JP5344138B2 - Carriage and recording apparatus provided with the carriage - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce possibility of causing the variation of PG (Platen Gap) and the degradation of parallelism due to acceleration, vibration or the like during the movement of the carriage in a carriage with an APG switching mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: First to fourth eccentric cams 21 to 24 are eccentric cams of the identical shape, which have the identical cam profile. With cam faces abutting on the upper surface of a head unit 10, the first to fourth eccentric cams 21 to 24 support the head unit 10 from the upper surface side. Four coil springs 11 to 14 are pressed between the head unit 10 and carriage 61, and biases the head unit 10 to the first to fourth eccentric cams 21 to 24. Gear wheels 31 to 35 are a gear wheel mechanism by which the support surface of the head unit 10 composed of the cam faces of the first to fourth eccentric cams 21 to 24 is displaced in direction Z. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a carriage that is reciprocally supported by a recording apparatus, and a recording apparatus that includes the carriage.

  In a recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer, one of the important factors in realizing high-quality recording is to define the distance between the head surface of the recording head and the recording surface of the recording material with high accuracy. Therefore, a mechanism (hereinafter referred to as “APG switching mechanism”) that automatically switches the distance between the support surface of the platen or the like that supports the recording material and the head surface of the recording head (so-called platen gap; hereinafter referred to as “PG” for short). Is known). By switching PG according to the type and thickness of the recording material, the interval between the head surface of the recording head and the recording surface of the recording material is defined with high accuracy regardless of the type and thickness of the recording material. be able to.

  The conventional APG switching mechanism moves the carriage in the direction intersecting the head surface by vertically moving the entire carriage support structure such as a carriage guide shaft that supports the carriage so as to reciprocate, thereby switching the PG. A structure has been generally adopted (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In recent years, however, recording apparatuses such as ink jet printers have become larger in size in order to achieve higher speed and higher image quality, and accordingly, the carriage tends to become larger and weight increases. Therefore, in the conventional APG switching mechanism that moves the carriage and the entire support structure up and down, the weight of the entire carriage including the head unit and the weight of the carriage guide shaft, etc. are supported with sufficient rigidity, while maintaining high precision. Therefore, the entire mechanism must be large. That is, in the APG switching mechanism that moves the entire carriage support structure up and down, there is a possibility that the recording apparatus may be increased in size and the cost may be significantly increased due to the increase in the size of the recording head.

As an example of a conventional technique capable of solving such a problem, a recording apparatus provided with an APG switching mechanism inside a carriage is known (see, for example, Patent Document 2). This prior art carriage has a two-body structure consisting of a main carriage and a sub-carriage, and a head unit is mounted on a sub-carriage supported in a floating state on the main carriage, in a direction crossing the head surface. A mechanism for switching the PG by displacing the sub-carriage is provided inside the carriage. By providing the APG switching mechanism in the carriage in this way, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the recording apparatus as described above will be increased in size and greatly increased in cost.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-211748 JP 2004-268340 A

  However, in a recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer, it is one of the important factors for realizing high-quality recording that the parallelism between the head surface of the recording head and the recording surface of the recording material is precisely defined. . In the carriage disclosed in Patent Document 2, since the floating sub-carriage is supported by only one eccentric cam or two eccentric cams, the support state of the head unit tends to be unstable due to its structure. . For this reason, in the carriage disclosed in Patent Document 2, the support state of the head unit becomes unstable due to acceleration, vibration, or the like acting when the carriage reciprocates, and the recording surface and the head surface of the recording material There is a possibility that the degree of parallelism cannot be maintained with high accuracy, and that PG may fluctuate during recording.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and the problem is that, in a carriage having an APG switching mechanism, variations in PG and parallelism of the head surface due to acceleration, vibration, etc. during carriage movement. This is to reduce the possibility of a decrease in the number of times.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, in a carriage that is mounted with a head unit having a recording head and is supported by the recording apparatus so as to be capable of reciprocating, the head unit has a direction crossing the head surface of the recording head. At least three or more support parts for supporting the head unit in a certain first direction, urging means for urging the head unit to the plurality of support parts, and a plurality of supports formed by the plurality of support parts And a displacement mechanism for displacing the surface in the first direction with the same amount of displacement.

  According to such a feature, since the head unit is supported by the carriage by at least three or more support portions, the head unit can be supported by the carriage in a stable support state. Further, when the PG is switched by the displacement mechanism, the plurality of support surfaces formed by the plurality of support portions are displaced in the first direction with the same amount of displacement, so that the stable support state of the head unit and the parallelism of the head surface PG can be switched while maintaining the above.

As a result, according to the carriage described in the first aspect of the present invention, in the carriage provided with the APG switching mechanism, fluctuations in PG due to acceleration, vibration, etc. during carriage movement and a reduction in parallelism of the head surface occur. The effect that fear can be reduced is obtained.
Furthermore, according to the carriage described in the first aspect of the present invention, the support load of the head unit may be distributed evenly over the plurality of support portions of three or more, which may cause wear or deformation of the support portions. Can be reduced. Therefore, in the carriage provided with the APG switching mechanism, it is possible to reduce the possibility that a decrease in PG accuracy or a decrease in parallelism of the head surface due to wear or deformation of the support portion can be reduced.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the first aspect described above, when the predetermined direction along the head surface of the recording head is the second direction, the plurality of support portions are the recording head. The carriage further includes a first support portion that supports a portion on one side in the second direction and a second support portion that supports a portion on the other side in the second direction from the recording head. is there.

  According to such a feature, since the support state of the head unit in at least the second direction can be further stabilized, the head unit can be supported by the carriage in a more stable support state.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the second aspect described above, the first support portion and the second support portion are provided in the same phase on a first rotation shaft that is rotatably supported. And the displacement mechanism includes a mechanism for rotating the first rotating shaft by a driving force of a driving force source, and a support position on one end side of the first rotating shaft in the first direction. It is a carriage characterized by having an adjustable mechanism.

  According to such a feature, by rotating the first rotation shaft, PG can be switched according to the cam profile of the eccentric cam while maintaining the parallelism of the head surface. Further, by adjusting the support position on the one end side of the first rotating shaft in the first direction, the parallelism of the head surface in at least the second direction can be finely adjusted. It becomes possible to set.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the second aspect or the third aspect described above, when the direction intersecting the second direction along the head surface of the recording head is the third direction. The plurality of support portions include a third support portion that supports a portion on one side in the second direction from the recording head, and a fourth support that supports a portion on the other side in the second direction from the recording head. The first support portion and the second support portion support a portion on one side in the third direction from the recording head, and the third support portion and the fourth support portion are the recording head. A carriage that supports a portion on the other side in the third direction from the head.

  According to such a feature, the support state of the head unit in the second direction can be further stabilized, and the support state of the head unit in the third direction intersecting with the second direction can be further stabilized. Therefore, the head unit can be supported by the carriage in a more stable support state.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the fourth aspect described above, the third support portion and the fourth support portion are provided in the same phase on a second rotation shaft that is rotatably supported. And the displacement mechanism includes a mechanism for rotating the second rotating shaft by a driving force of a driving force source, and a support position on one end side of the second rotating shaft in the first direction. It is a carriage characterized by having an adjustable mechanism.

  According to such a feature, by rotating the first rotation shaft and the second rotation shaft in the same rotation direction with the same rotation amount, the parallelism of the head surface is maintained, and the PG according to the cam profile of the eccentric cam. Can be switched. Further, the parallelism of the head surface in the second direction and the parallelism of the head surface in the third direction are finely adjusted by adjusting the support position on one end side of the first rotation shaft and the second rotation shaft in the first direction. Therefore, the parallelism of the head surface can be set with higher accuracy.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the first aspect, the predetermined direction along the head surface of the recording head is a second direction, and the second direction is along the head surface of the recording head. A second direction positioning portion that defines the support position of the head unit in the second direction when the intersecting direction is the third direction, and a third direction that defines the support position of the head unit in the third direction And a positioning unit.
According to such a feature, it is possible to reduce a possibility that the support position of the head unit with respect to the carriage is shifted in the second direction or the third direction due to acceleration, vibration, or the like when the carriage is moved.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the sixth aspect described above, an inclination angle adjustment mechanism is provided for adjusting the inclination angle of the head unit in the rotational direction along the head surface. It is a carriage characterized by.
According to such a feature, since the tilt angle of the head unit in the rotational direction along the head surface can be set with high accuracy, it becomes possible to realize more accurate recording.

An eighth aspect of the present invention is a recording apparatus including the carriage according to any one of the first to seventh aspects described above.
According to the recording apparatus described in the eighth aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus including the carriage provided with the APG switching mechanism, the function and effect of the invention described in any one of the first to seventh aspects described above can be obtained. Can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Schematic configuration of inkjet printer>
First, a schematic configuration of an inkjet printer 50 as a “recording apparatus” according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of an ink jet printer 50, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part in which a part thereof is enlarged. FIG. 3 is a side view of an essential part of the ink jet printer 50, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of an essential part of the ink jet printer 50.

  The ink jet printer 50 includes an automatic feeding device 70 that feeds recording paper (not shown) as a “recording material” to the inside of the ink jet printer 50. The inkjet printer 50 includes five recording heads 621 to 625 that eject ink onto the recording surface of the recording paper. Further, the ink jet printer 50 includes a carriage 61 as means for causing the recording heads 621 to 625 to relatively scan the recording paper in the main scanning direction X. Further, the ink jet printer 50 includes a transport driving roller 51, a transport driven roller 52, a discharge drive roller 54, and a discharge driven roller 55 as means for scanning the recording paper in the sub-scanning direction Y relative to the recording heads 621 to 625. ing.

  The automatic feeding device 70 includes a feeding tray 71, a left edge guide 72, a right edge guide 73, a tray cover 74, and a feeding roller (not shown).

  The feeding tray 71 is placed and accommodated in a state where a plurality of recording sheets are stacked. The left edge guide 72 and the right edge guide 73 are guide members that regulate the loading position of the recording sheets stacked on the feeding tray 71 in the main scanning direction X. The tray cover 74 is a multi-stage slide cover provided so that the upper portion of the feeding tray 71 can be opened and closed. As for the recording sheets stacked on the feeding tray 71, the uppermost recording sheet comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the feeding roller, and the conveyance driving roller 51 and the conveyance driven roller 52 are rotated by the rotation of the feeding roller. To the position where the tip reaches the abutting portion.

  The transport driving roller 51 has a high friction coating on the surface, and rotates by receiving the rotational driving force of a transport motor (not shown). The transport driven roller 52 is rotatably supported at the tip of a driven roller holder 521 that is pivotally supported. The driven roller holder 521 is urged in a direction in which the conveyance driven roller 52 contacts the conveyance driving roller 51 by the spring force of the torsion coil spring 522. The recording paper fed by the automatic feeding device 70 is sandwiched between the transport driving roller 51 and the transport driven roller 52 and is transported on the platen 53 in the sub-scanning direction Y by the driving rotation of the transport driving roller 51.

  The carriage 61 is disposed so as to be capable of reciprocating in the main scanning direction X with the first bearing portion 611 supported by the main guide shaft 56 and the second bearing portion 612 supported by the sub guide shaft 57. An endless belt 64 is suspended along a main scanning direction X between a driving pulley 631 and a driven pulley (not shown) of the carriage driving motor 63, and a part of the endless belt 64 is a carriage. 61 is connected. The carriage 61 reciprocates in the main scanning direction X by bidirectionally rotating the carriage driving motor 63.

  The recording heads 621 to 625 are mounted on the carriage 61 such that each head surface 62 a faces the support surface 531 of the platen 53. In the recording heads 621 to 615, a number of ejection nozzles for ejecting ink are arranged on the head surface 62a (not shown), and an ink tank is connected via an ink tube 81 having five ink flow paths. Ink is supplied from the unit 80. Also, drive signals for the recording heads 621 to 625 are output to a drive circuit board (not shown) mounted on the carriage 61 via a FFC 82 from a control device having a microcomputer control circuit (not shown). The ink tube 81 and the FFC 82 are formed of a flexible material so as not to prevent the carriage 61 from reciprocating, and are disposed in a slack state with a certain extra length. The ink tube 81 and the FFC 82 are connected to the carriage 61 by the connection member 84 and are supported by the housing frame of the inkjet printer 50 by the holder member 83 so that the carriage 61 does not flutter when the carriage 61 reciprocates. .

  The recording paper on the platen 53 forms dots by ejecting ink from the head surface 62a of the recording heads 621 to 625 to the recording surface while the carriage 61 reciprocates in the main scanning direction X, and the conveyance driving roller 51. Recording is executed by alternately repeating the operation of conveying in the sub-scanning direction Y by a predetermined conveyance amount by driving rotation. The recording sheet after ink ejection is sandwiched between the discharge drive roller 54 and the discharge driven roller 55, and is conveyed in the conveyance direction YF by the drive rotation of the discharge drive roller 54 and is discharged to the discharge stacker 58. A series of these recording controls are executed by the control device.

<Structure of carriage according to the present invention>
Next, the structure of the carriage 61 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the main part of the carriage 61, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the main part of the carriage 61. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a main part illustrating the head unit 10 and the APG switching mechanism 20, and FIG. 8 is a side view of the main part.
Here, a direction (first direction) intersecting the head surface 62a of the recording heads 621 to 625 is defined as a Z direction (a direction indicated by reference sign Z), and a predetermined direction (second direction) along the head surface 62a of the recording heads 621 to 625 is used. Direction) is the X direction (the same direction as the main scanning direction X), and the direction (third direction) intersecting the X direction along the head surface 62a of the recording heads 621 to 625 is the Y direction (the same direction as the sub-scanning direction Y). ).
In this embodiment, the X direction is the same as the main scanning direction X, and the Y direction is the same as the sub-scanning direction Y. The direction may be set to a different direction from the main scanning direction X and the sub-scanning direction Y.

  The carriage 61 according to the present invention includes the head unit 10 and the APG switching mechanism 20. The head unit 10 includes five recording heads 621 to 625 arranged in parallel. The APG switching mechanism 20 supports the head unit 10 so as to be displaceable in the Z direction, and displaces the head unit 10 in the Z direction with respect to the carriage 61 by the rotational driving force of the motor, so This is a mechanism for automatically switching PG according to the above.

  The APG switching mechanism 20 includes four first to fourth eccentric cams 21 to 24 as “support portions” and four coil springs 11 to 14 as “biasing means”. The first to fourth eccentric cams 21 to 24 support the head unit 10 in the Z direction. The coil springs 11 to 14 urge the head unit 10 to the first to fourth eccentric cams 21 to 24. More specifically, the first to fourth eccentric cams 21 to 24 are eccentric cams of the same shape having the same cam profile, and the head unit 10 is mounted with the cam surface in contact with the upper surface side of the head unit 10. Support from the top side. The four coil springs 11 to 14 are contracted between the head unit 10 and the carriage 61 and urge the head unit 10 to the first to fourth eccentric cams 21 to 24.

  In addition, as the “biasing means”, in addition to the configuration of biasing using a spring force such as a coil spring as described above, for example, a configuration of biasing using the magnetic force of a permanent magnet may be used. A configuration in which the elastic force of an elastic rubber material or the like is used for biasing may be used, or a configuration in which the head unit 10 is biased only by its own weight may be used. That is, the head unit 10 is moved from at least the cam surfaces of the first to fourth eccentric cams 21 to 24 by acceleration, vibration, impact, etc. acting when the carriage 61 reciprocates in the main scanning direction X or at the time of PG switching. Any urging means may be used as long as it is possible to apply an urging force that is not separated.

  The first eccentric cam 21 as the “first support portion” and the second eccentric cam 22 as the “second support portion” are eccentric cams of the same shape provided on the first rotating shaft 25 in the same phase. The first rotation shaft 25 is pivotally supported inside the carriage 61. The first eccentric cam 21 and the second eccentric cam 22 support the head unit 10 on one side (downstream side) of the recording heads 621 to 625 in the Y direction. Further, the first eccentric cam 21 supports the head unit 10 on one side (left side) in the X direction from the recording heads 621 to 625, and the second eccentric cam 22 is the other side in the X direction from the recording heads 621 to 625. The head unit 10 is supported by the (right) part.

  The third eccentric cam 23 as the “third support portion” and the fourth eccentric cam 24 as the “fourth support portion” are eccentric cams of the same shape provided on the second rotating shaft 26 in the same phase. The second rotation shaft 26 is pivotally supported inside the carriage 61. The third eccentric cam 23 and the fourth eccentric cam 24 support the head unit 10 on the other side (upstream side) in the Y direction from the recording heads 621 to 625. Further, the third eccentric cam 23 supports the head unit 10 on one side (left side) in the X direction from the recording heads 621 to 625, and the fourth eccentric cam 24 is the other side in the X direction from the recording heads 621 to 625. The head unit 10 is supported by the (right) part.

  Further, the carriage 61 according to the present invention is positioned in the main scanning direction X and the sub-scanning direction Y of the recording heads 621 to 625 with respect to the carriage 61, and the tilt angle in the rotational direction along the head surface 62a of the recording heads 621 to 625 with respect to the carriage 61. An adjustment member 27 for adjusting (the rotation angle of the Z-direction axis) is provided.

  The adjustment member 27 is in contact with the side surface in the X direction and the side surface in the Y direction of the head unit 10 and is supported by the carriage 61 so as to be rotatable. The head unit 10 is biased toward the adjustment member 27 by the spring force of the coil springs 12 and 14 disposed obliquely. The rotational position of the adjustment member 27 is maintained by screwing and fixing the adjustment member 27 after adjustment. The positions of the recording heads 621 to 625 in the main scanning direction X and the sub-scanning direction Y with respect to the carriage 61 are determined by positioning the support positions of the head unit 10 in the X direction and Y direction with respect to the carriage 61 by the adjustment member 27. The Accordingly, the support position of the head unit 10 with respect to the carriage 61 may be shifted in the main scanning direction X and the sub-scanning direction Y due to acceleration, vibration, or the like when the carriage 61 reciprocates in the main scanning direction X. Can be reduced. Further, by adjusting the rotation position of the adjustment member 27 and adjusting the tilt angle of the head unit 10, the tilt angles of the recording heads 621 to 625 with respect to the carriage 61 can be adjusted with high accuracy.

  The relative positional relationship between the recording heads 621 to 625 and the recording paper in the main scanning direction X can be finely adjusted by adjusting the ink ejection timing with respect to the movement position of the carriage 61, for example. The relative positional relationship between the recording heads 621 to 625 and the recording paper in the sub-scanning direction Y can be finely adjusted by adjusting the recording start position in the recording paper conveyance control, for example. Therefore, the relative positional accuracy of the recording heads 621 to 625 with respect to the carriage 61 in the main scanning direction X and the sub-scanning direction Y does not require high positional accuracy in a strict sense.

  The APG switching mechanism 20 is a “displacement mechanism” that displaces the support surface of the head unit 10 constituted by the cam surfaces of the first to fourth eccentric cams 21 to 24 in the Z direction relative to the carriage 61. have. More specifically, gears 31 to 35 are provided for rotating the first rotary shaft 25 and the second rotary shaft 26 in the same rotational direction with the same rotation amount by the rotational driving force of a motor (not shown). . The gear 31 is attached to the first rotary shaft 25 so as to be able to transmit rotation, and meshes with the gear 33. The gear 32 is attached to the second rotary shaft 26 so as to be able to transmit rotation, and meshes with the gear 35. The gears 33 to 35 are pivotally supported on the outer surface of the carriage 61, and both the gear 33 and the gear 35 mesh with the gear 34.

  Therefore, the first rotary shaft 25 and the second rotary shaft 26 can be rotated in the same rotational direction with the same amount of rotation by rotating any of the gears 31 to 35 with the rotational driving force of the motor. Accordingly, the head unit 10 is displaced in the Z direction relative to the carriage 61, and PG can be switched according to the cam profiles of the first to fourth eccentric cams 21-24. A motor for rotating any of the gears 31 to 35 may be mounted on the carriage 61, for example. Alternatively, a motor for rotating any of the gears 31 to 35 is disposed on the main body side of the inkjet printer 50, and the motor is only in a state where the carriage 61 is stopped at a predetermined stop position (home position or the like). You may make it mesh | engage with either the gear and the gears 31-35 which rotate with this rotational drive force.

FIG. 9 is a main part perspective view illustrating the APG switching mechanism 20.
The APG switching mechanism 20 has four first to fourth eccentric bushes 36 to 39 having the same shape.

  The first to fourth eccentric bushes 36 to 39 are rotatably supported on the side portions of the carriage 61, respectively. The first rotary shaft 25 is pivotally supported by the first eccentric bush 36 and the second eccentric bush 37, and the second rotary shaft 26 is pivotally supported by the third eccentric bush 38 and the fourth eccentric bush 39. By individually adjusting the respective rotation angles of the first to fourth eccentric bushes 36 to 39, the support positions of both ends of the first rotation shaft 25 and the second rotation shaft 26 with respect to the carriage 61 are individually set in the Z direction. It can be adjusted by displacing. As a result, the parallelism between the head surface 62a of the recording heads 621 to 625 and the recording surface of the recording paper supported on the support surface 531 of the platen 53 (the rotation angle of the X-direction axis and the rotation angle of the Y-direction axis of the head surface 62a). ) Can be adjusted with high accuracy.

Hereinafter, the third eccentric bush 38 will be described more specifically as an example.
The third eccentric bush 38 has an eccentric shaft portion 381, a fan-shaped tooth portion 382, a long mounting hole 383, and a locking claw portion 384. The third eccentric bush 38 is pivotally supported on the carriage 61 by an eccentric shaft portion 381. One end side of the second rotating shaft 26 is pivotally supported by the third eccentric bush 38 while being inserted through an eccentric hole provided eccentrically in the eccentric shaft portion 381. Therefore, one end side of the second rotating shaft 26 is displaced in the Z direction by changing the rotation angle of the third eccentric bush 38 with respect to the carriage 61. The fan-shaped tooth portion 382 has a large number of concavities that are engaged with convex portions (not shown) provided in corresponding portions of the carriage 61 at equal intervals on a concentric circle. The attachment long hole 383 is provided to fix the third eccentric bush 38 with the fixing screw 385 after adjusting the rotation angle. The locking claw portion 384 engages with a locking elongated hole (not shown) provided in a corresponding portion of the carriage 61, and locks the third eccentric bush 38 to the carriage 61 so as to be rotatable.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a principal part illustrating the assembly structure of the APG switching mechanism 20 on the first rotating shaft 25 side.
Hereinafter, the detailed structure of the APG switching mechanism 20 will be described by taking the first rotating shaft 25 side as an example, and the second rotating shaft 26 has the same structure, and the description thereof will be omitted.

  Three attachment holes 251 to 253 and attachment grooves 254 are formed in the first rotating shaft 25. The first eccentric cam 21 is inserted into the first rotating shaft 25 in a state where the first rotating shaft 25 is inserted through the shaft hole 211 and the retaining pin 213 fitted into the mounting hole 251 is engaged with the locking groove 212. It is attached. The second eccentric cam 22 is connected to the first rotating shaft 25 in a state where the first rotating shaft 25 is inserted into the shaft hole 221 and the retaining pin 223 inserted into the mounting hole 252 is engaged with the locking groove 222. It is attached. The first eccentric bush 36 is disposed outside the first eccentric cam 21 in a state where the first rotation shaft 25 is inserted through the eccentric shaft portion 361. The second eccentric bush 37 is disposed outside the second eccentric cam 22 in a state where the first rotating shaft 25 is inserted through the eccentric shaft portion 371. The locking plate 255 fitted in the mounting groove 254 locks the movement of the second eccentric bush 37 in the axial direction. The gear 31 is attached to the outside of the second eccentric bush 37 with the first rotation shaft 25 inserted through the shaft hole 311 and the retaining pin 313 fitted into the attachment hole 253 engaged with the locking groove 312. It is done.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the first eccentric cam 21.
Hereinafter, the cam profile of the first eccentric cam 21 will be described, and the second to fourth eccentric cams 22 to 24 have the same shape as the first eccentric cam 21 and will not be described.

  On the cam surface of the first eccentric cam 21, five positioning regions SP1 to SP5 are provided. A length R1 from the rotation axis of the first eccentric cam 21 to the cam surface of the positioning region SP1 is set to a length corresponding to the first PG. That is, the length R1 is the distance from the head surface 62a of the recording heads 621 to 625 to the support surface 531 of the platen 53 in the state where the head unit 10 is supported by the positioning area SP1 of the cam surface of the first eccentric cam 21. The length is set to be the first PG. Similarly, the length R2 from the rotation axis of the first eccentric cam 21 to the cam surface of the positioning region SP2 is set to a length corresponding to the second PG. A length R3 from the rotation axis of the first eccentric cam 21 to the cam surface of the positioning region SP3 is set to a length corresponding to the third PG. A length R4 from the rotation axis of the first eccentric cam 21 to the cam surface of the positioning region SP4 is set to a length corresponding to the fourth PG. A length R5 from the rotation axis of the first eccentric cam 21 to the cam surface of the positioning region SP5 is set to a length corresponding to the fifth PG. The first to fifth PGs have a relationship of 1st PG> 2nd PG> 3rd PG> 4th PG> 5th PG. Therefore, the lengths R1 to R5 have a relationship of R1> R2> R3> R4> R5.

  As described above, since the head unit 10 is supported by the carriage 61 with the four first to fourth eccentric cams 21 to 24 in the carriage 61 according to the present invention, the head unit 10 is moved in a stable support state. 61 can be supported. Further, when switching PG, the plurality of support surfaces formed by the cam surfaces of the four first to fourth eccentric cams 21 to 24 are displaced in the Z direction by the same amount of displacement. PG can be switched while stably maintaining the parallelism of the surface 62a. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the possibility of fluctuations in PG and reduction in parallelism of the head surface 62a due to acceleration, vibration, and the like when the carriage 61 reciprocates in the main scanning direction X.

  In addition, the carriage 61 according to the present invention distributes the support load of the head unit 10 substantially evenly on the cam surfaces of the four first to fourth eccentric cams 21 to 24, so that the first to fourth eccentric cams 21 to It is possible to reduce the possibility that the cam surface 24 is worn or deformed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility of a decrease in PG accuracy and a decrease in parallelism of the head surface 62a due to wear or deformation of the cam surfaces of the first to fourth eccentric cams 21 to 24.

  In the embodiment, the four first to fourth eccentric cams 21 to 24 are provided as the “plurality of support portions”. However, the “plurality of support portions” may be at least three or more. However, it is not particularly limited to four.

<Other embodiments>
In the carriage 61 according to the present invention, the “displacement mechanism” for displacing the support surface of the head unit 10 in the Z direction is not particularly limited to the eccentric cam mechanism of the above-described embodiment, but various known ones other than the eccentric cam mechanism. It is possible to use a displacement mechanism. For example, a cam mechanism using a known slide cam, a known feed screw mechanism, a known rack and pinion mechanism, a known parallel link mechanism, or the like can be used.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible 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.

FIG. The principal part perspective view which expanded and illustrated a part of inkjet printer. The principal part side view of an inkjet printer. The principal part perspective view which expanded and illustrated a part of inkjet printer. The principal part perspective view of a carriage. The principal part top view of a carriage. The principal part perspective view which illustrated the head unit and the APG switching mechanism. The principal part side view which illustrated the head unit and the APG switching mechanism. The principal part perspective view which illustrated the APG switching mechanism. The principal part perspective view which illustrated the assembly structure by the side of the 1st rotating shaft of an APG switching mechanism. The side view of a 1st eccentric cam.

Explanation of symbols

10 head unit, 20 APG switching mechanism, 21-24 first to fourth eccentric cams,
25 First Rotating Shaft, 26 Second Rotating Shaft, 27 Adjustment Member, 31-35 Gear, 36-39 First to Fourth Eccentric Bushings, 50 Inkjet Printer, 51 Transport Drive Roller, 52 Transport Driven Roller, 53 Platen, 54 discharge drive roller, 55 discharge driven roller, 56 main guide shaft, 57 sub guide shaft, 61 carriage, 621 to 625 recording head, 70 automatic feeding device, 80 ink tank, X main scanning direction, X direction, Y sub Scanning direction, Y direction, ZZ direction

Claims (7)

In a carriage mounted with a head unit having a recording head and supported by a recording apparatus so as to be capable of reciprocating in the main scanning direction ,
A plurality of support portions of at least three or more supporting the head unit in a first direction which is a direction intersecting the head surface of the recording head from the side opposite to the head surface ;
Biasing means for biasing the head unit to the plurality of support parts;
A displacement mechanism for displacing the plurality of support surfaces formed by the plurality of support portions in the first direction with the same amount of displacement ,
When the main scanning direction is the second direction and the direction crossing the second direction is the third direction,
The plurality of support portions include a first support portion that supports a portion on one side in the second direction from the recording head, and a second support portion that supports a portion on the other side in the second direction from the recording head. Including
The first support portion and the second support portion support a portion on one side in the third direction from the recording head,
At least one support part of the support part other than the first support part and the second support part supports a part on the other side in the third direction from the recording head . 2. The carriage according to claim 1 , wherein the first support portion and the second support portion are eccentric cams having the same shape and provided in the same phase on a first rotation shaft that is rotatably supported.
The displacement mechanism includes a mechanism for rotating the first rotating shaft with a driving force of a driving force source, and a mechanism capable of adjusting a support position on one end side of the first rotating shaft in the first direction. Carriage characterized by that. In the carriage of claim 1 or 2, prior Symbol plurality of support portions, a third supporting part that supports one side portion of the recording head from the second direction, the second direction from the recording head A fourth support part for supporting the other side part,
The first support portion and the second support portion support a portion on one side in the third direction from the recording head,
The carriage, wherein the third support portion and the fourth support portion support a portion on the other side in the third direction from the recording head. The carriage according to claim 3 , wherein the third support portion and the fourth support portion are eccentric cams having the same shape and provided in the same phase with respect to a second rotation shaft that is rotatably supported.
The displacement mechanism includes a mechanism for rotating the second rotating shaft with a driving force of a driving force source, and a mechanism capable of adjusting a support position on one end side of the second rotating shaft in the first direction. Carriage characterized by that. In the carriage of claim 1, and a second direction positioning portion for defining a support position of the second direction before SL head unit,
And a third direction positioning portion for defining a support position in the third direction of the head unit. 6. The carriage according to claim 5 , further comprising an inclination angle adjusting mechanism for adjusting an inclination angle of the head unit in a rotation direction along the head surface. Recording apparatus having a carriage according to any one of claims 1-6.

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