JPH06143725A - Recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a small-sized recording apparatus minimized in its space by transmitting recording data and a recording control signal to an optical transmission means and reduce the number of parts of a sensor. CONSTITUTION:In a serial recording apparatus, a light signal transmission means 19, a light signal receiving means 18 and a means controlling a recording head 2 on the basis of the light signal transmitted and received between both means 19, 18 are provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a serial type recording apparatus for recording by reciprocating a recording head with respect to a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium such as a sheet of paper or an OHP sheet (hereinafter, also referred to as a recording sheet or simply paper) has a form in which recording heads of various recording systems are mounted. Proposed. The recording head may be of a wire dot type, a thermal type, a thermal transfer type, an inkjet type, or the like. In particular, the ink jet method is a method of ejecting ink directly onto a recording sheet, which has a low running cost and is attracting attention as a quiet recording method.

Among the ink jet systems, there is a recording apparatus of a system in which bubbles (bubbles) generated by thermal energy are used and ink is ejected from an ejection port toward a recording medium to record characters or images. . In this recording device, the size of the heating resistor (heater) provided in each ejection port is significantly smaller than that of the piezoelectric element used in the conventional ink jet recording device, and it is possible to realize high density multi ejection ports. As a result, a high-quality recorded image can be obtained, and it has features such as high speed and low noise.

These recording apparatuses have a structure in which a recording head is mounted on a carriage that moves in the main scanning direction, and recording is performed by moving a recording sheet in the sub scanning direction. The recording head and the controller in the main body are electrically connected by a flexible substrate, and the recording data, recording control signal, head driving voltage, etc. related to the recording operation are transmitted to the recording head via this flexible substrate. . Further, in these devices, a large number of sensors are arranged and controlled in order to detect the position of the carriage on which the recording head is mounted, the presence or absence of the recording medium, the width, and the like.

[0005]

However, in the structure of the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, a flexible substrate having a wide width is required because it needs to transmit several tens of signals such as recording data, recording control signals, recording head driving voltage, etc. on the flexible substrate. Was used. As the width of the flexible substrate is wider, a space for routing the flexible substrate is required. However, in order to downsize the body, it is necessary to make the volume of this space as small as possible.

The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the problems caused by the structure of the above-mentioned conventional device. By transmitting the recording data and the recording control signal by the optical transmission means, the flexible substrate is conventionally laid out. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus that can be miniaturized by minimizing the space used for. In addition, by performing sensor operation using the optical signal for recording control signal transmission, it is possible to configure a non-contact sensor without providing a special mechanism, reducing the number of sensor parts and reducing power consumption. The purpose is to provide a device.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the recording apparatus of the present invention first performs recording by sending a recording control signal to a recording head that reciprocates in the recording direction with respect to the recording medium. In the recording apparatus, means for transmitting an optical signal parallel to the recording direction provided in the main body of the apparatus, means for receiving the optical signal on the carriage on which the recording head is mounted, and the transmitting means and the receiving means. Means for controlling the recording head according to transmitted and received optical signals.

Secondly, in the recording apparatus of the present invention, in the recording apparatus which performs recording by sending a recording control signal to the recording head which reciprocates in the recording direction with respect to the recording medium, the recording apparatus is provided with an optical device. Means for transmitting a signal parallel to the recording direction, means for changing the optical path of the optical signal on the carriage on which the recording head is mounted, and means for receiving the optical signal whose optical path is changed by the optical path changing means. , A means for detecting the reference position of the carriage by an optical signal transmitted and received by the transmitting means and the receiving means.

[0009]

According to the present invention, by adopting the above configuration, the data related to the recording operation and the recording control signal are transmitted from the optical signal transmitting section in the main body to the optical signal receiving section provided on the carriage. , Is performed. Further, an operation is performed in which an optical signal used for transmitting the recording control signal is reflected by a reflector on the carriage, and the state of the main body is detected by using an output change of the optical signal receiving unit when the carriage is moved.

[0010]

The recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention. In this embodiment, an ink jet type recording apparatus will be described as an example. That is, 2 is a recording head, which is mounted on the carriage 9. The carriage 9 is driven by the carriage motor 3 via the carriage belt 4 of which a part is connected to the carriage 9, and can move along the guide shafts 5a and 5b. The movement of the carriage 9 allows the recording head 2 to perform scanning for recording. The recording sheet is conveyed via a gear 10 by a conveying roller (not shown) which is rotationally driven by a sheet feeding motor 6. The transport roller is provided below the platen 8, and the recording paper transported by the transport roller passes between the paper pressing plate 7 and the platen 8 and is transported above the apparatus. During this time, the recording paper
19 is ejected to the upper part of the recording apparatus after being recorded in the recording area facing the recording head 2 while being regulated by the paper pressing plate 7 and the platen 8. For transmitting infrared light in parallel to the guide shafts 5a and 5b (parallel to the recording direction). Reference numeral 18 denotes an optical signal receiving section (means for receiving an optical signal), which is a photodiode provided on the carriage 9, and receives infrared light emitted from the optical signal transmitting section 19. A flexible substrate 17 supplies a drive voltage for the recording head 2 and the optical signal receiver 18.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the recording apparatus according to the present invention. The recording operation in this apparatus is such that the MPU 101 controls the entire apparatus while exchanging signals with each section of the apparatus. The operation is controlled by the control unit 1 including the ROM 102 storing the operation and the processing procedure and the like, the RAM 103 used as the recording data buffer, the work area for the processing by the MPU 101, and the input / output port 104. The control signal from the control unit 1 is
It is supplied to the drive circuits 14 and 15 of the carriage motor 3 and the paper feed motor 6 via the input / output port 104 to drive the carriage motor 3 and the paper feed motor 6, respectively. 1
An interface circuit 1 receives print data from a computer as a host device via this circuit. An operation panel 12 is used to control the recording apparatus by operating a key or the like provided on the operation panel. Thirteen
Is a sensor that detects the home position and the like. Reference numeral 16 is an optical transmission unit including an optical signal transmission unit 19 and an optical signal reception unit 18, and transmits the signal output from the control unit 1 to the recording head 2.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are explanatory views of the circuit configuration of the optical signal transmitting section 19 and the optical signal receiving section 18 for converting the recording command relating to the transmission and reception of the optical signal for recording control into the optical signal. However, in the optical signal transmission unit 19, 191 is a pulse modulation circuit, and 192 is an LED that emits infrared light. Here, the recording command of the MPU 101 is pulse-modulated by the pulse modulation circuit 191 via the input / output port 104 and converted into an optical signal by the LED 192. Further, in the optical signal receiver 18, 181 is a photodiode, 1
Reference numeral 82 is a pulse demodulation circuit, and 183 is a command decoder. Here, the optical signal incident on the photodiode 181 is reconverted into an electric signal and demodulated into a recording command by the pulse demodulation circuit 182. The command decoder 183 decodes the recording command, and according to the contents, the BEI control circuit 18
4, outputs a command to the data latch control circuit 185 and the shift register control circuit 186.

In the recording head 2, first, the recording pattern data input from the shift register control circuit 186 is transferred to the shift register 201 in synchronization with the serial clock. Next, it is set in the data latch 202 by the latch signal of the data latch control circuit 185. Then BEI1
By driving each signal of 4 to 4 in order, the energy generating element 204 is heated through the transistor array 203 and recording is performed. In addition, 189 is an oscillator.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart of the control signal of the recording head 2, and 30 to 32 are recording signals transmitted by optical signals. To explain the signal flow, first, the recording data 30 is decoded by the command decoder 183,
It is output as serial data 33. Next, the data latch pulse 31 is output by the data latch command 31. A BEI pulse 35 is output by the subsequent BEI instruction 32, and recording is performed.

Although the ink jet recording apparatus has been described in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to various methods such as a dot impact method, a thermal transfer method, and a heat sensitive method. You can Further, not only the infrared light from the LED but also the laser light from the laser diode may be used for the optical signal.

In the above-described first embodiment, when an object falls into the main body or a hand is inadvertently put in during recording, the optical path of the optical signal is interrupted and recording may not be performed. Therefore, in a second embodiment described below, the guide shafts 5a and 5b of the carriage 9 are hollow, and the inside of the guide shafts 5a and 5b, which are hollow members, are used for the optical path of an optical signal.

The structure of the main body of the apparatus and the circuit structure are the same as those of the first embodiment, but the LED 1 in the optical signal transmitting section 19 is used.
92 is configured to emit light through the guide shaft 5b. That is, in FIG. 5, 2 is a recording head and 9
Is a carriage, 5a and 5b are guide shafts, the guide shaft 5b is hollow, and has an opening 5b '.
181 is a photodiode, which is an LED inside the guide shaft 5b.
The light receiving surface is provided on the 192 side. Therefore, the optical signal emitted from the LED 192 into the guide shaft 5b is used as the optical path in the guide shaft 5b.
1, and the control signal of the recording head 2 can be transmitted.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the optical signal path in the third embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the optical signal optical path provided in the optical signal receiving section 18 on the carriage 9 is shown. The optical signal reflected by the half mirror 187 for changing the
By receiving 1 ', the operation as a position sensor for detecting the reference position of the carriage 9 is performed. The incidence of infrared light on the home position sensor 13 ′ is determined by the comparator 20 and read by the MPU 104 via the input / output port 104, as shown in FIG. 7.

First, the signal transmission during the normal recording operation in this embodiment will be described. When the carriage 9 is in the recordable area X on the platen 8, the pulse-modulated recording control signal is converted into an optical signal by the LED 192. The converted light is transmitted through the half mirror 187 on the carriage 9 and enters the photodiode 181. A recording control signal is transmitted by demodulating the output of the photodiode 181.

Next, the operation of the position sensor at power-on or reset will be described. First, the optical signal transmitted by the LED 192 is the half mirror 1 on the carriage 9.
It is reflected by 87 and is output from the output window on the recording head 2 side through the optical path 188 in the carriage 9. Here, when the carriage 9 is moved from the abutting position on the side of the optical signal transmitting unit 19, if the output window is at the position in front of the opening of the home position sensor 13 ', the optical signal reflected by the half mirror 187 is at the home position. Light enters the photodiode 131 'in the position sensor 13'. Photodiode 13
The output of 1'is compared with the threshold value by the comparator 20, and then input to the MPU 101 via the input / output port 104. The MPU 101 detects the position of the home position HP by calculating the number of steps of the carriage motor 3 moved from the abutting position until the photodiode 131 'receives an optical signal. Processing related to movement of the carriage 9, such as recording and automatic capping recovery processing, can be performed with reference to the home position HP.

FIG. 8 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention, which is an example implemented in an ink jet printer for recording by mounting a recording head cartridge in which a recording head and an ink cartridge are integrated. . In the third embodiment, the half mirror 1 is mounted on the carriage 9.
Although 87 is arranged, in the present embodiment, the position sensor and the cartridge mounting sensor are operated by disposing the half mirror in the cartridge. In addition,
The configuration of the device and the circuit configuration are the same as those of the third embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted here.

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 2 is a recording head, which is electrically connected to the carriage 9 via a connector 21. An ink tank 22 supplies ink to the recording head 2. 187 is a half mirror, which is a light entrance window 2
The optical signal received from 3 is split into a straight direction and a direction at right angles. The light signal in the straight traveling direction enters a photodiode (not shown) arranged on the carriage 9 and is decoded into a recording control signal by the circuit configuration shown in FIG. On the other hand, the optical signal in the right angle direction is output from the light output window 24 on the front surface of the cartridge.
And is output to the front surface of the cartridge.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing in this embodiment, and the processing operation will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the processing of the cartridge sensor that detects the presence or absence of the cartridge is also performed at the same time when the position sensor is operated when the power is turned on or after resetting.

First, in step S101, the carriage 9 is moved to the opposite end of the optical signal transmitting section 19. When the power is turned on, since the position of the carriage 9 is indefinite, the number of steps required to move from the end of the carriage 9 to the opposite end is output. In step S102, the movement direction is set to the opposite direction (direction toward the optical signal transmission unit 19) and the movement is performed by one step. In step S103, the comparator 2
0, the output of the home position sensor 13 'is read through the input / output port 104. In step S104, it is determined whether or not an optical signal is input to the home position sensor 13 '. If the result is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S107, and if the result is negative, the process proceeds to step S105. In step S105, it is determined whether or not the number of steps by which the carriage 9 moves to the end on the optical signal transmitting unit 19 side has already been output. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 106, and if the determination is negative, the step 1 is performed.
Proceed to 02 to move one step.

If the cartridge is properly mounted, the optical signal should enter the home position sensor 13 'once every time the carriage 9 moves from one end to the other. The affirmative determination in step S105 is when the half mirror 187 does not exist, that is, when the cartridge is removed or when the cartridge is not properly attached. Therefore, in step S106, a cartridge error is displayed and the process ends. In step S106, subsequent recording operations are prohibited to prevent erroneous recording operations such as when the cartridge is removed or when the cartridge is improperly attached. On the other hand, in step S107, the home position HP is calculated based on the number of steps output in step S102, and the RAM 103
Register above. Subsequent operations such as capping, automatic recovery, recording, etc. are performed based on the home position HP. In the following step S108, the cap 9 is moved to the cap position (not shown) at the end on the optical signal transmission unit 19 side, and the process is ended.

Although the ink jet type recording apparatus has been described in the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be widely applied to a thermal transfer method, a heat sensitive method, a wire dot method and the like. it can.

It should be noted that the present invention includes means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating heat energy as energy used for ejecting ink, especially in the ink jet recording system, and The effect is excellent in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a system that causes a change in ink state by 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. No. 4,723,129 and US Pat. No. 4,740.
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 recording 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 in a one-to-one correspondence
It is effective because bubbles can be formed inside. Due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles, the liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening 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 respective specifications. US Pat. No. 4,558,333, US Pat. No. 4,558,333, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
The structure 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 JP-A-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 main body of the apparatus or the electrical connection to the main body of the apparatus or the ink from the main body of the apparatus by being attached to the main body of the apparatus. 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 an ejection recovery means of the recording head, a preliminary auxiliary means and the like because the effect of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, heating is performed by using a capping unit, a cleaning unit, a pressure or suction unit 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 it may be either the recording head is integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. The present invention is also extremely 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 lower and that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. Or, in the inkjet system, it is common to control 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. Sometimes, a liquid ink may be used. In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy of the state change 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 the standing state. You may use the ink liquefied by. In any case, by applying thermal energy such as ink that is liquefied by applying thermal 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-A-54-56847 or JP-A-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 It may be a form or the like.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By transmitting the recording data and recording control signal by the optical signal transmitting unit provided on the main body and the optical signal receiving unit provided on the carriage, the number of signal lines on the flexible substrate can be significantly reduced without reducing the recording throughput. In addition, it is possible to provide a compact and low-noise recording device in which the wiring space of the flexible substrate is minimized. Further, if the guide axis of the carriage moving in the recording direction is used as the optical path of the optical signal, it can be further It is possible to reduce the space volume of the recording medium, and it is possible to configure a recording device that does not have a transmission error due to the blocking of the optical path.

Further, according to the present invention, the half mirror is provided on the carriage or in the cartridge in which the recording head and the ink tank are integrated, and the position sensor is operated by using the optical signal for recording control. In addition, it is possible to configure a low power consumption recording device in which the number of parts of each sensor is reduced by sharing the light emitting element, and when a half mirror is provided in the cartridge in which the recording head and the ink tank are integrated. Can also act as a cartridge mount sensor without adding another sensor.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a circuit configuration relating to transmission and reception of an optical signal for performing recording control of the present invention, in which (A) is an optical signal transmission unit,
(B) shows an optical signal receiving part, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart of control signals of a recording head that constitutes the recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a carriage portion in a second embodiment of the recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing optical signal paths in a third embodiment of the recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a third embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a fourth embodiment of the recording apparatus according to the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view of a recording head and an ink cartridge integrated carriage unit.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in a fourth embodiment of the recording apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Control Unit 2 Recording Heads 5a, 5b Guide Shaft 9 Carriage 13 Sensor 13 'Home Position Sensor 16 Optical Transmitter 17 Flexible Board 18 Optical Signal Receiver 19 Optical Signal Transmitter 131', 181 Photodiode 187 Half Mirror

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location B41J 29/00 9113-2C B41J 29/00 E

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A recording device for recording by transmitting a recording control signal to a recording head that reciprocates in the recording direction with respect to a recording medium, and means for transmitting an optical signal in parallel to the recording direction. And a means for receiving an optical signal on a carriage on which the recording head is mounted, and a means for controlling the recording head by an optical signal transmitted and received by the transmitting means and the receiving means. Recording device. 2. The inside of a hollow member parallel to the moving direction of the recording head is used for an optical path of an optical signal transmitted and received by the transmitting unit and the receiving unit so that the receiving unit moves inside the hollow member. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein 3. A recording device for recording by transmitting a recording control signal to a recording head which reciprocates in the recording direction with respect to a recording medium, and means for transmitting an optical signal in parallel with the recording direction in the main body of the device. A means for changing an optical path of an optical signal on a carriage on which the recording head is mounted; a means for receiving the optical signal whose optical path is changed by the optical path changing means; and a transmitting / receiving means for transmitting and receiving by the transmitting means and the receiving means. Means for detecting the reference position of the carriage by the optical signal
A recording device characterized by comprising. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the recording head is configured as a removable recording head cartridge, and the optical path changing unit is provided in the recording head cartridge. 5. The recording head has an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy that causes film boiling in the ink, as an element that generates energy used to eject the ink. The recording apparatus according to any one of 1 to 4.