JP5240225B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus that performs recording with a recording head mounted on a carriage that reciprocates.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a carriage on which an ink jet head is mounted is disposed on the upper surface of two guide rails extending in the horizontal direction, straddling the two guide rails, and reciprocating in the horizontal direction. Moving. At this time, the carriage is guided in the horizontal direction by sliding with a surface (sliding surface) such as an edge protruding upward from one guide rail. Further, this ink jet recording apparatus is provided with a linear encoder for detecting the position of the carriage in the horizontal direction. And the encoder strip (detected member) which comprises this linear encoder is arrange | positioned above the carriage.

JP 2010-12607 A

  Here, if the encoder strip is disposed above the carriage, the user tends to touch the encoder strip. Therefore, the inventor of the present invention considered arranging the encoder strip below the carriage in order to prevent the user from touching the encoder strip.

  When the encoder strip is arranged below the carriage in this way, the encoder strip is arranged at a position facing the sliding surface of the guide rail. The sliding surface facing the encoder strip is generally coated with grease to make the carriage move smoothly.

  On the other hand, if the encoder strip is arranged below the carriage, it is difficult for the user to touch the encoder strip. For example, when the jammed recording paper comes into contact with the encoder strip or when the jammed recording paper is taken out. In addition, the user's hand can touch the encoder strip.

  From the above, in the unlikely event that the user's hand or recording paper touches the encoder strip arranged below the carriage, the encoder strip bends and contacts the sliding surface of the guide rail, There is a possibility that the grease applied to the sliding surface may adhere to the encoder strip.

  Furthermore, when the encoder strip is attached during the manufacture of the ink jet recording apparatus, the encoder strip is often temporarily bent, but when the encoder strip is disposed below the carriage, When the encoder strip is attached, the bent encoder strip may come into contact with the sliding surface of the guide rail, and the grease applied to the sliding surface may adhere to the encoder strip.

  If grease adheres to the encoder strip as described above, the linear encoder may not be able to accurately detect the position of the carriage.

  An object of the present invention is to apply grease applied to a sliding surface of a guide member for guiding a carriage to a flexible member to be detected that constitutes position detection means for detecting the position of the carriage. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus capable of preventing the occurrence of the problem.

  A recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a carriage that reciprocates in a first direction, a recording head that is mounted on the carriage, and a sliding surface that extends in the first direction. A guide member that guides in the first direction by sliding on the moving surface, and a flexibility that is disposed so as to face the sliding surface and that has a pattern indicating a position in the first direction. A position detection means comprising: a detected member; and a detector that is mounted on the carriage and detects the position of the carriage in the first direction by detecting the pattern; the sliding surface; It is arrange | positioned between detection members, The protection member which prevents that the said to-be-detected member contacts the said sliding surface is provided.

  According to the present invention, even if the flexible member to be detected is bent to the sliding surface side due to an external force applied, the member to be detected contacts the protective member disposed between itself and the sliding surface. In addition, since it does not come into contact with the sliding surface, it is possible to prevent the grease applied to the sliding surface for smooth movement of the carriage from adhering to the detected member.

  A recording apparatus according to a second invention is the recording apparatus according to the first invention, wherein the protective member is a film.

  In many cases, the gap between the member to be detected and the sliding surface is not so wide, but since the protective member is a film, the protective member can be easily disposed in such a gap.

  A recording apparatus according to a third invention is the recording apparatus according to the first or second invention, wherein the recording head is an ink jet head that ejects ink from a nozzle, and is connected to the ink jet head. Ink supply for supplying ink to the inkjet head, which extends so as to be positioned on one side of the detected member with respect to a second direction parallel to the surface direction of the detected member and perpendicular to the first direction. A tube is further provided, and the protection member extends to the one side with respect to the detected member in the second direction.

  According to the present invention, even if the ink supply tube is bent and deformed to the detected member side by the protective member, the ink supply tube contacts the protective member first, so the ink supply tube contacts the detected member. Can be difficult. Further, since the protective member is larger than the detected member in the second direction, the detected member can be made less likely to contact the sliding surface compared to the case where the protective member is the same size as the detected member. .

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus manufacturing method, comprising: a carriage that reciprocates in a first direction; a recording head mounted on the carriage; and a sliding surface that extends in the first direction. , A guide member that guides in the first direction by sliding on the sliding surface, and a pattern that indicates the displacement of the carriage in the first direction is disposed so as to face the sliding surface. Manufacturing of a recording apparatus comprising: a flexible member to be detected; and a position detecting unit that is mounted on the carriage and detects a position of the carriage by detecting the pattern. A method of disposing a protective member for preventing the detected member from coming into contact with the sliding surface between the sliding surface and the mounting position of the detected member; After the step of placing a protection member, characterized in that it comprises a, a step of attaching the detection member to the mounting position.

  The flexible member to be detected may be temporarily bent when attached. According to the present invention, the protective member is disposed between the sliding surface and the attachment position of the encoder film. Then, since the member to be detected is attached, even when the member to be detected is temporarily bent when the member to be detected is attached, the position between the attachment position of the member to be detected and the sliding surface It contacts the protective member arranged in the, and does not contact the sliding surface. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the grease applied to the sliding surface from adhering to the detected member during manufacturing of the recording apparatus.

  According to the present invention, even if a flexible member to be detected is deflected to the sliding surface side due to an external force or the like, the member to be detected is attached to the protective member disposed between itself and the sliding surface. Since they are in contact with each other and do not come into contact with the sliding surface, it is possible to prevent the grease applied to the sliding surface for smooth movement of the carriage from adhering to the detected member.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. 1, (b) is the sectional view on the BB line of FIG. It is the figure which looked at Fig.2 (a) from the direction of arrow III. It is a figure equivalent to Drawing 2 (a) of modification 1. It is a figure equivalent to Drawing 2 (a) of modification 2. FIG. 9 is a diagram corresponding to FIG.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. FIG. 2B is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. FIG. 3 is a view of FIG. 2A viewed from the direction of arrow III. In the following description, as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the printer 1 (recording apparatus) includes two guide rails 2 and 3 (guide members), a carriage 4, an inkjet head 5, a moving mechanism 6, four tubes 7, and a linear encoder. 8 and a protective film 9 are provided.

  The guide rail 2 is a plate-like body extending in the left-right direction. Further, the guide rail 2 is provided with a protruding portion 11 that protrudes upward at the front end portion thereof and extends in the left-right direction (first direction) over substantially the entire length of the guide rail 2. Of these, the portion located immediately behind the protruding portion 11 is a sliding surface 2a that slides on the carriage 4 as will be described later.

  The guide rail 3 is a plate-like body extending in the left-right direction, and is arranged below the guide rail 2 in FIG. The guide rail 3 is provided with projecting portions 12 and 13 that protrude upward at the front end portion and the rear end portion, respectively, and extend in the left-right direction (first direction) over almost the entire length of the guide rail 3. The rear surface of the protrusion 12 and the front surface of the protrusion 13 are sliding surfaces 12a and 13a that slide with the carriage 4 as described later.

  Here, in order to make the movement of the carriage 4 described later smooth, grease is applied to the sliding surfaces 2 a, 12 a, and 13 a that slide with the carriage 4.

  The carriage 4 is disposed on the upper surfaces of the guide rails 2 and 3 so as to straddle the guide rails 2 and 3 and reciprocates in the left-right direction (first direction) as will be described later. Further, the carriage 4 is disposed so as to abut against the sliding surfaces 2a, 12a, and 13a, respectively, and when the carriage 4 moves, the sliding surfaces 4a to 4a that slide with the sliding surfaces 2a, 12a, and 13a, respectively. 4c is provided. Thereby, the carriage 4 is guided in the left-right direction by the sliding surfaces 4a to 4c sliding on the sliding surfaces 2a, 12a, and 13a, respectively, during the movement. In other words, the guide rails 2 and 3 guide the carriage 4 in the left-right direction by sliding the carriage 4 on the sliding surfaces 2a, 12a, and 13a, respectively.

  The inkjet head 5 is mounted on a portion of the carriage 4 that faces the space between the guide rail 2 and the guide rail 3 in a plan view, and ejects ink from nozzles 15 formed on the lower surface thereof.

  In the printer 1, printing is performed on the recording paper P by ejecting ink from the inkjet head 5 that reciprocates in the left-right direction together with the carriage 4 onto the recording paper P that is transported forward by a paper transporting mechanism (not shown). .

  The moving mechanism 6 is for moving the carriage 4 in the left-right direction. The moving mechanism 6 includes an endless belt 21 to which the carriage 4 is fixed, and two pulleys 22 and 23 around which the belt 21 is wound, and the pulley 22 is moved by a motor (not shown) connected to the pulley 22. When rotating in both directions, the belt 21 rotates in both directions, whereby the carriage 4 reciprocates in the left-right direction. At this time, the pulley 23 rotates following the rotation of the belt 21.

  One end of each of the four tubes 7 (ink supply tubes) is connected to the left front end portion of the carriage 4 and extends leftward from the connection portion with the carriage 4. Then, the extending direction is reversed by about 180 ° in the middle, and the other end is connected to the four ink cartridges 30. The four ink cartridges 30 are filled with black, yellow, cyan, and magenta inks, respectively, and these four color inks are connected to the tube 7 and a sub tank (not shown) that connects the tube 7 and the inkjet head 5. Or the like to be supplied to the inkjet head 5.

  The linear encoder 8 (position detection means) is for detecting the position of the carriage 4 in the left-right direction, and includes an encoder film 31 (detected member) and a detector 32.

  The encoder film 31 is made of a flexible material such as synthetic resin, and its right end portion is fixed to a fixing portion 41 provided on the upper surface of the guide rail 3 and its left end portion is on the upper surface of the guide rail 3. It is being fixed to the spring 33 supported by the provided support parts 42 and 43. FIG. Thereby, the encoder film 31 is pulled leftward by the spring 33 and extends in the left-right direction without being bent.

  And the encoder film 31 is arrange | positioned in this way so that it may oppose the sliding surface 13a under the carriage 4 in the vicinity of the sliding surface 13a.

  Here, the encoder film 31 needs to be disposed near the center of gravity of the carriage 4 so that the position of the carriage 4 in the left-right direction can be accurately detected. The sliding surface 12a and the sliding surface 13a of the guide rail 3 are: In order to suppress rattling during movement of the carriage 4, it is necessary to dispose the carriage 4 in the vicinity of the center of gravity of the carriage 4 so as to oppose the carriage 4.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the encoder film 31 is disposed below the carriage 4 in order to prevent the user from touching the encoder film 31. For the above reason, the encoder film 31 is disposed on the carriage 4. In this case, the encoder film 31 is opposed to the one sliding surface in the vicinity of one of the sliding surfaces 12a and 13a.

  Therefore, in this Embodiment, as mentioned above, the encoder film 31 is arrange | positioned in the position facing the sliding surface 13a in the vicinity of the sliding surface 13a.

  The encoder film 31 is formed with a plurality of encoder slits 31a (patterns indicating positions in the first direction) that extend in the vertical direction and are arranged at almost equal intervals in the horizontal direction. Has been.

  The detector 32 is mounted on the lower surface of the carriage 4 and includes a light emitting unit 32a and a light receiving unit 32b. The light emitting part 32a and the light receiving part 32b are arranged with the encoder film 31 in between. The encoder film 31 allows light to pass through the plurality of encoder slits 31a, and does not pass light between the encoder slits 31a. For this reason, when the carriage 4 moves, the light receiving unit 32b alternately repeats the case of receiving the light from the light emitting unit 32a and the case of not receiving the light. Then, the position of the carriage 4 in the left-right direction is detected by the number of times when the light receiving unit 32b receives light.

  The protective film 9 is a film made of a synthetic resin or the like, and is disposed between the sliding surface 13 a and the encoder film 31 over the entire length in the left-right direction of the encoder film 31. The protective film 9 has a left end portion fixed to a fixing portion 44 provided on the upper surface of the guide rail 3 and a right end portion supported by support portions 45 and 46 provided on the upper surface of the guide rail 3. It is fixed to the spring 34. Thereby, the protective film 9 is pulled rightward by the spring 34 and extends in the left-right direction without being bent.

  Further, the protective film 9 extends above the encoder film 41 (one side from the encoder film 31 in the second direction parallel to the surface direction of the encoder film 31 and perpendicular to the first direction).

  Here, in the present embodiment, as described above, the encoder film 31 is disposed below the carriage 4, and it is difficult for the user to touch the encoder film 31, but for example, a paper jam occurs during printing. In this case, the recording paper P may come into contact with the encoder film 31, or the user's hand trying to take out the jammed recording paper P may come into contact with the encoder film 31. When the recording paper P or the user's hand comes into contact, the encoder film 3 may be bent toward the sliding surface 13a.

  At this time, if there is no protective film 9, as described above, the encoder film 31 is disposed in the vicinity of the sliding surface 13a so as to face the sliding surface 13a. There is a possibility that the grease applied to the sliding surface 13a may adhere to the encoder film 31 due to contact with the sliding surface 13a. If grease adheres to the encoder film 31, the detector 32 may not be able to detect the position of the encoder slit 31a. That is, the linear encoder 8 may not be able to detect the position of the carriage 4.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, as described above, the protective film 9 is disposed between the encoder film 31 and the sliding surface 13a. Therefore, even if the encoder film 31 bends toward the sliding surface 13a, it contacts the protective film 9 and does not contact the sliding surface 13a. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the grease applied to the sliding surface 13a from adhering to the encoder film 31.

  Further, when the encoder film 31 faces the sliding surface 13a in the vicinity of the sliding surface 13a, there is no large gap between the encoder film 31 and the sliding surface 13a, but the thin protective film 9 is used. If it exists, it can arrange | position easily also in such a clearance gap.

  Further, the tube 7 for supplying the ink filled in the ink cartridge 30 to the inkjet head 5 is arranged as described above, so that a part of the tube 7 is temporarily or always moved when the carriage 4 is moved. It may come above the encoder film 31. At this time, if the tube 7 hangs down due to the weight of the ink or the ink inside, the encoder film 31 may be contacted. When the tube 7 comes into contact with the encoder film 31, the encoder film 31 is deformed and the position of the encoder slit 31a is changed. As a result, the position of the carriage 4 in the left-right direction is accurately detected by the linear encoder 8. There is a risk that it will be impossible.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the protective film 9 for preventing the encoder film 31 from coming into contact with the sliding surface 13 a is assumed to extend above the encoder film 31. Therefore, the tube 7 comes into contact with the protective film 9 extending upward from the encoder film 31 even if the portion located above the encoder film 31 hangs down, and the tube 7 comes into contact with the encoder film 31. Is prevented. Moreover, since the protective film 9 is larger than the encoder film 31, the encoder film 31 can be made difficult to contact the sliding surface 13a.

  Next, a procedure for attaching the encoder film 31 and the protective film 9 when manufacturing the printer 1 will be described. When the printer 1 is manufactured, the encoder film 31 and the protective film 9 are attached to the upper surface of the guide rail 3 in which grease is applied to the sliding surfaces 12a and 13a. At this time, the protective film 9 is attached between the sliding surface 13a and the attachment position of the encoder film 31 (step of arranging the protective member), and then the encoder film 31 is attached to the attachment position (the detected member is attached). Attaching process).

  Here, in order to attach the encoder film 31, specifically, the right end portion of the encoder film 31 is first fixed to the fixing portion 41 of the guide rail 3, and then the left end portion is attached to the spring 33. In this way, when the encoder film 31 is attached, the encoder film 31 is often temporarily bent. Therefore, if the encoder film 31 is attached before the protective film 9 is attached, the bent encoder film 31 may come into contact with the sliding surface 13a. When the encoder film 31 contacts the sliding surface 13a, the grease applied to the sliding surface 13a adheres to the encoder film 31, and as a result, the detector 32 may not be able to detect the position of the encoder slit 31a. There is.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the encoder film 31 is attached after the protective film 9 is attached. Therefore, even if the encoder film 31 is temporarily bent toward the sliding surface 13a at the time of attachment, the encoder film 31 contacts the protective film 9 and does not contact the sliding surface 13a. As a result, it is possible to prevent grease from adhering to the encoder film 31.

  Next, modified examples in which various changes are made to the present embodiment will be described. However, description of components having the same configuration as in this embodiment will be omitted as appropriate.

  In the above-described embodiment, the protective film 9 is disposed between the encoder film 31 and the sliding surface 13a. However, the protective film 9 is disposed between the encoder film 31 and the sliding surface 13a. It is not limited to.

  For example, when the tube 7 droops greatly, if the thin protective film 9 is disposed between the encoder film 31 and the sliding surface 13a, the tube 7 rubs against the thin protective film 9. A large pressure is applied to the tube 7 and the tube 7 may be damaged. Therefore, in such a case, from the viewpoint of preventing the tube 7 from being damaged, a rubber having a shape thicker than the film is used as a protective member between the encoder film 31 and the sliding surface 13a. Also good.

  Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the encoder film 31 comes into contact with the sliding surface 13a between the encoder film 31 and the sliding surface 13a as the protective member, and the tube 7 contacts the encoder film 31. Although the dedicated protective film 9 for preventing contact is disposed, the present invention is not limited to this, and a part of the components of the printer 1 can be used as a protective member.

  For example, in one modified example (modified example 1), as shown in FIG. 4, the belt 21 and the pulleys 22 and 23 for moving the carriage 4 are located behind the above-described embodiment, and the pulleys 22 and 23 An encoder film 31 is disposed inside the belt 21 wound around the belt. Furthermore, the belt 21 and the pulleys 22 and 23 are disposed above the above-described embodiment, and the belt 21 extends above the encoder film 31.

  Furthermore, in another modified example (modified example 2), as shown in FIG. 5, a portion of the upper surface of the guide rail 3 between the encoder film 31 and the sliding surface 13 a is above the encoder film 31. A protrusion 51 extending to the top is formed. In addition, this protrusion 51 can be formed by cutting and raising, for example, when the guide rail 3 is made of a metal material.

  In another modification (Modification 3), the guide rails 2 and 3 are thicker than those in the above-described embodiment, and a recess deeper than the height of the encoder film 71 is formed on the upper surface of the guide rail 3. 55 is formed. The encoder film 31 and the detector 32 are accommodated in the recess 55. In addition, this recessed part 55 can be formed by integral molding, for example, when the guide rail 3 consists of resin materials.

  Even in the case of these modified examples 1 to 3, the encoder film 31 is formed on the belt 21, the protrusion 51, and the portion that becomes the wall behind the concave portion 55 of the guide rail 3 when bent to the sliding surface 13 a side. It contacts, but does not contact the sliding surface 13a, and it can prevent that the grease apply | coated to the sliding surface 13a adheres to the encoder film 31 by this.

  Furthermore, even if the tube 7 hangs down, the tube 7 comes into contact with the belt 21, the projection 51, and the portion of the guide rail 3 that becomes the wall behind the recess 55, and thus the tube 7 is connected to the encoder 7. Contact with the film 31 is prevented.

  In the case of the first to third modifications, portions of the belt 21, the protrusion 51, and the guide rail 3 that are walls behind the concave portion 55 correspond to the protective member according to the present invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, the protective film 9 extends upward from the encoder film 31 in order to prevent the suspended tube 7 from coming into contact with the encoder film 31. Not limited. For example, when the tube 4 hardly moves above the encoder film 31 when the carriage 4 is moved, or when the sag of the tube 7 is small, the protective film 9 is as high as the encoder film 31. However, it may not be extended.

  In the above-described embodiment, the protective film 9 is larger than the encoder film 31 in the vertical direction, but is not limited thereto. For example, the protective film 9 may be smaller than the encoder film 31 in the vertical direction. In this case, when the protective film 9 is disposed above the encoder film 31, the lower side of the encoder film 31 faces the sliding surface 13 a, but the recording paper P and the user's hand are in contact with the upper side of the encoder film 31. Since the upper part of the encoder film 31 is easy to contact the sliding surface 13a, the protective film 9 can be downsized.

  Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the protective film 9 was a rectangular thing, it is not restricted to this. For example, the protective film 9 may have a convex shape so that the protective film 9 extends upward from the encoder film 31 only in the portion of the protective film 9 where the tube 7 is located above.

  In the above description, the recording head mounted on the carriage is an inkjet head that ejects ink from the nozzles. However, the recording head is not limited to this, and the recording head is other than the inkjet head, such as a thermal head. May be.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 2, 3 Guide rail 4 Carriage 5 Inkjet head 7 Tube 8 Encoder 9 Protective film 15 Nozzle 21 Belt 31 Encoder film 32 Detector 51 Protrusion 55 Concavity

Claims (4)

A carriage that reciprocates in a first direction;
A recording head mounted on the carriage;
A guide member having a sliding surface extending in the first direction and guiding the carriage in the first direction by sliding the carriage on the sliding surface;
It is arranged so as to face the sliding surface, and has a flexible member to be detected on which a pattern indicating the position in the first direction is formed, and is mounted on the carriage, and detects the pattern. A position detecting means comprising a detector for detecting a position of the carriage in the first direction,
A recording apparatus, comprising: a protective member that is disposed between the sliding surface and the member to be detected and prevents the member to be detected from coming into contact with the sliding surface. .   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protective member is a film. The recording head is an inkjet head that ejects ink from nozzles,
The inkjet connected to the inkjet head and extending to be positioned on one side of the detected member with respect to a second direction parallel to the surface direction of the detected member and perpendicular to the first direction An ink supply tube for supplying ink to the head;
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protection member extends to the one side with respect to the detected member in the second direction. A carriage that reciprocates in a first direction;
A recording head mounted on the carriage;
A guide member having a sliding surface extending in the first direction and guiding the carriage in the first direction by sliding the carriage on the sliding surface;
A flexible member to be detected, which is disposed so as to face the sliding surface and has a pattern indicating displacement in the first direction of the carriage, and mounted on the carriage. A position detecting means comprising a detector for detecting the position of the carriage by detecting
Disposing a protective member between the sliding surface and the mounting position of the detected member to prevent the detected member from contacting the sliding surface;
And a step of attaching the member to be detected to the attachment position after the step of arranging the protective member.

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