JPH0524296A - Carriage moving device and recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attach a guide member simply and firmly inexpensively by fitting a supporting part formed on a guide member for moving a carriage carrying a recording head into a guide member supporting part formed on the body of a device by elastically deforming said guide member supporting part. CONSTITUTION:By actuating a stepping motor 2 mounted to the body of a device, a lead screw is rotated through a motor gear 3 and a transmitting gear 4, whereby a carriage 15 carrying a recording head 16 is moved along a guide axis 28 by a pin axis inserted into a screw axis 5a. In this case, a groove 28a as a supporting part is formed on one end of the axis 28. On the other hand, through holes 31 are provided through both side plates 1g so as to face each other and also an elastically deformable rib as a guide axis supporting part, is formed over the inner periphery of one of the holes 31. And one of the ends of the axis 28 is forced into the hole 31, while the rib 31a is being pushed aside, to fit the groove 28a in the rib 31a, so that they are coupled firmly.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a carriage moving device and a recording device for moving a carriage to perform recording.

Conventionally, word processors, printers,
As a recording device such as a calculator, a so-called serial type recording device is often used in which a carriage 51 equipped with a recording head 50 is reciprocated in the width direction of a recording sheet 52 to perform recording as shown in FIG. .

In such a serial recording device,
The carriage 51 equipped with the recording head 50 has a recording sheet 52
It is configured to reciprocate along a guide shaft 53 provided in parallel with. This guide shaft 53 is usually inserted through through holes 54c provided in both side plates 54a and 54b of the apparatus main body 54 and fixed in a groove provided at the shaft end with an E-shaped snap ring, or as shown in FIG. A stop plate 55 is provided on at least one of the side plates to regulate the movement of the guide shaft 53 in the thrust direction.

However, in the structure for restricting the movement of the guide shaft 53, it is necessary to provide the E-shaped retaining ring or the retaining plate 55 as described above, so that the number of parts is increased and the number of assembling steps is also increased, which deteriorates the workability. However, there is a problem that the cost will increase.

The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a carriage moving device and a recording device capable of reducing the number of parts and the number of assembling steps when attaching the guide member, thereby reducing the cost.

[0006]

A typical means according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is an apparatus main body, a carriage reciprocating in the apparatus main body, and both ends of both side plates of the apparatus main body. And a guide member for guiding the movement of the carriage, and a support portion provided at an end portion of the guide member and a guide member support portion provided on at least one side plate of the apparatus body are elastically deformed. It is characterized by being fitted and fixed so that it cannot be removed.

In the above-mentioned means, the guide member is attached so as not to fall off by forcibly fitting the support portion of the guide member into the guide member support portion of the apparatus main body. Therefore, unlike the prior art, parts such as an E-type retaining ring are not required, and the number of parts is reduced.

[0008]

【Example】

First Embodiment Next, an embodiment of the present invention in which the above means is applied to a serial type ink jet recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a front explanatory view of the recording apparatus, FIG. 2 is a left side explanatory view, FIG. 3 is a right side explanatory view, FIG. 4 is a plan explanatory view, and FIG. 5 is a side sectional explanatory view including the sheet conveying apparatus. 6 (a) and 6 (b) are explanatory views of the support structure of the guide shaft.

First, the overall structure of the apparatus will be described. 1 is an apparatus main body, and a stepping motor 2 which is a drive source for reciprocating a carriage and conveying a recording sheet is attached to the apparatus main body 1. . A motor gear 3 is fixed to the motor shaft 2a of the motor 2. 4 is a transmission gear, which is in mesh with the motor gear 3,
Further, it is rotatably supported by a shaft 1a provided on the apparatus main body 1.

A lead screw 5 is provided with a gear portion 5a at one end thereof, and the gear portion 5a is in mesh with the transmission gear 4. A sheet feed transmission gear 6 is fixed to the other end of the lead screw 5 by a fixing pin 7. The lead screw 5 is inserted into a hole provided in the apparatus body 1 and is in a rotatable state. Reference numeral 8 is a sheet feeding intermediate gear, and the gear portion 8a is in mesh with the sheet feeding transmission gear 6 described above. The gear portion 8b is in mesh with the clutch gear 9. The sheet feeding intermediate gear 8 is pivotally supported by a shaft provided in the apparatus main body 1 and is rotatably supported.

In FIG. 1, the groove portion 9a of the clutch gear 9 is shown.
The end 14a of the clutch spring 14 is engaged with
The clutch spring 14 is wound around the end 10a of the feed roller 10. The feed roller 10 is inserted into a hole provided in the apparatus main body 1 and is in a rotatable state. Further, an annular feed member 13 made of an elastic material (for example, a rubber material) is provided at the center of the feed roller 10, and pinch rollers 11 are provided at positions facing the feed member 13, respectively.

The pinch roller 11 is rotatably supported by a pinch roller shaft 12, and the shaft 12 is rotatably supported by a groove portion 1e provided in the main body 1 of the apparatus and movably supported in the direction of arrow B in FIG. Has been done. The pinch roller shaft 12 is supported by the arm portion 27c of the pinch roller spring 27 in a direction in which it is elastically pressed against the feed roller 10. The fixing of the spring 27 to the apparatus body 1 is locked by the pinch roller spring receiving portions 1c and 1d provided on the apparatus body 1.

As a result, when the feed roller 10 rotates,
A recording sheet, which is a recording medium, is conveyed by a cooperative action with the pinch roller 11.

Next, the structure of the recording means will be described. Figure 1
In FIG. 4, reference numeral 16 is a recording head which constitutes recording means, and in the present embodiment, it is constituted as an ink jet recording head.

The recording head 16 generates a fine liquid discharge port (orifice), a liquid passage and an energy acting portion provided in a part of the liquid passage, and a droplet forming energy to act on the liquid in the acting portion. Equipped with energy generation means. As the energy generating means for generating such energy, a recording method using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element, an energy generating means for irradiating electromagnetic waves such as a laser to generate heat, and ejecting droplets by the action of the heat generation And a recording method using an energy generating unit that heats the liquid by an electrothermal converter such as a heating element having a heating resistor to eject the liquid. Among them, a recording head used in an inkjet recording method for ejecting a liquid by thermal energy has a high density of liquid ejection ports (orifices) for ejecting recording liquid droplets to form ejection liquid droplets. Therefore, it is possible to perform high-resolution recording. Among them, the recording head using the electrothermal converter as the energy generating means can easily be made compact, and has the advantages of the IC technology and the microfabrication technology, which have been remarkably improved in technology and reliability in the recent semiconductor field. This is advantageous because it can be used in two parts, high-density mounting is easy, and the manufacturing cost is low.

The recording head 16 is mounted on the carriage 15 which can be reciprocated by the rotation of the lead screw 5 described above, and a desired recording signal from a control unit (not shown) is transmitted by a flexible cable 18. In addition, in FIG.
Is a set lever for electrically and elastically connecting the flexible cable 18 and the recording head 16.

Further, the lead screw 5 is provided with a screw-shaped screw groove 5b, and a shaft 19 protruding from the carriage 15 is inserted in the groove 5b. Further, in FIG. 1, 28 is a guide shaft which is a guide member for guiding the movement of the carriage 15 in the arrow direction. As a result, when the lead screw 5 rotates, the carriage
The guide shaft 15 is guided by the guide shaft 28 to reciprocate. The mounting structure of the guide shaft 28 will be described later.

In FIG. 5, the carriage 15 has a groove 15
b is provided, engages with the wall 1f of the apparatus main body 1, and guides the carriage 15 like the guide shaft 28. Further, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 24 denotes a detection switch for detecting the home position of the carriage 15, which is detected by the end portion 15a of the carriage 15 pushing the detection switch 24 as the carriage 15 moves. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 21 denotes a mounting foot, which is made of an elastic material and is inserted into a protrusion 1b provided on the apparatus main body 1 to support the recording apparatus. Reference numeral 20 denotes a platen, which is detachably loaded in the apparatus main body 1 and guides the recording sheet.
The recording sheet is inserted from 22 in FIG. 5 and sent out from 23.

Next, the mounting structure of the guide shaft 28 will be described. FIGS. 6A and 6B are detailed explanatory diagrams of the Y portion of FIG. In this embodiment, the groove 28 is formed at one end of the guide shaft 28.
A supporting portion is formed by providing a, and through holes 31 and 32 facing each other are provided in both side plates 1g and 1h of the apparatus main body 1, and the inner periphery of the hole 31 which is one of the through holes 31 and 32 is elastic. Deformable rib
31a is provided to form a guide shaft support portion. Also rib
The dimension of 31a corresponds to the groove portion 28a of the guide shaft 28.

Here, in FIG. 6A, the through hole 32 is formed.
One end of the guide shaft 28 inserted from is a through hole of the side plate 1g.
The rib 31a of the guide 31 is pushed in in the circumferential direction (while being elastically deformed), and when the rib 31a and the groove 28a of the guide shaft 28 are engaged with each other, the guide shaft 28 is fitted in a click manner and the guide shaft 28 is moved in the thrust direction. Support it so that it does not come out. This state is shown in FIG. 6 (b), and the guide shaft 28 is in a state of being fitted with the through hole 32 provided in the side plate 1h, and both ends of the guide shaft 28 are supported and fixed by the both through holes 31, 32. It

As described above, the guide shaft 28 can be fixedly attached to the main body 1 of the apparatus only by fitting it into the through holes 31 and 32 of the side plates 1g and 1h, and the E-shaped retaining ring or the like is not required unlike the conventional case. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

Next, the recording operation of the recording apparatus having the above structure will be described. By a drive signal from a control unit (not shown),
When the motor 2 is driven to rotate in a predetermined direction, the lead screw 5 rotates in the direction of arrow F in FIG. Therefore, the carriage 15 is guided by the guide shaft 28 by the pin shaft that has entered the screw groove 5a and moves in the direction of arrow H.

After moving a predetermined amount, the end portion 15 of the carriage 15
a turns on the detection switch 24, and the position of the home position is confirmed. At this detection position, the drive signal to the motor 2 is reversely rotated, the screw 5 is rotationally driven in the arrow G direction, and the carriage 15 is moved in the arrow I direction. Predetermined amount I
After moving in the direction, a recording signal is selectively given to the recording head 16 to perform printing on the recording sheet.

The movement of the carriage 15 in the I direction, that is, the rotation of the lead screw 5 in the G direction is transmitted to the sheet feed transmission gear 6 and the intermediate gear 8 to rotate the clutch gear 9 in the arrow J direction. However, at this time, since the clutch spring 14 rotates in the loosening direction, the rotational force is not transmitted to the feed roller 10 and the recording sheet is not conveyed.

After printing on the recording sheet by moving a predetermined amount in the I direction, the motor 2 is driven in the reverse direction again to rotate the lead screw 5 in the arrow F direction to move the carriage 15 in the H direction. At this time, the gear 9 rotates in the direction of arrow K, and the clutch spring 14 moves the feed roller.
The end 10a of 10 is tightened so as to be driven, and the feed roller 10 is rotated to feed the recording sheet by a predetermined amount.

In this way, the carriage 15 is attached to the guide shaft 28.
A predetermined recording is performed on the recording sheet by reciprocating along.

[Other Embodiments] FIGS. 7A and 7B show another embodiment of the support portion of the guide shaft 28 and the guide shaft support portion of the side plate 1g. In this embodiment, at least one notch 31c is provided in the through hole 31 in the first embodiment, so that the through hole 31 is easily elastically deformed in the circumferential direction,
The insertability of the guide shaft 28 is improved.

8 (a) and 8 (b) show another embodiment, in which a continuous rib provided on the inner periphery of the through hole 31 in the first embodiment is divided into divided ribs 31a. Is provided to improve the flexibility of the rib 31a and improve the insertability of the guide shaft 28.

FIG. 9 shows still another embodiment. In the first embodiment, a groove 28a is formed at one end of the guide shaft 28.
On the contrary, the structure in which the protrusions 28b are provided is provided with the protrusions 28b.

FIG. 10 shows still another embodiment, in which the projections on the inner circumference of the through hole 31 and the groove portion 28a of the guide shaft 28 in the first embodiment are constructed in reverse. A groove 31b is provided in the hole 31 and a projection 28c is provided on the guide shaft 28 so that both are forcibly fitted.

FIG. 11 shows still another embodiment, in which the projection of the through hole 31 and the groove portion 28a of the guide shaft 28 in the embodiment shown in FIG. Through hole
A groove portion 31b is provided on the inner periphery of 31 and a protrusion 28c of the guide shaft 28 is provided so that both are forcibly fitted.

In the above-described embodiment, a groove or protrusion is formed only at one end of the guide shaft 28, and this is forcibly fitted into the rib or groove of the through hole 31 provided in the side plate 1g. Although shown, these may be provided at both ends of the guide shaft 28, or may be provided at both side plates 1g and 1h so as to be forcibly fitted at both ends of the guide shaft 28.

Further, although the ink jet recording system is used as the recording means in the above-mentioned embodiment, the electrothermal converter is energized in response to a recording signal, and the growth of bubbles caused by heating beyond the film boiling by the electrothermal converter is caused. More preferably, the ink is ejected from the ejection port to perform recording.

With regard to its typical structure and principle, it is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but in the case of the on-demand type in particular, it is arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path holding the liquid (ink). By applying at least one drive signal to the electrothermal transducer, which corresponds to the recorded information and gives a rapid temperature rise beyond nucleate boiling,
This is effective because heat energy is generated in the electrothermal converter to cause film boiling on the heat acting surface of the recording head, and as a result, bubbles in the liquid can be formed in a one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal. Due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles, the liquid 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 bubbles can be grown and contracted immediately and appropriately, so that particularly excellent liquid ejection 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 linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications. The present invention also includes configurations using US Pat. Nos. 4,558,333 and 4,459,600, which disclose configurations in which the heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region. Further, JP-A-59-123670 discloses a structure in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of a plurality of electrothermal converters, and a discharge portion having an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is disclosed. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration based on Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-138461, which discloses the configuration corresponding to the above, is adopted. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be surely and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type described above, it is possible to electrically connect to the apparatus main body and supply ink from the apparatus main body by mounting the recording head fixed to the carriage or the carriage. 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 may be used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, etc., which are provided as a constituent of the recording apparatus of the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specific examples thereof include capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, pressurizing or sucking means, electrothermal conversion type or other heating element or a preheating means by a combination thereof,
It is also effective to perform stable recording by performing a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from recording.

Regarding the type or number of recording heads mounted on the carriage, 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 a recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be a combination of a plurality of recording heads integrally formed, but a mixed color of different colors or a mixed color It is also applicable to a device with at least one of the full colors according to

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiments, the ink is described as a liquid, but it is an ink which solidifies at room temperature or lower and softens or liquefies at room temperature, or in the ink jet recording system. 30 inks
Generally, the temperature is controlled in the range of ℃ or more and 70 ℃ or less to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is in the stable ejection range. good. In addition, it is possible to prevent the temperature rise due to thermal energy from being positively used as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or to use the ink that solidifies when left standing for the purpose of preventing ink evaporation. However, in any case, heat is applied such as ink that is liquefied by application of heat energy according to the recording signal and liquid ink is ejected, or that begins to solidify when it reaches the recording sheet. It is also applicable when using an ink that has the property of being liquefied for the first time by energy.

The ink in such a case is described in JP-A-54-5.
As described in JP-A-6847 or JP-A-60-71260, a form in which it is opposed to an electrothermal converter in a state where it is held as a liquid or a solid substance in a concave portion or a through hole of a porous sheet. Also good. The most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

Further, as a form of the above-mentioned ink jet recording apparatus, besides 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 further a facsimile apparatus having a transmitting / receiving function. It may take a form or the like.

Although an example of using the ink jet recording method as the above-mentioned recording means has been described, the present invention is not limited to the ink jet recording method, and other thermal transfer recording method, heat sensitive recording method, Can also be applied to a recording method other than the impact recording method such as the wire dot recording method.

Further, the above-described carriage moving device can be applied not only to the recording device but also to a reading device, for example, in which a reading means such as a CCD is mounted on the carriage and the carriage is moved to read the document description information.

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention, the support portion provided at the end portion of the guide member is elastically deformed and fitted into the guide member support portion provided on at least one side plate of the apparatus body, and the support portion is attached so as not to fall off. Because of this, the guide member can be attached to the apparatus body without using a stopper or the like as in the conventional case. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced and the number of assembling steps can be reduced to reduce the cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front explanatory view of a recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a left side view of the recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a right side view of the recording device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory plan view of the recording apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a recording apparatus including a sheet conveying apparatus.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a guide shaft support structure.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of another embodiment of the guide shaft support structure.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of another embodiment of the guide shaft support structure.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of another embodiment of the guide shaft support structure.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of another embodiment of the guide shaft support structure.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view of another embodiment of the guide shaft support structure.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Device body 28 ... Guide shaft 1g, 1h ... Side plate 28a ... Groove 2 ... Motor 31 ... Through hole 5 ... Lead screw 31a ... Rib 10 ... Feeding roller

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus main body, a carriage capable of reciprocating in the apparatus main body, and guide members having both ends supported by both side plates of the apparatus main body and for guiding movement of the carriage, A carriage moving device characterized in that a support portion provided at an end portion of a guide member is elastically deformed and fitted into a guide member support portion provided on at least one side plate of the apparatus body, and is attached so as not to fall off. 2. A groove or a protrusion is provided in the support portion of the guide member, a through hole is formed in the guide member support portion of the apparatus main body, and the support portion of the guide member is fitted into the inner periphery of the through hole. The carriage moving device according to claim 1, further comprising a protruding portion or a groove portion to be obtained. 3. An apparatus main body, a carriage capable of reciprocating in the apparatus main body, and guide members having both ends supported by both side plates of the apparatus main body for guiding the movement of the carriage, A support portion provided at an end portion of the guide member, a guide member support portion provided on at least one side plate of the apparatus main body is elastically deformed and fitted, and a carriage moving device mounted so as not to fall off, and mounted on the carriage, A recording apparatus comprising: a recording unit for recording on a recording medium; and a conveying unit for conveying the recording medium. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the recording apparatus is an inkjet recording system in which a recording unit ejects ink in accordance with a signal to perform recording. 5. The recording apparatus is an inkjet recording method in which a recording unit energizes an electrothermal converter in response to a signal and ejects ink by utilizing thermal energy generated by the electrothermal converter for recording. The recording device according to claim 4. 6. In the recording apparatus, the recording unit energizes the electrothermal converter in response to a signal, and the ink is ejected from the ejection port due to the growth of bubbles caused by heating beyond the film boiling by the electrothermal converter. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the recording apparatus is an inkjet recording method for performing recording.