JPH04129773A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent disorder from occurring to pitches of sheet feeding even with interruptions made by other operations during recording by a method wherein a phase in which a gear disengages from a position in which the sheet feeding is available and a phase in which the gear engages with said position are made to agree with each other. CONSTITUTION:When a carriage 2 moves leftward, five steps of forward rotation and two steps of backward rotation are made until a slide gear 44 comes to a gear-mating position after disengaging from a sheet-feeding output gear 34. A sheet-feeding motor 20 is so constructed that it makes five steps of backward rotation and two steps of forward rotation when the carriage 2 moves rightward and until the slide gear moves to a position right before the sheet- feeding output gear 54 after disengaging from the gear-mating position. Therefore, with the slide gear 44 placed in phase, with the gear-mating position, a phase in which the slide gear 44 disengages from the sheet-feeding output gear 34 on the leftward movement of the carriage is automatically agreed with a phase in which the slide gear 44 engages with the sheet-feeding output gear 34 on the rightward movement of the carriage.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field 1] The present invention relates to a recording device, and particularly to a so-called serial type recording device that performs recording while moving a recording head in a predetermined direction along a recording material. .

[Prior Art 1] In many conventionally known serial type printing apparatuses, a step motor is used as a carriage drive motor that drives a carriage that transports a print head for printing scanning.

In many cases, a step motor is also used as a drive motor for feeding a sheet of recording material (hereinafter also referred to as recording sheet or recording paper) in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the carriage.

Furthermore, in order to reduce costs and save space, there are recording apparatuses that are capable of performing multiple operations with a single drive source (motor) in order to reduce the number of motors that serve as drive sources. for example,
In the recording device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-139307 filed by the present applicant, the recovery operation in the inkjet recording device, the operation of the automatic sheet feeder (ASF), etc. switch the drive force transmission of the drive motor for feeding the recording sheet. There is a recording device that performs switching using the following configuration.

That is, a row of a plurality of gears arranged parallel to the moving direction of the carriage and driveable by the drive source, and a row of gears that engages with the carriage outside the recording area and corresponds to the moving position of the carriage. a gear member that can mesh with one of the plurality of gears, the recording material can be fed in a state where the gear member is meshed with one of the plurality of gears, and the other of the plurality of gears The recording material is configured such that operations other than feeding the recording material can be performed in a state in which the recording material is meshed with one of the recording materials.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In such a recording device, for example, a gear member that engages with the carriage is in a state of being engaged with a gear capable of feeding the recording sheet, and printing is performed while feeding the recording sheet. After moving to a state in which it is engaged in a gear that allows other operations such as a recovery action, it returns to a state in which it is engaged in a gear that is capable of feeding the original recording sheet, and while feeding the recording sheet mentioned above. Printing may continue. In such a case, the gear member that engages with the carriage will be temporarily disengaged from the recording sheet feeding gear, and the gear member will engage again during printing, so the recording sheet feeding pick will be removed by the action of engaging the gear, etc. may be shifted by that point. This also applies to the automatic suction by the recovery system, which is folded during printing in the same way as the recovery operation described above.

In addition, during the initial operation of the recording device, the transmission of driving force is switched, for example, the gear is switched from the sheet feeding position to the recovery operation position. If the recording sheet had been set, there was a risk that the set recording sheet would be misaligned due to the gear engagement action at the time of switching.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a recording apparatus that records on a recording material, including a recording head that is capable of reciprocating along the recording material and records on the recording material, and a drive head that records on the recording material. a plurality of first transmission members that can be driven by the driving force of the drive source; and a second transmission member that can be coupled to the first transmission member with respect to the movement position of the recording head among the plurality of first transmission members. Then, another operation is performed from a state in which a second transmission member, which is engaged with the recording head or its mounting member, is engaged with a position where the recording material can be fed among the plurality of first transmission members. After moving to a position where feeding of the recording material is possible, when returning to a position where feeding of the recording material is possible again, the recording material is characterized by comprising means for matching the initial bonding phase with the phase at the time of returning. .

[Function] In the present invention, among the plurality of gears (first transmission member) that determine each operation, the gear member (second transmission member) is engaged with the carriage at the gear position where the distribution sheet can be fed. The phase when the parts (parts) are pulled out from the engaged state matches the phase when they come back and engage. For example, the cumulative number of steps of the motor that is the drive source from when it comes out to when it re-engages (for example, the cumulative number of steps is counted as + in the forward direction and - in the reverse direction) is the number of steps for one tooth of the gear member. The number of steps is controlled to be an integral multiple of the number of steps for the pitch. Furthermore, the cumulative number of steps of the motor is controlled to be an integral multiple of the number of steps for one tooth gap of the gear member and an integral multiple of the number of steps for one cycle of the drive motor (steps for 4-phase data). I do.

According to this, because other operations are performed during printing, the gear engaged with the carriage is once separated from the recording sheet feeding gear and then re-engaged with it, resulting in pitch slippage in recording sheet feeding. It can be prevented.

Further, the position of the set recording sheet will not change due to gear disengagement or jamming during the initial operation when the power is turned on. That is, by repeatedly turning the power on and off, the gear member engaged with the carriage and the recording sheet feeding gear may engage or disengage, or the position of the set recording sheet does not change despite this.

[Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described below in detail and specifically based on the drawings.

(Configuration of the entire apparatus) FIG. 1 shows an example of an inkjet recording apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention. Here, 1 is a recording head mounted on a carriage 2, and the carriage 2 is connected to a recording head 7 by a timing belt stretched between it and an idler boot (not shown).
The carriage drive motor (described later in Figures A and 7B)
(not shown in FIG. 1), and is reciprocated along the guide shaft 3 by forward and reverse rotation. Incidentally, ink is supplied to the recording head 1 from an ink cartridge 4 via an ink tube (not shown), and while the carriage 2 is moving from left to right, the recording head 1 is supplied with ink from an ink ejection port (not shown) to a recording material such as a recording material. Ink is ejected toward the recording sheet 5, and recording is performed.

As ejection means for the recording head, US Pat. No. 4,72
3. ], No. 29, No. 4,459,600, the thermal energy causes a change in state in the liquid, including rapid formation of bubbles, contraction, and in response to the formation of bubbles. A method of discharging liquid as MA (preferably having an electrothermal converter as a component) can be adopted.

6 is a plate-shaped fixed platen that holds the recording sheet 5 at a position facing the ejection surface of the recording head 1 while maintaining a predetermined interval; 7 is a feed roller that feeds the recording sheet 5; 8 is in pressure contact with the feed roller 7; A pinch roller 9 is driven to sandwich the recording sheet 5 between them, and 9 is a pinch roller holder for applying pressure to the pinch roller 8. The holder 9 is made of a stainless steel plate or the like, and the spring force of the holder 9 causes the pinch roller to 8 toward the feed roller 7. IO and 11 hold the recording sheet 5 fed manually, etc., and the feed roller 7 and pinch roller 8
An upper guide and a lower guide for guiding between.

A guide rail IOA is provided on the upper part of the upper guide 10, and a leaf spring portion 2A provided on the lower surface side of the carriage 2 is slidably held along the guide rail IOA. Thus, the spring force of the leaf spring 2A urges the carriage 2 itself toward the fixed platen 6, and the carriage 2
A part of the platen 6 is attached to the sheet holding plate 1 provided in front of the platen 6.
The head 1 is slidably brought into contact with the head 3.
A predetermined distance is maintained between the ink ejection surface IA and the recording sheet 5.

Note that the sheet presser plate 13 that a part of the carriage 2 comes into contact with
This area is near the back side of the part of the sheet presser plate 13 that is in contact with the feed roller 7, and when the sheet presser plate 13 retreats by that amount due to the passage of the recording sheet 5, the carriage 2
will also retreat as well.

Therefore, it is possible to maintain the above-mentioned interval at a predetermined interval regardless of paper thickness and form a high-quality recorded image.

The recording sheet 5 fed by the feed roller 7 and the pinch roller 8 is held by a fixed platen 6 tilted rearward at an angle of approximately 30 degrees, making it easy to see the recording results. As shown in FIG. 2, the recorded recording sheet 5 is transferred to a discharge roller 12 and a spur 12B that is pressed against the discharge roller 12.
It is sandwiched between the two and discharged to the stacker section 14.

Figure 2 shows the exterior cover 15 and automatic paper feeder (auto feeder).
The sheet feeder (ASF) 16 is shown equipped, and recording sheets can be fed not only manually from the front but also from the rear ASF.
It can be supplied via the F16, and furthermore, if the pin feed tractor 17 is used, it can also be recorded on continuous paper. Further, it is also possible to provide a heater on the back side of the fixed platen 5, thereby making it possible to deal with ink that is difficult to dry.

Next, the ink supply device, recovery device, sheet feeding device, etc. according to this example will be described. These devices are the first
They are concentrated on the left side of the recording area in the figure, and are designed to simplify the drive transmission mechanism and make the space more compact.
The drive source is shared, and 20 is a feed motor provided as the drive source. The feed motor 20 drives the feed roller 7 and the discharge roller 1 as described later.
2, the ASF 16 can also be driven, and further a series of recovery operations can be performed by the recovery device.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a cartridge insertion opening, and 22 denotes a hollow needle that pierces the ink cartridge 4 when inserted from the insertion opening 21 to supply ink to the recording head 1 via a tube (not shown) or an ink remaining amount detector. be. The recovery device also operates the cap member 23, the cap guide shaft 24 that movably holds the cap carrier 23A on which the cap member 23 is mounted, and the cap member 23 and the ink ejection surface IA of the recording head 1 as the cap member 23 moves. It includes a rail 25 for guiding the cap member 23, a spring 26 for biasing the cap member 23 toward the initial position on the right side, a pump 27 for sucking ink, and the like.

Further, the cap carrier 23A includes an arm portion 23B that projects toward the travel path of the carriage 2, and when the carriage 2 moves leftward from the position shown in FIG. 1 and returns to the initial position, the cap carrier 23A A portion abuts and engages with the upper arm portion 23B, and moves further leftward together with the cap member 23. Reference numeral 28 denotes a fixed shutter for the reference position side ratio, and when the carriage 2 is guided to the initial position, the fixed shutter 28 is detected by a transmission type sensor (home position sensor) 29 provided on the carriage 2.
An initial position is determined. Note that during the subsequent movement, the ink ejection surface IA is capped by the cap member 23.

In addition, in a recovery operation after capping, a negative pressure is generated in the cap member 23 by driving a pump 27 connected to the cap member 23 through a tube (not shown), and ink is discharged from inside the nozzles of the recording head 1. This kind of recovery operation is performed by the feed motor 20 by switching by a driving force switching means, which will be described later. 3
1 is a pump cam for driving the pump 27, 32 is a pump output gear, 33 and 34 are ASF output gears and sheet feeding output gears provided coaxially with the pump output gear 32, and 35 is a gear train. 36, and is an idler gear that can rotationally drive the feed roller 7 via the feed gear 37.

A wiper (blade) 48 is provided perpendicularly to the traveling direction of the carriage 2 and is fixed so as to engage and clean the ejection port forming surface of the recording head 1 as the carriage travels. .

(Switching mechanism) Next, the feed motor 20 is
The operation switching mechanism will be explained below. Note that although an embodiment using a gear as the transmission member will be described below, the transmission member may be of other forms.

In FIG. 3, 41 is an idler gear for transmitting the drive of the feed motor 20 to the drive gear 43 of the slide gear shaft 42, and the slide gear shaft 42 has a D-shaped cross section. It is held by a slide gear 44 that rotates together with the shaft 42 or by a slide holder 45. That is, the slide holder 45 has one leg 45A extending downward as shown in FIG. As the leg portion 45A moves along the groove member 47,
The slide gear 44 moves together with the slide holder 45. 23C is a second arm projecting from the cap carrier 23A toward the groove member 47; 23D is a second arm 23;
The leaf spring 23D is held at the tip of the leaf spring C, and the leaf spring 23D is held between the forked legs 45A of the slide holder 45 mentioned above.

Therefore, when the cap member 23 is engaged with the carriage 2 and moved to the left as described later, the slide holder 45 is moved in the same direction via the plate spring 23D, so that the slide gear 44 always maintains a position corresponding to the cap member 23. However, this slide gear 44
As shown in FIG. 4 above, a module gear train 36 is also supported by the frame 46 and can be engaged with the slide gear 44.

In the gear train 36, the gear located farthest to the right is the large gear 3.
Output gear 3 for sheet feeding consisting of 4A and small gear 34B
4, of which the large gear 34A is a slide gear 44.
The small gear 34B meshes with the discharge roller gear 12A via the idler gear 35. In addition, with the slide gear 44 meshing with the sheet feeding output gear 34, the feed roller 7 and the discharge roller 12 can be rotated forward or reverse by the feed motor 20 via the feed gear 37 and the discharge roller gear 12A.

Furthermore, in FIG. 4, the ASF output gear 33 has the same number of teeth and module as the coaxial large gear 34A, and meshes with the slide gear 44 depending on the position of the slide gear 44, and also meshes with the input gear 1.6A of the ASF 16. do.

Therefore, when the slide gear 44 is engaged with the ASF output gear 33, the input gear 16A can be rotated forward or reverse.For example, the forward rotation allows the ASF 16 to feed the sheet, and the reverse rotation allows the selection of 1 bin, 2 bin, etc. It is possible to perform functional movements of equal height.

The pump output gear 32 provided at the left end of the gear train 36 in FIG. 4 is also connected to the slide gear 4 as shown in FIG. 5A.
4), one gear 32A of the pump output gear 32 is engaged with the pump cam 31 at the leftmost movement position (indicated by a two-dot chain line).
The drive gear 31A is meshed with the drive gear 31A.

Therefore, when the slide gear 44 is moved to such a position, the pump cam 31 can be driven by the feed motor 20, and the cam 31 can cause the pump 27 to perform a pumping operation. That is, as described above, depending on the stop position of the carriage 2, the driving force of the feed motor 20 is transmitted via the slide gear 44 to one of the sheet feeding output gear 34, the ASF output gear 33, and the pump output gear 32. It is possible to transmit the information to each other, and to cause the corresponding actions to be performed.

Next, as the carriage 2 moves to the left outside the recording area, the cap carrier 23A is moved depending on the movement position, and the slide gear 44 meshes with each of the above-mentioned output gears in accordance with the movement of the cap carrier 23A. explain. In addition, in such a switching operation of the output gear, the leaf spring 23D interposed in the connecting portion between the cap carrier 23A and the slide holder 45 serves as a buffer during the switching.

Now, when the carriage 2 moves to the left from the recording area on the right in FIG. 1 and further moves from the position shown in FIG. 6A to the position shown in FIG. - The throat 1 is engaged and the cap carrier 23A is then in a movable state along the guide shaft 24. In addition, in FIGS. 6A to 6C, (
A) to (D) show four positions that the cap carrier 23A can take together with the slide holder 45 and the slide gear 44 while holding the cap member 23. Among these, positions (A) to (C) are, for example, Cap member 23 guided by rail 25 as shown in FIG. 6C
The cap member 23 is attached to the recording head 1 by the operating arm 23H.
It is extruded towards and kept in a capped state. Further, position (D) is a standby position for performing sheet feeding etc. during recording, and when the carriage 2 is currently in position (D) as shown in FIG. 6B, it is not shown here. However, the slide gear 44 meshes with the sheet feeding output gear 34, and in this state, the motor 20 can feed the sheet.

In this position (D), the print head faces the cap, and in this position, preliminary ejection, which is not related to printing,
This can be done by using an electrical signal to the electrothermal transducer of the recording head. In this example, the preliminary ejection is performed at the start of printing and when the continuous time during recording continues for one minute.

Next, when the carriage 2 is further moved to the left from position (D), the slide gear 44 is disengaged from the sheet feeding output gear 34 and meshes with the ASF output gear 33 at position CB). However, in this case, if there is a shift in the phase of the teeth, the ASF output gear 33 will be moved to the position corresponding to the position CB (although they will not mesh, it does not matter). The difference is absorbed by bending the leaf spring 23D. (Thereafter, when the feed motor 20 is driven, the slide gear 4 is driven through the drive gear 43 as shown in FIG.
4 is driven, the teeth mesh with each other when their phases match, and the ASF output gear 33 can be driven.

Further, for example, immediately after the slide gear 44 is engaged with the sheet feeding output gear 34 and the sheet is fed, the teeth are engaged with each other and friction is generated between them.
Therefore, it cannot be easily pulled out, but in this case as well, it is possible to temporarily maintain that state by bending the leaf spring 23D and to eliminate the friction between the teeth by rotating the feed motor 20 in the reverse direction. can.

Next, position (A) is a position where a recovery operation such as bombing is performed, and FIG. 6C shows this state. In this state, the slide gear 44 can be meshed with the pump output gear 32, and the pump 27 can be driven via the pump cam 31 by one of the gears 32A, as shown in FIG. 5A. Note that (C) is a standby position with the recording head 1 capped, and of course sheet feeding can be carried out even in this state.

(Carriage Drive Motor) FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B) show the internal cross-sectional structure of the carriage drive motor according to the embodiment of the present invention, which is driven under the above-mentioned driving conditions. In this figure, 110 is a casing;
113 is a rotor shaft, 114 is a rotor, 115a and 1
15b is a coil, 116a and 116b are stators,
117 is a disk provided with a slit, and 118 is a photo ink printer for detecting the slit.
17 and the photoink club 118 constitute an encoder that detects the rotational angular position of the rotor 114 of the motor 100. A boot is provided on the rotor shaft 113, and the carriage 2 is moved via a timing belt stretched between the boot and another boot.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a method of driving the stepping motor 100 for driving the carriage according to this embodiment. In this example, since a carriage drive motor 100 in which an encoder section and a motor section are integrated is used, the step motor section 100A and encoder section 100A are shown in the figure.
It is shown separately from B.

101 is a position counter for counting signals generated from the encoder section 100B. In this example, the MPU 102 uses the counted value of the position counter 101 to recognize the current carriage position, etc., and performs management of the set position, switching control of the motor drive method, etc.

A speed counter 103 uses a signal generated from the encoder section 100B to allow the MPU 102 to recognize the rotational speed of the step motor section 100A, that is, the carriage speed, and this speed counter 103 measures the pulse width of the encoder signal.

Then, the MPU 102 uses the value of the speed counter 103 and processes it to generate a necessary PWM value for the PWM counter 104 (this is the duty value of pulse width modulation, and if the output value is large, the duty is large and the current flows). is given, and the carriage motor 100 is controlled in a closed loop.

105 is a current switching circuit for controlling the signal from the encoder section 100B to be passed through the encoder circuit 106 to switch the excitation phase of the step motor at a certain fixed value.

107 is the PWM given by the PWM counter 104
This is a motor drive circuit for driving the step motor unit 100A according to the current switching timing given by the current switching circuit 105.

Here, a method for driving the carriage motor 100 using closed loop control will be described.

The switching timing for the phase of the step motor section 100A is automatically set by the current switching circuit 105 by a pulse signal generated by the encoder section 100B which rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the step motor section 100A.

On the other hand, by counting the pulse width using the pulse signal, the step motor section 100A is controlled by the speed counter.
The rotation speed of is detected.

Using this value, the MPU 102 performs processing according to a procedure predetermined on the internal ROM, and the necessary PWM value is calculated and set in the PWM counter 104. This P
For example, if the rotational speed of the step motor section 100A is larger than the target (instruction) rotational speed, the WM value is set to a value that reduces the speed, that is, reduces the duty of the PWM signal. .

The step motor section 100A is driven via the motor drive circuit 107 according to the PWM value calculated by the MPU 102 and the phase switching timing given by the current switching circuit 105, and the speed is again changed to the encoder section 100B.
Detected by The step motor section 100A is driven in a closed loop by the closed loop control as described above.

Next, a method of driving the carriage motor 100 as a step motor will be explained.

Switching of the excitation phase is performed by the MPU 102 at an excitation timing (time) predetermined in the ROM, as in normal step motor driving, without depending on the current switching circuit 105. Further, the current value at this time is managed by the PWM value. That is, a PWM value predetermined by the MPU 102 is given to the motor drive circuit through the PWM counter 104. In this way, the step motor unit 100A is driven by a predetermined current value (PWM value) at a predetermined phase switching timing. becomes possible.

An encoder signal is also generated at this time, and is used by the MPU 102 to determine the carriage position through the position counter 101. In the case of normal step motor drive, the carriage position is determined by counting the switching of the excitation phase determined by the MPU 102, but in this example, the conventional method of counting the switching of the excitation phase and counting the encoder signal are used. Both methods can determine carriage position.

The above is the method of driving the carriage motor 100 as a step motor.

(Aspects of carriage position and motor drive) FIG. 9 is a diagram showing what is done when the carriage 2 is in which position and how the carriage motor 100 is driven. This shows the left end of the recording position.

Position (A1-(DJ is the position explained in the character pink and drive switching section in Figures 3 to 6. As mentioned above, (A) is the position where the drive is transmitted to the pump 27, ( B) is the position where the drive is transmitted to the ASF 16, (C) is the position where the drive is transmitted for sheet feeding and is in the capping state, and (D) is the position where the drive is transmitted for sheet feeding and the recording head is facing the cap during preliminary ejection. It's the location.

Furthermore, (E) is the position of the wiping operation by the aforementioned wiper 48, (F) is the position on the right side of this position as a border for closed loop drive for printing, and on the left side is the position where step motor drive with each drive condition is performed, (G ) indicates the position of the first dot in the printing range. Further, (H) is a position where adjustment is made so that the sheet feeding position does not shift even if one end of the slide gear 44 comes off from the sheet feeding output gear 34, goes to the pump position, and returns again.

The time shown in parentheses indicates the excitation switching time of the motor phase explained when driving the step motor mentioned above. Also, the percentage display in the mouth indicates the duty of the PWM value as stated in <U, and the larger the duty, the more current flows.

The upper row is the PWM duty value during 1-phase excitation in 1-2 phase excitation drive, and the lower row is the PW during 2-phase excitation.
M is the duty value. That is, in this embodiment, 1-2 phase excitation drive is performed when the step motor is driven, and the PWM is set to different values during 1-phase excitation and 2-phase excitation. In the case of 1-2 phase excitation, 1 phase excitation and 2 phase excitation
When the phases are excited, if the current is the same, the l-phase is weaker, so the PWM value during one-phase excitation is set to be large. In addition, in this embodiment, in order to produce the same torque, the PWM value during two-phase excitation is approximately 1/r of the PWM value during one-phase excitation.
It is said that In this way, in this embodiment, the step motor is driven to change the PWM value every time the phase is switched.

In addition, the carriage speed, that is, the excitation switching time of the motor phase is changed at each position. For example, during wiping, the drive is performed at a predetermined speed (8 m5 in this example) that is slower than normal, and reliable wiping is performed. That's what I do. In addition, in order to shorten the overall operation time, only the minimum necessary part is set to 8ms.
Before and after that, the drive speed is increased to 3ms.

Furthermore, in the range (A) to (D) of the drive switching mechanism, leftward movement is movement against the spring 26, and since driving torque is required, the speed is slowed down (and driven at 5 ms).
Conversely, since the movement to the right is the direction in which the spring 26 returns, high-speed driving is performed with a time of 3 ms.

Further, in the movement from (D) to (C), the PWM value is set to a large value of 50% and 35% because a larger driving torque is required to ride on the cam-shaped portion of the rail 25.

Note that various values necessary for control can be made into a table in the ROM built into the MPU.

(Control procedure) Using Fig. 10 and Fig. 11, drive switching section (A) ~
The control mode of the paper feed motor and one carriage motor in (D) will be explained.

In this example, (A), (H), CB)
, (C), and (D) are made into a subroutine. for example,(
Carriage movement from A) to (D) is (A) - (H)
, (H)-(B), CB)-(C), (C
)→(D),
Since the basic flow is similar for each routine, one of them will be exemplified below.

The procedure shown in FIG. 10 shows the subroutine for moving the carriage from the cap position (C) to the ASF position (B) among the subroutines.

First, the determination in step S1 will be explained. For example, if movement has been made from the preliminary discharge position (D) to the cap position (C) immediately before this subroutine is called, the slide gear is pressed at the end of the movement routine from (D) to (C). The procedure ends with the release being completed, and this procedure overlaps with the release of the pressure contact of the slide gear in steps S2 and S3. Therefore, for the purpose of shortening the time etc., step S2. S3 is skipped (bypassed). The bypass setting can also be determined by referring to a flag that is set when continuous movement occurs (for example, it can be provided in the RAM built into the MPU).

Step S2. S3 is for releasing the pressure contact between the slide gear 44 and the sheet feed output gear 34, thereby making the slide gear 44 movable and making the carriage movable.

That is, by rotating the slide gear 44 in step S2, the backlash of each gear is eliminated and the slide gear 44 is brought into sufficient pressure contact with the sheet feed output gear 34. From this state, in step S3, for a predetermined pulse (3 pulses in this embodiment), the rotation direction is reversed to that in step S2.
That is, by rotating in the normal rotation direction, the pressure contact between the slide gear and the sheet feeding output gear is completely released.

Here, the paper feed motor 20 is set so that the current value can be switched to three levels: large, medium, and small, and the sheet feed output gear 3
4, the required rotational torque is large, so
It is set to high current. Note that in this embodiment, the phase switching timing is set to 3 ms.

Step S4 is a routine for moving the carriage shown in FIG. 11 to the target position, and here the carriage is moved to about 2 mm before the ASF position B.

This subroutine will now be explained using FIG. 11.

First, the error counter set in step S8 is
This is used to control the recovery operation when the carriage cannot reach the target position during normal operation. In this example, as will be described later, the driving force of the carriage is only increased in the first glue recovery sequence, and the paper feed motor 20 is also driven in the second and subsequent glue recovery sequences. It is set as follows. If the destination is not reached even after carrying out the coverage sequence a predetermined number of times (EC), control is performed so that an error occurs, so in step S8, the error counter is set to ``EC''.

By using this recovery sequence, the step drive condition of the carriage motor set in step S9 can be set to a drive force with a certain margin, and excess drive force can be suppressed, making it possible to reduce drive noise. becomes.

In step S9, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the step motor drive during movement from (C) to (B) is performed with a PWM duty of
This is done with 1-2 phase excitation of 40% during phase drive and 30% during 2-phase drive. At this time, the number of steps of the carriage motor calculated by the moving distance, which is the difference between the current carriage position counted by the MPU 102 and the distance to the destination using the position counter 101 shown in FIG. The maximum number of steps is set as the maximum step.

Step Sll is a procedure for determining whether the target position has been reached by the position counter 101 managed using the aforementioned encoder signal, and at the time of arrival, the drive of the carriage motor is stopped in step S12.

On the other hand, as determined in step SIO, if the carriage does not reach the target position even after exceeding the maximum step set in step S9, a recovery sequence is entered. In step S13, the paper feed motor is not driven in step S17 in the case of the first-stage glue recovery sequence. Also, step S14. S15
This recovery sequence is set to a predetermined value (EC1
It is controlled so that an error occurs if the destination is not reached. In step S16, since the destination cannot be reached for some reason under the driving conditions set in step S9, the driving force is set to be increased. For example, in step S9 (5ms, 40%, 30%)
(5ms, 60%, 40
%) etc. so that driving is performed.

Step S17 assumes that the slide gear 44 cannot be removed from each gear for some reason or the gears are not engaged, and this is attempted to be resolved by rotating the paper feed motor 20 at a low speed.

Referring again to FIG. 10, the reason why the target position is not set to the ASF position in step S4 but is set slightly before the ASF position is as follows. That is, when the carriage is moved in step S4, the slide gear 44 is normally not engaged with the ASF output gear 33, and the leaf spring 23D acts as a buffer (for details, see FIGS. 3 to 6). ). If this amount is too large, the driving force of the carriage becomes too large, a large spring deflection is required, and durability problems arise. The ASF gear 33 meshes with the ASF gear 33.

Next, in step S5, in the 5 steps of rotating the paper feed motor 20, the slide gear 44 and the ASF output gear 3 are rotated.
3 will mesh. Furthermore, by releasing the pressure contact between the slide gear 44 and the ASF output gear 33 in step S6, the slide gear 44 moves to a predetermined position. That is, the gear is engaged at a position 2 mm before the final engagement position with the ASF output gear 33.

Thereafter, with the pressure contact between the slide gear 44 and the ASF output gear 33 released, the slide gear 4 is moved approximately 2 mm remaining to the ASF position in step S7.
4 moves to the final meshing position with the ASF output gear.

As described above, movement of the carriage to each position is achieved by a combination of the carriage movement routines between adjacent positions as described above.

(Specific Example of Skip) How the skip determination shown in step Sl in FIG. 10 is specifically used will be explained using FIGS. 12 and 13. Here, FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the operation of the motor that is the drive source and the movement state of the carriage when a recording sheet is loaded with the cap open, and FIG. 13 is a diagram with the cap open. More AS
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the operation of a motor, which is a drive source, and the movement state of a carriage when a recording sheet is loaded by F.

(A) to (DJ) and (H) show the stop positions of the carriage for the above-mentioned switching operation, and “PRO
The position indicated as "○○" is a position approximately 2 mm before the left-right position of each operating position shown in step S4 in FIG.
is the position in front of rASFJ). Therefore (A) PUMP~
(D) LFDLIMY corresponds to the positions where the carriage stops sequentially from the left in the carriage movement direction. Further, normal arrows in the drawings indicate the order of movement of the carriage or control flow, and arrows shown in bold letters indicate the order of normal rotation and reverse rotation of the recording sheet feeding motor. The upper part of the bold arrow indicates the number of steps in the normal rotation direction of the recording sheet feeding motor, and the numbers in parentheses indicate L (large current), M (medium current), or S (
(small current) and excitation phase switching time are shown, and the same is shown in the lower row for the reversal direction. For example, the first operation in Figure 12 is shown in the upper right corner, where the recording sheet feed motor is rotated in the reverse direction with a large current of 3 m.
The figure shows that after 10 steps of rotation with a phase excitation time of s, the motor is rotated 3 steps in the forward rotation direction with a large current phase excitation time of 3 ms.

First, the explanation will be given with reference to FIG. 13 in which no skip operation is performed.

The carriage stops at the cap position (C), and the operation starts from the capped state. In this state, there is a possibility that the recording sheet feeding operation, etc. has been started before then, so the slide gear 44 and the recording sheet output gear 34 may be in pressure contact, and steps S2 and S in FIG.
It is necessary to perform the gear pressure release operation by 10-step reverse rotation and 3-step forward rotation as shown in 3. After that, move the carriage 2 to the PRASF position 2mm before the ASF operation position in (B).
The slide gear 44 and the ASF output gear 34 are moved to this position, rotated 5 steps in the normal direction to engage the slide gear 44 and the ASF output gear 34, and then rotated 2 steps in the reverse direction to release the gear pressure. Thereafter, the carriage is moved to the ASF operation position (B), and then the ASF paper feed roller is rotated 343 steps to feed the recording sheet 5. Thereafter, the motor is rotated 18 steps in the normal direction and 2 steps in the reverse direction to release the pressure contact between the slide gear 44 and the ASF output gear 34, and then the carriage 2 is moved to a position approximately 2 mm before the cap position. Next, by rotating the recording sheet feeding motor 10 steps in normal rotation, the slide gear 44 is engaged with the recording sheet feeding output gear 34. After the slide gear is released from pressure by three reverse steps, the carriage is further moved to the cap position (C). In this state in which the slide gear 44 is connected to the sheet feeding output gear 34, the motor 20 is rotated in the forward direction to load the recording sheet. At this time, the number of steps x is such that the leading edge position of the paper is rotated by a predetermined number of steps from the detected position.

Next, the operation shown in FIG. 12 will be explained.

With the carriage in the preliminary discharge position shown in (D), by rotating the motor 10 steps in reverse and 3 steps in forward rotation, the pressure on the slide gear 44 is released and the slide gear 44 and carriage 2 can be moved. Become. Next, move the carriage 2 to the cap position (C),
Thereafter, in FIG. 13, there are reverse and forward rotation operations of the drive motor, whereas in FIG. 12, these operations are omitted. This is because the slide gear 44 is engaged with the sheet feeding output gear in both the preliminary discharge position (D) and the cap position (C), and the pressure contact of the slide gear 44 at the preliminary discharge position (D) mentioned above is in mesh with the sheet feeding output gear. Since the released state is maintained, there is no need to perform an operation to release the pressure contact again at the cap position (C).

The subsequent operation is the same as that shown in FIG.

(Operation when the power is turned on) FIG. 14 shows the operation when the power is turned on with continuous paper inserted.

With the carriage in the cap position (C) and the cap applied, rotate the paper feed motor 2° 10 steps in the reverse direction and 3 steps in the forward direction to release the gear pressure, and then move the carriage 2 to the right. The carriage motor 100 is moved to detect the home position, and the carriage motor 100 performs an initial operation. Thereafter, with the carriage in the preliminary ejection position (D), the paper feed motor 20 is rotated 10 steps in reverse and 3 steps in forward rotation to release the gear pressure contact (
Move the gear ridge to the cap position of c). As explained in FIG. 12, the paper feed motor 20 is not driven at the cap position (C), and the carriage 2 is moved to a position before the ASF position.

At this position, the slide gear 44 engages with the ASF output gear by forwardly rotating the paper feed motor by 5 steps, and by rotating the paper feed motor by 2 steps in reverse, the gear pressure contact is released. Next, the carriage is moved to the ASF position (B). In this state, the slide gear 44 and the ASF output gear 3
3 is a state in which the pressure contact is released, so the action of releasing the gear pressure contact is unnecessary, and the carriage 2 is moved through the gear adjustment position (H) to the position before the recovery operation. During this time, a gear counter (this counter can use a predetermined area of the RAM) for counting the number of subsequent steps of the paper feed motor 20 is set to O°.

With the carriage in the position before the recovery operation, the paper feed motor 20 is rotated forward by five steps to perform the gear engagement operation. At this time, the gear counter mentioned above is counted up by 5 steps and becomes 5 degrees. Further, by reversing the gear by one step, the pressure contact of the gear is released, and at the same time, the gear counter is counted down by one step to "4".

After moving the carriage 2 to the recovery operation position (A), the paper feed motor 20 is rotated forward, reverse, etc. to perform the recovery operation. The gear counter counts up each time the interleaving paper feed motor 20 is rotated in the normal direction, and counts down each time it is rotated in the reverse direction. After the recovery operation is completed, the paper feed motor 20 is further reversed by one step to release the gear pressure contact. Here again, the value of the gear counter is counted down by one step. Thereafter, the carriage is moved to the gear engagement position (H), which is between the recovery operation position (A) and the ASF position of CB+, and where the slide gear 44 does not mesh with the pump output gear 32 and the ASF output gear 33. Here, the value of the gear counter is divided by the number of steps for one tooth of the slide gear (for example, 6 steps), and the remainder is used to rotate the gear in a direction opposite to its sign. For example, if the value of the gear counter is "+26", 26÷6=4 with a remainder of 2, so the rotation is performed 2 steps in the reverse direction. Also, for example, if the value of the gear counter is "-26", 26÷6=4 with a remainder of 2, so the gear is rotated 2 steps in the forward rotation direction. Through this process, the phase of the teeth of the slide gear is changed to (H). At the gear adjustment position, it is possible to match the time when going to the recovery operation and the time when returning.

Furthermore, after moving the carriage 2 to a position in front of the ASF, the paper feed motor 20 is rotated 5 steps in the opposite direction to
Gear pressure contact is released by biting into the F output gear and two steps of normal rotation. Thereafter, the ASF position type carriage 2 (B) is moved and the cap is further moved to the front position. If the paper feed motor 20 is rotated in the forward direction by 17 steps, the slide gear 44 will be transferred to the recording sheet feed output gear 3.
Bite into 4.

Now, as mentioned above (at the old gear alignment position), the phase of the teeth of the slide gear 44 is the same when the gear carriage 2 moves to the left and when the gear carriage 2 moves to the right. 2 moves to the left, it takes 5 normal rotation steps until the slide gear 44 separates from the sheet feeding output gear 34 and moves to the gear alignment position (H).

There are two steps of reverse rotation, ie, three steps of rotation in the forward direction. On the other hand, when the carriage 2 moves to the right, the paper feed motor 20 rotates in 5 steps in the reverse direction and 2 steps in the forward direction while moving from the gear alignment position (H) to the front of the sheet feed output gear 34. It is configured to rotate three steps in the direction. Therefore, when the phase of the slide gear 44 is matched at the gear alignment position (H), the phase when the slide gear 44 comes out of the sheet feeding output gear 34 while the carriage moves to the left and the carriage moves to the right. slide gear 4 to the sheet feed output gear while moving to
4 can be automatically matched with the phase at the time when it enters. Then, while the carriage 2 is moving to the right,
When moving to the front position of the cap, the slide gear 44 does not collide with the sheet feeding output gear 34 (allows for smooth engagement. All of the driving force is used to rotate the sheet feeding output gear 34, and the sheet feeding output gear 34 rotates by 17 steps.

The recording sheet feed output gear 3 from the start until before printing (PRINT), including the forward and reverse rotation of the paper feed motor 20 during subsequent paper width detection (PW 5ENSE), etc.
Picking up the rotation of 4 (and (reverse 10. forward 3)
, (Reverse 10. Forward 3), (Forward 17. Reverse 3), (Reverse 10, Forward 3), (Forward 14), (Reverse 10. Forward 3), (Reverse 10, Forward 3
), (forward 14), (reverse 10.forward 3), resulting in a forward/reverse rotation of °°0".

As a result, the recording position of the continuous paper set at a predetermined position at the start and end of the initial operation does not change.

For example, if you do not want to process the gear adjustment, please refer to step 1 above.
During the normal rotation of the 7 steps, the slide gear 44 and the output gear 34 for feeding the recording sheet may be in a state where they do not mesh with each other (the teeth collide with each other). This means that the sheet feed output gear 34 cannot be rotated. For this reason, the rotation of the sheet feeding output gear 34 in the forward rotation direction is small (as a result, the recording sheet falls backward after the initial operation).Therefore, the above-mentioned process is extremely effective.

(Operation during recovery) FIG. 15 shows the operation during recovery operation. Here, the same operation as explained in Fig. 14 above is performed, but after the carriage moves one end to the left and reaches the recovery operation position, the operation that returns to the right is performed in (D) for preliminary ejection. This is because a wiping operation (FUKI) for wiping the ejection ports of the recording head is performed at a position on the right side of the position. Thereafter, return to the recovery operation position (A) again and perform the remaining recovery operations.

Now, in this series of operations, the slide gear 44 smoothly meshes with the sheet feeding output gear 34 as the carriage 2 moves to the right and moves toward the cap. The entire driving force of the paper feed motor 20 at this position is used to rotate the sheet feed roller 34.

As a result, the front position of the cap shown in Fig. 15 (
All the paper feed motor operations performed in the right direction from PRLFC) are all used for sheet feeding, so that the forward and reverse directions are offset to make the feed amount "o". Note that before and after this processing, an offline operation (OFF LINE) and an online operation (ON LINE) with the image data supply source are performed.

(Initial Operation) Next, the initial operation of the recording apparatus according to this embodiment will be explained using FIGS. 16 to 19. Note that the description of parts that overlap with the switching operation described above will be omitted.

FIGS. 16 and 17 show an example of the procedure of the initial operation, and first, in step S18, it is set that this operation is the initial operation. This is step S19-3
Since the subroutine No. 26 is used together with the routine for moving from the pump position to the ASF position, it is used when determining whether or not it is an initial operation during the routine.

If it is determined in step S19 that the initial operation is not performed, that is, if the movement process is from the pump position to the ASF position, the paper feed motor 20 is simply reversed by one step to release the gear pressure prior to the following process. The time is step 328. At S29, a gear pressure release operation of 10 reverse rotation steps and 3 forward rotation steps is performed. In this release action, the pump position.

It is possible to release r at any position such as the ASF position or the cap position.

Next, in step S21, the carriage is moved 9 mm to the right. This position is "Case 1" ~ in Figure 19.
This is the position indicated by ■ to the right with respect to each carriage position (* mark) at the time of initialization of "Case 5". For example, as shown in "Case 3" (when the carriage 2 is at the pump position, the position is 2 mm before the ASF position. In this routine, the cover procedure as shown in FIG. 11 described above is also performed).

Next, in step S22, it is determined whether or not the destination has been reached. If the destination cannot be reached even after performing the above-mentioned or cover sequence, in this initial process, the position similar to "Case 5", that is, the carriage 2 is near the right end and cannot proceed any further, and the process proceeds to step S35 via step S34. On the other hand, when the carriage 2 is able to reach the destination, it is determined whether or not a sensor that detects that the carriage is at the home position sensor is on in the initial operation (step 530). If the home position sensor is off, it is determined that the carriage 2 is in "case 2", "case 3", or "case 4", and step S24. After the gear is engaged and the pressure contact is released in S25, the carriage is further moved by 2 mm in step S26. This position is the position indicated by ■ in "Case 2" to "Case 4". Further, in the determination procedure of step S27, if the series of operations (loop) has not been repeated three times, the process returns to step S19.

As shown in FIG. 19, the Bauhm position () I, which is the reference position of the carriage, is set by blocking the optical path of the home position sensor 29, for example, of a transmission type, mounted on the carriage 2.
The fixed shutter 28, which serves as a shielding plate and is used to detect the setting to P), is provided long in the direction of carriage movement, and the sensor 2 also detects the setting when the carriage 2 is near the preliminary ejection position (D).
9 is set to turn on. In this way, the Bauhm position sensor 29 is turned on in step S30 in a case like "case l", and in this case, the home position sensor 29 is turned on once in steps s31 and S32.
The carriage 2 is moved to the right until the motor is turned off, and then the motor is further moved to the right by a predetermined number of steps (8 steps in step S33) to provide a margin.

Now, "Case 2" is when the sensor is turned on at step S30 in the second loop, and "Case 3" is when the sensor is turned on at step S30 for the first time in the third loop.
” is a case where the power does not turn on even after 3 loops. If the sensor does not turn on even after repeating the loop three times, it is determined that the carriage 2 has moved to the right side of the home position sensor shielding plate (fixed shutter) 28, as in "Case 4". Incidentally, "Case 5" is a case where it is determined in step S22 that the destination could not be reached during the second loop.

As described above, after it is confirmed that the carriage 2 has moved to the right side of the home position sensor shielding plate 28 in each case, in steps S35 to S37, when the carriage passes through the HP position while moving the gear notch 2 to the left, Set the position counter. Further step S3
g. After the carriage 2 has been moved several steps in S39, the carriage motor circuit is initialized. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 18, a recovery operation is performed while performing the gear switching operation described above, and the initial operation is completed.

Note that when the power is turned off, the carriage 2 is normally in the cap position (
``Case 1'' position), and in this case, the above loop is performed once, thereby reducing the time. Furthermore, as described above, for example, as shown in "Case 1" to "Case 5", the initial operation is not completed and the position counter on the recording device RAM is not set regardless of the position of the carriage 2. Even before the initial movement occurs, the gear pressure is not released and the carriage is unable to move.

(Other Examples) In the example shown in FIG. 14 described above, the remainder after division at the gear alignment position is rotated in the opposite direction, but the integer number of steps corresponding to the pitch of the slide gear teeth is rotated in the opposite direction. It is also possible to perform a process of rotating the rotation in the same direction by the amount that is not doubled.

Also, when performing division in FIG. 14, the slide gear 44
However, in such a process, the last excitation phase of the paper feed motor when the initial operation is completed after the power is turned on is not constant.

For example, in the case of a 4-phase motor, if the initial starts from the 1st phase, for example, if the power is turned off and the 2nd phase is turned on, the gears will be rotated in the same direction or in the opposite direction the next time the power is turned on. It turns out. Therefore, if we divide by 12 which is a common multiple of 6 steps corresponding to the pitch of one tooth and the number of motor phases of 4 at the time of the above-mentioned division, we can also match the phase of motor excitation at the time of meshing with the sheet feeding gear. It becomes possible. As a result, excitation starts from the first phase when the power is turned on, and ends with fourth phase excitation when the initial operation ends. If the power is turned off, the next time the power is turned on, excitation will start from the first phase again in order, and the amount of gear rotation will be too much or too little (predetermined movement can be performed. No matter how many times you repeat the initial operation with the power turned on and then turn the power off, the sheet feeding output gear 34 will not change its position (i.e., if recording paper is set, the position of the recording paper will not change). It will not change.

Another method is to rotate the gear by two steps in the opposite direction in accordance with the calculated rotation described above when adjusting the gears in FIG. 14, and then move it to the right.
A similar effect can be obtained by meshing the slide gear 44 with the sheet feeding output gear 34 at a position in front of the cap (17 normal rotation steps are changed to 17+2 (=19) steps). The 2nd step is used for gear engagement, and since the phases match at that point, engagement occurs, and the subsequent rotational force is transmitted to the sheet feeding output gear 34, producing the same effect as described above. However, in this case, if the number of reverse rotation steps is, for example, 6 or more, the gear will engage at the position one gear before, so the number must be 5 at most.

Further, in the above example, closed loop drive and step motor drive are switched depending on a counter value indicating the carriage position on a predetermined MPlj, an example in which step motor drive is performed especially at the wiper position, or a step motor drive is performed especially at the gear switching mechanism position. The present invention has been described with reference to an example in which the phase switching timing and PWM value of a step motor drive are switched at a predetermined carriage position on a predetermined MPU.

However, instead of using a counter based on an encoder output signal as a method of counting the position of the carriage 2, for example, it is also possible to manage the carriage position using a counter based on the phase switching timing of the motor itself. Also,
Although an example has been described in which the PWM value is switched in the step motor drive, it is also possible to use other drive methods based on current limitation.

In addition, although the case where the combination of step motor drive is applied to the drive motor of the recording head scanning carriage has been described above, it is also possible to use a paper feed drive motor that requires high resolution or a paper feed drive that requires noise reduction. The same applies to electric motors.

In addition, on the upper side, the drive torque is adjusted by changing the P'l'fM value every time the phase is switched, but the power value can also be adjusted by changing the voltage value using normal current value planning or constant voltage drive. Switching is possible.

Furthermore, regarding the phase excitation method, other methods may be used in addition to the 1-2 phase excitation shown above.

For example, an appropriate excitation method such as a 3-4 phase excitation method or a 2-3 phase excitation method can be adopted.

In addition, the methods of beam recovery control described above include: first, increasing the moving force of the carriage; second, slowing down the moving speed of the carriage; third, slowing down the rotational speed of the gear; Although an embodiment has been shown in which the gears are rotated in forward and reverse directions, the same operation may be repeated, for example.

In addition, on the upper side, to determine whether the gear (slide gear) has been set to a predetermined position, a position counter based on the encoder signal is used to determine whether the setting has been completed using the encoder signal while the carriage motor is step-driving for a preset maximum step. However, this judgment method may be performed using other judgment methods.

(Others) The present invention can be applied not only to the inkjet recording apparatus described above but also to recording apparatuses using other methods. This provides excellent effects in the bubble jet type recording head and recording apparatus proposed by the authors. This is because such a system can achieve higher recording density and higher definition.

As for typical configurations and principles thereof, it is preferable to use the basic principles disclosed in, for example, US Pat. No. 4,723,129 and US Pat. No. 4,740,796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, it is necessary to arrange the liquid (ink) in accordance with the sheet and liquid path that hold it. The electrothermal converter that is
By immediately applying at least one drive signal that corresponds to the recorded information and causes a rapid temperature rise above nucleate boiling, the electrothermal transducer generates thermal energy and causes film boiling on the thermally active surface of the recording head. This is effective because it can result in the formation of bubbles in the liquid (ink) that correspond one-to-one to this drive signal. The growth and contraction of the bubble causes liquid (ink) to be ejected through the ejection opening to form at least one droplet. If this drive signal is in the form of a pulse, bubble growth and contraction will occur immediately and appropriately.
Particularly responsive liquid (ink) ejection can be achieved,
More preferred. This pulse-shaped drive signal is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262.
Those described in the specification are suitable. Furthermore, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 concerning the invention regarding the temperature increase rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, even better distribution can be achieved.

The configuration of the recording head includes, in addition to the combination configuration of ejection ports, liquid paths, and electrothermal converters (straight liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, a heat acting section. The present invention also includes configurations using US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose configurations in which the wafer is placed in a bending region. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1989-5 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge part of a plurality of electrothermal converters.
No. 9=123670 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59/1989 which discloses a configuration in which a discharge portion is made to correspond to an opening that absorbs pressure waves of thermal energy.
The effects of the present invention are also effective even if the structure is based on the publication No.-138461. That is, regardless of the form of the recording head, according to the present invention, recording can be performed reliably and efficiently.

In addition, in the case of the serial type shown above, the recording head is fixed to the device body, or by being attached to the device body, electrical connection with the device body and ink supply from the device body are possible. The present invention is also effective when using a replaceable dip-type recording head or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is integrally provided in the recording head itself.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, etc., which are provided as a configuration of the recording apparatus, to the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, these include capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, pressure or suction means, preheating means using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element, or a combination thereof; It is also effective to perform a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from printing in order to perform stable printing.

In addition, regarding the type and number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, in addition to one type that corresponds to grass-colored ink, there is also a plurality of recording heads that correspond to multiple inks with different recording colors and densities. It may be something that can be done. That is, for example, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not only a recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but also a recording mode of multiple colors of different colors, although it is possible to configure the recording head integrally or by combining a plurality of them. The present invention is also extremely effective for devices equipped with at least one full color by color mixture.

Additionally, in the embodiments of the present invention described above,
Although ink is described as a liquid, it is an ink that solidifies at room temperature or below, but softens or liquefies at room temperature, or in an inkjet method, the ink itself is
Generally, the temperature is adjusted within the range of 0°C or more and 70"C or less so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range, so the ink is in a liquid state when the recording signal is applied. In addition, the temperature increase due to thermal energy can be actively prevented by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state.
Alternatively, ink that solidifies when left unused is used to prevent ink evaporation, but in any case, the ink is liquefied by applying thermal energy in response to a recording signal, and the liquid ink is ejected, or the recording medium The present invention is also applicable to the case where an ink that is liquefied only by thermal energy is used, such as an ink that begins to solidify by the time it reaches . The ink for such cases is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 54-56847 or Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-7126.
As described in Japanese Patent No. 0, the material may be held as a liquid or solid in a porous sheet recess or a through hole, and may face an electrothermal converter. In the present invention, the most effective method for each of the above-mentioned inks is to perform the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention can be used as an image output terminal for information processing equipment such as a computer, or as a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, or as a facsimile apparatus having a transmitting and receiving function. It may also be something that takes .

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, for example, by matching the phase of the gear when it leaves the gear position where the recording sheet can be fed, and the phase when it returns, ,
Even if other operations occur during printing, the recording paper feed pitch will not be disturbed. Further, it is possible to provide a recording device in which the position of the set paper does not change even when the power is turned on.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of an inkjet recording device to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the recording device shown in FIG. 1 equipped with an ASF, and FIGS. A perspective view for explaining the configuration of a drive gear switching mechanism according to an embodiment of the invention, FIG. 5A is a configuration diagram of the drive gear switching mechanism shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and FIG. 5B is shown in FIG. 5A. FIGS. 6A to 6C are explanatory diagrams showing the engagement relationship between the carriage and the cap carrier according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 7A and 7B are explanatory diagrams showing the slide gear shaft taken out. , respectively, are a partially cutaway perspective view and a sectional view showing a configuration example of a carriage drive motor according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 8 and 9 respectively show a carriage motor according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figures 1θ and 11 are flowcharts showing an example of the procedure for driving the paper feed motor and carriage motor in the gear switching unit. Figures 12 and 13 are bypass diagrams. ASF using judgment
Figure 14 is a diagram to explain the loading of recording paper using scrap paper, Figure 14 is a diagram to explain the initial operation when the power is turned on with continuous paper set, and Figure 15 is a diagram to explain the recovery operation. Figures 16 and 17 are flowcharts showing an example of the initial operation procedure. Figure 18 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the paper feed motor during initial operation. Figure 19 is a diagram showing the position of the carriage before the power is turned on. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining how the initial operation changes depending on whether or not there is one. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Recording head, 2... Carriage, 5... Recording sheet, 7... Feed roller, 12... Ejection roller, 16... Automatic paper feeder, 20... Feed motor, 23... Cap member, 23A... Cap carrier, 23B, 23C... Arm portion, 23D... Leaf spring, 24... Cap guide shaft, 25... Rail, 26... Pump, 31 ...Pump cam, 32...Pump output gear, 33...ASF output gear, 34...Output gear for sheet feeding, 36...Gear train, 44...Slide gear, 45...Slide Holder, 47... Groove member, 48... Wiper 100... Carriage motor, 100A... Carriage motor step motor section, 1
00B... Carriage motor encoder section, 101.
...Position counter, 102...MPU. 103... Speed counter, 104... PWM counter, 105... Current switching circuit, 106... Encoder circuit, 107... Motor drive circuit. 44 slide F gear Fig. + 68 oyster Y Fig. 7A Fig. 7B Fig. 17 Section 19

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A recording apparatus that records on a recording material, comprising: a recording head that is movable back and forth along the recording material and records on the recording material; a drive source; and the drive. a plurality of first transmission members that can be driven by the driving force of a source; a second transmission member that can be coupled with the first transmission member for the movement position of the recording head among the plurality of first transmission members; The second transmission member, which is engaged with the recording head or its mounting member, is connected to the position of the first transmission member where the recording material can be fed, and the position where other operations are possible. 2. A recording apparatus characterized by comprising means for matching the initial coupling phase with the phase at the time of returning when returning to a position where the recording material can be fed again after moving to a position where the recording material can be fed. 2) The first and second transmission members are gears, and the means is configured such that the number of steps in which the data advances from the initial meshing position to the return position is an integer number of steps corresponding to one tooth of the gear. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control means for adjusting the recording device to double the amount. 3) The recording device according to claim 2, wherein the number of advancing steps is a common multiple of the number of steps for one gear tooth and the number of phases for one period of the motor. 4) The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head has the form of an inkjet recording head that performs recording by ejecting ink onto the recording material. 5) The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the inkjet recording head includes an element that generates thermal energy that causes film boiling in the ink as energy used for ejecting the ink.