JP5614058B2 - Fluid ejection device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluid ejecting apparatus.

  As an example of a fluid ejecting apparatus, an ink jet printer that ejects ink to print an image is known. In such a printer, the head is provided on the carriage, and the head moves as the carriage moves in the moving direction. Then, ink is ejected from the nozzles while the head is moving. Further, there has been proposed one in which a fuel cell is mounted on the head so that a transmission line for supplying power to the head from the apparatus main body side is unnecessary (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-219288 A

  Since the above-described printer uses a fuel cell, water is generated in the head when power is generated. For this reason, there was a problem that the generated water had to be discharged.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to supply electric power to the head without generating discharge.

A main invention for achieving the above object is a carriage movable in a moving direction, a head that is provided in the carriage and that ejects fluid, and a power supply unit that supplies power for driving the head in a non-contact manner. A fluid ejecting apparatus comprising: a power supply unit having a plurality of primary coils fixedly disposed along the moving direction; and a secondary coil provided on the carriage. is there.
Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of an overall configuration of a printer. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the printer. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the printer. It is a block diagram which shows the structure by the side of a carriage. It is a figure which shows the structure of a drive signal production | generation part. It is explanatory drawing of a structure of a head part. It is explanatory drawing of the timing of each signal. It is explanatory drawing of a standby state. It is explanatory drawing at the time of a carriage movement. 9A and 9B are explanatory diagrams when the carriage reciprocates. It is explanatory drawing of 2nd Embodiment.

  At least the following matters will become clear from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

A carriage that is movable in a moving direction, a head that is provided on the carriage and that ejects fluid, and a power supply unit that supplies power for driving the head in a non-contact manner, and is fixed along the moving direction Thus, a fluid ejecting apparatus having a plurality of primary coils and a power supply unit having a secondary coil provided on the carriage is clarified.
According to such a fluid ejecting apparatus, electric power can be supplied to the head without generating discharge such as water.

The fluid ejecting apparatus includes a detection unit that detects a position of the carriage in the moving direction, and uses at least one of the plurality of primary coils based on a detection result of the detection unit. desirable.
According to such a fluid ejecting apparatus, electric power can be supplied even when the carriage is moving in the moving direction.

In such a fluid ejecting apparatus, when the head ejects the fluid while reciprocating in the moving direction, at any position where the secondary coil opposes one of the plurality of primary coils, It is desirable that the carriage folds from one direction to the other in the moving direction.
According to such a fluid ejecting apparatus, electric power can be supplied efficiently.

In such a fluid ejecting apparatus, it is desirable to wirelessly transmit pixel data indicating whether or not to form dots in each pixel to the head.
According to such a fluid ejecting apparatus, it is possible to reduce the number of signal lines of the cable between the apparatus main body side and the carriage side.

In this fluid ejecting apparatus, it is preferable that a cartridge containing a fluid to be ejected from the head is mounted on the carriage.
According to such a fluid ejecting apparatus, a member that physically restrains the apparatus main body side and the carriage can be eliminated.

A carriage that is movable in a moving direction; a head that is provided on the carriage and that ejects fluid; and a power supply unit that supplies power for driving the head in a non-contact manner. Accordingly, a fluid ejecting apparatus including a power supply unit having a primary coil that moves in the moving direction and a secondary coil provided in the carriage is clarified.
According to such a fluid ejecting apparatus, power can be supplied to the head from the apparatus main body side with a simple configuration.

  In the following embodiments, an ink jet printer (hereinafter also referred to as printer 1) will be described as an example.

=== Outline of the printer ===
<Inkjet printer configuration>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the overall configuration of the printer 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the printer 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the printer 1 of the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the basic configuration of the printer of this embodiment will be described.

  The printer 1 according to this embodiment includes a transport unit 20, a carriage unit 30, a head unit 40, a sensor group 50, a controller 60, a data transmission unit 70, and a contactless charging unit 80. The printer 1 that has received print data from the computer 110, which is an external device, controls each unit (the conveyance unit 20, the carriage unit 30, the head unit 40, the data transmission unit 70, and the contactless charging unit 80) by the controller 60, and the paper Print an image on The situation in the printer 1 is monitored by a sensor group 50, and the sensor group 50 outputs a detection result to the controller 60. The controller 60 controls each unit based on the detection result output from the sensor group 50.

  The transport unit 20 is for transporting a medium (for example, paper S) in a predetermined direction (hereinafter referred to as a transport direction). The transport unit 20 includes a paper feed roller 21, a transport motor 22 (also referred to as a PF motor), a transport roller 23, a platen 24, and a paper discharge roller 25. The paper feed roller 21 is a roller for feeding the paper inserted into the paper insertion slot into the printer. The transport roller 23 is a roller that transports the paper S fed by the paper feed roller 21 to a printable region, and is driven by the transport motor 22. The platen 24 supports the paper S being printed. The paper discharge roller 25 is a roller for discharging the paper S to the outside of the printer, and is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the printable area.

  The carriage unit 30 is for moving (also referred to as “scanning”) the head in a predetermined direction (hereinafter referred to as a moving direction). The carriage unit 30 includes a carriage 31 and a carriage motor 32 (also referred to as a CR motor). The carriage 31 can reciprocate in the moving direction and is driven by a carriage motor 32. The carriage 31 is mounted with an ink cartridge containing ink (a kind of fluid).

  The head unit 40 is for ejecting ink onto paper. The head unit 40 includes a head 41 having a plurality of nozzles, a data receiving unit 42, and a drive signal generating unit 43. Since the head unit 40 is provided on the carriage 31, when the carriage 31 moves in the movement direction, the head unit 40 also moves in the movement direction. Then, when the head 41 is intermittently ejected while moving in the moving direction, dot lines (raster lines) along the moving direction are formed on the paper.

The data receiving unit 42 receives data transmitted from the data transmitting unit 70 on the apparatus main body side.
The drive signal generator 43 generates the drive signal COM based on the data received by the data receiver 42. In the present embodiment, the drive signal generation unit 43 is provided on the carriage side instead of the apparatus main body side.
The details of the data receiver 42 and the drive signal generator 43 will be described later.

  The sensor group 50 includes a linear encoder 51 (corresponding to a detection unit), a rotary encoder 52, a paper detection sensor 53, an optical sensor 54, and the like. The linear encoder 51 detects the position of the carriage 31 in the moving direction. The rotary encoder 52 detects the rotation amount of the transport roller 23. The paper detection sensor 53 detects the position of the leading edge of the paper being fed. The optical sensor 54 detects the presence or absence of paper by a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit attached to the carriage 31. The optical sensor 54 can detect the position of the edge of the paper while being moved by the carriage 31, and can detect the width of the paper. The optical sensor 54 also detects the leading end (the end on the downstream side in the transport direction, also referred to as the upper end) and the rear end (the end on the upstream side in the transport direction, also referred to as the lower end) depending on the situation. it can.

  The controller 60 is a control unit for controlling the printer. The controller 60 includes an interface unit 61, a CPU 62, a memory 63, a unit control circuit 64, and a drive signal generation circuit 65. The interface unit 61 transmits and receives data between the computer 110 that is an external device and the printer 1. The CPU 62 is an arithmetic processing unit for controlling the entire printer. The memory 63 is for securing an area for storing a program of the CPU 62, a work area, and the like, and includes storage elements such as a RAM and an EEPROM. The CPU 62 controls each unit via the unit control circuit 64 in accordance with a program stored in the memory 63.

  The data transmission unit 70 wirelessly transmits various data such as print data to the data reception unit 42 of the head unit 40.

  The contactless charging unit 80 (corresponding to a power supply unit) supplies power for driving the head unit 40 to the head unit 40. In this embodiment, the contactless charging unit 80 is non-contacted from the apparatus main body side to the carriage side. Transmit power. The contactless charging unit 80 includes a plurality of primary side modules 81, a secondary side module 82, and a charging battery 83.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the plurality of primary side modules 81 are fixedly disposed on the apparatus main body side along the moving direction of the carriage 31. Each primary module 81 has a primary coil. Then, an alternating current is passed through the primary coil to generate a magnetic field in the vicinity of the coil.
The secondary module 82 is provided on the carriage side.
The charging battery 83 is a rechargeable battery. Note that the charging battery 83 of the present embodiment generates two types of voltages, 42V and 3.3V.
The details of the contactless charging unit 80 will be described later.

<Printing procedure>
When receiving a print command and print data from the computer 110, the controller 60 analyzes the contents of various commands included in the print data, and performs the following processing using each unit.

  First, the controller 60 rotates the paper feed roller 21 to send the paper S to be printed to the conveyance roller 23. Next, the controller 60 rotates the transport roller 23 by driving the transport motor 22. When the transport roller 23 rotates with a predetermined rotation amount, the paper S is transported with a predetermined transport amount.

  When the paper S is conveyed to the lower part of the head unit 40, the controller 60 rotates the carriage motor 32 based on the print command. In response to the rotation of the carriage motor 32, the carriage 31 moves in the movement direction. Further, as the carriage 31 moves, the head unit 40 provided on the carriage 31 also moves in the moving direction at the same time. Then, the controller 60 intermittently ejects ink droplets from the head 41 while the head unit 40 is moving in the movement direction. When the ink droplets land on the paper S, a dot row in which a plurality of dots are arranged in the moving direction is formed. A dot forming operation by ejecting ink from the moving head 41 is called a pass.

  Further, the controller 60 drives the transport motor 22 while the head unit 40 reciprocates. The transport motor 22 generates a driving force in the rotation direction according to the commanded driving amount from the controller 60. And the conveyance motor 22 rotates the conveyance roller 23 using this driving force. When the transport roller 23 rotates with a predetermined rotation amount, the paper S is transported with a predetermined transport amount. That is, the transport amount of the paper S is determined according to the rotation amount of the transport roller 23. In this way, the pass and the transport operation are alternately repeated to form dots on each pixel of the paper S. Thus, an image is printed on the paper S.

  Finally, the controller 60 discharges the paper S on which printing has been completed by the paper discharge roller 25 that rotates in synchronization with the transport roller 23.

=== Configuration on the carriage side ===
Hereinafter, the components mounted on the carriage 31 will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the carriage side. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the drive signal generation unit 43 in FIG. The carriage 31 is provided with a head unit 40, an ink cartridge, a secondary module 82 of a contactless charging unit 80, and a charging battery 83.

  First, the configuration of the head unit 40 will be described. As described above, the head unit 40 includes the head 41, the data receiver 42, and the drive signal generator 43. The head 41, the data receiving unit 42, and the drive signal generating unit 43 operate when a drive voltage (3.3 V) is supplied from the charging battery 83.

<About the drive signal generator>
As shown in FIG. 4, the drive signal generation unit 43 of this embodiment includes a waveform setting unit 431, a D / A converter 432, a voltage amplification circuit 433, and a current amplification circuit 434.
The waveform setting unit 431 is set with drive waveform setting data (for example, 10-bit digital data) received by the data receiving unit 42 from the apparatus main body.
The D / A converter 432 converts the digital data output from the waveform setting unit 431 into an analog signal.
The voltage amplification circuit 433 amplifies the voltage of the analog signal to a voltage suitable for the operation of the piezo element, and generates an original drive signal.

  The current amplification circuit 434 amplifies the current of the original drive signal and generates a drive signal COM. As shown in FIG. 4, the current amplifier circuit 434 includes a transistor pair of an NPN transistor Q1 and a PNP transistor Q2 whose emitter terminals are connected to each other. The NPN transistor Q1 is a transistor that operates when the voltage of the original drive signal rises. The NPN transistor Q1 has a collector connected to the power supply (42V) and an emitter connected to the output signal line of the drive signal COM. The PNP transistor Q2 is a transistor that operates when the voltage drops. The PNP transistor Q2 has a collector connected to the ground (earth) and an emitter connected to the output signal line of the first drive signal COM. The original drive signal from the voltage amplification circuit 433 is applied to the bases of the NPN transistor Q1 and the PNP transistor Q2.

The operation of the current amplifier circuit 434 is controlled by the output voltage of the voltage amplifier circuit 433 (the voltage of the original drive signal). For example, when the output voltage is in a rising state, the NPN transistor Q1 is turned on. Along with this, the voltage of the drive signal COM also rises. On the other hand, when the output voltage is in a drop state, the PNP transistor Q2 is turned on. Along with this, the voltage of the drive signal COM also drops. Note that when the output voltage is constant, both the NPN transistor Q1 and the PNP transistor Q2 are turned off. As a result, the drive signal COM becomes a constant voltage.
Then, the drive signal COM generated by the drive signal generation unit 43 is output to the head 41.

<About the head>
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the head portion, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the timing of each signal. The head 41 has a head controller HC and a plurality of piezo elements 417.

  The head controller HC drives each piezo element 417 based on the control signal such as pixel data SI received by the data receiving unit 42 from the apparatus main body side and the drive signal COM generated by the drive signal generating unit 43. As shown in FIG. 5, the head controller HC includes a first shift register 411A, a second shift register 411B, a first latch circuit 412A, a second latch circuit 412B, a decoder 413, a control logic 414, and a switch. 416. Each unit excluding the control logic 414 (that is, the first shift register 411A, the second shift register 411B, the first latch circuit 412A, the second latch circuit 412B, the decoder 413, and the switch 416) is provided for each piezo element 417. Provided. Note that the piezo element 417 is an element that is driven to eject ink from the nozzle, and is provided for each nozzle in the head 41.

  The head controller HC receives the latch signal LAT, the change signal CH, the pixel data SI, and the clock signal CLK from the data receiving unit 42. The drive signal COM is input from the drive signal generation unit 43. Hereinafter, each of these signals will be described.

  The drive signal COM includes a first waveform section SS11 generated in the period T11 in the repetition period T, a second waveform section SS12 generated in the period T12, and a third waveform section SS13 generated in the period T13. Here, the first waveform section SS11 has a drive pulse PS1. The second waveform section SS12 has a drive pulse PS2, and the third waveform section SS13 has a drive pulse PS3. The drive pulse PS1, the drive pulse PS2, and the drive pulse PS3 are applied to the piezo element 417 during the formation of large dots, which will be described in detail later, and have the same waveform. Further, the drive pulse PS1 and the drive pulse PS2 are applied to the piezo element 417 also when forming a medium dot, which will be described in detail later. The drive pulse PS1 is also applied to the piezo element 417 when forming small dots, which will be described in detail later. Note that when no drive pulse is applied to the piezo element 417, ink is not ejected (dots are not formed).

  This drive signal COM is input to each switch 416 provided for each piezo element 417. The switch 416 performs on / off control as to whether or not to apply the drive signal COM to the piezo element 417. By this on / off control, a part of the drive signal COM can be selectively applied to the piezo element 417, whereby the size of the dot can be changed. In this way, each waveform portion is one unit applied to the piezo element 417. The control for applying each waveform portion to the piezo element 417 will be described later.

  The latch signal LAT is a signal indicating a repetition period T (a period in which the head 41 moves in a section of one pixel). The latch signal LAT is generated by the controller 60 based on the signal of the linear encoder 51, and is input to the control logic 414 and the latch circuit (first latch circuit 412A, second latch circuit 412B).

  The change signal CH is a signal indicating a period obtained by dividing the repetition period T into three equal parts. The change signal CH is generated by the controller 60 based on the signal from the linear encoder 51 and input to the control logic 414.

  The pixel data SI is a signal indicating the gradation (no dot, small dot, medium dot, large dot) for each pixel. This pixel data is composed of 2 bits for each nozzle. For example, when the number of nozzles is 64, pixel data SI of 2 bits × 64 is sent wirelessly from the apparatus main body side every repetition period T. Note that the pixel data SI is input to the first shift register 411A and the second shift register 411B.

  The clock signal CLK is a signal used when the pixel data SI sent from the controller 60 is set in each shift register (first shift register 411A, second shift register 411B).

  Next, signals generated by the head controller HC will be described. In the head controller HC, selection signals q0 to q3, a switch control signal SW, and an application signal are generated.

  The selection signals q0 to q3 are generated by the control logic 414 based on the latch signal LAT and the change signal CH. Then, the generated selection signals q0 to q3 are respectively input to decoders 413 provided for each piezo element 417.

  As for the switch control signal SW, one of the selection signals q0 to q3 is selected by the decoder 413 based on the pixel data (2 bits) latched in each latch circuit (first latch circuit 412A, second latch circuit 412B). It is a thing. The switch control signal SW generated by each decoder 413 is input to the corresponding switch 416.

  The application signal is output from the switch 416 based on the drive signal COM and the switch control signal. This applied signal is applied to each piezo element 417 corresponding to each switch 416.

(Operation of head controller HC)
The head controller HC performs control for ejecting ink based on the pixel data SI from the data receiving unit 42. That is, the head controller HC controls on / off of the switch 416 based on the print data, and selectively applies a necessary waveform portion of the drive signal COM to the piezo element 417. In other words, the head controller HC controls driving of each piezo element 417. In the present embodiment, the pixel data SI is composed of 2 bits. The pixel data SI is sent to the head 41 in synchronization with the transfer clock CLK. Further, the upper bit group of the pixel data SI is set in each first shift register 411A, and the lower bit group is set in each second shift register 411B. A first latch circuit 412A is electrically connected to the first shift register 411A, and a second latch circuit 412B is electrically connected to the second shift register 411B. When the latch signal LAT from the controller 60 becomes H level, each first latch circuit 412A latches the upper bit of the corresponding pixel data SI, and each second latch circuit 412B latches the lower bit of the pixel data SI. . Pixel data SI (a set of upper bits and lower bits) latched by the first latch circuit 412A and the second latch circuit 412B is input to the decoder 413, respectively. The decoder 413 selects one of the selection signals q0 to q3 output from the control logic 414 (for example, the selection signal q1) according to the pixel data SI latched by the first latch circuit 412A and the second latch circuit 412B. ), And the selected selection signal is output as the switch control signal SW. Each switch 416 is turned on / off according to a switch control signal, and selectively applies a waveform portion included in the drive signal COM to the piezo element 417.

(Relationship between pixel data and dots)
First, a case where dots are not formed (when pixel data SI is data [00]) will be described. When the pixel data [00] is latched, the selection signal q0 is output as the switch control signal SW. Accordingly, the switch 416 is turned off in the period T. As a result, the drive pulse of the drive signal COM is not applied to the piezo element 417. In this case, ink droplets are not ejected from the nozzles.

  Next, a case where small dots are formed (when pixel data SI is data [01]) will be described. When the pixel data [01] is latched, the selection signal q1 is output as the switch control signal SW. Accordingly, the switch 416 is turned on in the period T11, and the switch 416 is turned off in the periods T12 and T13. As a result, the drive pulse PS1 included in the first waveform portion SS11 of the drive signal COM is applied to the piezo element 417, and an ink droplet corresponding to a small dot is ejected from the nozzle.

Next, the case of forming a medium dot (when the pixel data SI is data [10]) will be described. When the pixel data [10] is latched, the selection signal q2 is output as the switch control signal SW. Accordingly, the switch 416 is turned on in the periods T11 and T12, and the switch 416 is turned off in the period T13. As a result, the drive pulse PS1 included in the first waveform portion SS11 of the drive signal COM and the drive pulse PS2 included in the second waveform portion SS12 of the drive signal COM are applied to the piezo element 417, and the amount corresponding to the medium dot from the nozzle. Next, a case where large dots are formed (when pixel data SI is data [11]) will be described. When the pixel data [11] is latched, the selection signal q3 is output as the switch control signal SW. Accordingly, the switch 416 is turned on in the period T11, the period T12, and the period T13. As a result, the drive pulse PS1 included in the first waveform portion SS11 of the drive signal COM, the drive pulse PS2 included in the second waveform portion SS12 of the drive signal COM, and the drive pulse PS3 included in the third waveform portion SS13 of the drive signal COM. Are sequentially applied to the piezo element 417, and ink droplets (large ink droplets) of an amount corresponding to large dots are ejected from the nozzles.

<Contactless charging unit>
As shown in FIG. 3, the secondary module 82 and the rechargeable battery 83 of the contactless charging unit 80 are provided on the carriage side (carriage 31). A plurality of primary modules 81 of the contactless charging unit 80 are provided on the apparatus main body side. In the figure, the symbols A, B, C,...

The secondary side module 82 has a secondary coil, and electric power is transmitted from the apparatus main body side to the carriage side in a non-contact manner by electromagnetic induction with the primary coil of the primary side module 81. For example, in the case shown in the drawing, electric power is transmitted to the secondary module 82 in a non-contact manner by electromagnetic induction with the primary module 81 </ b> C of the plurality of primary modules 81.
The secondary coil of the secondary module 82 is arranged on the carriage side so as to be opposed to the primary coil of the primary module.
The charging battery 83 is charged with electric power transmitted from the primary module 81 to the secondary module 82 in a contactless manner. Then, the charging battery 83 outputs a power supply voltage of 42V to the drive signal generator 43, and outputs a drive voltage of 3.3V to each part on the carriage side (the drive signal generator 43, the head 41, the data receiver 42, etc. ).

=== Operation during printing ===
Next, an operation during printing (power supply operation by the primary module 81 and the secondary module 82) will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Standby state>
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the standby state.
In the standby state, the head is at the standby position (one end in the movement direction) and is covered with a cap. This is to prevent nozzle clogging due to ink drying. At this time, the secondary module 82 on the carriage side faces the primary module 81 at the end (shaded portion) of the plurality of primary modules 81. Thereby, since electric power is transmitted from the primary module 81 in a non-contact state during the standby state, the charging battery 83 can be charged.

<When moving the carriage>
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram when the carriage is moved.
Since the secondary module 82 is provided in the carriage 31, when the carriage 31 moves in the movement direction, the secondary module 82 also moves in the movement direction. The position of the carriage 31 in the moving direction is detected by a linear encoder 51 (see FIG. 2A).
The controller 60 switches the primary side module based on the detection result of the linear encoder 51. For example, in the case of FIG. 8, it can be seen from the detection result of the linear encoder 51 that the carriage 31 is in a position facing the primary module 81 of the shaded portion (third from the left). Therefore, the controller 60 uses the primary module 81 to transmit power to the secondary module 82.
As described above, the controller 60 switches the primary module 81 that supplies power to the secondary module 82 in accordance with the movement of the carriage 31 in the moving direction. Thereby, the charging battery 83 can be charged even when the carriage 31 is moved.

<When reciprocating>
When printing an image, the carriage 31 reciprocates in the movement direction. FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B are explanatory diagrams when the carriage reciprocates (when folded).
When the width of the image to be printed (the length of the image in the carriage movement direction) is narrow, if the carriage 31 moves from one end to the other end in the movement direction, useless movement time (without discharging ink) Travel time). Therefore, in such a case, it is desirable to narrow the movement range of the carriage 31 and reciprocate the carriage. By doing so, useless travel time can be reduced, so that the printing speed can be improved.
However, as shown in FIG. 9A during reciprocating printing, the carriage 31 that has moved in one direction (from left to right in the figure) stops at the position shown in the figure (that is, the position where the secondary module 82 does not face the primary module 81). Then, if it is folded back in the other direction (right to left in the figure), charging cannot be performed efficiently when the carriage 31 is stopped.
Therefore, in this embodiment, when the carriage 31 reciprocates, the carriage stop position is a position where any one of the primary side modules 81 and the secondary side module 82 face each other as shown in FIG. The position where the movement range is the narrowest).
By doing so, the facing time between the primary side module 81 and the secondary side module 82 becomes longer than in the case of FIG. 9A, and it becomes possible to charge efficiently.

  As described above, in the printer 1 of the present embodiment, the primary side module 81 is disposed along the moving direction on the apparatus main body side, and the secondary side module 82 provided on the carriage side from the primary side module 81 is arranged. Electric power is transmitted without contact. Thereby, electric power can be supplied to the head unit 40 without generating discharge.

  Further, a plurality of primary side modules 81 are provided on the apparatus main body side, and those that face the secondary side module 82 based on the detection result of the position of the carriage 31 in the moving direction by the linear encoder 51 are used. Thus, the charging battery 83 can be charged even while the carriage 31 is moving in the moving direction.

  Further, when the carriage 31 reciprocates, the secondary module 82 is folded back at a position facing any of the primary modules 81. Thereby, it can charge efficiently.

=== Second Embodiment ===
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the second embodiment. In the above-described embodiment, a plurality of primary modules 81 are provided on the apparatus main body side. However, in the second embodiment, there is one primary module 81 on the apparatus main body side. However, the primary side module 81 of the second embodiment is movable in the movement direction along a guide shaft (not shown) in a state of facing the secondary side module of the carriage 31. The primary module 81 has a primary coil as in the above-described embodiment, and can transmit power supplied from a power source to the secondary module 82 of the carriage 31 by electromagnetic induction.

  The controller 60 of the second embodiment moves the primary module 81 in the movement direction as the carriage 31 is moved in the movement direction. Then, power is transmitted from the primary module 81 to the secondary module 82 in a non-contact manner.

  In this way, since the primary module 81 also moves with the movement of the secondary module 82, it is possible to always supply power without contact from the apparatus main body side to the carriage side. As for the movement of the carriage 31 (secondary side module 82), positional accuracy is required to improve the printing image quality, but the primary side module 81 does not require positional accuracy as much as the carriage 31 (accuracy is poor). Is also acceptable). For this reason, it is not necessary to provide a sensor or the like for detecting the position of the primary module 81. In the present embodiment, control for switching the primary module 81 is not necessary. Therefore, electric power can be transmitted from the apparatus main body side to the carriage side with a simple configuration.

=== Other Embodiments ===
Although a printer or the like as one embodiment has been described, the above embodiment is for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and it is needless to say that the present invention includes equivalents thereof. In particular, the embodiments described below are also included in the present invention.

<About liquid ejecting device>
In the above-described embodiment, an ink jet printer is described as an example of the liquid ejecting apparatus. However, the liquid ejecting apparatus is not limited to the ink jet printer, and liquids other than ink (including liquids in which functional material particles are dispersed and liquids such as gels other than liquids) and liquids are also used. The present invention is also applicable to a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a fluid (a solid that can be ejected as a fluid, such as powder). For example, an injection device for injecting a liquid colorant or an electrode material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL display and a surface emitting display, or an injection device for injecting a liquid bioorganic material used for biochip manufacturing The embodiment may be applied.

<About ink>
Since the above-described embodiment is an embodiment of the printer, the ink is ejected from the nozzle. However, the ink may be water-based or oil-based. Further, the fluid ejected from the nozzle is not limited to ink. For example, liquids (including water) including metal materials, organic materials (especially polymer materials), magnetic materials, conductive materials, wiring materials, film forming materials, electronic ink, processing liquids, gene solutions, etc. are ejected from nozzles. May be.

<About piezo elements>
In the above-described embodiment, ink is ejected using a piezo element. However, the method for discharging the liquid is not limited to this. For example, other methods such as a method of generating bubbles in the nozzle by heat may be used.

<About sending image data>
In the above-described embodiment, the pixel data SI is transmitted wirelessly, but the present invention is not limited to this. The pixel data SI may be transmitted from the apparatus main body side to the carriage side via a flexible cable. Even in such a case, it is possible to reduce the number of signal lines of the flexible cable if the contactless charging unit supplies power necessary for driving the head as in the above-described embodiment.
In the above-described embodiment, the ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Ink may be supplied from the apparatus main body side to the carriage side via a tube. Even in such a case, it is possible to reduce the number of signal lines of the flexible cable if the contactless charging unit supplies power necessary for driving the head as in the above-described embodiment.
However, if the pixel data SI is transmitted wirelessly or the ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage as in the above-described embodiment, the member that physically restrains the apparatus main body side and the carriage may be eliminated. it can.

<About the battery for charging>
In the present embodiment, the charging battery 83 generates voltages of 42 V and 3.3 V, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other voltages may be used. Moreover, at least one of 42V and 3.3V may be sufficient. Moreover, the electric power supplied from the apparatus main body side may be used for generating 42V or may be used for generating 3.3V.

1 printer,
20 transport unit, 21 paper feed roller, 22 transport motor (PF motor),
23 transport roller, 24 platen, 25 discharge roller,
30 Carriage unit, 31 Carriage,
32 Carriage motor (CR motor),
40 head units, 41 heads, 42 data receivers, 43 drive signal generators,
50 sensor groups, 51 linear encoder, 52 rotary encoder,
53 Paper detection sensor, 54 Optical sensor,
60 controller, 61 interface, 62 CPU,
63 memory, 64 unit control circuit, 65 drive signal generator,
70 data transmitter,
80 contactless charging unit, 81 primary module,
82 Secondary module, 83 Battery for charging,
110 computers,
411A first shift register, 411B second shift register,
412A first latch circuit, 412B second latch circuit,
413 decoder, 414 control logic, 416 switch,
417 piezo element, 431 waveform setting unit, 432 D / A converter,
433 voltage amplifier circuit, 434 current amplifier circuit,
Q1 NPN transistor, Q2 PNP transistor

Claims (3)

A carriage movable in the moving direction;
A head provided on the carriage and ejecting fluid;
A power supply unit that supplies power for driving the head in a non-contact manner, and includes a primary coil that moves in the movement direction as the carriage moves, and a secondary coil that is provided in the carriage. A power supply unit;
A fluid ejecting apparatus comprising: The fluid ejection device according to claim 1 ,
Wirelessly transmit pixel data indicating whether or not to form dots in each pixel to the head;
A fluid ejecting apparatus. The fluid ejection device according to claim 1 or 2 ,
A cartridge containing a fluid to be ejected from the head is mounted on the carriage.
A fluid ejecting apparatus.

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