JP5304550B2 - Carriage and recording apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a carriage having a recording head for recording on a recording medium. The present invention also relates to a recording apparatus represented by a facsimile, a printer, or the like, provided with the carriage.

  In a recording apparatus typified by a facsimile or a printer, and in particular, an ink jet printer that performs recording by ejecting ink, a gap between the head surface of the recording head that ejects ink and the recording medium (hereinafter “ There is a paper gap that can be adjusted.

  For adjusting the paper gap, for example, a carriage guide shaft for guiding a carriage having a recording head in the head scanning direction is moved up and down, and as shown in Patent Document 1, the carriage has a two-body structure of a main carriage and a sub-carriage. There is a method in which the paper gap is adjusted by displacing the sub carriage relative to the main carriage.

JP 2004-268340 A

  The sub-carriage must be provided so as to be displaceable in the paper gap adjustment direction with respect to the main carriage. For this reason, the sub-carriage is urged toward the main carriage by using the urging force of the urging means. A method of holding the carriage on the main carriage may be employed.

  However, the sub-carriage and the main carriage are often formed by resin molding due to the complexity of the shape. When the sub-carriage is urged toward the main carriage, the sub-carriage is deformed by the stress generated in the sub-carriage, As a result, the posture of the recording head may change, leading to a decrease in recording quality.

  If the urging force of the urging means is set to be weak in order to prevent such problems, the sub carriage moves or vibrates with respect to the main carriage during carriage operation, resulting in a decrease in recording quality. It will end up.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a structure in which the sub carriage is held in the main carriage by using the urging force of the urging means. An object of the present invention is to provide a carriage capable of suppressing deformation of a sub-carriage while being securely held.

  In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention is a carriage including a recording head for recording on a recording medium, the main carriage, and the recording head and the recording target with respect to the main carriage. A sub-carriage provided with the recording head, which is provided so as to be displaceable in a gap adjustment direction in which a gap between the medium and the medium changes, and is interposed between the main carriage and the sub-carriage and fixed to the sub-carriage side. And an intermediate member that is urged toward the main carriage by the urging force of the urging means and is more rigid than the sub-carriage.

  According to this aspect, the sub carriage is held by the urging force of the urging means with respect to the main carriage, and at least a part of the urging force of the urging means is interposed between the main carriage and the sub carriage. Further, it is configured to act on the intermediate member having higher rigidity. Accordingly, even when the urging force of the urging means is set large while the sub carriage is formed of a resin material or the like, the deformation of the sub carriage can be suppressed or prevented. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress deformation of the sub-carriage while securely holding the sub-carriage with respect to the main carriage.

  In addition, an intermediate material having high rigidity, that is, a heavy weight member is interposed between the main carriage and the subcarriage, so that the center of gravity of the entire carriage can be moved toward the main carriage. As a result, in the configuration in which the main carriage is guided in the scanning direction of the recording head, the carriage swinging phenomenon can be suppressed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the subcarriage has a substantially box shape, and the intermediate member extends along the side of the substantially box shape. It is fixed with respect to.

  According to this aspect, since the intermediate member is fixed to the sub-carriage along the side of the sub-carriage having a substantially box shape, the sub-carriage is supported by the intermediate member at a portion having high rigidity. It can be formed and deformation of the sub-carriage can be prevented.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium, comprising the carriage according to the first or second aspect. According to this aspect, in the recording apparatus, it is possible to obtain the operational effects described in the first or second aspect.

1 is a perspective view of an apparatus main body of an ink jet printer according to the present invention. The perspective view which looked at the carriage concerning the present invention from the lower part. The perspective view inside the carriage which concerns on this invention. The principal part disassembled perspective view of the carriage which concerns on this invention. The perspective view of these assembly states of a main carriage, a subcarriage, and an intermediate member. The perspective view of the assembly of a subcarriage and an intermediate member.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus main body of an ink jet printer 1 according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a carriage 10 according to the present invention as viewed from below, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the inside of the carriage 10, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the main part (main carriage 13, intermediate member 22, subcarriage 27), FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the assembly state, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the assembly of the subcarriage 27 and intermediate member 22.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 5 indicates a carriage guide shaft extending in the scanning direction of the inkjet recording head 31 (FIG. 2) (hereinafter referred to as “first direction”). The carriage 10 according to this embodiment includes the carriage guide shaft 5. While being guided, the motor is configured to reciprocate in the first direction by the power of a motor (not shown).

  Reference numeral 2 denotes a frame extending in the first direction and having a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional view. The rotation about the carriage guide shaft 5 due to the weight of the carriage 10 is stopped by the frame 2. The posture of the carriage 10 is defined. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 15 denotes a slider, and the rotation is stopped when the slider 15 abuts against the inner surface of the frame 2.

  The carriage 10 according to this embodiment is a so-called off-carriage type in which no ink cartridge is mounted, and ink is supplied from an ink cartridge (not shown) provided on the apparatus main body side through an ink tube (not shown). It has become. Of course, the carriage according to the present invention may be a so-called on-carriage type on which an ink cartridge is mounted.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 6 denotes a paper support member, and a recording paper as an example of a recording medium is supported by the paper support member 6 so that the distance from the inkjet recording head 31 (hereinafter referred to as “paper gap”). Say). In the inkjet printer 1 according to the present embodiment, the paper gap can be adjusted according to the sheet thickness. A mechanism for performing the adjustment will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the carriage 10 includes an ink jet recording head 31 at the bottom, and the ink discharge nozzles are arranged on the head surface 31 a of the ink jet recording head 31 at predetermined intervals along a direction orthogonal to the first direction. A plurality of arranged nozzle rows (not shown) are arranged at predetermined intervals along the first direction.

  1 and 2, reference numeral 11 denotes a cover that covers the upper opening of the carriage 10, and an ink supply control mechanism (not shown) including a valve device that performs on / off control of ink supply is provided inside the cover 11. Is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the carriage 10 includes a main carriage 13, an intermediate member 22, and a sub-carriage 27. The main carriage 13 has a bearing portion 13 a, and the main carriage 13 is guided to the carriage guide shaft 5 by passing the carriage guide shaft 5 through the bearing portion 13 a.

  Further, a part of an endless belt 8 (FIG. 1) driven by a motor (not shown) is fixed to the main carriage 13, whereby a driving force in the first direction is transmitted to the main carriage 13, and the first carriage It is towed in one direction.

  The intermediate member 22 is interposed between the main carriage 13 and the sub carriage 27 and connects the main carriage 13 and the sub carriage 27. The intermediate member 22 is fixed to the sub carriage 27 with screws.

  The subcarriage 27 has a box shape, and screw holes H1 to H5 are formed in the subcarriage 27 and the intermediate member 22 along the sides of the box shape as shown in FIG. The screw is fixed. As a result, the sub-carriage 27 is supported by the intermediate member 22 at a portion having high rigidity, and deformation of the sub-carriage 27 is prevented.

On the other hand, the intermediate member 22 is provided so as to be slidable with respect to the main carriage 13 in the paper gap adjustment direction (vertical direction in FIG. 3).
More specifically, in FIGS. 4 and 3, reference numeral 22b denotes a guide groove formed in the intermediate member 22 and extending in the vertical direction (paper gap adjusting direction). The guide groove 22b is formed in the main carriage 13. When the boss 13c is loosely inserted, the intermediate member 22 (that is, the sub-carriage 27) is guided in the paper gap adjustment direction with respect to the main carriage 13.

  Next, a tension spring 23 is hung between the spring locking hook 13c formed on the main carriage 13 and the spring locking hook 22e formed on the intermediate member 22, whereby the intermediate member 22 (subcarriage 27). However, the main carriage 13 is biased upward.

  Further, a tension spring 24 is suspended between a spring locking hook 22a formed on the intermediate member 22 and a screw (not shown) screwed into a screw hole 13b formed on the main carriage 13. 22 is urged (pressed) against the main carriage 13.

  Similarly, a tension spring 25 is interposed between a screw (not shown) screwed into a screw hole 27 a formed in the sub-carriage 27 and a screw (not shown) screwed into a screw hole 13 e formed in the main carriage 13. As a result, the sub-carriage 27 is biased toward the main carriage 13.

  As described above, the sub-carriage 27 to which the intermediate member 22 is fixed by screws is attracted to and held by the main carriage 13 at two places on both sides of the upper part and two parts on both sides of the lower part (FIG. 5). The urging force of the tension spring 25 is smaller than the urging force of the tension spring 24, and assists the holding function of the intermediate member 22 and the subcarriage 27 by the tension spring 25.

  On the other hand, on the side of the main carriage 13, cams 18 and 18 that are rotationally driven by a cam shaft 17 are provided as shown in FIG. The cams 18 and 18 are in pressure contact with the cam followers 22c and 22c provided on the upper part of the intermediate member 22 by the biasing force of the tension spring 23 described above, and the cam followers 22c and 22c ( The intermediate member 22) moves up and down. That is, the paper gap changes.

  A cam drive gear 19 is provided at the end of the cam shaft 17, and the cam drive gear 19 is provided in the side frame 4 when the carriage 10 is located at the home position (position in FIG. 1). The tooth wheel train 20 can be connected. A drive motor 21 is provided on the side frame 4, and the cam shaft 17 is rotationally driven by the power of the drive motor 21 so that the paper gap changes.

  Next, a head assembly 30 is provided at the bottom of the sub-carriage 27. The head assembly 30 includes an inkjet recording head 31 and a head holder (not shown) that holds the inkjet recording head 31.

  Reference numeral 32 denotes an ink introduction needle provided in the ink jet recording head 31. An ink introduction needle 32 is provided corresponding to each color of a plurality of colors of ink and is connected to an ink flow path (not shown). .

  The head assembly 30 is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the sub-carriage 27 in a plane parallel to the head surface 31a, and the posture (tilt) of the inkjet recording head 31 can be adjusted by a tilt adjusting unit (not shown). It has become.

  In the carriage 10 configured as described above, the main carriage 13 and the sub-carriage 27 are formed of a resin material (for example, PPE (polyphenylene ether) resin), and the intermediate member 22 is formed of a steel material (for example, SECC). Yes.

  That is, it is interposed between the main carriage 13 and the sub-carriage 27 and is fixed to the side of the sub-carriage 27, and receives a biasing force from the biasing means (the tension spring 24) at the spring locking hook 22a toward the main carriage 13. The intermediate member 22 that is urged (pressed) has a property of being higher in rigidity than the sub-carriage 27.

  Accordingly, even when the biasing force of the tension spring 24 is set large while the subcarriage 27 is formed of a resin material, the deformation of the subcarriage 27 can be prevented. Therefore, it is possible to prevent deformation of the sub-carriage 27 while securely holding the sub-carriage 27 with respect to the main carriage 13.

  In addition, since the intermediate member 22 having high rigidity, that is, a heavy member with its own weight, is interposed between the main carriage 13 and the subcarriage 27, the center of gravity of the entire carriage can be moved toward the main carriage 13. As a result, the carriage 10 can be prevented from swinging when the carriage 10 is pulled by the endless belt 8.

  In the embodiment described above, the intermediate member 22 receives one urging force (the tension spring 24) of the tension springs 24 and 25 that hold the sub-carriage 27 on the main carriage 13. You may comprise so that it may receive power. That is, the spring locking hook 27a shown in FIG. 5 may be provided not on the sub-carriage 27 side but on the intermediate member 22 side.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer (device main body), 2 frames, 4 side frames, 5 carriage guide shaft, 6 paper support member, 8 endless belt, 10 carriage, 11 cover, 13 main carriage, 13a bearing portion, 13b screw hole, 13c boss, 13d Spring lock hook, 15 Slider, 17 Cam shaft, 18 Cam, 19 Cam drive gear, 20 Tooth wheel train, 21 Drive motor, 22 Intermediate member, 22a Spring lock hook, 22b Guide groove, 22c Cam follower, 22d Screw hole 22e Spring locking hook, 23, 24 Tension spring, 27 Subcarriage, 29 Head attitude adjusting means, 30 Head assembly, 31 Inkjet recording head,

Claims (3)

A carriage having a recording head for recording on a recording medium,
A main carriage,
A sub-carriage provided with the recording head provided to be displaceable in a gap adjustment direction in which a gap between the recording head and a recording medium changes with respect to the main carriage;
An intermediate member that is interposed between the main carriage and the sub-carriage, is fixed to the sub-carriage side, and is biased toward the main carriage by a biasing force of a biasing unit. When,
A carriage comprising: a carriage. The carriage according to claim 1, wherein the sub-carriage has a substantially box shape.
The intermediate member is fixed to the sub-carriage along the substantially box-shaped side;
A carriage characterized by that. A recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium, comprising the carriage according to claim 1 or 2.
A recording apparatus.

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