JP5403231B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

  In the present invention, a dot is formed on a recording material by a carriage on which a recording head for forming dots on a recording surface of the recording material is mounted, a carriage support member that supports the carriage so as to reciprocate in a predetermined direction, and the recording head. The present invention relates to a recording apparatus comprising: a recording material support member that supports a recording material in an area including a recording area.

  In a conventional recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer, a carriage support member such as a carriage guide shaft or carriage support frame and a recording material support member such as a platen are supported by different frame parts (parts constituting a housing frame). Many support structures are employed (see, for example, Patent Document 1 or 2).

  In order to achieve high recording accuracy in the recording apparatus, the surface of the recording material support member that supports the recording material and the head surface of the recording head are parallel to each other and the distance between them (so-called platen gap. Ideally, a state in which “PG” is abbreviated) is maintained over the entire range of the carriage reciprocation. Specifically, for example, the carriage guide shaft, the carriage support frame, and the platen are relatively positioned so that the support surface for reciprocally supporting the carriage and the support surface of the recording material are parallel to each other at a predetermined interval. It is desirable that a precise positional relationship be defined as accurately as possible.

  However, in a conventional recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer, as described above, a support structure in which the carriage support member and the recording material support member are supported by different frame parts is often employed. Therefore, these relative positional relationships include dimensional tolerances in the press working of each frame part that supports them, bending tolerances in the bending parts of each frame part, relative assembly tolerances between each frame part, etc. An accumulated error will occur. Therefore, in a conventional recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer, there is a possibility that the recording accuracy may be reduced beyond the allowable range due to the cumulative addition of tolerances as described above.

  For this reason, the conventional recording apparatus is provided with a fine adjustment mechanism for the support position using parts such as an eccentric bush on the support portion of the carriage guide shaft, and the relative positional relationship with the platen is in the manufacturing process. In many cases, fine adjustment is performed by a fine adjustment mechanism so as to be within a certain error range. For this reason, in the conventional recording apparatus, the cost of the recording apparatus is greatly increased due to an increase in the number of parts associated with the provision of such a fine adjustment mechanism and an increase in manufacturing processes associated with the adjustment of the fine adjustment mechanism. There is a problem. In addition, in a low-price recording device, such a fine adjustment mechanism cannot often be provided due to cost restrictions, so there is no choice but to adjust, and the recording accuracy is reduced due to cumulative addition of tolerances. Must be allowed to some extent.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and the problem to be solved by some aspects according to the present invention is that there is a possibility that the recording accuracy of the recording apparatus is reduced due to the cumulative addition of tolerances. It is to realize the reduction without adjustment.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, a carriage on which a recording head for forming dots on a recording surface of a recording material is mounted, a carriage support member that supports the carriage so as to reciprocate in a predetermined direction, and a recording head. A recording material support member that supports the recording material in a region including a region where dots are formed on the recording material, and the carriage support member is supported by the recording material support member. Recording device.

  According to such a feature, the carriage support member is directly supported by the recording material support member without any frame component or the like interposed between the carriage support member and the recording material support member. For this reason, it is possible to make the tolerance involved in the relative positioning of the carriage support member and the recording material support member smaller than before. Therefore, the parallelism between the surface of the recording material support member that supports the recording material and the head surface of the recording head (hereinafter, simply referred to as “parallelism of the head surface”) and PG are the entire range of the carriage reciprocation range. Therefore, it is possible to define with higher accuracy than before. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the recording accuracy will be lowered beyond the allowable range due to the cumulative addition of tolerances.

  As a result, according to the recording apparatus described in the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to realize without any adjustment in the recording apparatus that it is possible to reduce the possibility that the recording accuracy is reduced due to the cumulative addition of tolerances. The effect is obtained.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus according to the first aspect described above, the carriage support member includes a head surface of the recording head and a surface that supports the recording material of the recording material support member. The recording apparatus is characterized in that the recording apparatus is fastened to the recording material support member in a state where the recording material support member is positioned in contact with the recording material support member in an opposing direction.

  The relative positional accuracy of the carriage support member and the recording material support member in the direction in which the head surface of the recording head and the surface of the recording material support member supporting the recording material are opposed to each other is determined by the parallelism of the head surface and the PG. Directly affects the accuracy. Therefore, according to the above-described feature, the tolerance that intervenes in the relative positioning between the carriage support member and the recording material support member is conventionally increased, particularly in the direction that directly affects the parallelism of the head surface and the accuracy of the PG. Can also be reduced. As a result, it is possible to further reduce the possibility that the recording accuracy deteriorates beyond the allowable range due to the cumulative addition of tolerances.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus according to the first aspect or the second aspect described above, the carriage support member moves in a reciprocating direction of the carriage with respect to the base of the recording apparatus. The recording apparatus is supported so as to be positioned.

  According to such a feature, the carriage support member is supported by the recording material support member and is also supported by the base of the recording apparatus, so that the carriage can be reciprocally supported in a more stable support state. Can do. The positioning direction of the carriage support member with respect to the substrate of the recording apparatus is a direction that intersects the direction in which the head surface of the recording head and the surface of the recording material support member that supports the recording material face each other. Therefore, the positional accuracy of the carriage support member with respect to the substrate of the recording apparatus has little influence on the parallelism of the head surface and the accuracy of PG. Further, even if a deformation or the like occurs in the substrate of the recording apparatus, it hardly affects the parallelism of the head surface and the accuracy of PG. Therefore, there is almost no possibility that the parallelism of the head surface and the accuracy of the PG are lowered due to the carriage support member being supported by the base of the recording apparatus.

  That is, according to the recording apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus according to the first aspect or the second aspect described above, the carriage is supported in a more stable state so as to be able to reciprocate. Thus, there is an effect that it can be realized without reducing the parallelism of the head surface and the accuracy of PG.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the carriage support member is spaced apart in a direction intersecting a reciprocating direction of the carriage. The recording apparatus is characterized by being positioned with respect to the recording material support member by abutting against two or more contact surfaces formed on the material support member.

  According to such a feature, it is possible to stably maintain the parallelism of the carriage support member particularly in a direction intersecting with the reciprocating direction of the carriage. As a result, the carriage can be supported in a more stable state so as to be able to reciprocate, so that the parallelism and PG of the head surface can be defined with higher accuracy.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the recording material support member is fastened to the base of the recording apparatus at three points. Is a recording apparatus characterized by the above.

  According to such a feature, it is possible to prevent the recording material support member from being bent due to an assembly tolerance of the recording material support member with respect to the base of the recording apparatus. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the parallelism of the head surface and the accuracy of the PG are lowered due to the bending of the recording material support member.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects described above, the recording material support member includes at least a head surface of the recording head and the recording material support member. The recording material is fastened to the base of the recording apparatus via an elastic support portion without contacting the base of the recording apparatus in a direction opposite to the surface supporting the recording material. It is a recording device.

  According to such a feature, it is possible to prevent the recording material support member from being supported in a bent state with respect to the base of the recording apparatus. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the parallelism of the head surface and the accuracy of the PG are lowered due to the bending of the recording material support member.

The perspective view which looked at the inkjet printer from the upper surface side. The perspective view which illustrated the principal part of the inkjet printer. The side view which illustrated the principal part of the inkjet printer. The perspective view which expanded and illustrated a part of platen. The perspective view which expanded and illustrated a part of inkjet printer. The top view which illustrated the principal part of the inkjet printer. The front view which illustrated the principal part of the inkjet printer.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, 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.

<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. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the inkjet printer 50 as viewed from the upper surface side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the main part of the inkjet printer 50.

  The exterior 30 of the inkjet printer 50 is a housing that forms the exterior of the inkjet printer 50. An operation unit 31 including a liquid crystal display unit and operation buttons is provided on the front side of the exterior 30. The paper feed cassette 32 is for loading recording paper as a “recording material” inside the ink jet printer 50, and is disposed so as to be insertable / removable from the front side of the ink jet printer 50. In addition, a discharge port 33 through which recording paper after recording is discharged is provided on the front side of the exterior 30. A slide storage type discharge tray 34 is disposed in the vicinity of the discharge port 33.

  Inside the ink jet printer 50, a conveyance driving roller 51 and a plurality of conveyance driven rollers 52 are disposed as means for conveying the recording paper in the sub-scanning direction Y. The transport driving roller 51 is rotated by a rotational driving force of a transport motor (not shown) being transmitted. The transport driven roller 52 is pivotally supported so as to be driven to rotate, and is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the transport drive roller 51 by an urging force such as a spring (not shown), and biases the recording paper to the outer peripheral surface of the transport drive roller 51. It is means to do. The recording paper is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction Y by the rotation of the conveyance driving roller 51 while being sandwiched between the conveyance driving roller 51 and the conveyance driven roller 52.

  A platen 53 is disposed downstream of the conveyance drive roller 51 in the sub-scanning direction Y. The platen 53 as a “recording material support member” is an area including an area where dots are formed on the recording paper by the recording head, and the recording paper conveyed in the sub-scanning direction Y by the rotation of the conveyance driving roller 51 is on the back side. Supports sliding from. The platen 53 is provided with a plurality of ribs 53R along the sub-scanning direction Y at intervals in the main scanning direction X at a portion where the recording paper is slidably supported in a region where dots are formed on the recording paper by the recording head. The platen 53 is a member made of plastic or the like integrally molded by injection molding, and is supported by the base body 20 of the inkjet printer 50.

  Further, a carriage 10 is supported and arranged in the ink jet printer 50 so as to be reciprocable in the main scanning direction X. The carriage 10 is supported by a first support frame 21 and a second support frame 22 as “carriage support members” so as to be capable of reciprocating in the main scanning direction X. The carriage 10 is reciprocated in the main scanning direction X by the driving force of a carriage motor (not shown) being transmitted by driving force transmission means such as an endless belt (not shown). The position control of the carriage 10 can be executed by controlling the rotation of the carriage motor based on an output signal of a known linear encoder (not shown). The recording head is disposed at the bottom of the carriage 10 at a position where the head surface faces the platen 53. A large number of ink ejection nozzles for forming dots on the recording surface of the recording paper are provided on the head surface of the recording head. Ink is supplied to the recording head from an ink cartridge (not shown) that is detachably disposed on the carriage 10.

  The recording paper in the paper feed cassette 32 is fed to a portion where the transport driving roller 51 and the transport driven roller 52 are in contact with each other by a feeding device (not shown). The fed recording paper is transported in the sub-scanning direction Y on the platen 53 by the rotation of the transport driving roller 51, and ink is ejected from the recording head that reciprocates in the main scanning direction X to cause dots on the recording surface. Recording is executed by alternately repeating the operation of forming the. The recording paper after execution of recording is discharged from the discharge port 33 by a discharge device including a discharge roller or the like (not shown). Control of recording paper feeding and conveyance, position control of the carriage 10, control of ink ejection from the recording head, and the like are executed by a control device including a microcomputer control circuit (not shown).

<Support structure of first support frame 21 and second support frame 22>
Next, the support structure of the first support frame 21 and the second support frame 22 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating the main part of the inkjet printer 50. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a part of the platen 53.

  The platen 53 is provided with a support portion of the first support frame 21 and a support portion of the second support frame 22 in the vicinity of both ends in the main scanning direction X. Hereinafter, the support portion of the first support frame 21 and the support portion of the second support frame 22 provided on one end side in the main scanning direction X of the platen 53 will be described, and provided on the other end side of the platen 53 in the main scanning direction X. About the support part of the 1st support frame 21 and the support part of the 2nd support frame 22 which were made, since it is the same structure as right-and-left and one end side, illustration and description are abbreviate | omitted.

  A positioning boss 531, a first positioning convex portion 532, and a second positioning convex portion 533 are formed on the support portion of the first support frame 21 of the platen 53. The positioning boss 531 engages with a circular hole formed in a corresponding portion of the first support frame 21 to position the first support frame 21 in the sub-scanning direction Y. The first positioning convex portion 532 and the second positioning convex portion 533 are formed with an interval in the sub-scanning direction Y. The first support frame 21 is configured so that the top surfaces (contact surfaces) of the first positioning convex portion 532 and the second positioning convex portion 533 abut on the back side of the support surface portion 211 in the Z direction, so that the platen 53 is in the Z direction. Is positioned. The support surface portion 211 of the first support frame 21 is a support surface that supports the carriage 10 in sliding contact. The first support frame 21 is screwed and fastened to the platen 53 by screws 23 screwed into screw holes 534 formed between the positioning boss 531 and the second positioning projection 533.

  Here, the Z direction is a direction in which the head surface of the recording head and the surface of the platen 53 that supports the recording paper (the top surface of the platen rib 53R) face each other, and is substantially the same as the main scanning direction X and the sub-scanning direction Y. The direction is also orthogonal, and so on.

  A positioning boss 535, a first positioning projection 536, and a second positioning projection 537 are formed on the support portion of the second support frame 22 of the platen 53. The positioning boss 535 engages with a circular hole formed in a corresponding portion of the second support frame 22 to position the second support frame 22 in the sub-scanning direction Y. The first positioning convex portion 536 and the second positioning convex portion 537 are formed with an interval in the sub-scanning direction Y. The second support frame 22 is configured such that the top surfaces (contact surfaces) of the first positioning convex portion 536 and the second positioning convex portion 537 abut on the back side of the support surface portion 221 in the Z direction, so that the platen 53 is in the Z direction. Is positioned. The support surface portion 221 of the second support frame 22 is a support surface that supports the carriage 10 in sliding contact. The second support frame 22 is screwed and fastened to the platen 53 with screws 24 screwed into screw holes (not shown) formed between the positioning boss 535 and the second positioning projection 537.

  FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a part of the ink jet printer 50.

  The first support frame 21 and the second support frame 22 are supported with respect to the base body 20 of the inkjet printer 50 so as to be relatively positioned in the main scanning direction X. More specifically, both ends of the first support frame 21 are screwed and fastened in contact with the base body 20 of the inkjet printer 50 in the main scanning direction X. Similarly, both ends of the second support frame 21 are fastened with screws in a state where they are in contact with the base body 20 of the inkjet printer 50 in the main scanning direction X. Hereinafter, the structure of a portion where one end side of the first support frame 21 is screwed to the base body 20 of the inkjet printer 50 will be described with reference to FIG. 5, and the other end side of the first support frame 21 is symmetrical. Since it is the same structure, illustration and description are omitted. Further, since the structure of the portion where both ends of the second support frame 22 are screwed to the base body 20 of the ink jet printer 50 is the same as that of the first support frame 21, illustration and description thereof are omitted.

  A positioning arm portion 25 is formed on the side portion of the base body 20 of the inkjet printer 50. The positioning arm portion 25 is a flat plate portion extending in the Z direction from the side portion of the base body 20. A contact surface portion 213 is formed at a corresponding portion of the first support frame 21. The contact surface portion 213 of the first support frame 21 is formed by bending an end portion of the vertical surface portion 212 of the first support frame 21. The first support frame 21 is fastened to the base body 20 with screws 26 in a state where the contact surface part 213 is in contact with the side surface of the positioning arm part 25 of the base body 20 in the main scanning direction X.

  As described above, in the inkjet printer 50 according to the present invention, the first support frame 21 and the second support frame 22 that support the carriage 10 so as to reciprocate in the main scanning direction X are supported by the platen 53. That is, no frame parts or the like are interposed between the first support frame 21 and the second support frame 22 and the platen 53, and the first support frame 21 and the second support frame 22 are directly supported by the platen 53. Therefore, the tolerance that intervenes in the relative positioning of the first support frame 21 and the second support frame 22 and the platen 53 can be made smaller than before. Accordingly, the parallelism between the top surface of the platen rib 53R of the platen 53 and the head surface of the recording head and PG can be defined with higher accuracy than before over the entire reciprocating range of the carriage 10. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the recording accuracy will be lowered beyond the allowable range due to the cumulative addition of tolerances.

  Furthermore, when the first support frame 21 and the second support frame 22 are directly supported by the platen 53, and the platen 53 is bent due to some external force, the first support frame 21 and the second support frame 21 follow the same. The support frame 22 is bent in the same manner. That is, even if the platen 53 bends due to some external force or the like, the support surface of the carriage 10 by the first support frame 21 and the second support frame 22 and the support surface of the recording paper by the platen 53 are relative to each other. Spacing and parallelism will be maintained. Therefore, even if the platen 53 is bent due to some external force, the state in which the parallelism of the head surface and PG are defined with high accuracy can be maintained.

  In this way, the ink jet printer 50 according to the present invention can achieve without adjustment the possibility that the recording accuracy is reduced due to the cumulative addition of tolerances.

  Furthermore, the inkjet printer 50 according to the present invention is supported by the platen 53 in a state where the first support frame 21 and the second support frame 22 are positioned in contact with the platen 53 in the Z direction as in the above-described embodiment. Is preferred. Thereby, in particular, in the direction that directly affects the parallelism of the head surface and the accuracy of the PG, tolerances interposed in the relative positioning of the first support frame 21 and the second support frame 22 and the platen 53 are made larger than those in the conventional case. It can be further reduced. As a result, it is possible to further reduce the possibility that the recording accuracy deteriorates beyond the allowable range due to the cumulative addition of tolerances.

  Furthermore, in the inkjet printer 50 according to the present invention, the first support frame 21 and the second support frame 22 are positioned relative to the base body 20 in the main scanning direction X as in the above embodiment. It is preferably supported. In particular, the first support frame 21 and the second support frame 22 are more preferably supported so that only relative positioning in the main scanning direction X is performed with respect to the base body 20. As a result, the carriage 10 can be supported so as to be able to reciprocate in a more stable support state with little influence on the parallelism of the head surface and the accuracy of the PG. Further, even if the base body 20 of the inkjet printer 50 is bent or deformed, it hardly affects the parallelism of the head surface and the accuracy of the PG. Therefore, there is almost no possibility that the parallelism of the head surface and the accuracy of PG will be reduced due to the first support frame 21 and the second support frame 22 being supported by the base body 20 of the inkjet printer 50.

  Further, in the inkjet printer 50 according to the present invention, as in the above-described embodiment, the first support frame 21 and the second support frame 22 are provided with a first positioning convex portion 532 formed on the platen 53 with an interval in the sub-scanning direction Y, It is preferable that positioning is performed with respect to the platen 53 by contacting the top surfaces (contact surfaces) of 536 and the second positioning convex portions 533 and 537. By adopting such a support structure, it is possible to stably maintain the parallelism of the first support frame 21 and the second support frame 22 particularly in the sub-scanning direction Y. Accordingly, the carriage 10 can be supported in a more stable state so as to be reciprocally movable in the main scanning direction X, so that the parallelism and PG of the head surface can be defined with higher accuracy.

<First Example of Supporting Structure for Platen 53>
A first embodiment of the structure for supporting the platen 53 with respect to the substrate 20 of the ink jet printer 50 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating the main part of the inkjet printer 50.

  The platen 53 is supported on the base body 20 of the inkjet printer 50 by screws 27 to 29 at three locations. That is, the platen 53 is fastened to the base body 20 of the inkjet printer 50 at three points. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the platen 53 from being bent due to an assembly tolerance of the platen 53 with respect to the base body 20 of the inkjet printer 50. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the parallelism of the head surface and the accuracy of the PG are lowered due to the bending of the platen 53.

<Second Embodiment of Supporting Structure for Platen 53>
A second embodiment of the support structure for the platen 53 with respect to the substrate 20 of the inkjet printer 50 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 7 is a front view illustrating the main part of the inkjet printer 50.

  The platen 53 is fastened to the base body 20 of the ink jet printer 50 via an elastic support portion 35 as an elastic support member. The elastic support portion 35 may be formed of a member having elasticity such as a leaf spring, or may be integrally formed as a part of the base body 20. The platen 53 is supported in a state where it does not contact the base 20 of the inkjet printer 50 in the Z direction. As a result, the platen 53 can be supported by the base body 20 with almost no Z-direction force acting from the base body 20 to the platen 53, so that the platen 53 bends in the Z direction with respect to the base body 20 of the inkjet printer 50. It is possible to prevent being supported in the state. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the parallelism of the head surface and the accuracy of the PG are lowered due to the bending of the platen 53.

10 Carriage, 20 Inkjet Printer Base, 21 First Support Frame, 22 Second Support Frame, 23, 24 Screw, 25 Positioning Arm, 30 Inkjet Printer Exterior (Housing), 50 Inkjet Printer, 51 Transport Drive Roller, 52 Conveying driven roller, 53 Platen, 531, 535 Positioning boss, 532, 536 First positioning convex part, 533, 537 Second positioning convex part, X main scanning direction, Y sub-scanning direction

JP 2001-334726 A JP 2004-291334 A

Claims (5)

A carriage equipped with a recording head for forming dots on the recording surface of the recording material;
A carriage support member that supports the carriage so as to reciprocate in a predetermined direction;
A recording material support portion that supports the recording material in a region including a region where dots are formed on the recording material by the recording head, and protrudes toward the recording material;
A support portion that protrudes in the same direction as the recording material support portion and supports the carriage support member outside the recording material support portion in the reciprocating direction of the carriage;
The recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the carriage support member is directly supported by a support portion that supports the carriage support member . The recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the carriage support member is supported with respect to a base of the recording apparatus so as to be positioned in a reciprocating direction of the carriage. . The recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The support portion that supports the carriage support member has a contact surface that supports the carriage support member, and is formed on a recording material support member provided with the recording material support portion.
The carriage support member is in contact with the contact surfaces of four or more support portions formed on the recording material support member at intervals in a direction intersecting the reciprocating direction of the carriage, thereby supporting the recording material. A recording apparatus characterized by being positioned with respect to a member. The recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the recording material supporting member, said is fastened to the base body of the recording apparatus in the three-point, it recording apparatus characterized. A carriage equipped with a recording head for forming dots on the recording surface of the recording material;
A carriage support member that supports the carriage so as to reciprocate in a predetermined direction;
A recording material support member that supports the recording material in a region including a region where dots are formed on the recording material by the recording head, and
The carriage support member is supported by the recording material support member,
The recording material support member is elastic in a direction in which at least a head surface of the recording head and a surface of the recording material support member that support the recording material do not contact with the base of the recording apparatus. A recording apparatus, wherein the recording apparatus is fastened to a base of the recording apparatus via a support portion having a head.

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