JP6400541B2 - Inkjet printer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet printer, and more specifically, a flat bed type ink jet printer in which a moving member provided with a head for ejecting ink while moving in a predetermined direction moves in a direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction. About.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a so-called flatbed type ink jet printer in which the entire operation is controlled by a microcomputer and a head is displaced in two orthogonal directions within the same plane with respect to a medium placed on a table. Are known.

  In this specification, the term “media” refers to various recording media such as plain paper, various resin materials such as PVC, polyester, aluminum, iron, wood, cloth, and leather. The following materials shall be included.

Some flatbed ink jet printers include a cutting head for cutting media in addition to an ink jet head for printing on media.

  Hereinafter, a flat bed type ink jet printer including an ink jet head and a cutting head will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1A shows a schematic perspective view of a conventional flatbed type ink jet printer having an ink jet head and a cutting head, and FIG. The enlarged explanatory drawing which expanded the principal part of 1 (a) is shown.

  In the ink jet printer 100 shown in FIG. 1, a medium M is placed on the upper surface 104 a of a table 104 disposed on a fixed base member 102.

  In the table 104, a gate-shaped moving member 105 is disposed so as to be movable in the X-axis direction.

  The moving member 105 includes support members 108a and 108b that are movably disposed on a pair of guide rails 107 that extend in the X-axis direction in the vicinity of both ends of the table 104 in the Y-axis direction. And a rail 106 that extends in the Y-axis direction so as to connect the members 108a and 108b.

  For this reason, the rail 106 is configured such that the upper side of the upper surface 104a of the table 104 can be moved in the X-axis direction by the support members 108a and 108b moving in the X-axis direction.

  An ink jet head 120 and a cutting head 122 are disposed on the rail 106 so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction.

Therefore, in the inkjet printer 100, the inkjet head 120 and the cutting head 122 can be moved to arbitrary positions on the XY plane with respect to the medium M placed on the upper surface 104a of the table 104. ing.

  The ink jet head 120 is supplied with ink from an ink cartridge 124 housed in an adapter (not shown) via an ink tube 126 and controls a whole operation of the ink jet printer 100 (not shown). To), an electrical signal based on a predetermined operation is transmitted through the wiring 128.

  In addition, an electrical signal based on a predetermined operation is transmitted to the cutting head 122 via a wiring 130 from a microcomputer (not shown).

  Note that the wirings 128 and 130 are formed of, for example, a flexible substrate or a flexible flat cable.

  In the inkjet printer 100, the ink tube 126 and the wirings 128 and 130 are routed using the tubular guides 132, 134, and 136.

  That is, the ink tube 126 extended from the ink cartridge 124 and the wires 128 and 130 extended from the microcomputer (not shown) are first extended in the X-axis direction on the side surface portion 108aa side of the support member 108a. And is guided to the vicinity of the hole 108a-1 provided in the support member 108a.

  That is, in this guide 132, the insertion port 132a of the ink tube 126 and the wirings 128 and 130 is positioned in the vicinity of the upper surface 104a of the table 104, and the outlet port 132b for leading out the ink tube 126 and the wirings 128 and 130 is more than the upper surface 104a. It arrange | positions so that it may be located in the hole part 108a-1 vicinity provided in the upper side. Thus, at least a part of the guide 132 is positioned above the upper surface 104 a of the table 104 on the right side of the table 104.

  The guide 132 is fixed to the support member 108a in the vicinity of the outlet port 132b in the vicinity of the hole 108a-1, and, as a result, the support member 108a moves, so that the folded portion 132c is moved together with the support member 108a to the X axis. Move in direction.

  The guide 132 is supported by a plate-shaped guide receiver (not shown) protruding from the base member 102.

  Then, the ink tube 126 and the wirings 128 and 130 led out from the lead-out port 12b located near the hole 108a-1 are introduced into the hole 108a-1.

  The ink tube 126 and the wiring 128 introduced into the hole 108a-1 are inserted into and supported by a guide 134 extending in the Y-axis direction, guided to the inkjet head 120 by the guide 134, and connected to the inkjet head 120. The

  The wiring 130 introduced into the hole 108 a-1 is inserted and supported by a guide 136 extending in the Y-axis direction, and is guided to the cutting head 122 by the guide 136 and connected to the cutting head 122.

  The guides 134 and 136 are supported by a plate-shaped guide receiver 140 that protrudes from the rail 106 in parallel with the base member 102.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the guide 134 is fixed to the inkjet head 120 on the outlet port side. As a result, the guide 134 moves the inkjet head 120, so that the folded portion 134 c is moved together with the inkjet head 120. Moves in the Y-axis direction. Similarly, although not shown in FIG. 1, the guide 136 is fixed to the cutting head 122 at the outlet port side. As a result, the guide 136 moves together with the cutting head 122 so that the folded portion 136 c is moved together with the cutting head. Moves in the Y-axis direction.

  By the way, in such an ink jet printer 100, since the guide 132 is located on the right side of the table 104 and above the upper surface 104a of the table 104, the operator can use the side where the guide 132 is not provided (that is, The medium M is placed on the upper surface 104a of the table 104 from the left side, the front side, and the rear side.

  Here, the guide 132 is not exposed to the upper surface 104a side by the support member 108a in the portion located above the upper surface 104a of the table 104, but the vicinity of the folded portion 132c is on the upper surface 104a side. It is in an exposed state.

  For this reason, the operator has to place the medium M on the upper surface 104 a of the table 104 so as not to contact the guide 132 from the side where the guide 132 is not provided.

  However, when the medium M is made of a large hard material such as wood or metal, the medium M comes into contact with the guide 132 due to carelessness of the operator, and the guide 132 is damaged. In addition, it has been pointed out as a problem that a malfunction occurs in the operation of the cutting head 122.

In order to solve such a problem, for example, there is a method in which a cover member 138 for protecting the guide 132 is provided. Even in this case, the guide member 138 may damage the guide 132 by the medium M. Although the prevention has a certain effect, the guide 132 may be damaged together with the cover member 138 by the medium M, and when the medium M is placed on the table 104, the damage of the guide 132 by the medium M is sufficiently prevented. It wasn't something that could be done.

For this reason, when the medium M is placed on the table 104, there has been a demand for a proposal of an ink jet printer that is unlikely to be damaged by the medium M of the guide for guiding the ink tube 126 and the wirings 128 and 130.

  Note that the prior art that the applicant of the present application knows at the time of filing a patent application is not an invention related to a known literature invention, and therefore there is no prior art document information to be described in the present specification.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described demands of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a guide medium for guiding an ink tube or the like when the medium is placed on a table. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet printer that is not easily damaged by the above.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a first moving means provided with an ink jet head for discharging ink to a medium while moving in a first direction is orthogonal to the first direction. In a flat-bed type ink jet printer that moves in a second direction, an ink that extends in the second direction below the predetermined surface on which the medium is placed and supplies ink to the ink jet head First guiding means for guiding the tube, and second guiding means that extends in the first direction and guides the ink tube led out from the first guiding means to the inkjet head. It is a thing.

  In the present invention, the first moving means provided with the ink jet head for discharging ink to the medium while moving in the first direction moves in the second direction orthogonal to the first direction. In the flat bed type ink jet printer, an ink tube extending in the second direction and below the predetermined surface on which the medium is placed, and an ink tube for supplying ink to the ink jet head and the ink jet head First guiding means for guiding a first wiring for transmitting an electric signal, and the ink tube and the wiring extended in the first direction and led out from the first guiding means are connected to the inkjet head. And a second guiding means for guiding.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the above-described invention, the processing head further movably disposed in the first direction in the first moving means, and the processing head extended in the first direction, And a third guiding means for guiding a second wiring for transmitting an electrical signal to the first wiring. The first guiding means guides the second wiring together with the ink tube and the first wiring. The third guiding means guides the second wiring led out from the first guiding means to the machining head.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the above-described invention, there is further provided a second arrangement that is disposed in the vicinity of the outlet of the first guiding means and moves by the same distance in the same direction in synchronization with the first moving means. And moving means.

  Since the present invention is configured as described above, when the medium is placed on the table, the possibility that the medium comes into contact with the guide that guides the ink tube or the like by the operator's carelessness is reduced. It has an excellent effect that the guide is not easily damaged by the media.

FIG. 1A is a schematic configuration perspective view of a conventional ink jet printer, and FIG. 1B is an enlarged explanatory view of an essential part of FIG. 1A. FIG. 2A is a schematic perspective view of the inkjet printer according to the present invention, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged explanatory view of the main part of FIG. 2A. 3A and 3B are explanatory views showing a modification of the main part of the ink jet printer according to the present invention.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of an inkjet printer according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following description, the same or equivalent components as those of the conventional inkjet printer described with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B are denoted by the same reference numerals as those used above. Therefore, the detailed configuration and description of the operational effects are omitted as appropriate.

  FIG. 2 (a) shows a schematic perspective view of the inkjet printer according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 (b) is an enlarged explanatory view showing an enlarged main part of FIG. 2 (a). It is shown.

The ink jet printer 10 shown in FIG. 2A differs from the ink jet printer 100 shown in FIG. 1 only in that the ink tube 126 and the wirings 128 and 130 are guided by the guide 12 instead of the guide 132. Yes.

  More specifically, the guide 12 is disposed so as to extend in the X-axis direction on the right side surface portion 102a of the base member 102, and is formed, for example, in a substantially tubular shape having flexibility.

  In the guide 12, the ink tube 126 extended from the ink cartridge 124 and the wirings 128 and 130 extended from the microcomputer (not shown) are inserted from the insertion port 12a and led out from the lead-out port 12b. That is, the guide 12 guides the ink tube 126 and the wirings 128 and 130 from the insertion port 12a to the outlet port 12b.

  The ink tube 126 and the wirings 128 and 130 led out from the outlet 12b are introduced into the hole 108a-1.

  The ink tube 126 and the wiring 128 introduced into the hole 108a-1 are guided by the guide 134 and connected to the inkjet head 120, and the wiring 130 introduced into the hole 108a-1 is guided by the guide 136. To the cutting head 122.

  The guide 12 is supported by a guide receiver 14 protruding from the base member 102.

  A moving member 16 is provided in the vicinity of the outlet 12 b of the guide 12, and this moving member 16 is movably disposed on a guide rail 18 that extends in the X-axis direction above the side surface portion 102 a of the base member 102. It is installed.

  At this time, the outlet 12b is disposed so that the support member 108a is positioned on the upper side, and preferably, the hole 108a-1 is positioned on the upper side thereof. That is, the outlet 12b is disposed at a position where the ink tube 126 and the wirings 128 and 130 led out from the outlet 12b are not exposed to the upper surface 104a side of the table 104 by the support member 108a.

  The moving member 16 moves by the same distance in the same direction in synchronization with the movement of the supporting members 108a and 108b under the control of a microcomputer (not shown).

  Further, the guide 12 is folded back on the guide receiver 14 from the insertion opening 12a to the lower side 12c extending from the front side to the rear side in the X-axis direction and to the front side from the lower part 12c to the upper side. A folded portion 12d and an upper portion 12e extending from the folded portion 12d toward the front side are formed.

  Note that the length of the lower portion 12c, the position of the folded portion 12d in the X-axis direction, and the length of the upper portion 12e change as the support members 108a and 108b move.

  Specifically, when the support members 108a and 108b move in the X-axis direction from the front side to the rear side, the outlet 12b moves in the X-axis direction from the front side to the rear side via the moving member 16. Thereby, the length of the lower part 12c becomes longer, the length of the upper part 12e becomes shorter, and the position of the folded part 12d moves to the rear side along the X-axis direction.

  When the support members 108a and 108b move from the rear side to the front side in the X-axis direction, the outlet 12b moves from the rear side to the front side via the moving member 16. As a result, the length of the lower portion 12c is shortened, the length of the upper portion 12e is lengthened, and the position of the folded portion 12d moves forward along the X-axis direction.

  Note that the ink tubes 126 and the wirings 128 and 130 inserted into the guide 12 are also folded in the folded portion together with the guide 12 in the guide 12 from the insertion port 12a to the outlet 12b.

Note that such a guide 12 is configured by using a conventionally known technique. Specifically, for example, a cable bear (registered trademark) can be used as the guide 12.

  In the above configuration, when the medium M is placed on the upper surface 104 a of the table 104, the guide 12 that guides the ink tube 126 and the wirings 128 and 130 is located on the side surface portion of the base member 102 positioned below the table 104. 102a, the right side, the left side, the front side, and the rear side of the table 104 have no configuration in contact with the medium M other than the support members 108a and 108b. Even if the operator neglects attention, the possibility that the medium M contacts the guide 12 is extremely low.

Accordingly, even when the medium M is made of a large hard material, the guide 12 is not damaged when the medium M is placed. As a result, the guide 12 is broken or the medium M is not damaged. It is possible to suppress problems that occur in the ink jet head 120 and the cutting head 122 due to an impact or the like when touching.

  When printing on the medium M using the inkjet head 120 or cutting on the medium M using the cutting head 122, the support members 108a and 108b are moved in the X-axis direction, and the inkjet head 120 or cutting is performed on the rail 106. By moving the head 122 in the Y-axis direction, printing or cutting is performed on the medium M while moving the inkjet head 120 or the cutting head 122 to an arbitrary position on the XY plane.

At this time, since the guide 12 also moves the outlet 12b through the moving member 16 as the support members 108a and 108b move, there is a load that causes a problem in the guiding ink tube 126 and the wirings 128 and 130. It does not take.

  As described above, in the ink jet printer 10 according to the present invention, the guide 12 for guiding the ink tube 126 and the wirings 128 and 130 is disposed on the base member 102 disposed below the table 104 on which the medium M is placed. It was made to provide in the side part 102a.

  As a result, in the inkjet printer 10 according to the present invention, there is no configuration in contact with the medium M other than the support members 108a and 108b on the right side, the left side, the front side, and the rear side of the upper surface 104a of the table 104.

  Therefore, according to the ink jet printer 10 according to the present invention, the possibility that the medium M contacts the guide 12 is extremely low even if the operator neglects attention, as compared with the ink jet printer 100 according to the prior art.

For this reason, according to the ink jet printer 10 according to the present invention, compared with the ink jet printer 100 according to the prior art, the possibility of damaging the guide 12 when the medium M is placed is reduced. Problems occurring in 120 and the cutting head 122 can be suppressed.

  The embodiment described above may be modified as shown in the following (1) to (4).

  (1) In the above-described embodiment, the cutting head 122 is provided on the rail 106 as the machining head together with the inkjet head 120. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  That is, only the inkjet head 120 may be provided on the rail 106 without providing the cutting head 122, or the rail 106 is engraved on the medium M in place of the cutting head 122 together with the inkjet head 120. Various processing heads such as a stamping head for performing the above and a foil pressing head equipped with a thermal pen for pressing the medium M may be provided.

  In addition to the inkjet head 120 and the cutting head 122, a processing head such as a stamping head or a foil pressing head may be provided on the rail 106.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, the outlet 12b of the guide 12 is movably disposed above the side surface portion 102a of the base member 102 via the moving member 16. Needless to say, the outlet 12b is disposed on the side surface portion 104b of the table 104 or the side surface portion 108aa of the support member 108a as long as it is below the upper surface 104a of the table 104. May be.

  That is, when the outlet 12b is disposed on the side surface portion 104b of the table 104, for example, the guide port 28 is movable to the guide rail 28 extending in the X-axis direction below the upper surface 104a of the side surface portion 104b of the table 104. The disposed moving member 26 is disposed in the vicinity of the outlet 12b (see FIG. 3A).

  Thereby, the outlet 12b is synchronized with the movement of the support members 108a and 108b via the moving member 26 under the control of a microcomputer (not shown) below the upper surface 104a of the table 104. It can move in the same direction and the same distance.

  Further, when the outlet 12b is disposed on the side surface 108aa of the support member 108a, for example, the outlet 12b is positioned below the upper surface 104a of the table 104 so that the side surface 108aa of the support member 108a is located. (See FIG. 3B).

  As a result, the outlet 12b can move via the support member 108a on the lower side of the upper surface 104a of the table 104.

  (3) In the above-described embodiment, the guide 12 guides the ink tube 126 and the wirings 128 and 130. However, the guide 12 is not limited to this. You may make it induce only.

  (4) You may make it combine suitably the embodiment shown above and the modification shown in said (1) thru | or (3).

  The present invention can be used as a flat-bed type ink jet printer in which a moving member provided with a head for ejecting ink while moving in a predetermined direction moves in a direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction.

  10, 100 inkjet printer, 12, 132, 134, 136 guide, 14, 140 guide receiver, 16, 26 moving member, 18, 28 guide rail, 104 table, 108a, 108b support member, 120 inkjet head, 122 cutting head, 126 Ink tube, 128, 130 Wiring

Claims (4)

A flatbed ink jet in which a first moving means provided with an ink jet head for discharging ink to a medium while moving in a first direction moves in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. In the printer
A first guiding means that extends in the second direction below a predetermined surface on which the medium is placed and guides an ink tube for supplying ink to the inkjet head;
An ink jet printer, comprising: a second guiding unit that extends in the first direction and guides the ink tube led out from the first guiding unit to the inkjet head. A flatbed ink jet in which a first moving means provided with an ink jet head for discharging ink to a medium while moving in a first direction moves in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. In the printer
An ink tube for supplying ink to the inkjet head, and a first wiring for transmitting an electrical signal to the inkjet head, below the predetermined surface on which the medium is placed, and extending in the second direction First guiding means for guiding
An ink jet printer, comprising: an ink tube that extends in the first direction and that guides the ink tube and the wiring led out from the first guide means to the ink jet head. The inkjet printer according to claim 2, further comprising:
A machining head disposed movably in the first direction in the first moving means;
And third guiding means for guiding a second wiring that extends in the first direction and transmits an electrical signal to the processing head,
The first guiding means guides the second wiring together with the ink tube and the first wiring,
The ink jet printer, wherein the third guiding unit guides the second wiring led out from the first guiding unit to the processing head. The inkjet printer according to any one of claims 1, 2, or 3, further
An ink jet printer comprising: a second moving unit disposed in the vicinity of the outlet of the first guiding unit and moving in the same direction by the same distance in synchronization with the first moving unit.

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