JPH05177827A - Ink-jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To constitute the title ink-Jet printer so that a head cover closing up tightly a line head does not interfere with a conveying path of printing paper in the ink-jet printer in which the line head is counterposed on the printing paper. CONSTITUTION:A heat holding mechanism 9 holding a line head 8 on one side of a printing position or a suspended position by tuning the line head 8 is provided and the line head 8 positioned and held at the suspended position is closed up tightly by a freely movable head cover 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a line type ink jet printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, as a printer device capable of quiet and high-density printing, an ink jet printer or the like that ejects ink droplets from an orifice to fix the ink onto a printing sheet has been put into practical use.

For example, in a line type ink jet printer, a line head having a large number of orifices connected in the main scanning direction is provided, and the line is formed in an image forming section which is a recording medium which is held in position by a platen or the like and moves in the sub scanning direction. The structure is such that the ink ejection surfaces of the heads are fixedly opposed to each other.In a serial type inkjet printer, a serial head in which multiple orifices are arranged in series in the sub-scanning direction is movably supported in the main scanning direction. , A structure in which the ink ejection surfaces of the movable serial head are arranged to face each other in an image forming unit formed of a recording medium which is held in position by a platen and moved in the sub-scanning direction. In such an ink jet printer, an image is printed on a recording medium by ejecting ink droplets from the orifices of the line head and the serial head with driving power corresponding to the print image.

In such an ink jet printer, there is a concern that the ink remaining in the orifice may be hardened due to drying and may be clogged when the resting state is long. Therefore, in order to prevent such clogging of the orifice, it is necessary to attach a head cover to the line head in a rest state, as disclosed in JP-A-63-160849 and JP-A-63-1608.
No. 50 and Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 1-30624, it is also possible to attach a head cover to a serial head in a dormant state similarly in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 55-151548 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 54-5435.
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-60 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 56-60256.

Therefore, here, the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-160850 will be described as a conventional example with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. First, in the ink jet printer 1, as illustrated in FIG. 7, a line head 2 having a large number of orifices (not shown) continuously arranged in the main scanning direction is arranged opposite to a platen 3, and recording is performed on the platen 3. It has a structure in which a conveyance path for the printing paper 4 which is a medium is formed. In this inkjet printer 1, as shown in FIG. 8, the platen 3 is formed of a plate 5 divided into two parts which are pivotally supported in an openable and closable manner. In this structure, the porous member 6 that moves vertically is arranged.

In the ink jet printer 1 having such a structure, the porous member 6 is normally stored under the closed plate 5, as shown in FIG.
Image printing is performed by ejecting ink droplets from the orifices of the line head 2 onto the printing paper 4 conveyed on the platen 3 including these plates 5.

In the ink jet printer 1, when the above printing operation is completed, the porous member 6 rises in conjunction with the opening of the plate 5 of the platen 3 as illustrated in FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 3C, the porous member 6 is stopped in a state of being in close contact with the orifice of the line head 2. By doing so, in the inkjet printer 1, since the porous member 6 seals the inside of the orifice of the line head 2 and absorbs the remaining ink, the line head 2 of the line head 2 due to such ink fixation or dust invasion. The clogging of the orifice is prevented.

Further, in the serial type ink jet printer (not shown) disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 55-151548, in the main scanning direction at a position facing the serial head movably supported in the main scanning direction. It has a structure in which a slender platen roller is pivotally supported, and a head cover arranged laterally at one end of the platen roller is movably supported in the front-rear direction. In this ink jet printer, the serial head is moved laterally to a position away from the peripheral surface of the platen roller, and in this state, the head cover is moved toward the serial head to seal the orifice.

[0009]

In the line type ink jet printer 1 described above, clogging of the orifice of the line head 2 is prevented by the close contact of the movably supported porous member 6.

However, in this ink jet printer 1, since the platen 3 is formed by the plate 5 having a two-divided structure which can be opened and closed in order to arrange the porous member 6 at a position facing the orifice of the line head 2, this platen is used. Three
As a result, the existing device cannot be used, and its structure is complicated, which hinders downsizing and weight reduction of equipment and productivity. Moreover,
In this inkjet printer 1, since the porous member 6 that is in close contact with the orifice of the line head 2 blocks the transport path of the printing paper 4 as described above, the printing paper is not sealed when the line head 2 is sealed by the porous member 6. 4 cannot be conveyed, and continuous paper cannot be used as the printing paper 4. Furthermore, this inkjet printer 1
Then, since the platen 3 formed by the plate 5 divided into two in order to retractably store the porous member 6 does not have a function of transporting the printing paper 4 unlike a roller-shaped platen,
It is necessary to provide a dedicated device for transporting the printing paper 4 near the platen 3.

For example, in the serial type ink jet printer described above, the existing device can be used for the platen roller and the like, the printing paper can be conveyed even when the serial head is closed by the head cover, and continuous paper can be used as the printing paper. The platen roller has a function of conveying printing paper. However, this inkjet printer is realized by utilizing the operation of a serial head that structurally moves on a platen, and such a structure is not applicable to the present invention for a line type inkjet printer. ..

The present invention is to obtain an ink jet printer having high practicality.

[0013]

The invention according to claim 1 is
In a line type ink jet printer in which a large number of orifices are arranged in a line in the main scanning direction, the ink ejection surface of the line head is arranged to face an image forming unit in which the recording medium moves in the sub scanning direction. A head support mechanism that rotatably supports a rotating shaft to position and hold the ink ejection surface at one of a print position that faces the image forming portion and a rest position that does not face the image forming portion is provided. A head cover is provided that seals the ink ejection surface of the line head that is supported and held at a rest position by contact and separation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a line type ink jet printer in which an ink ejection surface of a line head in which a large number of orifices are continuously arranged in a main scanning direction is arranged to face an image forming portion where a recording medium moves in a sub scanning direction. A head that rotatably supports the line head on a rotary shaft that is parallel to the main scanning direction and positions and holds the ink ejection surface at one of a print position facing the image forming portion and a rest position not facing the image forming portion. A support mechanism is provided, and a cover urging mechanism that urges the head cover toward the rotating shaft of the head supporting mechanism is provided. The cover urging mechanism is connected to the rotating shaft of the line head and has the same direction with respect to the axis as the ink ejection surface. Is provided with a disk cam whose concave portion is formed on the outer peripheral portion having a rotation angle or more, and the head cover is pressed and held on the outer peripheral portion of the disk cam and urged by the cover urging mechanism. Provided head position regulating member for positioning and holding.

[0015]

Since the head cover does not interfere with the conveyance path of the printing paper, the printing paper can be conveyed even when the line head is closed by the head cover, and continuous paper can be used as the printing paper. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an inkjet printer having high practicality.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the invention described in claim 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in the ink jet printer 7, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a line head 8 having a large number of orifices continuously arranged in the main scanning direction is provided with a rotary shaft parallel to the main scanning direction above the ink ejection surface 8a. 9, the ink ejection surface 8a of the line head 8 faces one of the peripheral surface of the platen roller 10 located in front of this and the contact portion 12 of the head cover 11 located below. It is like this.

In the ink jet printer 7, as shown in FIG. 2, a rack 14 that is vertically movable is connected to a pinion 13 that is directly connected to the line head 8 by a rotating shaft 9. The head cover 11 is elastically supported on a convex portion 15 formed on the lower portion of the rack 14 via a spring 16. Here, in the inkjet printer 7, stoppers 17 and 18 are provided at positions contacting the rear portion of the line head 8 which is rotatable as described above so as to come in contact with and separate from the line head 8. The line head 8
Is stopped at a printing position where the orifice faces the platen roller 10 and a rest position where the orifice faces the head cover 11. Further, the line head 8
An engaging portion 19 is provided on the rear surface of the rocking lever 20, so that the engaging portion 19 of the line head 8 stopped by contact with the stoppers 17 and 18 is releasably engaged.
21 is provided.

Therefore, in this ink jet printer 7, the head support mechanism 9a for pivotally supporting the line head 8 in a plane orthogonal to the main scanning direction and positioning and holding the line head 8 at the printing position and the rest position is provided. A cover support mechanism 14a, which is formed by the rotary shaft 9, the stoppers 17 and 18, the swing levers 20 and 21, and the like, and linearly and movably supports the head cover 11, includes the rack 14 and the convex portion. 15 and the spring 16 and the like. The head cover 11 supported by such a spring 16 has, for example, a shape in which a stress dispersion portion that spreads from this support point toward the ink ejection surface 8a is formed in the rear portion. The present applicant has applied for a head cover 11 having a different shape as Japanese Patent Application No. 3-256285.

Further, in this ink jet printer 7, as shown in FIG. 1, the paper feed cassette 22 is arranged at a position continuous with the peripheral surface of the platen roller 10, and as shown in FIG. A paper discharge tray 24, an operation panel 25, and the like are integrally provided on the upper surface of the housing 23.

With this arrangement, in the ink jet printer 7, the rotating platen roller 10 conveys the printing paper 26 and holds it in position so that the printing paper 26 faces the ink ejection surface 8a of the line head 8. It is arranged in the image forming unit.

Therefore, in the ink jet printer 7, when the image printing is performed, the ink jet printer 7 shown in FIGS.
As illustrated in, the line head 8 has a stopper 1 at the rear.
When the swing lever 20 is engaged with the engaging portion 19 in a state of being in contact with 7, the orifice is positioned and held at the printing position facing the platen roller 10. Therefore, in this state, the printing paper 26 fed from the paper feeding cassette 22 is conveyed by the platen roller 10 in the sub-scanning direction, so that the line head 8 is driven in synchronization with this conveyance to form the printing paper 26. The image is printed. At this time, since the rack 14 connected by the pinion 13 to the line head 8 which is positioned and held at the printing position as described above is descending, the head cover 11 connected to the rack 14 is moved downward from the line head 8. Is located in.

In the ink jet printer 7, when the image forming apparatus is in a resting state after the completion of image printing as described above, the line head 8 is rotated so that the rear portion serves as the stopper 18, as illustrated in FIG. When the rocking lever 21 is engaged with the engaging portion 19 in the contact state, the orifice is positioned and held at the rest position facing the head cover 11. At this time, since the rack 14 is raised by the pinion 13 that rotates together with the line head 8, the head cover 11 connected to the rack 14 is also raised and the ink ejection surface 8a of the line head 8 is sealed by the contact portion 12. Will be done.

By doing so, in the ink jet printer 7, the ink ejection surface 8a of the line head 8 is sealed by the interlocking rotation of the line head 8 and the movement of the head cover 11 to prevent the clogging of the orifice. be able to. Moreover, in this inkjet printer 7,
The line head 8, the platen roller 10 and the like that are directly involved in printing may be the same as those of the existing apparatus, and their simple structure can contribute to the reduction in size and weight of the apparatus and the improvement in productivity. Further, in the inkjet printer 7, the head cover 11 that seals the ink ejection surface 8a of the line head 8 does not interfere with the conveyance path of the printing paper 26 as described above, so the head cover 11 is closely attached to the line head 8. The printing paper 26 can be conveyed by the rotating platen roller 10 even in this state, and continuous paper can be used as the printing paper 26. Moreover,
In this inkjet printer 7, since the line head 8 which is elongated in the main scanning direction is rotated by the rotating shaft 9 parallel to the main scanning direction, the occupied volume is smaller than that of a mechanism for sliding the line head 8 or the like. Is becoming further,
In the inkjet printer 7, the line head 8 is rotatably supported by the head support mechanism 9a so that the head cover 11 and the platen roller 10 are not structurally restricted from each other. By providing a rotatable platen roller 10 as a platen for supporting the print sheet 26 at a position, the transport mechanism for the print sheet 26 is simplified.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, it is also possible to provide a flat platen platen board 27 as such a platen. Further, by incorporating a porous member (not shown) having good hygroscopicity in the head cover 11 as described above or connecting a vacuum pump (not shown) to the head cover 11, the orifice of the line head 8 It is also possible to effectively eliminate the clogging. Further, in the inkjet printer 7 of this embodiment, the head cover 11 moves linearly in a direction that does not interfere with the platen roller 10 by setting the rotation angle of the line head 8 to 90 degrees. Since it suffices to dispose the head cover 11 at a position where it does not interfere with the transport path of 26, the rotation angle of the line head 8 can be set variously, and the head cover 11 is also oscillated by the cover support mechanism including the link mechanism. Anything can be done. further,
In the inkjet printer 7 of this embodiment, the printing paper 2
Although the platen roller 10 is provided as a means for arranging 6 in the image forming portion facing the line head 8, such a platen is not an essential requirement for the ink jet printer 7 which is a non-impact printer. It is also possible to implement a structure in which the paper 26 is stretched by a pair of rollers and arranged in the image forming unit, and no member is arranged in front of the line head 8. Further, in the ink jet printer 7 of the present embodiment, the line head 8 is fixed during printing, but the present invention is a shuttle printer that vibrates the line head 8 in the main scanning direction during printing to perform high density printing. It is also applicable to.

Next, an embodiment of the invention described in claim 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. First, in the ink jet printer 28, the line head 8 is rotatably supported by a rotating shaft 29 connected to the rear edge portion, and the head cover 11 is supported by a spring 30 which is a cover urging mechanism. It is biased toward the rotating shaft 29.
The disc cam 31 connected to the rotating shaft 29 is
Ink ejection surface 8a of line head 8 in the direction of the axis
An outer peripheral portion 33 is formed with the same concave portion 32 as that of the support roller 3 which is a head position restricting member protruding from the side end portion of the head cover 11 on the outer peripheral portion 33 of the disc cam 31.
4 abuts in a pressed state. By doing this,
In the ink jet printer 28, the spring 30, the disc cam 31, and the support roller 34 movably support the head cover 11 to seal the ink ejection surface 8a of the line head 8 positioned and held at the rest position so that the ink ejection surface 8a can be contacted and separated. A cover support mechanism 35 is provided. In this inkjet printer 28, the platen roller 1
A head cleaner 36 is provided at a position in contact with the ink ejection surface 8a of the line head 8 from 0 to the head cover 11, and the head cleaner 36 includes a blade 37.
And the brush 38 are arranged side by side.

With this arrangement, the ink jet printer 28 is designed to perform image printing at a printing position where the ink ejection surface 8a of the line head 8 faces the platen roller 10. When the head 8 rotates downward, the ink ejection surface 8a is sequentially rubbed by the blade 37 of the head cleaner 36 and the brush 38 to be cleaned. At this time, in the inkjet printer 28, the support roller 34 contacts the outer peripheral portion 33 of the disc cam 31, so that the head cover 11 biased upward by the elastic force of the spring 30 is positioned and held. When the line head 8 is further rotated downward from the above state, the concave portion 3 of the disc cam 31 is moved.
By engaging the support roller 34 with the spring 2,
The head cover 11 which is urged upward by the elastic force of the above moves up to seal the ink ejection surface 8a of the line head 8. By doing so, in the inkjet printer 28, the ink ejection surface 8a of the line head 8 is
Can be continuously sealed and cleaned, or only the cleaning that needs to be performed more frequently than the sealed can be performed.

In the ink jet printer 28, the head cover 1 is formed by the circular outer peripheral portion 33 of the disc cam 31.
However, it is not necessary to form the outer peripheral portion 33 of the disc cam 31 on the entire circumference, and it is sufficient to form an arc having a rotation angle of the line head 8 or more.

Further, in the ink jet printer 28, the head cleaner 36 and the head cover 11 are continuously arranged below the platen roller 10 to seal and clean the ink ejection surface 8a of the line head 8 as described above. However, as shown in FIG. 6, by arranging the head cleaner 36 and the head cover 11 above and below the platen roller 10 in a distributed manner, the line head It is also possible to implement an ink jet printer 39 or the like in which the ink discharge surface 8a of 8 can be sealed and cleaned independently.

[0029]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a line type ink jet is provided in which the ink ejection surface of a line head in which a large number of orifices are continuously arranged in the main scanning direction is arranged to face an image forming portion in which a recording medium moves in the sub scanning direction. In the printer, the line head is rotatably supported by a rotary shaft parallel to the main scanning direction, and the ink ejection surface is positioned and held at one of a print position facing the image forming unit and a rest position not facing the image forming unit. By providing a head support mechanism for rotatably supporting the ink ejection surface of the line head that is movably supported by the cover support mechanism and positioned and held at the rest position, the head cover is provided with Since it does not interfere with the transport path, print paper can be transported even when the line head is closed with the head cover, and It is also possible to use the continuous paper as the paper, practicality is one that has an effect such as can be obtained with high ink jet printer.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a line type ink jet printer in which an ink ejection surface of a line head in which a large number of orifices are continuously arranged in a main scanning direction is arranged to face an image forming portion where a recording medium moves in a sub scanning direction. A head that rotatably supports the line head on a rotary shaft that is parallel to the main scanning direction and positions and holds the ink ejection surface at one of a print position facing the image forming portion and a rest position not facing the image forming portion. A support mechanism is provided, and a cover urging mechanism that urges the head cover toward the rotating shaft of the head supporting mechanism is provided. The cover urging mechanism is connected to the rotating shaft of the line head and has the same direction with respect to the axis as the ink ejection surface. Is provided with a disk cam whose concave portion is formed on the outer peripheral portion having a rotation angle or more, and the head cover is pressed and held on the outer peripheral portion of the disk cam and urged by the cover urging mechanism. By providing the head position regulating member for positioning and holding, the head cover does not interfere with the conveyance path of the print sheet, so that the print sheet can be conveyed even when the line head is closed by the head cover. It is also possible to use continuous paper as the above, and it is possible to obtain an inkjet printer having a simple structure and high practicality.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the invention described in claim 1.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing an operation process of a main part.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an overall appearance.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a modified example.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing an embodiment of the invention described in claim 2.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a modified example.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing an operation process of a main part.

[Explanation of symbols]

7, 28, 39 Inkjet printer 8 Line head 8a Ink ejection surface 9,29 Rotating shaft 9a, 35 Head support mechanism 10, 27 Platen 11 Head cover 14b Cover support mechanism 30 Cover urging mechanism 31 Disc cam 32 Recess 33 Outer peripheral portion

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location B41J 25/316 8604-2C B41J 25/28 H

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A line type ink jet printer in which a large number of orifices are continuously arranged in the main scanning direction, and an ink ejection surface of the line head is arranged to face an image forming portion where a recording medium moves in a sub scanning direction. A head support mechanism is provided to rotatably support a rotation shaft parallel to the scanning direction, and the ink ejection surface is positioned and held at one of a print position facing the image forming unit and a rest position not facing the image forming unit. An ink jet printer comprising a head cover for movably supporting a support mechanism and positioning and holding the ink ejection surface of the line head at a rest position so as to contact and separate the ink ejection surface. 2. A line type ink jet printer in which a large number of orifices are arranged in series in a main scanning direction, and an ink ejection surface of the line head is arranged to face an image forming portion where a recording medium moves in a sub scanning direction. A head support mechanism is provided that is rotatably supported by a rotation shaft parallel to the scanning direction and positions and holds the ink ejection surface at one of a printing position facing the image forming unit and a rest position not facing the image forming unit. A cover urging mechanism for urging the head cover toward the rotation axis of the head support mechanism is provided, and the concave portion connected to the rotation axis of the line head and having the same direction with respect to the axis as the ink ejection surface has a rotation angle. A disk cam formed on the above outer peripheral portion is provided, and a head for positioning and holding the head cover pressed and held on the outer peripheral portion of the disk cam and urged by the cover urging mechanism. An ink-jet printer characterized in that a position regulating member is provided.