JPH05124192A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a downsized, lightweight recorder which has a carriage that moves along a recording medium and is equipped with two or more recording devices, by a method wherein the distance in the carriage traveling direction between adjacent head elements of the recording devices is specified to decrease the traveling range of the carriage. CONSTITUTION:A recording mechanism of an ink jet recorder has a carriage 6 that reciprocally travels along a guide rail and is equipped with two or more recording heads 8 (two in the case of the drawing) as recording devices. A head element, 9 consisting of a replaceable head cartridge having a built-in ink tank 16 is mounted on each recording head 8. The distance A in the carriage traveling direction between the centers of the head elements 9 of the two recording heads 8 is designed shorter than tone distance B in the carriage traveling direction between the centers of the two recording heads 8. Thereby, the traveling range of the carriage 6 can be made shorter than that of former one, so that a downsized, lightweight apparatus with an increased recording speed can be obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for recording on a recording material by recording means based on recording data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording device having functions such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile, or a recording device used as an output device of a compound machine or a workstation including a computer, a word processor, etc., is a sheet or a plastic thin plate based on a data signal. An image (including characters and symbols) is recorded on a recording material (recording medium) such as (OHP). The recording device can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a heat sensitive type, a thermal transfer type, a laser beam type and the like depending on the recording system of the recording means used.

In a serial type recording apparatus which employs a recording system in which a main scanning is performed in a direction intersecting a conveying direction (sub-scanning direction) of a recording material, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position and then the recording material is set. An image is recorded (main scanning) by a recording unit (recording head) mounted on a carriage that moves along, and a predetermined amount of paper is fed (sub-scanning) after one line of recording is completed, and then the next By repeating the operation of recording (main scanning) the image of the row, image recording of the entire recording material is performed. On the other hand, in a line type recording apparatus that records a recording material only in a sub-scan that is fed in the transport direction, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position, and one line of recording is collectively performed. By performing a fixed amount of paper feed (pitch feed) and further performing the recording of the next row in a lump, the image recording on the entire recording material is performed.

Among them, the ink jet type (ink jet recording apparatus) is one which performs recording by ejecting ink based on a data signal from a plurality of ejection openings formed in a recording means (recording head) onto a recording material. , The recording means can be easily made compact, high-definition images can be recorded at high speed, plain paper can be recorded without special processing, the running cost is low, and it is a non-impact method. Therefore, there is an advantage that there is little noise and that it is easy to record a color image using multicolor ink.

In particular, an ink jet type recording means (recording head) for ejecting ink by utilizing heat energy,
Through the semiconductor manufacturing process such as etching, vapor deposition, and sputtering, the electrothermal converter formed on the substrate, the electrode,
By forming the liquid passage wall, the top plate and the like, it is possible to easily manufacture a liquid discharge device having a high-density liquid passage arrangement (discharging port arrangement), and to further reduce the size.

In the above recording apparatus, a plurality of recording means (recording heads) may be mounted on a carriage that moves along a recording material for the purpose of performing multicolor recording, for example. Among them, like an ink jet recording head, a unit in which individual head elements and parts such as an ink tank are integrated into a unit, and these are detachably mounted on a carriage and can be replaced for each recording head, Generally, the outer shapes of the recording heads (recording means) are the same, and they are arranged side by side in the carriage movement direction.

On the other hand, the recording on the recording material is performed by the lateral movement of the recording head by the reciprocating movement of the carriage. When two recording heads are used, the range of the reciprocating movement of the carriage is the required recording. The width must be set to be wider than the width (width in the column direction = length of one line) by at least the distance between the recording heads. The reason is that both recording heads cannot cover the recording width unless they are moved at least by the distance between the recording heads.

When a large number of recording heads, such as three or more, are mounted as in the case of color recording, the carriage is mounted at least within the range of the recording width of the recording material and the distance between the recording heads farthest from each other. All recording heads cannot be used unless they are moved back and forth. That is, the width of each recording head (recording means) is W, the number of recording heads mounted on the carriage is N, and the gap between adjacent recording heads is G.
Then, the carriage movement range required for recording needs to be at least [(W + G) × (N−1) + recording width], and it is generally necessary to further widen the movement range for other reasons.

[0009]

However, in the conventional recording apparatus as described above, when a plurality of recording heads are used, the moving range of the carriage is widened and it is not possible to reduce the size and weight of the recording apparatus. Moreover, there is an inconvenience that the recording speed is lowered. The present invention has been made in view of such conventional technical problems.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, in a recording apparatus in which a plurality of recording means are mounted on a carriage that moves along a recording material, the head elements of the adjacent recording means are separated from each other in the carriage movement direction. By providing the recording means with a configuration smaller than the distance between the centers of the recording means in the carriage movement direction, it is possible to reduce the carriage movement range, and to provide a recording apparatus capable of reducing the size and weight of the apparatus and improving the recording speed. It is a thing. According to another aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above-described configuration, the recording means has a structure in which the recording means can be turned upside down and can be used, and the configuration in which the erecting and the upside-down are mixed and mounted on the carriage achieves the above-mentioned object more efficiently. To do.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of an embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the recording apparatus of FIG. In this example, the recording apparatus is an inkjet recording apparatus. 1 and 2, the recording apparatus 1 can be roughly divided into a recording mechanism section 2 and a control section 3. The recording mechanism unit 2 includes a paper feed roller (recording material conveying roller) 4, a paper discharge roller 5, a carriage 6, and a plurality of (eg, 2) mounted on the carriage.
Recording heads (recording means) 8, a guide rail 11 for guiding and supporting the reciprocating movement of the carriage 6, and a first rail.
A sheet feeding port 12, a sheet discharging port 13, a sheet guide 14 for guiding a recording material to be fed, a second sheet feeding port 15 and the like are provided.

Each recording head 8 is provided with a head element 9. The illustrated recording head 8 is an inkjet recording head, and is composed of a replaceable head cartridge in which the head element 9 and the ink tank 16 are integrated. The recording material 7 such as a recording sheet or a plastic thin plate is supplied from the first paper supply port 12 (direction of arrow a) or the second paper supply port 15 (direction of arrow b), and the supplied recording material 7 is It is fed (conveyed) to the front surface of the recording head 8 (head element 9) on the carriage 6 by the paper feed roller 4. The carriage 6 reciprocates along the paper surface (recording surface) of the recording material 7 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the paper feeding direction. Recording is performed by ejecting ink from each head element 9 to the recording material 7 in synchronization with the movement of the carriage 6 (main scanning). Recording material 7 recorded
Is discharged from the paper discharge port 13 by the paper discharge roller 5 that is driven in synchronization with the paper feed roller 4.

1 and 2 exemplify the case where the recording apparatus 1 is an ink jet recording apparatus, and the recording head (recording means) 8 is an ink jet recording means for ejecting ink by utilizing thermal energy, It is provided with an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy. Also,
The recording means 8 is for growing bubbles due to film boiling caused by thermal energy applied by the electrothermal converter,
The change in pressure caused by contraction is used to eject ink from the ejection port for recording.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of the ink ejection portion of the recording means (recording head) 8.
In FIG. 3, a plurality of ejection openings 52 are formed at a predetermined pitch on the ejection opening formation surface 51 that faces the recording material 7 with a predetermined gap (for example, about 0.5 to 2.0 mm). Each liquid path 5 that connects the common liquid chamber 53 and each discharge port 52
Electrothermal converters (heat generating resistors, etc.) 55 for generating energy for ejecting ink are arranged along the wall surface of No. 4. In this example, the recording heads 8 are mounted in such a positional relationship that the ejection ports 52 are arranged in a direction intersecting the moving direction (main scanning direction) of the carriage 6. In this way, the corresponding electrothermal converter 55 is driven (energized) based on the image signal (recording data) or the ejection signal, and the liquid path 5
The recording head 8 is configured to cause the ink in the film 4 to boil and to eject the ink from the ejection port 52 by the pressure generated at that time.

Here, for example, one recording head 8 uses a black ink that is frequently used, the other recording head 8 uses three color inks such as yellow, magenta, and cyan. Color recording can be performed. In the inkjet recording apparatus of FIG. 1, a position (home position of the carriage 6) within the movement range of the carriage 6 and out of the recording area is
A cap 17 for sealing the ejection port forming surface 51 of each head element 9, and a suction pump (not shown) for generating a negative pressure in the cap 17 and sucking ink from each ejection port 52 to recover the ejection performance. ), Etc. are provided. Further, a wiping blade 19 is provided on the side surface of the cap 17 for wiping off foreign matter such as ink and dust attached to the ejection port forming surface 51 by using the movement of the carriage 6.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a first embodiment of a plurality of (two) recording means (recording heads) 8 mounted on a carriage 6 and a moving range thereof. In FIG. 4, two recording heads 8 are mounted on the carriage 6,
The distance A between the centers of the head elements 9 of both recording heads 8 in the carriage movement direction is set smaller than the distance B between the centers of both recording heads 8 in the carriage movement direction. In the illustrated example, each head element 9 is arranged close to the inner edge of each recording head 8. In this way, by moving the positions of the head elements 9 of the adjacent recording heads 8 closer to each other, the movement width of the carriage 6 can be made narrower than in the conventional example. That is, when the recording width is P, the width of each recording head (recording means) is W, the number of recording heads mounted on the carriage is N, and the gap between adjacent recording heads is G, the carriage required for recording. In the conventional example, the moving width (moving range) of is as described above,
According to the arrangement shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to set a value smaller than [(W + G) × (N−1) + P] which is required at least.

FIG. 5 shows a plurality of (4
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a second example of (individual) recording means (recording heads) 8. In this embodiment, a case is shown in which the number of recording heads 8 is further increased (in the case of four recording heads) as compared with the above-described first embodiment. Here, four recording heads are mounted on the carriage 6, and for example, It is assumed that each recording head 8 is assigned to each color when performing multicolor recording of four colors. Also in the present embodiment, as in the case of the first embodiment, it is possible to set the movement width (movement range) of the carriage 6 required for recording a constant width smaller than that of the conventional example.

FIG. 6 shows a plurality of (2
FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view showing a third example of the individual recording heads 8. In the present embodiment, the respective print heads 8 have the same shape and structure, but some (or one) of the print heads 8 are mounted upside down so that the head elements 9 of the print heads 8 are brought closer to each other. Therefore, the distance between the head elements 9 in the carriage movement direction is reduced as compared with the conventional example. Figure 6
According to the third embodiment, the same effects as those of the first and second embodiments described above can be obtained, and the shape structure of each recording head 8 can be made common, and the recording head The effect that the moving range of the carriage 6 required for recording can be reduced without increasing the number of types is obtained.

FIG. 7 shows a plurality of (2
FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view showing a fourth example of the individual recording heads 8. In this embodiment, the head elements 9 of the recording heads 8 are vertically displaced and arranged at substantially the same position in the carriage movement direction, so that the distance between the head elements 9 in the carriage movement direction is reduced to substantially zero. Has been made. Further, the respective print heads 8 have the same shape and structure, and some (or one) of the print heads 8 are mounted upside down to reduce the distance between the respective head elements 9 in the carriage movement direction to substantially zero. Is configured.

According to the fourth embodiment of FIG. 7, the same effect as in each of the above-described embodiments can be obtained, and the degree of the effect can be greatly improved. In other words, the moving range required for recording of the carriage 6 on which a plurality of recording heads 8 are mounted can be reduced to the same extent as in the case of a carriage on which one recording head is mounted, and the recording apparatus can be downsized and recording can be performed. The degree of speed improvement can be further increased.
In the case of the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 7, since the head elements 9 are vertically displaced, the conveyance operation of the recording material 7 by the paper feed roller 4 (movement in the vertical direction) is also combined for one line. Need to complete the record.

According to each of the embodiments described above, the head elements 9 of the plurality of recording heads 8 mounted on the carriage 6 are arranged centrally at one location in the carriage movement direction. The distance between the head elements 9 can be narrowed regardless of the width W and the value of the gap G between the adjacent recording heads 8. Therefore, the movement width (movement range) of the carriage 6 required for a constant recording width is smaller than that of the conventional example. A recording apparatus that can reduce the size of the apparatus main body and the recording speed of the apparatus can be obtained.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to the ink jet recording apparatus has been described as an example, but the present invention is applicable to the wire dot recording apparatus, laser beam recording apparatus, thermal transfer recording apparatus, and heat sensitive recording apparatus. The present invention can be applied to various recording devices regardless of the recording method of the recording means (recording head) such as a recording type recording device, and can achieve the same operational effects. Further, the present invention provides a recording apparatus for color recording using a plurality of recording heads for recording in different colors, as long as the recording apparatus uses a plurality of recording heads.
Alternatively, the same application can be achieved regardless of the type and number of recording colors, such as a recording device for gradation recording that uses a plurality of recording heads that perform recording with the same color but different densities, and achieve the same effect. I will get it. Further, as the recording means (recording head), in addition to a replaceable cartridge type in which the recording head and the ink tank are integrated, a configuration in which the recording head and the ink tank are separately provided and connected by an ink supply tube or the like Whatever the configuration and form of the recording means, such as the one described above, can be similarly applied and the same effect can be achieved.

When the present invention is applied to an ink jet recording apparatus, it can be applied to, for example, a recording means (recording head) using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element. The present invention brings excellent effects in an inkjet recording apparatus that uses a recording unit that ejects ink by using energy.
This is because such a system can achieve high density recording and high definition recording.

Regarding the typical structure and principle thereof, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
This is preferably done using the basic principles disclosed in US Pat. No. 7,967. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type, but particularly in the case of the on-demand type, a liquid (ink) is used.
By applying at least one drive signal to the electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path holding the Since the electrothermal converter generates heat energy to cause film boiling on the heat acting surface of the recording means (recording head), as a result, bubbles can be formed in the liquid (ink) in a one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal. It is valid.

Due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles, the liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal into a pulse shape, because the bubble growth and contraction are immediately and appropriately performed, so that the ejection of the liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness can be achieved. As this pulse-shaped drive signal, US Pat.
Those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,633,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Incidentally, US Pat. No. 43131 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise of the heat acting surface.
If the conditions described in No. 24 are adopted, even more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the ejection port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications. US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4, which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
The structure using the specification of 459600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 123670/1984 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 138461/1984, which discloses a configuration in which the above is associated with the discharge portion. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording material (recording medium) which can be recorded by the recording apparatus. Such a recording head may have a configuration that fills the length by combining a plurality of recording heads or a configuration as one recording head integrally formed. In addition, even with the serial type as in the above example, it is possible to electrically connect to the device body or supply ink from the device body by mounting it on the recording head fixed to the device body or on the device body. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip type recording head or a cartridge type recording head in which an ink tank is integrally provided in the recording head itself is used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, etc., which are provided in the present invention as a configuration of the recording apparatus, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If these are specifically mentioned,
Capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suctioning means, electrothermal converter or other heating element or preheating means by a combination thereof, and ejection different from recording are applied to the recording head. Performing the preliminary ejection mode is also effective for stable recording.

Regarding the type and number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, only one is provided corresponding to a single color ink, or a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities are supported. And a plurality of them may be provided. That is, for example, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode only for mainstream colors such as black,
The recording head may be integrally configured or a combination of a plurality of recording heads may be used. However, the present invention is extremely effective for an apparatus having at least one of a mixed color of different colors or a full color of mixed colors.

In addition, in the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but it is an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and softens or liquefies at room temperature, or an ink jet. In the method, the temperature of the ink itself is generally adjusted within a range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within a stable ejection range. Any liquid may be used. in addition,
Whether the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively used as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or the ink that solidifies when left standing for the purpose of preventing ink evaporation is used. In any case, the ink is liquefied by applying the thermal energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink is ejected,
The present invention is also applicable to the case of using an ink which has a property of being liquefied only by thermal energy, such as one which has already started to solidify when it reaches the recording medium.

The ink in such a case is disclosed in JP-A-54-
As described in JP-A-56847 or JP-A-60-71260, a mode in which it is held as a liquid or a solid in a concave portion or a through hole of a porous sheet and faces the electrothermal converter. May be In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as the form of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, besides the one used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmitting / receiving function. It may be in the form of the above.

[0033]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, in a recording apparatus in which a plurality of recording means are mounted on a carriage that moves along a recording material, a carriage of head elements of adjacent recording means. Since the gap in the movement direction is smaller than the gap between the centers of the adjacent recording means in the carriage movement direction, it is possible to reduce the movement range of the carriage, reduce the size and weight of the apparatus, and improve the recording speed. Recording device is provided. According to another aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above-described configuration, the recording unit is configured to be used upside down and can be used, and the configuration in which the upright and the inverted are mixed and mounted on the carriage, the above effect can be more efficiently achieved. A achievable recording device is provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing a main part of the recording apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of an ink ejection portion of the recording head shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration and arrangement of the recording head of the first embodiment of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and the carriage movement range required for recording.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration and arrangement of the recording head of the second embodiment of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration and arrangement of the recording head of the third embodiment of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration and arrangement of a recording head of a recording apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Recording Device 2 Recording Mechanism Section 3 Control Section 4 Paper Feed Roller 5 Paper Ejection Roller 6 Carriage 7 Recording Material 8 Recording Means (Recording Head) 9 Head Element 11 Guide Rail 16 Ink Tank 51 Discharge Port Forming Surface 52 Discharge Port 55 Electric Heat converter

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. In a recording apparatus in which a plurality of recording means are mounted on a carriage that moves along a recording material, the distance between the head elements of the adjacent recording means in the carriage movement direction is set to the carriage movement direction of the adjacent recording means. A recording device characterized in that it is smaller than the interval between the centers of the. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a recording means that can be used upside down is used, and the recording apparatus is mounted on the carriage in a mixture of upright and inverted. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein recording is performed by ejecting ink from a recording unit onto a recording material. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the recording unit is an inkjet recording unit including an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy used for ejecting ink. 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the recording unit ejects the ink from the ejection port by utilizing film boiling generated in the ink by the thermal energy generated by the electrothermal converter.