JPH05155031A - Ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To fix a recording head easy to handle without using a part easy to lose such as a fixing jig. CONSTITUTION:An ink jet recording apparatus has a carriage 2, the recording member equipped with a recording head 1 mounted on the carriage 2 and moving along with the carriage 2, the cap member hermetically closing the emitting orifices of the recording head 1 at the time of non-recording, the lock lever 101 mounted on an exterior surface member 16 and protruding from the running region of the recording member to obstruct the movement of the recording member or to recede from the running region and the projection member 103a provided on the rear of the cover 103 positioned above the lock lever 101 when the lock lever 101 protrudes and engages with the lock lever 101.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a computer, a word processor or a composite machine of these.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an ink jet recording apparatus, when recording is not performed, a carriage equipped with a recording head is stopped at a position facing a cap provided outside a recording range, and the ejection surface of the recording head is capped by the cap. It is sealed (hereinafter referred to as "capping") to prevent the nozzles of the recording head from drying and ink from leaking.

At the time of transportation, in order to prevent the recording head from moving and the cap from coming off due to vibration, a fixing metal fitting which is a detachable component is attached to the carriage,
The fixing bracket fixes the carriage to prevent the recording head from moving. Alternatively, in the traveling area of the carriage, there is provided a lock lever which can be projected and can be retracted, and which is tightened using an exterior and a click to maintain the projected state or the retracted state. By making the lock lever project from the traveling area of the carriage, the carriage is fixed so that the recording head does not move.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional ink jet recording apparatus, in the method of attaching the fixing metal fitting to the carriage and fixing the carriage by the fixing metal fitting, the fixing metal fitting must be removed after transportation. However, there is a problem that the handling is troublesome and the removed fixing metal fitting may be lost.

Further, in the method of providing the lock lever on the top surface of the exterior, which can be projected from the traveling area of the carriage or retracted from the traveling area,
With the lock lever protruding, the click must be made extremely rigid so that it can be maintained even if it receives a shock during transportation, and there is a problem that operability at the time of releasing and retracting becomes poor.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the above-mentioned prior art, and has a simple structure that can be easily handled without using parts that are easily lost, such as the fixing metal fittings, and An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of fixing a recording head by a method having good operability without using a hard click.

[0007]

In order to achieve such an object, an ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention comprises a carriage, and a recording member having a recording head mounted on the carriage and moving together with the carriage. An inkjet recording apparatus having a cap member for sealing a discharge port of the recording head during non-recording, the inkjet recording apparatus being mounted on an exterior surface member of the inkjet recording apparatus, protruding from a traveling area of the recording member, and moving the recording member. And a projection member that is provided on the back surface of the covering surface member that is located above the lock lever when the lock lever projects and that locks the lock lever. And having.

[0008]

When the lock lever is retracted from the traveling area of the recording head, the movement of the recording head is not hindered,
Records can be made. When the lock lever protrudes into the traveling area of the recording head, the protruding portion comes into contact with the recording head and prevents the recording head from moving, whereby the recording head is fixed. Further, by providing a cover that covers the lock lever, the lock lever is fixed in a protruding state.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show a first embodiment of the present invention, in which an outer casing 1 as a main body of an ink jet recording apparatus is provided.
A paper discharge port 106 is formed on the top surface of 6, and a lock lever 101 is provided on the left side of the paper discharge port 106 in the drawing. As shown in FIG. 2, the lock lever 101 is rotatably supported around the shaft portion 105 by the shaft portion 105 provided on the exterior 16, and is in the unlocked state (see FIG. 1).
In (a)), the lock lever 101 is housed in the exterior 16 so as to form a substantially flat surface with the top surface of the exterior 16.
When locked (see FIG. 1B), as described above, the shaft portion 105 rotates about its tip to abut the recording head 1 (see FIG. 2). The locked state and the unlocked state of the lock lever 101 are respectively held by a click mechanism (not shown) provided on the shaft portion 105 with a light amount of force that does not cause difficulty in operation. Lock lever 10
Since No. 1 is located in the vicinity of the paper ejection port 106, it can be covered together with the paper ejection port 106 by the cover 103 for covering the paper ejection port 106, and it can be locked during printing or unlocked during transportation. It is possible to prevent an erroneous operation that may occur.

The cover 103 is provided with a protrusion 103a, which prevents the lock lever 101 from being released from being held by the click mechanism and being in an unlocked state when a shock is applied at the time of locking. In addition, the protrusion 103a is the exterior 1
6 is higher than the top surface of the lock lever 10
Even when 1 is in the unlocked state, there is no problem in mounting the cover 103.

As shown in FIG. 3, the recording head 1 is mounted on a carriage 2 (see the right side in the figure) and reciprocates while sliding along a carriage guide shaft 3. As shown on the left side of the drawing, a head cover 2c for covering the recording head 1 can be attached and fixed to the carriage 2 in order to protect the recording head 1. In this embodiment,
A recording member is constituted by the recording head 1, the carriage 2 and the head cover 2c. A carriage motor (not shown) is provided at one end of the reciprocating range of the carriage 2, and an idler pulley (not shown) at the other end.
Is provided. A timing belt (not shown) is stretched between the carriage motor and the idler pulley in parallel with the carriage guide shaft 3, and a part of the timing belt is fixed to the carriage 2 so that the carriage motor is moved forward. The carriage 2 is reciprocated by rotating or reversing.

The recording head 1 is an ink jet recording head, and ink is sent from the ink cartridge 4 to the recording head 1 through an ink tube (not shown). A plate-shaped fixed platen 5 is provided on the front surface of the recording head 1 in parallel with the carriage guide shaft 3, and a plurality of feed rollers 6 are provided below the back surface thereof in parallel with the carriage guide shaft 3. A pinch roller 7 is pressed against the feed roller 6 from the side of the recording head 1. Further, in order to prevent the recording paper 10 as a recording medium from floating, a paper pressing plate 8 having a width equal to or larger than the maximum paper width is provided just before the recording position. Holding down.
The pressure contact force of the pinch roller 7 is obtained by the elastic force generated by the bending of the pinch roller holder 9 made of a stainless plate or the like holding the pinch roller 7, and the pressure contact force of the paper pressing plate 8 is generated by the bending of itself. It is gaining power. The recording paper 10 reaches the pressure contact portion between the feed roller 6 and the pinch roller 7, and the lower guide 1
After being guided by means such as manual feeding by 1 and the upper guide 12, the feed roller 6 rotates to feed the fixed platen 5 in close contact with the surface.

The carriage 2 is urged toward the fixed platen 5 by its own weight. The urging force is balanced by the carriage 2 hitting the paper pressing plate 8. The position where the carriage 2 abuts is near the back side of the contact portion between the paper pressing plate 8 and the feed roller 6, and when the paper pressing plate 8 moves backward toward the recording head 1 due to the passage of the recording paper 10, the carriage 2 also moves backward. To do. Therefore, regardless of the paper thickness, the recording head 1
The distance between the ejection port surface and the surface of the recording paper 10 is always constant, and stable printing quality can be obtained. Explaining also with reference to FIG. 8, the recording paper 10 that has passed the surface of the fixed platen 5
Is sent by the paper discharge roller 13 and a spur 15 (shown in FIG. 8) that is in pressure contact with the paper discharge roller 13, and the stacker 14
The sheet is ejected (shown in FIG. 8). Since the fixed platen 5 has a shape that is inclined by about 30 ° in the paper discharge direction, it is easier to discharge the paper and the recording result is easier to see than when it is vertical. The fixed platen 5 can be provided with a heater on the back surface when the ink is hard to dry.

On the left side of the recording range, the ink supply device L,
A recovery device M and a paper feed drive device N are arranged, and the space and driving force transmission mechanism are omitted, and the drive device is also used.

The ink cartridge 4 is connected to the ink supply device L.
When it is inserted into the cartridge insertion port 19 of the ink cartridge 4, it sticks into a hollow needle (not shown) protruding from the back,
The ink inside flows into the needle. The ink is then sent to the recording head 1 on the carriage 2 through an ink residue detector (not shown) and an ink tube (not shown).

The recovery device M includes a cap 21 and a pump 22.
When the carriage 2 moves out of the recordable range on the left side of the recording device, a projection 2b provided on a part of the carriage 2 holds the cap 21 slidably back and forth, and the projection 2b and the carriage guide shaft 3 are provided. The cap carriage 23, which is slidable on the parallel cap guide shafts 25, fits into a hole formed in a protrusion 23a (see FIG. 10) protruding from the cap carriage 23 into the traveling path of the carriage 2 and moves integrally. As shown in detail in FIG. 12, a rail 24 is provided after the cap carriage 23, and a rear portion 21 of the cap 21 is provided.
a slides on the surface of the rail 24, and the cap carriage 2
With the movement of 3 to the left, the cap 21 is projected forward. That is, when the carriage 2 moves to the left, the cap 21 sticks out forward, and the recording head 1
Cap the nozzle surface of. Cap carriage 2
A tension spring (not shown) is provided between the device frame and the lower part of 3.
The cap carriage 23 is always urged to the right in FIG. Therefore, when the carriage 2 is moved, the carriage 2 is returned to the right accordingly.

In this embodiment, a home position fixed shutter (not shown) is provided, and a transmission type sensor (not shown) mounted on the carriage 2 in front of the fixed shutter.
The position of the carriage 2 is detected by passing. Whether or not the cap 21 is capping the ejection port surface is determined by the number of steps of the carriage motor from the position detected by the transmissive sensor. The pump 22 and the carriage 21 are connected by a tube (not shown), and the rotation of the pump cam 28 activates the pump 22 so that the cap 2
A negative pressure is generated in the nozzle 1 to suck the fixed ink or the like in the nozzle to recover the recording head 1.

A paper feed driving device N is arranged behind the recovery device M and feeds the driving force of the feed motor 29 to the paper feeding AS
F43 (shown in FIG. 8) has a function of switching to three operations of paper feeding and recovery device M pumping.

This paper feed driving device N will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 9, 10 and 11, and the feed motor 2 will be described.
The driving force of 9 is first transmitted to the idler gear 31 shown in FIG. 10, and further transmitted to the gear 32. The shaft hole of the gear 32 is D-shaped, and the slide shaft 3 having the same D-shaped cross-sectional shape
It rotates together with 3. The slide shaft 33 is slidable (movable) in the direction of the arrow, but in the rotational direction, a slide gear (drive gear) 34 that rotates integrally with the slide shaft 33 is rotatably supported, and further slides the slide gear 34. The slide holder 35 is slidably and rotatably supported in a bent shape. A bifurcated protrusion 35a is provided on the lower portion of the slide holder 35, and the protrusion 35a is fitted in a groove of the frame 36 to prevent rotation. A leaf spring 37 fixed to the rear projection of the cap carriage 23 is provided between the projections 35a.
The free end is inserted, and the slide holder 35 moves left and right in conjunction with the left and right movement of the cap carriage 23 that can slide on the cap guide shaft 25. That is, the position of the carriage 2 corresponds to the position of the slide gear 34.

On the other hand, above the slide gear 34, the shaft 3 shown in FIG. 9 is supported by the frame in parallel with the slide shaft 33.
A 3rd class gear designed to have the same number of teeth and pitch diameter is rotatably supported by 8c. The gear closest to the recording head 1 is a feed output gear (transmission gear) 38, which includes a large-diameter gear 38a that meshes with the slide gear 34 and a small-diameter gear 38b that meshes with an idler gear 39. Since the idler gear 39 meshes with the feed gear 40 fixed to the feed roller 6 and the paper discharge roller gear 41 fixed to the paper discharge roller 13, the slide gear 34 moves the gear 3
When the feed motor 29 is driven at the time of meshing with 8a, the feed roller 6 and the discharge roller 13 rotate in the forward and reverse directions.

The left side of the feed output gear 38, that is,
An ASF output gear (drive transmission gear) 42 is rotatably supported at the center, and the pitch circle diameter, the number of teeth, and the like are the same as those of the feed output gear 38, and mesh with the slide gear 34 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the ASF output gear 42
The input gear (driven gear) 44 of the ASF 43 meshes with the. The slide gear 34 is the ASF output gear 4
When meshed with 2, the input gear 44 can rotate in the forward and reverse directions. Thereby, for example, the ASF 43 is fed in the forward rotation and the advanced function such as selecting 1 bin or 2 bins in the reverse rotation is obtained.

A pump output gear (transmission gear) 45 is rotatably supported at a position farthest from the recording head 1. The gear 45a has the same pitch circle diameter and the same number of teeth as the large-diameter gear 38a and the ASF output gear 42.
Mesh with 4.

The gear 45b shown in FIG. 11 is a pump cam 28.
When the slide gear 34 meshes with the gear 28a having a large diameter and the slide gear 34 meshes with the gear 45a, the pump cam 28 is rotated by the drive of the feed motor 29 to perform pumping and the like. In this way, depending on the stop position of the carriage 2, the slide gear 34
Determines which of the feed output gear 38, the ASF output gear 42 and the pump output gear 45 meshes with each other to transmit the driving force.

The leaf spring 37 at the connecting portion between the cap carriage 23 and the slide holder 35 serves as a cushioning member at the time of engagement. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the slide gear 34 moves from the feed output gear 38 to the ASF output gear 4
When the feed output gear 38 and the ASF output gear 42 are out of phase with each other when moving to 2, the feed output gear 38
The teeth of the slide gear 34 that has disengaged from the ASF output gear 4 are
It doesn't mesh well with 2. At this time, the side surface of the slide gear 34 and the side surface of the ASF output gear 42 come into contact with each other and do not move any further, but the cap carriage 23 reaches a predetermined position (a position where the slide gear 34 completely meshes with the ASF output gear 42). Will move. The bending of the leaf spring 37 absorbs the difference in the amount of movement between the slide gear 34 and the cap carriage 23. After that, when the feed motor 29 is driven and the slide gear 34 is rotated by about one tooth, the slide gear 3 is rotated.
Since No. 4 is pressed against the ASF output gear 42 by the elastic force due to the bending of the leaf spring 37, the slide gear 34 slides when the phases match and completely meshes with the ASF output gear 42. Then, the slide gear 34 is further moved to the left in the figure along the shaft center 33a of the shaft 33 so as to slip through the ASF output gear 42, and is brought into contact with the gear 45a to perform the same phase matching, thereby meshing with the gear 45a. Will be done. The mesh switching operation of the slide gear 34 is performed by the gear 4
The same applies to the movement from 5a to the gear 38a.

Further, for example, the slide gear 34 meshes with the feed output gear 38, and immediately after the paper is fed, the teeth of the slide gear 34 and the feed output gear 38 are in pressure contact with each other, and a frictional force is generated between the teeth. Therefore, it does not slide smoothly. Also at this time, the difference in the moving amount between the slide gear 34 and the cap carriage 23 is temporarily absorbed by the bending of the leaf spring 37. After the movement of the cap carriage 23, the feed motor 29 is driven in the opposite direction to the previous time, and the slide gear 34 is slightly reversely rotated, whereby the slide gear 3 is rotated.
The frictional force is removed by eliminating the pressing force between the teeth of 4 and the feed output gear 38, and the slide gear 34 is slid by the elastic force of the leaf spring 37 and sent to the regular position.

FIG. 8 shows an exterior 16 as a main body of the apparatus, and an ASF (automatic sheet feeder, which is detachable from the exterior 16).
That is, it is a cross-sectional view showing the case where the unit) 43 is attached. The recording paper 10 can be inserted not only from the front side but also from the rear side, and continuous paper can also be used by using the pin feed tractor 18.

The configuration of the recording head 1 applied in this embodiment will be described.

The recording head 1 is composed of a head 61 shown in FIG. 7, and in order to eject the recording liquid from the plurality of ejection openings 62 arranged in a row, the recording liquid is ejected from the head 61.
An electrothermal converter 63 that generates heat energy supplied with an applied voltage is provided for each liquid path. Then, by applying a drive signal, thermal energy is generated in the electrothermal converter 63 to cause film boiling and form bubbles in the ink liquid path. Then, the ink droplets are ejected from the ejection port 62 by the growth of the bubbles. The head 61 can be applied to other embodiments of the present invention described later.

Here, the control system of the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment will be briefly described.

As shown in FIG. 13, a control unit 71 including a central processing unit (not shown) includes a power source 73 and a recovery unit M.
And an operation unit 72 for recording operation is connected. In addition, the paper feed driving device N, and further, the ASF 43 inside and the exterior 1
A paper sensor 70 for separately detecting whether or not there is a recording paper in the normal paper feeding unit 6 is also connected to the control unit 71.

The position of the cap carriage 23 by switching the slide gear 34 shown in FIG. 10 will be briefly described below with reference to FIGS. 12 and 14.

First, the power source 73 is turned on (step 201).
In this state, the recovery device M is operated (step 202), the center line of the cap carriage 23 (indicated by the one-dot chain line in the figure) is at the position A, and the print position is waiting at the home position (step 203). Comes to the position of C. Then, when a print command is issued from the operation unit 72 to the control unit 71 (step 204), the control unit 71 causes the ASF4
The operation differs depending on whether the mode 3 (step 205) is selected. That is, if it is not the ASF mode, it is detected whether or not there is the recording sheet 10 in the original sheet feeding section (step 206), and if there is no recording sheet, the cap carriage 23 is moved to the position C and the sheet is fed (step 206). Two
07), and if there is a recording paper, the cap carriage 23 is D
To the position to perform the printing operation (step 20
8) After the end, the cap carriage 23 moves to the position C again and stands by.

When the ASF mode is selected in step 205, the presence or absence of recording paper is detected by the paper sensor (step 210). If there is recording paper, the operation proceeds to step 208, and if there is no recording paper. Cap carriage 2
3 moves to position B to feed paper (step 211),
Similarly, the process proceeds to step 208.

4 to 6 show another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a cutaway sectional view showing a second embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 4B is a perspective view showing a part of FIG. In this embodiment, the lock lever 111 is a slide type. In FIG. 4A, the broken line indicates the recording head 1.
Shows the locked state, and the one-dot chain line shows the lock lever 11
1 indicates a state in which the recording head 1 is not locked. The broken line in FIG. 4 (b) shows the locked state as in FIG. 4 (a).

The upper surface of the lock lever 111 has two holes at the front and rear, and when locking, one of the protrusions 10
3b enters and hinders the movement of the lock lever 111, and the projection 103b enters the other hole when the lock lever 111 is not locked. Therefore, in any case, the attachment of the cover 103 is not hindered.

In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the lock lever 112 is of a screw type. FIG. 5A is a cutaway sectional view of a third embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, and FIGS. 5B and 5C are lock levers 112.
A cutout is provided in the lock lever 112 to prevent the lock lever 112 from rotating. In FIG. 5D, the lock lever 112 is provided with a recess, and the protrusion 10
The rotation of the lock lever 112 is hindered by the contact of 3c.

In the second embodiment of the screw type, the lock lever 112 is rotated and locked by providing a groove on the head of the lock lever 112 so that it can be turned by a coin or the like, or cutting a knurl around it so that it can be turned by a finger. You can also turn it on or off.

FIG. 6A is a cutaway sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention.
6B is a partial perspective view showing a part of FIG. 6A, showing a state where the protrusion 103d is not fitted in the lock lever 113, and FIG. 6C is a part of FIG. 6A. The lock lever 113 has a protrusion 103.
d shows the state of being fitted.

In the fourth embodiment, the lock lever 113 is rotated by a half turn so that a part of the lock head 113 projects into the traveling range of the recording head 1.

In the fourth embodiment, the protrusion 103d is formed in one groove formed by cutting the head portion of the lock lever 113.
By locking the lock lever 113, the lock lever 113 is prevented from rotating. In FIGS. 6B and 6C, the lock lever 113 is provided with one groove, but a plurality of grooves may be provided to prevent the lock lever 113 from rotating.

In each of the first to fourth embodiments described above, the lock lever is in contact with the recording head, but it may be in contact with the carriage depending on the shape of the carriage. When the recording head is covered with the head cover, it goes without saying that the recording head may be brought into contact with the head cover.

(Others) The present invention is provided with a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating heat energy as energy used for ejecting ink, particularly in the ink jet recording system. The present invention provides excellent effects in a recording head and a recording apparatus of the type in which the thermal energy causes a change in ink state. This is because such a system can achieve high density recording and high definition recording.

Regarding its typical structure and principle, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
It can be applied to any of the continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to the sheet holding the liquid (ink) or the electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and giving a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal converter, and film boiling is caused on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal as a result
This is effective because bubbles can be formed inside. Due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles, 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 the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the discharge port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the straight liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333, U.S. Pat. No. 44, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
The configuration using the specification of No. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration corresponding to the ejection portion is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-138461. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be surely 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 medium which can be recorded by the recording apparatus. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads or a configuration as one recording head integrally formed.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the apparatus main body or the electrical connection with the apparatus main body or the ink from the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is integrally provided in the recording head itself is used.

Further, as the constitution of the recording apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to add ejection recovery means of the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means and the like since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, heating is performed by using a capping means, a cleaning means, a pressure or suction means for the recording head, an electrothermal converter or a heating element other than this, or a combination thereof. Examples thereof include a preliminary heating unit for performing the discharge and a preliminary discharge unit for performing discharge different from the recording.

Regarding the type or 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. A plurality of pieces may be provided. That is, for example, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be either integrally formed of the recording heads or a combination of a plurality of them. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full-color recording modes by color mixing.

In addition, in the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but an ink that solidifies at room temperature or below and that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. Or, in the inkjet method, it is common to adjust the temperature of the ink itself within the range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range. At times, a liquid ink may be used. In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or in order to prevent the evaporation of the ink, it is solidified and heated in a standing state. You may use the ink liquefied by. In any case, by applying heat energy such as ink that is liquefied by applying heat energy according to the recording signal and liquid ink is ejected, or that begins to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention can be applied to the case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time is used. In this case, the ink is
JP 54-56847 A or JP 60-7.
As described in Japanese Patent No. 1260, it may be configured to face the electrothermal converter in a state of being held as a liquid or a solid in the concave portion or the through hole of the porous sheet. 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 of the present invention, other than the one used as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function can be used. It may be in a form or the like.

[0053]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Despite the simple structure of providing a lock lever on the top surface of the exterior, the recording head can be fixed without using components that are easily lost, such as fixing metal fittings as in the conventional technology, and can be mounted and removed. Since it is not necessary to handle the lock lever, it is easy to handle, and it is possible to prevent erroneous operation by covering the lock lever with a cover.Because part of the cover is used to fix the lock lever, it does not depend on operation such as impact. Even in an unexpected case, the fixing of the recording head can be maintained without using a means that adversely affects the operability such as increasing the click force of the lock lever.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

2 is a cutaway sectional view of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a perspective view showing an internal configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a third embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a recording head applied in each embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a case where an automatic paper feeder (ASF) is attached to the exterior of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view showing details of a part of the paper feeding device.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the paper feed driving device shown in FIG. 9 with a part thereof removed.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing meshing of gears of a paper feed drive device.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a position of a cap carriage.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a control system of a first embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

14 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the control system shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Recording Head 2 Carriage 2a Spring Part 2b Protrusion 2c Head Cover 3 Carriage Guide Shaft 4 Ink Cartridge 5 Fixed Platen 6 Feed Roller 7 Pinch Roller 8 Paper Holding Plate 9 Pinch Roller Holder 10 Recording Paper 11 Lower Guide 12 Upper Guide 12a Guide Rail 13 Ejection Paper roller 14 Stacker 15 Spur 16 Exterior 18 Pin feed tractor 19 Cartridge insertion port 21 Cap 22 Pump 23 Cap carriage 24 Rail 25 Cap guide shaft 28 Pump cam 29 Feed motor 31 Idler gear 32 Gear 33 Sliding shaft 34 Sliding gear 35 Slide holder 36 Frame 37 Leaf spring 38 Feed output gear 38a Large diameter gear 38b Small diameter gear 39 Idler gear 40 Feed gear 41 Paper ejection roller A 42 ASF output gear 43 ASF 44 input gear 45 pump output gear 101 locking lever 103 cover 104 outer 105 shaft portion 106 discharge outlet

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a carriage; a recording member having a recording head mounted on the carriage and moving together with the carriage; and a cap member for sealing a discharge port of the recording head during non-recording. A lock lever that is attached to the exterior surface member of the inkjet recording apparatus and that protrudes from the running area of the recording member to prevent movement of the recording member or retracts from the running area; and when the lock lever projects. An inkjet recording apparatus, comprising: a projection member that is provided on the back surface of the covering surface member that is located above the lock lever and that locks the lock lever. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head ejects the recording liquid by generating bubbles in the recording liquid by using thermal energy.