If it is large, the obstacle detection range can be widened, but the detection time is long. Will be.

  If the carriage 37 hits something within the movement amount of 60 steps and does not stop (No in step S10), the carriage 37 is stopped (step S11), and then the sequence proceeds to the home position determination sequence (described later). (Step S27).

  Next, the procedure after determining that the carriage 37 is stopped in the vicinity of the home position HP in step S3 will be described. In this case, since a substantially accurate stop position of the carriage 37 can be specified, the carriage 37 is moved at a high speed from that position (in the vicinity of the home position HP) to just before it hits the butting portion 2. From there, it strikes against the butting portion 2 at a slow speed.

  When the carriage 37 hits something and stops within the moving amount 42step (Yes in step S3), the drive control of the carriage 37 is stopped (step S12), and then stops after hitting something from the start of movement of the carriage 37 in step S3. It is determined whether or not the movement amount M until it is 14 steps or more (step S13). If the movement amount M is 14 steps or more (Yes in step S13), the carriage 37 is moved at a slow speed in the CCW direction (step S14), and whether the carriage 37 hits something within the movement amount Mstep and stops. Determination is made (step S15). When the carriage 37 hits something and stops within the movement amount Mstep (Yes in step S15), it is determined that there is some obstacle in the reciprocating movable range of the carriage 37, and the drive control of the carriage drive motor 32 is stopped. Output a fatal error. If the carriage 37 hits something within the movement amount Mstep and does not stop (No in step S15), the carriage 37 is stopped (step S18), and the carriage lock release that rotates the carriage lock member 39 in the unlocking direction is performed. Control is executed (step S19).

  On the other hand, if the movement amount M is less than 14 steps (No in step S13), the carriage 37 is moved at a slow speed in the CCW direction (step S16), and whether or not the carriage 37 hits anything within the movement amount 20 steps and stops. Is determined (step S17). When the carriage 37 hits something and stops within 20 steps of movement (Yes in step S17), it is similarly determined that there is some obstacle in the reciprocating movable range of the carriage 37, and the drive control of the carriage drive motor 32 is performed. Stop and output a fatal error. If the carriage 37 hits something within the movement amount of 20 steps and does not stop (No in step S17), the carriage 37 is stopped (step S18), and the carriage lock release that rotates the carriage lock member 39 in the unlocking direction is performed. Control is executed (step S19).

  After executing the carriage lock release control (step S19), before moving the carriage 37 to the vicinity of the abutting portion 2 at a high speed, the carriage 37 is again moved in the CW direction at a slow speed (step S20). It is determined whether or not the carriage 37 has hit something and stopped within the predetermined movement amount γ) (step S21). If the carriage 37 hits something within 124 steps and stops (Yes in step S21), the carriage lock member 39 is rotated in the unlocking direction for some reason even though the carriage unlock control is executed. It is determined that the carriage 37 is not hitting any obstacle or the like, and the process proceeds to step S7.

  The predetermined movement amount γ is such that the locking piece 47 of the carriage lock member 39 is engaged with the locked portion 59 of the carriage 37 in a state where the rotation position of the carriage lock member 39 remains locked. The amount of movement is sufficient to match. In this embodiment, if the carriage 37 hits something within 124 steps and stops (Yes in step S21), the process proceeds to step S7. However, a fatal error may be used as it is. This prevents the carriage lock member 39 from being damaged by moving the carriage 37 at a high speed while the locking piece 47 of the carriage lock member 39 is still engaged with the locked portion 59 of the carriage 37. Can do. Alternatively, as in the present embodiment, the operation of determining whether or not the carriage 37 hits the carriage lock member 39 or an obstacle again is performed by moving to step S7. In some cases, the determination operation is performed again. There is a possibility that those factors will be eliminated.

  If the carriage 37 hits something within 124 steps and does not stop (No in step S21), the carriage 37 is temporarily stopped (step S22), and the movement amount is set to 2041 steps. Move to the vicinity at high speed. At this time, the carriage 37 is moved in the CW direction at a high speed (step S23), and it is determined whether the carriage 37 hits something within 2041 steps and stops (step S24). The step 2041 corresponds to the amount of movement from the movement start position when moving the carriage 37 in the CW direction (abutting portion 2 side) at a high speed to the position immediately before the carriage 37 abuts against the abutting portion 2. If the carriage 37 hits something within 2041 steps and does not stop (No in step S24), that is, when the carriage 37 moves to a position just before hitting the abutting portion 2, the carriage 37 stops at that position. (Step S26), and shifts to the main sequence for determining HP (home position) (Step S27).

  In this sequence of HP (home position) determination, basically, the carriage 37 is moved in the CW direction at a slow speed to abut against the abutment portion 2 and the movement corresponding to the distance from the abutment portion 2 to the home position HP. This is a sequence including a procedure for stopping the carriage 37 at the correct home position HP by moving the carriage 37 at a high speed in the CCW direction (home position HP side) by an amount (predetermined movement amount α).

  Originally, the carriage 37 does not hit the butting portion 2 within 2041 steps. However, in this embodiment, since the carriage 37 is moved at a high speed to the last position just before hitting the abutting portion 2, although it is very low, due to mechanical accuracy, a slight error in the movement start position of the carriage 37, etc. , 2041 step may cause the carriage 37 to abut against the abutting portion 2. Therefore, if the carriage 37 hits the abutting portion 2 at a high speed within 2041 steps (Yes in step S24), the position and state of the carriage 37 may be unstable. 37 is returned in the CCW direction by 60 steps at a slow speed (step S25), the carriage 37 is returned to the position immediately before hitting the butting portion 2 and then the carriage 37 is stopped (step S26), and the HP (home position) determination is made. The process proceeds to the sequence (step S27).

  In this way, before the carriage 37 is moved to the abutting portion 2 in order to move the carriage 37 to the correct home position HP, the carriage lock control near the home position HP is executed, and the carriage lock member 39 is moved to the carriage. Advance to 37 reciprocating movable range. In this state, a certain amount of movement (predetermined movement amount β) of the carriage 37 is tried, and it is determined from the actual movement amount of the carriage 37 whether or not the carriage 37 is positioned in the vicinity of the home position HP. Then, as described above, movement control of the carriage 37 according to the determination result is executed, and the carriage 37 is moved until it hits the abutting portion 2. Accordingly, it is possible to shorten the movement time when moving the carriage 37 until it abuts against the abutment portion 2 while preventing the carriage 37 from colliding with the abutment portion 2 at high speed.

  In this way, in the carriage drive control for detecting the accurate home position HP from the abutting portion 2 serving as a reference for detecting the home position HP, a loud collision sound is generated when the carriage 37 is abutted against the abutting portion 2. The home position detection time based on the abutting portion 2 can be shortened while preventing the recording head 38 from being subjected to a large impact.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and these are also included in the scope of the present invention. Needless to say.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording device with a scanner, 3 apparatus main body, 5 scanner unit, 7 feeding part, 9 discharge | emission receiving part, 21 conveyance drive roller, 22 conveyance driven roller, 23 recording paper support, 24 platen, 25 edge guide, 26 platen unit, 27 Feed port, 28 Pressing roller, 29 Carriage support part, 31 Slide shaft, 32 Carriage drive motor, 33 Endless belt with teeth, 37 Carriage, 38 Recording head, 39 Carriage lock member, 41 Rotating shaft, 43 Annular part 45 Arm, 47 Locking piece, 49 Holding part, 51 Spring, 53 Sliding contact piece, 55 Contact surface, 57 Engagement action part, 58 Engagement inclined surface, 59 Locked part, 61 Contacted surface, 63 engaged portion, 65 groove, 91 discharge driving roller, 92 discharge driven roller, 93 discharge frame, 121 ROM, 122 RAM, 123 USB controller, 124 memory card interface, 125 memory card slot, 126 MPU, 127 I / O, 128 head driver, 129 scanner control unit, HP home position, P recording paper, SB system bus, X main Scanning direction, Y Sub-scanning direction

Claims (5)

A carriage capable of reciprocating in a predetermined direction;
Power transmission means for transmitting power to the carriage;
A movement amount detecting means for detecting a movement amount of the carriage;
An abutting portion defining one end of the reciprocating range;
A carriage locking means capable of switching between a locked state in which the carriage positioned at or near a home position, which is a predetermined position within a reciprocating range of the carriage, and a unlocked state in which the carriage can be moved; Prepared,
A configuration of determining the home position of the previous SL carriage Ri by the moving Previous Kiho over home position side by a predetermined movement amount α from abutting the carriage projecting-out support part,
To move the carriage to the home position, before moving the carriage to abut the abutting portion, whether the carriage is positioned at the home position or the vicinity thereof, the carriage locking means Use and judge ,
A carriage driving device configured to execute movement control of the carriage according to a determination result and move the carriage until it abuts against the abutting portion in order to move the carriage to the home position . 2. The carriage driving device according to claim 1 , wherein the carriage lock unit is switched to the locked state, and the power transmission unit moves the predetermined movement amount β in a direction in which the carriage is locked by the carriage lock unit. A carriage driving device configured to make the determination by trying. Conveying means for conveying the material to be injected in the feeding direction;
A carriage mounted with a liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid on the material to be ejected, and disposed so as to be capable of reciprocating in the width direction with respect to the feeding direction;
A liquid ejecting apparatus provided with a carriage driving device according to claim 1 or 2. A carriage capable of reciprocating in a predetermined direction;
Power transmission means for transmitting power to the carriage;
A movement amount detecting means for detecting a movement amount of the carriage;
An abutting portion defining one end of the reciprocating range;
A carriage locking means capable of switching between a locked state in which the carriage positioned at or near a home position, which is a predetermined position within a reciprocating range of the carriage, and a unlocked state in which the carriage can be moved; A carriage drive control program in a carriage drive device provided,
A procedure for moving the carriage until it abuts against the abutment portion in order to move the carriage to the home position;
And the procedure for determining the home position of the previous Symbol carriage Ri by the be moved to before Kiho over home position side by a predetermined amount of movement α from abutted against the carriage to the projecting-out contact portion,
To move the carriage to the home position, before moving the carriage to abut the abutting portion, whether the carriage is positioned at the home position or the vicinity thereof, the carriage locking means and the procedure for determining to use, and have a,
In the moving procedure, a carriage drive control program that executes movement control of the carriage according to a determination result to move the carriage until it hits the abutting portion . A carriage capable of reciprocating in a predetermined direction;
Power transmission means for transmitting power to the carriage;
A movement amount detecting means for detecting a movement amount of the carriage;
An abutting portion defining one end of the reciprocating range;
A carriage locking means capable of switching between a locked state in which the carriage positioned at or near a home position, which is a predetermined position within a reciprocating range of the carriage, and a unlocked state in which the carriage can be moved; A carriage drive device control method comprising:
Moving the carriage until it abuts against the abutment portion to move the carriage to the home position;
Determining a home position before Symbol carriage Ri by the moving Previous Kiho over home position side by a predetermined movement amount α from abutting the carriage projecting-out support part,
To move the carriage to the home position, before moving the carriage to abut the abutting portion, whether the carriage is positioned at the home position or the vicinity thereof, the carriage locking means and the step of determining to use, and have a,
In the moving step, the carriage driving device is controlled according to a determination result to move the carriage until it hits the abutting portion .

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