JPH06198907A - Ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a waste ink treatment means enabling the reutilization of the waste ink absorbing member in a waste ink tank and requiring no replacement of the waste ink tank due to an operator in an ink jet recording apparatus equipped with the waste ink tank storing waste ink. CONSTITUTION:The hole 161b communicating with a waste ink absorbing member 160 is provided to the platen 161 being the cover member of the waste ink absorbing member 160 so as to be aligned with the opening part 410a of an exterior material 410 and waste ink is absorbed from the absorbing member 160 using a reutilizing pump 172 without detaching/replacing the waste ink tank to be reutilized.

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 using a recording head in which an ink tank for supplying ink to a recording head section is integrated, and more particularly to a waste ink tank thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink supply mechanism of an ink jet recording apparatus of this type applicable to, for example, a single printer, a copying machine, a word processor, a personal computer, a facsimile, or a composite machine thereof uses a recording head for a long time. , When using a so-called permanent recording head in which a large ink cartridge is replaceable with respect to the ink supply path of this recording head, and a recording head with an ink tank integrated in the recording head can be attached to and detached from the device. The ink tank integrated recording head is replaced as it is, or the ink tank of this integrated recording head is refilled with ink only at a predetermined position or manually refilled by the user. To be done.

Further, as a driving means of the ink jet recording head, an electric heat exchanger or a photothermal converter is used to generate heat energy to cause film boiling exceeding nucleate boiling in the ink to stabilize the formed bubbles. A method of ejecting ink droplets by volume expansion has been put into practical use. In other methods, a method of ejecting ink using an electromechanical converter has been partially put into practical use.

[0004]

The conventional waste ink tank of this type of ink jet recording apparatus is replaced by a new waste ink tank by an operator before the waste ink tank is full. Therefore, the operator takes a relatively time-consuming work such as removing the exterior material of the recording apparatus and replacing the waste ink tank.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a means for reusing the absorber in the waste ink tank without the need to replace the waste ink tank. It is an object.

[0006]

Therefore, according to the present invention, in the ink jet recording apparatus provided with the waste ink tank for storing the waste ink, the cover member of the waste ink absorber has the hole communicating with the absorber. It is intended to achieve the above-mentioned object by being configured to be provided at a position that coincides with the opening of the device exterior material.

[0007]

With the above-described structure of the present invention, by providing the cover member of the absorbent body with the hole communicating with the absorbent body,
The operator absorbs the ink accumulated in the absorber through the hole using the attached pump, and the absorber can be reused, and the operator does not have to replace the waste ink tank.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment according to the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure,
The carrier 203 has a recording head 2 that constitutes a recording unit.
A head cartridge 202 in which 00 and the ink tank 201 are connected is mounted. One end of the carrier 203 on the recording head 200 side is fitted to a lead screw 213 (see the perspective view of the pinch roller in FIG. 2) rotatably attached to the chassis 1 so as to be slidable in the axial direction,
A guide is provided at the other end of the carrier 203, and the guide is slidably fitted in a guide rail 2 formed on a chassis (frame) 1 in parallel with the axial direction of the lead screw 213. . And carrier 203
Has a configuration capable of reciprocating in its axial direction with the rotation of the lead screw 213 while keeping its posture always constant.

That is, the lead screw 213
The lead screw gear 257 fixed to the left end of the screw as shown in the drawing meshes with the pinion gear 256 fixed to the output shaft of the carrier motor 255, and the lead screw 213 is spirally formed at a predetermined pitch. Guide strip 268 (see Fig. 4 lead screw mechanism diagram)
The lead pin 209 attached to the carrier 203
(See FIG. 5 enlarged cross-sectional view of the carrier bearing portion). Therefore, when the lead screw 213 rotates with the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the carrier motor 255, the carrier 203 reciprocates. Details of the operation of the carrier 203 will be described later. Reference numeral 211 (see FIGS. 19 and 20 to be described later) is a flexible cable for transmitting a print signal from the electric circuit to be described later to the recording head 200, and the flexible cable holder 16 positions and holds the pinch roller frame 11.

The recording head 200 is driven in synchronism with the reciprocating movement of the carrier 203 to eject ink in accordance with a recording signal, thereby recording one line on the recording material 3. That is, the recording head 200 has a fine liquid discharge port (orifice), a liquid passage and an energy acting portion provided in a part of the liquid passage, and energy for generating a droplet forming energy that acts on the liquid in the acting portion. Equipped with generating means.

As such energy generating means,
A recording method using an electrothermal converter such as a piezo element, a recording method using an energy generating means for irradiating electromagnetic waves such as a laser to generate heat, and ejecting droplets by the action of this heat generation, or heat generation with heat generation resistance. There is a recording method using an energy generating unit that heats a liquid by an electrothermal converter such as an element to eject the liquid.

Among them, in a recording head used in an ink jet recording method for ejecting a liquid by thermal energy, liquid ejection ports for ejecting a recording liquid to form ejection droplets are arranged at high density. Therefore, it is possible to record with high resolution. 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. It is advantageous because it can be fully utilized, high-density mounting is easy, and the manufacturing cost is low.

When one line is recorded by scanning the carrier 203, the recording material 3 is conveyed by one line by the conveying means and recording is performed on the next line. And a pair of rotations of the pinch roller 8 that presses against it and a pair of rotations of the discharge roller 7 and the spur 6 that contacts the discharge roller 7.

This will be described in detail. In FIG. 1, the recording material 3 whose recording surface faces the ejection opening surface of the recording head 200 is conveyed by a pinch roller 8 to a conveying roller 4.
Then, the paper is fed to the recording position by a necessary amount by rotating the feeding roller 4 by the paper feeding motor 5 as necessary. After recording, the recording material 3 is pressed against the discharge roller 7 by the spur 6 and is discharged and conveyed outside the apparatus by the rotation of the discharge roller 7. The conveyance roller 4 and the discharge roller are driven by the paper feed motor 5, and the driving force is transmitted by the reduction gear train 15.

The position of the rotating shaft of the spur 6 that contacts the recording surface of the recording material 3 is fixed, and the contact position between the spur 6 and the recording material 3 changes regardless of the thickness of the recording material 3. On the other hand, the discharge roller 7 contacting the non-recording surface side of the recording material 3 corresponds to the change in the thickness of the recording material 3 due to the deformation of the discharging roller 7 depending on the thickness of the recording material 3. It is like this. Specifically, the discharge roller 7 is made of thin rubber,
It is formed in a conical shape and deforms with a restoring force in the radial direction.
Therefore, deformation is performed according to the pressure contact force to the spur 6 and the thickness of the recording material 3.

The same effect can be obtained by forming the discharge roller 7 from a member having a large elastic deformation, for example, a material such as porous sponge or resin or rubber having extremely low hardness. Further, the entire discharge roller 7 is spured by a spring or the like 6
It may be pressed against.

Therefore, the distance between the recording head 200 and the recording material 3 can be maintained at a predetermined amount regardless of the thickness of the recording material 3, and stable conveyance can be performed. A paper sensor 14 detects the presence or absence of the recording material 3.

Next, the pressing structure of the pinch roller 8 which is a driven rotating body for pressing the recording material 3 against the discharge roller 4 which is a driving rotating body will be described. In FIG. 2, the pinch roller 8 is fitted with mold bearings at both ends thereof, and is supported by bending and inserting the ends of the pinch roller spring 9 which is a spring member therein. The pinch roller spring 9 is supported by a pinch roller frame 11 using a pinch roller holder 10 so as to be rotatable around a shaft 9a shown in the drawing. Further, the shaft portion 9a of the pinch roller spring 9 is bent at the center in a U shape to form a lever portion 9b.

The operation means for changing the pressing force of the pinch roller 8 by the pinch roller spring 9 is composed of a release angle 12 slidable on the pinch roller frame 11.
Are piled up, and the angle is operated to push it up to the pinch roller spring 9, thereby causing the shaft portion 9a to be twisted, and the repulsive force pushes the pinch roller 8 against the conveying roller 7. Further, the pressing force is eliminated by eliminating the twist.

That is, in the state shown in FIG. 3, the lever portion 9b is pressed by the cam portion 12a provided on the release angle 12 to cause the shaft portion to be twisted (elastically deformed), and the pinch roller 8 to be conveyed by the conveying roller 4. Pressed against. On the other hand, when the release angle 12 is slid in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3, the state shown in FIG. 2 is reached, and the cam portion 12a is lowered, the lever of the pinch roller 8 is lowered, the shaft portion 9a is restored, and the twist is eliminated. Further, the pressing force of the pinch roller 8 against the transport roller 4 becomes small.

As a result, the jammed recording material 3 can be easily pulled out even if the pinch roller 8 is not completely separated from the conveying roller 4. Release angle 12
The slide lever 13 is slid to the left and right by rotating the release lever 13. The release lever 13 (FIG. 1) is rotatably supported by the pinch roller frame and has a slot on the side opposite to the lever with respect to the rotary shaft, and the handle portion of the release angle 12 is inserted therein. Then, by rotating the release lever 13, the release angle 12 moves in parallel.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a lead screw mechanism for feeding the carrier 203 to the recording material 3.
Only the functionally necessary members are shown. In the lead screw 213 slidably fitted in the carrier bearing A 228 and the carrier bearing B 229 provided on the carrier 203, the right end of the lead screw 213 is the adjustment spring 250.
Is rotatably coupled to the chassis 1 via. The left end is rotatably connected to the recovery system plate 271 via a bearing 251. The carrier 203 has a guide portion (not shown) slidably engaged with the guide rail 2,
Prevents rotation of 03 and guides. Lead screw 213
A plurality of guide strips 268 are formed in each of them, and a lead pin 209 (FIG. 5) is slidably fitted to one of them.
The carrier 203 is driven in the A and B directions parallel to the axial direction of the lead screw 213.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the carrier bearing A228 portion of FIG. The lead pin 209 is a pin whose one end is formed into a spherical shape, and has a carrier bearing A 228 and a carrier bearing B.
229, is slidably fitted in a hole formed in the main body of the carrier 203 in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the lead screw 213, and the spherical portion is slidably fitted in the lead screw 213. A lead pin spring 210 detachably provided on the main body of the carrier 203 urges the lead screw 213. The lead pin 209 is provided above the lead pin spring 210 in the sliding direction.
The lead pin 20 to prevent the guide pin 268 from coming off.
A stopper 269 is formed to regulate the movement range of No. 9.

6 (a) and 6 (b) are an enlarged exploded view and an assembled view of the end portion of the lead screw, respectively. Carrier 2
03, the distance between the recording head 200 and the recording material 3 is determined by the distance between the recording material 3 and the lead screw 213 that supports the carrier 203.
Of the recording material 3 on the chassis 1 so that the left end is determined by the recovery system plate 271 (FIG. 7) and the right end is adjusted so that the lead screw 213 is parallel to the recording material 3 with reference to the left end. A first elongated hole 252 perpendicular to the above is formed.

The adjusting spring 250 is parallel to the recording material 3 in a state where the adjusting spring 250 is attached to the chassis 1, and regulates the operation of the right end of the lead screw 213 in the vertical direction with respect to the recording material 3. Two elongated holes 253 are formed. The first elongated hole 2 at the right end of the lead screw 213
52 and the second oblong hole 253, the second oblong hole 25
The lead screw 213 is adjusted parallel to the recording material 3 by the movement of the adjustment spring 250 on which the recording material 3 is formed, which is perpendicular to the recording material 3 (in the direction of the arrow in the drawing). The adjusting spring 250 is also integrally formed with a spring 250a for urging the right end of the lead screw 213 toward the left end. Adjusting spring 250
Is fixed to the chassis 1 with machine screws 254.

FIG. 7 shows the left end of the lead screw 213 in which a clutch mechanism for transmitting the driving force of the carrier motor 255 to the recovery system via the lead screw 213 is formed. A carrier motor 255 is coupled to the recovery system plate 271. A pinion gear 256 (FIG. 1) is fixed to the shaft of the carrier motor 255, meshes with a lead screw gear 257 fixed to the lead screw 213, and the lead screw 213 is normally and reversely rotated by the forward and reverse rotation of the carrier motor 255. The lead pin 209 (FIG. 5), which is rotated and slidably abuts on the guide strip 268 of the lead screw 213, moves the carrier 203 along the guide strip 258. The control gear 102 is incorporated in the recovery system plate 271.

An initial lock 258, a clutch plate 260, a clutch gear 259, and a return spring 261 are arranged at the left end of the lead screw 213. The initial lock 258 is fixed to the lead screw 213. The clutch gear 259 is the lead screw 213.
It is fitted so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and a part thereof enters the inside of the initial lock 258. That is, the clutch gear 259 is formed with projections 262 at two asymmetrical positions on the circumference, and these projections 262 are fitted only in the axial direction into the recesses 263 formed in the initial lock 258 in the same phase as the projection 262. I am fit. A flange 257 is provided on the end surface of the clutch gear 259 on the lead screw gear 257 side, and trigger teeth 259a for giving a rotation trigger to the control gear 102 are formed on the flange 267.

A gear is formed on the outer periphery of the control gear 102, and when the lead screw 213 is incorporated into the recovery system plate 271, the lead screw 213
It is in a position where it meshes with the upper clutch gear 259. However, during the recording operation, the control gear 102 does not mesh with the clutch gear 259 because the cutout part of the gear on the outer periphery faces the clutch gear 259. A side gear 102h having several teeth is formed on the side surface of the cutout portion of the gear. The side gear 102h is operated by the clutch gear 259 by an operation described later.
Of the control gear 102 by engaging with the trigger tooth 259a of
Give a rotation trigger to.

Initial lock 258 and clutch gear 2
A clutch plate 260 is inserted between 59 and 59. Further, the lead screw gear 257 is fixed to the lead screw 213. The return spring 261 is located between the clutch gear 259 and the lead screw gear 257, and always pushes the clutch gear 259 toward the initial lock 258. On the circumference of the initial lock 258, the idling groove 26 having the same shape as the line of the lead screw 213 is formed.
4 is formed, and is connected to only the line for guiding the lead pin 209 by the connecting groove 265.

When the carrier motor 255 is normally rotated, the carrier 203 advances in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4, and when the carrier motor 255 is reversely rotated, it advances in the direction of arrow B. HP for the recovery system plate 271
The sensor 270 (FIG. 1) is attached, the carrier 203 is rotated by the rotation of the carrier motor 255, and the shielding plate 230 (FIG. 1) formed on the carrier 203 detects a point where the shield plate 230 (FIG. 1) passes through the HP sensor to perform a recording operation. Also, it can be used as a reference point for the recovery operation described later.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the clutch mechanism that transmits the driving force of the carrier motor 258 to the recovery system.
When the carrier motor 255 is rotated in the reverse direction from the state shown in FIG. 8A, the lead pin 209 moving the carrier 203 causes the idle lock of the initial lock 258 from the guide groove 268 of the lead screw 213 via the connecting groove 265. Enter the groove 264.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 8B, the carrier bearing A 228 pushes the clutch plate 260, and the clutch plate 260 pushes the clutch gear 259 to push it to a position where it meshes with the control gear 102. At this time, the gear teeth on the control gear 102 side corresponding to the gear portion of the clutch gear 259 are notched, and the control gear 102 does not rotate.

When the carrier motor 255 is further rotated in the reverse direction, as shown in FIG.
The control gear 102 is rotated by meshing with h, and the tooth portion of the control gear 102 meshes with the clutch gear 259.

A flange 267 is provided on the clutch gear 259.
(FIG. 7) is formed, and when the clutch gear 259 and the control gear 102 mesh with each other, the clutch gear 25
The flange 267 of No. 9 hangs on the side surface of the control gear 102 and continues to mesh with the control gear 102. When the carrier motor 255 is further rotated in the reverse direction, the recovery operation is started.

After the recovery operation is completed, the carrier motor 255 is rotated in the forward direction to control the control gear 102 and the clutch gear 2.
Upon returning to the meshing start position of 59, the control gear 102 and the flange 267 of the clutch gear 259 are disengaged and the return spring 261 urges the clutch gear 2 to move.
59 tries to return to the original position. The clutch plate 260 fitted to the clutch gear 259 is also pushed in the same manner,
Carrier 203 in contact with clutch plate 260
Similarly, the carrier bearing A228 portion of is also pushed.

When it is further rotated forward, the lead pin 209 for guiding the carrier 203 is locked with the initial lock 258.
From the circumferential idler groove 264, via the connecting groove 265, the lead screw 213 is pushed out to the guide strip 268 side.
That is, the carrier 203 becomes in a scannable state by the rotation of the carrier motor 255.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the recovery mechanism of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a cap 101 for capping the ejection port surface of the recording head 200, and a pump unit 150 for drawing negative pressure inside the ejection port surface to suck ink from the ejection port surface to the waste ink absorber. , And even the cap 10
Known cams and gears for moving 1 in the longitudinal direction with respect to the ejection port surface, transmitting a driving force to the pump unit 150, and operating a wiping mechanism for wiping the ink adhering to the ejection port surface. A control gear 102 of a power transmission mechanism portion including a mechanism is configured. The control gear 102 includes the above-mentioned clutch gear 259.
The rotational driving force of the carrier motor 255 is transmitted via the.

Next, a structure for driving the recovery mechanism by rotating the control gear 102 will be described. The control gear 102 has a cam 102a for opening and closing the cap.
And a wiping operation cam (not shown). The control gear 102, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 of the details of the pump unit, includes a plunger 11
5 is meshed with a stroke gear 103 that reciprocates, and when the control gear 102 in FIG. 8 rotates, the stroke gear 103 rotates and the plunger 115 reciprocates.

In FIG. 10, reference numeral 104 denotes a blade for wiping the ink ejection port surface of the recording head to clean the ink ejection port surface. 12 is an enlarged perspective view showing the mounted state of the broad 104 portion, and FIG. 47 is a top view showing the positional relationship with the cap 101 in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
FIG. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between the cap 101, the recording head, and the blade 104 portion in the direction of arrow B in FIG. The blade 104 is made of a rubber material such as HNBR or urethane, and the hole of the blade 104 is fitted to the blade mounting shaft 105a of the blade slider 105, and a blade holder 170 made of a thin plate such as a saw is attached to the shaft 1 from above.
The shaft 105a is welded to prevent the blade retainer 170 from coming off after it is fitted to the shaft 05a. Here, the blade 104 is formed to have a dogleg shape by molding.

Further, in order to perform the ejection recovery process of the head, the head 20 is attached to the inside 118a of the cap lever 118.
The preliminary discharge is performed from the discharge port of 0, and the head 20 at that time
The positional relationship among 0, the blade 104 and the cap lever 118 is shown in FIG. 180 from head 200
The ink represented by is ejected. At this time, ink 18
A part of 0 is a cutout portion 105f of the blade slider 105.
Done through.

In FIG. 10, the blade slider 105
Has a through hole 105c so as to be movable along a slide shaft 106 parallel to the ejection port surface of the recording head, and reciprocates along the slide shaft 106.
The blade 104 has a constant amount of penetration of the recording head 200 (FIG. 1) into the ejection port at any position on the ejection port surface, and uniformly wipes the ejection port surface.

The reciprocating movement of the blade slider 105 is performed by the blade link 107, and the projection 107a of the blade link 107 pushes the wall 105a of the blade slider 105 to reciprocate. The blade link 107 is the control gear 102
The movement is controlled by a wiping operation cam (not shown) formed on the.

When the ejection port surface of the recording head 200 is wiped by the movement of the blade slider 105, the ink adhered to the blade 104 is removed by the blade cleaner 10.
8 and is constantly maintained on the blade 104 in a clean state. That is, the blade 104, which has moved in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 10 by the wiping operation, contacts the blade cleaner 108 in the same manner after the ejection port surface has been completely wiped. At that time, the ink on the blade 104 is
It is absorbed by the blade cleaner 108.

If the blade 104 is constantly in contact with the blade cleaner 108, the blade 104 will be deformed due to the creep phenomenon of rubber, and the original performance cannot be exhibited. Therefore, after the blade 104 comes into contact with the blade cleaner 108 by the wiping operation cam of the control gear 102, the blade 104 is moved in the direction opposite to the arrow A direction in the drawing to separate the blade 104 from the blade cleaner 108, and I try not to apply external force.

Further, if the blade link 107 is controlled while always following both the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the carrier motor 255 while following the wiping operation cam of the control gear 102, the blade link 107 is controlled by the rotation angle of the control gear 102. Is uniquely determined. That is, the position of the blade 104 is controlled only by the angle of the control gear 102. In this case, if the wiping operation is performed when entering the recovery mechanism by the reverse rotation of the carrier motor 255,
Next, the normal rotation of the carrier motor 255 causes the wiping operation even when the carrier motor 255 exits from the recovery mechanism. Therefore, the ejection port surface is wiped by both surfaces of the blade 104. However, the blade 10
No. 4 was able to wipe the front and back sides when cutting its tip, so essentially only one side can be wiped. If wiping is performed on the side opposite to the side that can be used for wiping, there is a fear that printing will be defective. There is.

Therefore, in this embodiment, this problem is solved as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 1, a part of the shield plate 230 is provided with an inclination so that when the carrier 203 enters the recovery means, the shield plate 230 rotates the blade stopper 109 in the direction of arrow B in FIG. A series of operations thereafter will be described with reference to FIG.
When the third lead pin 209 completely enters the idle groove 264, the blade stopper 109 rotates to the position shown in FIG. 13A and stops. Next, the control gear 102 starts to rotate, and accordingly, the blade link 107 starts to rotate in the direction C in the figure as shown in FIG. When the blade link 107 rotates to the position shown in FIG. 13C and continues to rotate, the spring hooking portion 107b of the blade link 107 moves the blade stopper 109 to the arrow D.
Start to rotate in the direction. When the blade link 107 further rotates to FIG. 13D, the blade stopper 109
Moves out of the spring hook portion 107b of the blade link 107 and rotates in the direction of arrow E in the figure. However, since its rotation is stopped by the shield plate 230, it rotates to the position shown in FIG. 13E and the blade stopper 109 stops.

After that, even if the carrier motor 255 rotates in the forward direction so that the blade link 107 is disengaged from the wiping cam of the control gear 102 and is rotated in the arrow F direction in the figure by the tensile force of the blade spring 110, FIG. The rotation is stopped by the blade stopper 109 as shown in FIG. Finally, when the carrier 203 is completely removed from the recovery means, the blade link 107 rotates because the constraint by the blade stopper 109 disappears as shown in FIG. 13 (f), and the blade 104 is opposite to the arrow A in FIG. It reaches the highest point in the direction and waits.

In this way, the wiping locus of the blade 104 is changed depending on whether the carrier 203 enters or leaves the recovery mechanism so that the wiping is not performed on the opposite surface of the blade 104. Further, reference numeral 111 in FIG. 10 denotes a carrier stopper, which is used by the carrier 20 due to dropping or vibration.
3 is provided to prevent the recording medium from slipping out to the recording position. The carrier stopper 111 is the carrier hook spring 1
A rotational force is constantly applied in the direction of arrow G in FIG. 10 by 12, and the protrusion 10 of the control gear 102 is in operation during recording.
It is retracted from the carrier hook 231 by 2c.

The operation will now be described. The lead pin 209 of the carrier 203 enters the position of the idle groove 264,
When the control gear 102 starts to rotate, the protrusion 102c of the control gear 102 is locked by the carrier stopper 111.
The carrier stopper 111 is separated from the arrow G in FIG.
It rotates in the direction and is caught by the carrier hook 231. Therefore, in the standby state where recording is not performed, the carrier stopper 111 is caught by the carrier hook 231 and prevents the carrier 203 from slipping out to the recording position. Further, the carrier stopper 111 also functions to prevent the carrier gear 111 from coming off from the shaft like the E ring.

Next, the pump unit 150 has a structure of a plunger pump as shown in FIG. Figure 11
In the drawing, reference numeral 113 denotes a cylinder, which has a cylindrical cylinder portion 113a and a portion (not shown) that guides a plunger 115 described later, and is partially cut away in the axial direction.
It forms an ink flow path. A cap lever receiver 113b is formed so that a cap lever rule, which will be described later, is fitted therein. Further, 113c is an ink suction port, which is opened at a predetermined position. Reference numeral 113d denotes a waste ink absorber 160 (see FIG.
). Reference numeral 113e is a parallel pin for opening and closing the cap. When the parallel pin 113e is pushed by the cap opening and closing cam 102a of the control gear 102 shown in FIG.
Performs an opening / closing operation of closely adhering to and separating from the ejection port surface of the recording head 200.

Here, the control gear 1 in FIG.
The relationship between the cap opening / closing cam 102a and the cap opening / closing operation of No. 02 will be described with reference to FIG. 14; It is possible to change the movement by turning and reversing.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
Since the preliminary ejection is performed in the cap 101 in No. 1, the ink in the cap 101 is once ejected before the carrier 203 enters the recovery mechanism and caps the ink accumulated in the cap 101 during recording. Need to suck into 113.

Then, when the control gear 102 starts to rotate by the reverse rotation of the carrier motor 255, the parallel pin 113e inserted in the cylinder 113 first causes the cam 102 to rotate.
Pass the e-plane. In the figure, the closer the cam is to the center of the control gear 102, the more the cap 101 is opened. Therefore, in this case, suction can be performed with the cap 101 open (this suction is called preliminary ejection suction).

Next, when the control gear 102 has finished rotating, the suction operation has ended, and normal rotation has started, this time the parallel pin 113e passes through the surface of the cam 102f, and the cap 101 closes for the first time after the control gear 102 starts rotating. It will be. Normally, it is on standby with this cap closed. After that, when you want to start recording, the carrier motor 25
5 rotates forward, and the control gear 102 rotates in the direction of arrow H in the figure.

However, when suction is started, the carrier motor 255 rotates in the reverse direction and the control gear 102 rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow H. In this case, since the parallel pin 113e passes through the surface of the cam 102f, suction can be performed with the original cap 101 closed. Such a switching sheet 102d
The provision of the control gear 102 realizes two suction operations of the original suction and the preliminary discharge suction.

During recording, the parallel pin 113e is inserted into the notch 102g provided on the cam surface, and the control gear 102 is frictionally generated by the force of the cap spring 114.
Is trying not to rotate. If the control gear 102 rotates during recording, the recovery operation will start in the case of improper recording, and normal recording will be impossible.

In FIG. 11, the plunger 115 includes an operating shaft 115a, a piston receiver 115b, and a piston holder 1.
15c, a pump seal retainer 115d is formed, and the groove 115e serving as an ink channel is formed in the operation shaft 115a.
Are formed continuously. This groove is for the cylinder 113
The guide 115 (not shown) partially fits in and stops the rotation of the plunger 115. A lead groove 115f for controlling the reciprocating motion of the plunger 115 is formed on the operating shaft 115a, and a protrusion (not shown) formed on the inner surface of the stroke gear 103 is fitted in the lead groove 115b. Therefore, when the stroke gear 103 (FIG. 10) is rotated in one direction by the reverse rotation drive of the carrier motor 255, the plunger 115 strokes in the direction of arrow I in FIG. 11, and the forward rotation drive of the carrier motor 255 drives the stroke gear 103. When rotated in the other direction, the plunger 115 strokes in the direction of arrow J in FIG.

A piston 116 made of a rubber material such as NBR is attached to the plunger 115. The outer diameter of the piston 116 is larger than the inner diameter of the cylinder 113 by a predetermined dimension.
When inserted in, it is designed to be compressed appropriately.
As a result, the plunger 115 generates a negative pressure that strokes in the direction of arrow I in FIG. 11 to suck the waste ink in the recording head 200, and when the plunger 115 strokes in the direction of arrow J, the sucked waste ink is discharged from the waste ink pipe 113d. It is discharged to the absorber 160 (see FIG. 49 described later).

FIG. 49 shows an exploded perspective view of the waste ink tank portion for explaining the features of this embodiment. In the figure, an absorber 160 is a platen 1 as a cover member.
The platen 161 is covered with 61 and is locked to the chassis (frame) 1 shown in FIG. 1 by screws or the like through the plurality of recesses 161a. Also, the platen 16
1 has a plurality of holes 161b formed therein, and
It communicates with 60. FIG. 50 shows a cross-sectional view of the platen 161 in the product state in the AA cross section and a use state cross-sectional view of the reuse pump 172 of the absorber 160. Reference numeral 410 is an exterior material of the recording apparatus, and 410a is an opening communicating with the printer. Normally, the opening 410a is used when the head or the ink tank is replaced, and the position thereof coincides with the hole 161b of the platen 161.

The rib 161c of the hole 161b of the platen 161 presses the absorber 160 to form a recess 160a. For this reason, since only the portion of the hole 161b communicating with the absorber 160 is apart from the recording sheet passage surface 173, there is no fear that the recording sheet is contaminated by the waste ink that has penetrated into the absorber 160, and , Absorber 1
There is no need to significantly reduce the capacity of 60.

When the operator knows that the waste ink is almost full in the absorber 160, he inserts the reuse pump 172 of the absorber 160 from the opening 410a of the exterior 410 of the recording apparatus, and further into the hole 161b of the platen 161. Pump 1
By inserting the tip of 73 in the direction of arrow B and moving the piston 172a in the direction of arrow C, the waste ink with which the absorber 160 is impregnated is sucked into the reuse pump 172. As a result, the absorber 160 can be reused.

A pump seal 117 is attached to the plunger 115 in FIG. The pump seal 117 is made of a rubber material such as silicon or NBR,
The inner diameter of the plunger 115 is set to be slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the plunger 115 so that a predetermined pressure contact force with the plunger 115 can be obtained.
It is possible to reciprocate by being pushed by. The surface may be lubricated to reduce the sliding force between the cylinder 113 and the plunger 115. Also, the cylinder 11
Rubber or resin having self-lubricating property may be used for the purpose of eliminating the grease in 3.

In FIG. 11, reference numeral 118 denotes a cap lever, and an ink guide (not shown) urges the cap lever seal 119 to rotate the other rotation shaft 118a by snap fitting into the hole 113f of the cylinder 113. It is installed freely. The cap lever seal 119 is press-fitted with the ink guide of the cap lever 118, and further press-fitted into the cap lever receiver 113b of the cylinder 113.

The cap 101 is an elastic member such as an annular chlorinated butyl rubber having a rice ball-shaped cross section, and is attached to the cap attaching portion 118b of the cap lever 118. This mounting method, as shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG.
The ring is expanded and attached to the attachment portion 118b of the cap lever 118 that effectively utilizes the elasticity of rubber and has a shape that follows the inclination of the cap 101. The cap 101 once attached cannot be removed by normal use.

Reference numeral 120 in FIG. 11 denotes a preliminary ejection pad, which is made of a polymer absorbent like the blade cleaner 108 and is attached to the cap lever 118. The preliminary ejection pad 120 is for absorbing the preliminary ejection ink for ejecting the ink separately from the normal recording operation during recording in order to prevent the ink on the ejection port surface from drying. Reference numeral 121 denotes a pump absorber, which is a polymer absorber that serves to reliably transfer the waste ink in the cylinder to the waste ink absorber 160.

Here, a timing chart of the recovery mechanism by the rotational driving force of the carrier motor 255 is shown in FIG. In this figure, the carrier 203 enters the recovery mechanism, and the trigger gear 259a of the clutch gear 259 has the control gear 1
The time when the control gear 102 starts rotating after meshing with 02 is set to 0 pulse of the carrier motor 255.

In this embodiment, the carrier motor 255 is 24
By rotating 0 steps (5 rotations) forward and backward,
All recovery operations are performed, and at the same time when the carrier motor 255 rotates, the clutch gear 259, the control gear 102, and the stroke gear 103 start rotating. Since the reciprocating motion of the plunger 115 is controlled by the stroke gear 103, the plunger 115 starts moving simultaneously with the rotation of the carrier motor 255, and the reciprocating motion corresponds to the rotation of the carrier motor 255 in a one-to-one correspondence.

As described above, the movement of the blade 104 is partly changed by the forward and reverse rotations of the carrier motor 255. Further, as described above, when the recovery operation is started by the reverse rotation from the 0 pulse of the carrier motor 255, the cap 101 remains open and the plunger 115 is opened by the switching sheet 102d so that the preliminary discharge suction can be performed. Move.

FIG. 17 is a schematic perspective view showing the head cartridge portion and the carrier portion of the recording apparatus according to this embodiment. In the figure, 200 is a recording head that ejects ink by an electric signal, 201 is an ink tank that stores ink and supplies it to the recording head 200, 2
Reference numeral 03 denotes a carrier provided in the main body of the recording apparatus that holds and scans the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201.
4 is a head lever for holding and releasing the recording head, 2
Reference numeral 05 is an ink tank lever for attaching and detaching the ink tank 201, 207 is a head holder spring for fixing the recording head 200 to the carrier 203, and 208.
Is a tank case holding the ink tank 201, and each of these parts constitutes a head cartridge part and a carrier part of the recording apparatus.

FIG. 18 is a schematic perspective view showing the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 of the recording apparatus according to this embodiment. In the figure, 220 is an ink supply hole that serves as a passage for supplying ink from the ink tank 201 to the recording head, 221 is an ink supply hole for supplying ink from the ink tank 201 to the recording head 200,
222 is a coupling claw for guiding and holding the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 when they are integrated with each other.
23 is a coupling claw guide groove that engages with the coupling claw 222;
Reference numeral 4 denotes an ink tank guide groove for holding the ink tank 201 when the ink tank 201 and the recording head 200 are attached and detached, and the head cartridge 202 is constituted by these respective parts.

The recording head 200 includes a substrate on which a plurality of electrothermal conversion elements that generate thermal energy used for ejecting ink and a drive circuit for driving the electrothermal conversion elements are formed, and the plurality of electrothermal elements on the substrate. Discharge ports and liquid passages corresponding to the respective conversion elements, and a top plate for forming a common liquid chamber communicating with the respective liquid passages are stacked, and further, a signal is given to the drive circuit from the recording apparatus main body. Electrical contacts are provided. Further, a sensor for detecting the state of the head from the recording apparatus main body can be provided in the recording head 200, and specifically, a temperature detection sensor for detecting the temperature in the vicinity of the electrothermal conversion element, Ink remaining amount detection sensor to detect when ink is exhausted from the common liquid chamber as described above, or while replacing the type of ink in the head cartridge or a different type of head In this case, it is a head type discrimination sensor for specifying the type of head cartridge. The printing apparatus main body can judge the signals from these sensors and control the signals applied to the electrothermal conversion elements to optimize the printing state. Then, the recording head configured as described above is mounted on the recording apparatus so that the ejection port surface on which the ejection ports are arranged faces the recording medium.

The ink tank 201 is a tank for appropriately supplying ink to the recording head 200 in order to supplement ink consumed by recording while holding ink.
When the ink tank 201 alone exists, it is sealed by a sealing unit (not shown) so that the ink does not leak from the ink supply hole 221. This sealing means is the recording head 2
When it is integrated with 00, it is automatically or manually opened to form an ink flow path. The sealing means can be realized by, for example, a mechanism in which a metal ball is pressed against a rubber stopper with a spring. In addition, a mechanism may be provided to introduce atmospheric air from the outside according to the ink volume that decreases due to ink consumption. Furthermore, by having an internal mechanism for keeping the pressure of the ink supplied to the recording head slightly negative, it is possible to improve the printing quality and prevent ink leakage.

In this embodiment, the ink tank 201
A flexible bag (not shown) is provided inside, and ink is contained in the bag and is connected to the ink supply hole 221. The remaining space in the ink tank 201 is filled with air, but the air pressure is adjusted by a pressure adjusting valve (not shown) in the recording operation state, and more specifically, a negative pressure state within a predetermined range occurs. It is supposed to be retained.

The recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 are used in the recording apparatus in the recording operation in the state of the head cartridge 202 in which the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 are integrated. Next, a method of integrating the two will be described. Basically, the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 are integrated by connecting the ink supply hole 220 and the ink supply hole 221.
This portion is configured to prevent ink leakage or gas invasion into the ink flow path. In this embodiment, as shown in the schematic sectional view of the head cartridge portion in FIG. 21, a system using a rigid pipe and an elastic plug is adopted. That is, the ink supply hole 220 is formed of a mold member in a cylindrical shape, and the ink supply hole 221 facing the ink supply hole 220 is a member formed of a rubber material and having a cylindrical hole. The outer diameter of the ink supply hole 220 is the ink supply hole 2
It is made slightly larger than the inner diameter of 21. Then, when the ink supply hole 220 is press-fitted into the ink supply hole 221, the ink supply hole 221 is brought into close contact with and integrated with the ink supply hole 220 while slightly deforming in the radial direction. The connecting portion is not limited to a combination of a rigid body and an elastic body, as long as it has a sealing function, it is possible to use elasticity due to a slight deformation of the mold, for example, by combining a mold pipe and a mold hole. Or may be composed of a non-perforated rubber seal member and a needle-like pipe.

When the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 are integrated, it is sufficient to connect the ink supply hole 220 and the ink supply hole 221 as described above.
In order to prevent the head cartridge 202 from coming off easily when an unexpected external force is applied during the handling of the head cartridge 202 shown in FIG. The claw 222 and the coupling claw guide groove 223 make the coupling stronger. That is, the coupling claw 222, which is integrally molded with the ink supply hole 220 and is elastically deformable, has a protrusion at the tip thereof, and is elastically deformed by the height of this protrusion. While connecting claw guide groove 22
The engagement is completed when the protrusion of the coupling claw 222 reaches the deepened portion of the groove provided in the inner side of the coupling claw guide groove 223.

Further, the coupling claw 222 also functions as a guide so that the ink supply hole 220 and the ink supply hole 221 can be easily aligned when the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 are connected. That is, the coupling claw 222
Is longer than the ink supply hole 220, and the coupling claw 222 contacts the ink tank 201 before the ink supply hole 220 contacts the ink supply hole 221. Here, the tip of the coupling claw 222 is cut off obliquely, and the diagonal portion can be easily coupled to the coupling claw guide groove as a guide in the direction of arrow a in FIG. Further, the engaging claw 222
The projection provided at the tip of the is also cut off diagonally.
It serves as a guide in the direction of arrow b to facilitate easy engagement.
Although the coupling claws are provided on the recording head side in this embodiment, the coupling claws may be provided on the ink tank 201 side or both the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 without being restricted by this.

Next, the recording head 200 is attached to the carrier 203.
A method of mechanically and electrically connecting to the computer will be explained; FIG. 19
17 is a partial sectional view showing the connection portion of the recording head 200 to the carrier 203 as seen from the direction of FIG. 17a, and FIG. 20 is a schematic perspective view showing the mounting sequence. In the figure, 2
A fixing pin 25 is fixed to the carrier 203 and engages with a hole provided in the recording head 200 for positioning in the directions of arrows a and b in FIG. 20. 226 is fixed in the carrier 203 and is pressed in the direction of FIG. 19a. Head 200
A stopper 211 for receiving is a flexible cable for electrically connecting the recording apparatus main body and the recording head 200, 211a is a positioning hole a provided in the flexible cable 211, and 211b is a positioning hole provided in the flexible cable 211. The holes b and 212 are sandwiched between the flexible cable 211 and the carrier 203 to flexibly support the flexible cable 211, and 212a are positioning holes a and 21 provided in the flexible cable pad 212.
2b is a positioning hole b provided in the flexible cable pad 212, 212c is an ink barrier for preventing ink from entering a contact portion, and 227 is a recording head 2.
Head contact portion 227 a provided on the head contact portion 227 and electrically connected to the heater portion in the recording head 200.
b is a positioning hole b and 227c provided in the head contact portion 227, and is a stop contact place where the end surface of the stop 226 abuts.

The recording head 200 has a head holder spring 20.
7 is pressed in the direction a through a lever (not shown), and its position is uniquely determined by the engagement between the hole provided in the recording head 200 and the positioning pin 225 and the interference with the stopper 226. In this way, the recording head 200 and the carrier 203 are mechanically connected.

Further, a plurality of electrical contacts are provided at opposite positions on the head contact portion 227 provided on the recording head 200 and the end surface of the flexible cable 211, and by pressing these with a predetermined pressure. The recording apparatus main body and the recording head 200 are electrically connected. At this time, since it is necessary to press-contact a plurality of electrical contacts at one time, a flexible cable pad 212 made of an elastic material is inserted in the pressing portion in order to press-contact them uniformly. The material of the flexible cable pad 212 is, for example, silicon rubber or the like, and a plurality of protrusions are provided at positions corresponding to the above-mentioned electrical contacts so that the pressing stress is concentrated on the contacts. Furthermore, the above-mentioned electrical contacts provided on the flexible cable 211 may be formed in a protruding shape in order to further concentrate the stress when pressed and to ensure the connection. Further, since the reaction force generated when pressed is much smaller than the force of the head holder spring 207 pressing the recording head 200, the reaction force from the flexible cable pad 212 causes the recording head. The position of 200 will not be displaced.

Further, the carrier 203, the flexible cable pad 212, the flexible cable 211, the head contact portion 227 and the head cartridge 203.
Need to be accurately positioned with respect to each other in order to obtain a reliable electrical connection and a good recording quality, for which purpose they are constructed as follows: carrier 20
Based on the two positioning pins 225 of No. 3, one of the positioning pins 225 is commonly fitted into the positioning holes a212a, the positioning holes a212a and the positioning holes a227a,
Further, the other positioning pin 225 has a positioning hole b21.
b, the positioning hole b211b, and the positioning hole b227b are fitted in common to determine the positions in the directions of FIGS. 20a and 20b. Furthermore, the position of the recording head 200 in the direction of FIG. 20c can be accurately determined by pressing the end face of the stopper 226 from the direction in FIG.

Further, if ink enters between the electrical contact surface, that is, the flexible cable 211 and the head contact portion 227 for some reason, it may cause an electrical short circuit, so it is necessary to prevent this. There is. Therefore, in this embodiment, the ink barrier 212c is formed by forming a part of the flexible cable pad 212 into a protruding shape.
The ink is prevented from entering from the ejection port of the head 200 by pressing the end surface of the recording head 200.

In the present embodiment, the electrically or mechanically connected portion is provided on the recording head side, but it is not restricted by this and the ink tank 201 side or the recording head 200 side and the ink tank 201 side is provided. It may be provided on both sides, or the electrical coupling part and the mechanical coupling part may be separately provided on either side.

Next, the recording head 200 and the ink tank 2
A method of handling 01, that is, a method of replacing the ink tank 201 that has run out of ink with a new ink tank 201, or a method of replacing the recording head 200 that has become unusable for some reason will be described; After releasing the fixing between the recording head 200 and the carrier 203, the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 are taken out from the carrier 203 in an integrated state, and removed from the carrier 203 (hereinafter referred to as an off-carrier state). There is a method of separating or integrating the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201.

FIG. 22 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a method for taking out the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 from the carrier 203 while keeping them integrated. In this case, by rotating the head lever 204 from the state of FIG. 17 in the direction of FIG. 22a and raising it to such a position, the cam provided on the head lever 204 is provided on the lever pressing the recording head 200. By moving the shaft, the pressing force on the recording head 200 by the head holder spring 207 is released.

At this time, the tank case 208 in the carrier 203 moves while its projection is engaged with the ink tank guide groove 224, so that the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 remain integrated and are in the direction of FIG. 22b. Move to. Thereby, the positioning pin 225 and the recording head 20
Since the engagement with the hole of 0 is released, the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 can be moved together in the direction of FIG. 22c, and can be taken out of the carrier and brought into an off-carrier state. After the off-carrier state, it is possible to separate the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 by applying a force in a direction opposite to the engaging direction when they are integrated. Then, the one to be replaced is replaced with a new one, and the two are integrated by the above-described integration method and housed in the carrier 203 in the reverse order, whereby the replacement work is completed.

The head lever 2 is used in this embodiment.
Although the pressing force of the recording head 200 is released by using 04, the lever for pressing the recording head 200 may be directly moved without being restricted by this. In addition, although the head holder spring 207 is used as the fixing method of the recording head for pressing, the recording head is not restricted by this and may be fixed by using a latch hook having spring elasticity.

When the above-mentioned exchange system form is adopted, the following effects are obtained; that is, when either the recording head or the ink tank needs to be exchanged, only the one requiring the exchange is exchanged. Because it does, the economic efficiency is improved.

As a second replacement system form, the recording head 2
00 and the carrier 203 are fixed, the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 are separated on the carrier (hereinafter referred to as an on-carrier state).
There is a method to remove only 1. In FIG. 23, the carrier 203
The schematic perspective view of the state where the ink tank 201 is separated from the recording head 200 is shown above. In this case, by rotating the tank lever 205 from the state of FIG. 17 in the direction of FIG. 23a and raising it to such a position, the tank lever 2
A cam (not shown) provided in 05 moves the tank case 208 in the direction of FIG. 23b. Tank case 208
The protrusions provided on the ink tank guide groove 224 provided on the side surface of the ink tank 201 move the ink tank 201 in the direction of FIG. 23b. At this time, the recording head 200 is fixed in the same manner as in the state of FIG. 17 and does not move together with the ink tank 201, so that the engaging portion between the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 can be disengaged and separated. Further, the ink tank 201 is shown in FIG.
It can be removed from the carrier 203 by moving it in the direction.

At this time, when the recording head 200 is elastically pressed by the head holder spring 207 as in this embodiment, the head may be unfixed due to the force applied during separation. Therefore, it is preferable to configure as follows. FIG. 24 shows a schematic plan view showing how the force is applied. In the figure, the recording head 200 is moved by the head holder spring 207 with a force of f1 to the carrier 20.
Pressed to 3. Further, since the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 are separated from each other, the force of f2 is required to disengage the engagement between the coupling claw 222 and the coupling claw guide groove 223 and the engagement between the ink supply hole 220 and the ink supply hole 221. Suppose At this time, by setting the magnitude of the force to be f1> f2, it is possible to prevent the recording head 200 from being unfixed during the separation operation.

In this embodiment, the tank lever 205 is used to generate a force corresponding to f2 for separation, but it is not restricted by this and the ink tank 201 is directly held and b in FIG. The pulling recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 may be separated in the direction.

When the second form shown in FIG. 23 is adopted, the result shown in FIG.
In addition to the case of the first mode of No. 2, there is the following effect; that is, by appropriately designing the cam shape of the tank lever 205, the drawing speed at the time of separation can be adjusted, and the ink supply Hole 220 and ink supply hole 2
It is possible to prevent ink from scattering from 21. Further, since it is not necessary to directly hold the recording head 200 by hand, the vicinity of the ink ejection nozzles of the recording head 200 is not touched by hand, and unnecessary contamination that adversely affects printing can be prevented. Further, since the portion of the ink tank 201 to which the force is applied is specified, only the portion needs to have a structure capable of withstanding the force, and the other portions can be made thin and lightweight, and the internal volume can be increased.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the automatic paper feeding unit and the ink jet recording apparatus in the present embodiment. Reference numeral 300 denotes the automatic paper feeding unit, which has the illustrated positional relationship with respect to the ink jet recording apparatus. It is fixed.

FIG. 26, FIG. 27 and FIG. 28 are a perspective view, a plan view and a schematic sectional view, respectively, of the constitutional example of the automatic sheet feeder of this embodiment. In each drawing, reference numeral 301 denotes a main holder, which supports all the components of the automatic paper feed unit and further fixes the automatic paper feed unit to the inkjet recording apparatus. Three
Reference numeral 02 denotes a separation roller for separating the recording materials one by one by rotation and feeding the recording material to the paper feeding unit of the inkjet recording apparatus. The separation gear 203 and the separation ratchet 304 are fixed, and the separation shaft 305 is centered. And is rotatably supported. The separation shaft 305 is fixed to the separation holder 306, and the separation holder 306 is rotatably held by the main holder shaft 307 with respect to the main holder 301. A separation spring 308 is provided between the convex portion 306a of the separation holder 306 and the main holder 301, and rotates the separation holder 306 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 28 to separate the separation roller 302 from the separation pad 316.
Pressing against. The pressing force of the separation spring 308 is set within the range of 10 to 50 gf in this embodiment. In the following description, it is assumed to be 10 gf.

Reference numeral 309 denotes a spare roller for feeding the stacked recording materials to the separation roller 302, which is fixed to the spare roller shaft 311 and together with the spare roller gear 311a fixed to the spare roller shaft 311. It is rotatably supported by 310. The spare roller holder 310 is rotatably held by the main holder shaft 307 with respect to the main holder 301. The spare roller 309 is driven by the idler gear 312 at the same peripheral speed as the separation roller 302.

Reference numeral 313 is a spare roller spring, and like the separation holder 306, a spare roller holder 310.
28 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 28 to press the auxiliary roller 309 toward the paper holder 317 side.
The pressing force of the spare roller spring 313 is not limited so much as the spare roller 309 can reliably feed the recording material 3, but in this embodiment, a good result is obtained at 20 gf or more. In the following explanation, it is assumed that 50
gf.

Reference numeral 314 denotes a separation pressure arm, which rotates the separation holder 106 clockwise around the main holder shaft 307 by the separation pressure arm spring 315 through the projection 306a of the separation holder 306 in FIG. 302 is pressed against the separation pad 316. Separation roller 3 by separation pressure arm spring 315
The pressing force of 02 affects the separation performance, so it must be carefully determined, but in this example, good results were obtained at 20 gf or more. In the following description, it is assumed that 100 gf
And

In FIG. 28, 316 is a separation pad for separating and holding the stacked recording materials, and 317 is a paper holder for stacking and holding the recording materials. Reference numeral 318 denotes a cam shaft, which connects the automatic paper feed motor 323 to the speed reducer 324.
And is rotationally driven via the gear 318a. Cam shaft 31
8 includes a switch arm 319 together with the gear 318a.
With respect to the switch cam 318b for turning on / off the paper feed initial sensor 320a via the gear, the gear 318c for transmitting the rotation of the cam shaft 318 to the separation roller 302, and the claw portion 310a provided on the auxiliary roller holder 310. A spare roller holder cam 318d for moving the spare roller holder 310 up and down and a separation pressure cam 318e for moving the separation pressure arm 314 up and down are integrally provided.

Drive gear 321 and clutch disc 322
Are integrally formed, and are rotatably and slidably held with respect to the separation shaft 305.
6 is pressed against the separation ratchet 304 side. Further, the drive gear 321 has a trapezoidal cam 321a, a separation holder 3
The trapezoidal cam 306b is also integrally formed on 06.
The rotation of the drive gear 321 moves the drive gear 321 and the clutch disc 322 in the axial direction of the separation shaft 305, controls the meshing of the clutch disc 322 and the separation ratchet 304, and drives the separation roller 302 from the automatic paper feed motor 323. Control the transmission to. The gear ratio of the gear 318c provided on the cam shaft 318 and the drive gear 321 is 1: 1, and the rotational phases of the cam shaft 318 and the drive gear 321 are the same.

The release lever 325 is the main holder 30.
1, the release lever 325 has a cam shape at one end, and by engaging with one end of the separation shaft 305, the separation holder 306 can be moved up and down, and a paper feed switching sensor. 320b can be turned on / off.

Returning to FIG. 25, 328 is the separation roller 3
02 and the separation axis 305 of the auxiliary roller 309, which is perpendicular to the separation axis 305 and coincides with the traveling direction of the recording material 3.
The left guide 317a is provided on the paper holder 317, and guides the left end surface of the recording material 3 at a fixed position with respect to the recording position. The distance L between the center line 328 and the left guide 317a is the recording material 3 used in this inkjet recording apparatus.
The fixed width is set to 1/2 or less of the minimum width. In this embodiment, the minimum recording material 3 is set in the vertical direction of the postcard, and the recording material 3
The width is set to 45 mm with respect to 100 mm.

A detailed description relating to the operation of the mechanical section of the automatic sheet feeder having the above-mentioned configuration will be given below. 29, 30 and 31 are explanatory views of the operation according to the embodiment of the automatic paper feeding section, FIGS. 29 and 30 are diagrams for explaining the change of the operation with time, and FIG. 31 is the release. The operation of the mechanism is described.

In FIG. 29, (1) shows a state before the recording material 3 is loaded; (A) Clutch disc 322 and separation ratchet 304.
Means that the separation roller 302 is separated from the drive source because it is separated by the trapezoidal cam 321a and the trapezoidal cam 306b. (B) The separation pressure arm 314 and the separation pressure cam 318e are not in contact with each other. Arm spring 315
Pressure of the separation roller 302 through the separation pressure arm 314, the convex portion 306a and the separation holder 306.
Pushed to 16. Since the separation spring 308 is also similar, the separation pressure arm spring 3 is attached to the separation roller 302.
15 and the pressure of the separation spring 308 (10 + 100)
= 110 gf) is added, (C) the spare roller holder cam 318d and the claw portion 310 of the spare roller holder 310.
Since the auxiliary roller 309 is in contact with a, the auxiliary roller 309 and the auxiliary roller holder 310 are separated from the paper holder 317 against the pressure of the auxiliary roller spring 313.
(D) Since the switch arm 319 is in the recess of the switch cam 318b, the paper feed initial sensor 320a is in the off state.

(2) is a state in which the recording material 3 is loaded. The automatic sheet feeder is not operating between (1) and (2); (B) The recording material 3 is loaded from the right side of the drawing, but the separation roller 302 includes the separation pressure arm spring 315 and the separation spring 308. The recording material 3 that is pressed against the separation pad 316 by the pressure (11 gf) stops at the contact point between the separation roller 302 and the separation pad 316, and becomes the state shown in the figure.

(3) is a state in which the automatic paper feed motor 323 starts rotating and the cam shaft 318 is rotated counterclockwise by 20 degrees; (A) The trapezoidal cam 321a and the trapezoidal cam 306b are disengaged by rotation, Since the clutch disk 322 is pressed against the separation ratchet 304 by the clutch spring 326, the separation roller 302 starts to rotate due to the rotation of the automatic paper feeding motor 323. (B) The separation pressure cam 318e and the separation pressure arm 314 contact each other. Since they are not in contact with each other, the separation roller 302 starts rotating clockwise while being pressed (110 gf) by the separation pressure arm spring 315 and the separation spring 308 against the separation pad 316. Therefore, the recording material 3
By the action of the separation pad 316 and the separation roller 302, only the uppermost one sheet is separated and fed in the left direction. (C) The preliminary roller holder cam 318d and the claw portion 310a of the preliminary roller holder 310 are separated. Therefore, the spare roller 309 is pressed (50 gf) against the recording material 3 by the spare roller spring 313 via the spare roller holder 310, and further rotated clockwise by the separation gear 303, the idler gear 312, and the spare roller 311 a, The recording material 3 is conveyed leftward so that the recording material 3 surely reaches the contact point between the separation roller 302 and the separation pad 316. (D) The paper feed initial sensor 320a is turned on by the switch arm 319 and the switch cam 318b. Becomes

(4) is a state in which the cam shaft 318 is further rotated counterclockwise. The difference is that in (C), the preliminary roller holder cam 318d and the claw portion 310a are in contact with each other, and the preliminary roller 309 is moved. The recording material 3 is conveyed in a state of being separated from the recording material 3. At this point, the recording material 3
Reaches the contact point between the conveyance roller 4 and the pinch roller 8 and the conveyance is hindered. However, since the conveyance force by the preliminary roller 309 is reduced, the recording material 3 is not bent and the recording material 3 is not bent. The strength of the waist allows the separation roller 302 and the recording material 3 to slip.

(5) is a state in which the cam shaft 318 is further rotated counterclockwise, and in this state, the automatic paper feeding section is temporarily stopped and the ink jet recording apparatus is in a recording state; (A) Clutch Disc 322 and separate ratchet 304
Since the separation roller 302 is separated from the separation roller 302, the separation roller 302 is completely separated from the driving side and is rotatably held by the separation shaft 305. (B) Separation pressure cam 318e
And 314 are in contact with each other, the separating pressure arm 314 and the convex portion 306a are separated from each other. Therefore, since the separation pressure arm spring 315 is not pressed by the separation roller 302, the separation roller 302 is pressed (10 gf) to the separation pad 316 only by the separation spring 308, (C).
The auxiliary roller 309 is separated from the recording material 3, and in this state, the pressing force of the separation roller 302 is small (10 gf), and the auxiliary roller 309 is also separated from the recording material 3, so that the recording material 3 is inkjet with a small force. It is possible to be pulled into the recording device side.

When the recording is further progressed from the state of (5) and the recording is completed and the recording material 3 comes out of the automatic sheet feeding section, the automatic sheet feeding motor 323 is driven to advance to the state of (2) and 1
The operation of the number of times is completed and the next supply is prepared.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an example of the operation sequence of this embodiment.
9 corresponds to the states (1) to (5).

Returning to FIG. 25, the center line 328 is set so as to be always on the left side of the center of the recording material 3 in the width direction. When being conveyed, the recording material 3 is always being conveyed while receiving a clockwise moment M. Therefore, the rear end of the recording material 3 is conveyed while being pressed against the left guide 317a, and the recording material 3 is guided to the recording portion along the left guide 317a without being bent.

FIG. 31 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the release mechanism of the automatic paper feed unit. FIG. 31A shows the use state of the automatic paper feed unit, and one end of the release lever 325 turns on the paper feed switching sensor 320b. Further, since the separation roller 305 is not in contact with the separation shaft 305, the separation roller 302 is pressed against the separation pad 316. That is, when the paper feed switching sensor 320b is in the ON state, it indicates that the automatic paper feed unit is in the usable state.

(B) shows a state in which a recording material such as an envelope that is not suitable for automatic paper feeding is used, and the user turns the release lever 325 counterclockwise so that the automatic paper feeding portion is not used. Create a state. In that state,
The separation shaft 305 is pulled up by a cam portion provided on the release lever 325, and the separation roller 302 is separated by the separation pad 31.
It is fixed apart from 6. Therefore, the recording material 3 inserted from the right side of FIG. 31 directly reaches the conveying roller 4 and the pinch roller 8. Further, in this state, since the paper feed switching sensor 320b is in the off state, it can be detected that the automatic paper feed unit is not in use.

The following is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the mechanical section according to the embodiment of the present invention, and the control example of the present embodiment is shown below: FIG. 32 is a flowchart showing an example of the initial sequence control of the automatic paper feeding section. is there. Starts when the power is turned on. First, in step S1, the paper feed initial sensor 32
It is determined whether 0a is on or off. If it is off, it means the initial state, that is, the state of (1) in FIG. If the paper feed initial sensor 320a is turned on in step S1, the process proceeds to step S2, the automatic paper feed motor 323 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the initial state is established when the paper feed initial sensor 320a is turned off in step S1. To finish.

Next, FIG. 33 is a flow chart showing an example of a control procedure for executing the automatic paper feed, which starts when the paper feed command is issued. First, in step S3, if the paper feed switching sensor 320b is off, the process proceeds to step S9, the control unit determines that the automatic paper feed unit is in the unused state, and the hand pointing mode is set. In step S3, the paper feed switching sensor 32
If 0b is on, the process proceeds to step S4, where the automatic paper feed motor 323 is rotated in the forward direction and rotated by 320 degrees by the rotation of the cam shaft 318, and the automatic paper feed motor 323 is stopped. That is, the state is (5) in FIG.

Next, in step S5, the state of the PE sensor 14 on the ink jet recording apparatus side is detected. If it is off here, the paper feeding operation is not performed correctly.
The process proceeds to step S10, and the control unit determines that there is an error (feeding failure or no paper). If it is on, the process proceeds to step S6 to start the recording operation.

Next, in step S7, the PE sensor 14 is searched for an off state. If the PE sensor 14 is off, the process advances to step S8 to rotate the automatic paper feed motor 323 forwardly and rotate the cam shaft 318 to 40 degrees to stop the rotation. To do. That is, this is the state of (2) in FIG. 29, where the end is reached, and the next sheet feeding command is prepared.

Next, the configuration and electric circuit of the information processing apparatus incorporating the recording apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described; FIG. 34 shows an example of an information processing apparatus 400 incorporating the recording apparatus according to the present embodiment. It is a typical perspective view showing appearance. In the figure, 401 is the above-mentioned printer unit, 40
Reference numeral 2 is a keyboard unit having keys for inputting characters, numbers and other characters, keys for giving various commands, and the like, and 403 is a display unit having a display.

FIG. 35 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit configuration of information processing device 400. In the figure, 501 is a controller that performs main control, 502 is, for example, a CPU in the form of a microcomputer that executes a certain procedure,
Reference numeral 503 is a RAM provided with an area for expanding text data and image data, an area for work, etc., 504 is a ROM storing fixed data such as a program corresponding to the above procedure and other font data, and 505 is a CPU 5
A timer 506 for creating an execution cycle 02 and a timing necessary for a printing operation by the printer unit 401, and an interface unit 506 for connecting a signal from the CPU 502 and peripheral devices.

Further, 507 is a controller of the printer unit 401, 508 is the presence or absence of the recording head 200,
A head detector 509 for detecting information of the recording head 200 such as the type, the output value of the sensor for detecting the temperature of the recording head 200, the output of the sensor for detecting the presence or absence of ink in the tank 201, and 509 The line buffer 510 for storing print data is the print head 2
Head driver that sends recording signals and electric power to 00,
511a, b, c are carrier motors 255,
A motor driver that sends out signals and electric power necessary for driving the paper feed motor 5 and the automatic paper feed motor 323, 51
2 is a home position sensor 270 and a paper sensor 1
4, a sensor detection unit that detects the output of each sensor such as the paper feed initial sensor 320a and the paper feed switching sensor 320b. Further, 404 is, for example, FDD, HDD, RA
An external storage device such as an M card, 405 is an external interface for communicating with another information processing device or directly connecting to an internal bus to control peripheral devices. Although not included in the block diagram of the figure, there is another power supply unit for supplying power to the above electric circuit, such as a rechargeable battery, a disposable dry battery, or an information processing device. There is a converter for AC power supply when the main body is fixed and used.

Recording is performed on the recording material (paper) 3 in the recording device section by the above-described electric circuit configuration. The outline of the recording operation control sequence will be described below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 36 to 46; 36 is a processing operation sequence flowchart when the power of the recording apparatus or the information processing apparatus is turned on and off. In step S1, the power is off, and the function is stopped except for the operation of the timer 505 (FIG. 35). The operation is started from the power-off state by a power-on signal, that is, the power switch is turned on. In the recording apparatus, first, the power-on process of step S2 is executed. Upon completion of step S2, the process proceeds to step S3 and the power is turned on. The recording operation and the like are performed in the power-on state. When a power-off signal is detected in the power-on state, the process proceeds to step S4 and power-off processing is executed. Step S
When step 4 is completed, the process proceeds to step S1 and the power is turned off. Therefore, when the power is turned on or off, a predetermined process is performed to turn the power on or off. Also, step S
When the pause signal is detected in the state of 3, the process proceeds to step S5 and the pause process is executed. The pause signal means that the user is operating the device, for example, when the display unit 403 shown in FIG. 34 is folded on the keyboard unit 403 in the power-on state or when the battery is replaced. The signal is a signal output by means for detecting an action such as that performed during non-operation, for example, a sensor for detecting opening / closing of the display portion 403, a sensor for detecting attachment / detachment of a battery, or the like. Further, the temporary stop process is a process performed to prevent damage to the device or occurrence of a defect when the device is used differently from the basic use, and the details thereof will be described later.

When the temporary stop process is completed in step S5, the process proceeds to step S6 and the temporary stop state is set. In the suspended state, the functions other than the necessary parts are stopped or the power is turned off. When the temporary stop release signal is detected in the temporary stop state, the process proceeds to step S7, and the temporary stop release processing is performed. The temporary stop release signal is a signal paired with the temporary stop signal, for example, when the display unit 403 changes from a closed state to an open state, or when the battery is removed from the attached state. Etc. is a signal indicating that the device has returned to the operable state. Further, the temporary stop release process is a process for returning to the state before the temporary stop, and the details will be described later.
This allows the user to inadvertently operate the display unit 40 while the device is operating.
Even when the switch 3 is opened / closed or the battery is attached / detached, the original state can be restored. Step S
In step 7, when the temporary stop release process is completed, the process proceeds to step S3 to return to the power-on state. With respect to the temporary stop signal, it may be possible to select whether or not to perform the temporary stop process when the signal is detected. For example, if the display device 403 should be closed because the recording device is handling paper during operation, the device settings should be selected so that the pause process is prohibited when the display device 403 is opened and closed. can do.

FIG. 51 is a sequence flowchart of the determination procedure performed before the initializing operation at power-on. In step S1, it is determined whether or not the time since the last time the cap 101 was closed is 7 days or longer. Set the current to 3
Set to 00mA. Next, in step S4, the initials are executed.

If the time since the last time the cap was closed is not more than 7 days in step S1, the process proceeds to step S3, and the carrier motor (recovery system motor) is initialized.
The drive current of 255 is set to 200 mA. Next, in step S4, the initials are executed. Here, the carrier motor (recovery system motor) 255 uses a stepping motor and is driven by a current chopper method.

FIG. 37 shows the step S in FIG.
It is a flowchart explaining the power-on process procedure sequence of 2. First, in step S11, home position initialization, that is, the position of the carrier 203 is determined. Specifically, after the carrier motor 255 is driven and the output of the home position sensor 270 is switched to the reference position of the carrier 203, the carrier motor 255 is driven to cap the ejection port of the recording head 200 with the cap 101. State. Next, in step S12, the paper feed and the automatic paper feed are initialized. Specifically, in order to avoid the rattling of the paper feed drive mechanism, the paper feed motor 5 is driven in the reverse direction and the forward direction by a predetermined amount, and the automatic paper feed motor is driven until the paper feed initial sensor 320a detects the initial position. To do.

Next, in step S13, the timer 505
By measuring the time from the last ejection or suction of the print head 200 to the present, and if the interval is a predetermined time n or more, the process proceeds to step S14 to perform the print head recovery process, If there is, step S15
Go to. In step S14, as recovery processing of the recording head 200, ejection of the recording head 200 into the cap 101, cleaning of the ejection opening of the recording head 200 by the blade 104, suction of ink from the recording head 200 by the pump unit 150, and the like are performed. To do. By the recovery process, the recording head 200 is left unused for a long time, and as a result, it is possible to prevent inadequate ink ejection due to an increase in viscosity due to evaporation of ink at the ejection port of the recording head 200. After step S14, the process proceeds to step S15 to check whether the paper sensor detects the presence of paper,
If there is paper, the process proceeds to step S16, and if there is no paper, the process proceeds to step S17. In step S16, the detected paper is discharged. That is, after the paper sensor 14 detects that there is no paper, the paper feed motor 5 is driven in the forward direction up to a predetermined amount. Next, the process proceeds to step S17 to end the power-on process.

FIG. 38 is a flow chart for explaining the power-off processing procedure sequence in step S4 of FIG. First, in step S21, the recording head 200
Is in the capping state. If it is not in the capping state, the process proceeds to step S22, and if it is in the capping state, the process proceeds to step S23. Step S2
In No. 2, the carrier motor 255 is driven to bring the recording head 200 into the capping state. Then step S
At 23, the power of the recording apparatus is turned off and the function is stopped. In this process, even when the recording head 200 is not in the capping state, that is, when the power switch is turned off during recording, the recording head 2 can be reliably operated.
Since the power supply is turned off after the state of 00 is capped, the ejection port portion of the recording head 100 is prevented from being exposed to the atmosphere to cause ejection failure due to increase in viscosity due to evaporation of ink.

FIG. 39 is a flow chart for explaining the temporary stop processing procedure sequence in step S5 of FIG. First, in step S31, it is checked whether or not there is a process currently being executed. If there is a process being executed, the process proceeds to step S32, and if not, the process proceeds to step S33. In step S32, the process currently being executed is executed for a predetermined amount. Specifically, the process is executed until the recording of the line being executed is completed if the recording is being executed, and until the operation is completed if the paper feeding or the automatic paper feeding operation is being executed. If the paper discharge process is in progress, the process is immediately stopped. Next, in step S33, the current state is stored. That is, if there is any interrupted processing, the interrupted status, the status of the display unit 403 or the operation panel (not shown), the online or offline status, or the power saving mode for battery power supply, if any, is stored in the memory. . Next, in step S34, the recording head 2
00 is capped. If you are already capped, do nothing. Next, the process proceeds to step S35, and power is turned off for unnecessary parts in the temporary stop state. Next, the process proceeds to step S35, and power is turned off for unnecessary parts in the temporary stop state. Next, the process proceeds to step S36 and the step S5 temporary stop process ends. Even if a pause signal is detected during recording in this process, the recording head 200
Is reliably performed, and it is possible to prevent the recording head 200 from being left uncapped and causing an ejection failure.

FIG. 40 is a flow chart for explaining the temporary stop release processing procedure sequence in step S7 of FIG. First, in step S41, a predetermined part is initialized. Specifically, the position determination of the carrier 203, the rattling of the paper feed motor 5, the initial position setting of the automatic paper feed mechanism, and the like are performed in steps S11 and S12. Next, the process proceeds to step S42, and the pre-pause state stored in step S33 is checked. Next, the process proceeds to step S43, and a process of returning to the state before the temporary stop is performed. Specifically, if there is any interrupted process, the process is completed and the states of the display unit 403 and the operation panel are restored. Next, the process proceeds to step S44, and the step S7 temporary stop canceling process ends. Therefore, even if a temporary interruption state occurs during the process of the recording device, the process after the return and before the temporary stop can be continued.

FIG. 41 is a flow chart for explaining a processing procedure sequence in the power-on state of step S3 of FIG. First, in step S51, various errors are checked and error processing is performed. Specifically, for example, when there is no paper in the recording device, when the recording head 200 or the ink tank 201 is not mounted, when there is no ink in the ink tank 201, when a paper jam is detected during the recording process, When the temperature of 200 rises abnormally or when a scanning error of various motors is detected, the error is displayed on the display unit 403 or the operation panel or a buzzer sounds to warn. Next in step S52
Then, the process proceeds to step S4 to check the key operation and command reception from the keyboard section 402, the operation panel, the external interface section 405, etc., and perform the corresponding processing.

Specifically, when the paper feed key is pressed, the paper insertion, discharge, paper feed of a predetermined amount, etc. are performed depending on the situation, and when the online key is pressed or online, When an offline command is received, the error status is checked and the online status and offline status are processed. Further, when a command regarding recording or the like is received, a corresponding process is performed. Furthermore, the recording head 20
When 0 or a key input for replacing the ink tank 201 or no ink in the ink tank 201 is detected, the carrier motor 255 is driven to move the carrier 203 to a position where it is easy to replace, and the replacement is completed. The rear carrier motor 255 is driven to move the recording head 201 to the cap 101, and the pump unit 150 sucks ink from the ejection port of the recording head 200.

Even if air is mixed in the ink flow path between the recording head 200 and the ink tank 201 when the ink tank 201 is replaced, the mixed air can be sucked out of the recording head 200 by suction of the ink. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of ejection failure due to air inclusion in the recording head 200. Next, in step S43, recording processing is performed. Details will be described later. Then in step S54
If the power-off signal is checked and the power-off signal is detected, the process proceeds to the above-described power-off process of step S4, and if not detected, the process returns to step S51.

FIG. 42 is a flow chart for explaining the recording processing procedure sequence of step S53 of FIG.
First, in step S61, it is checked whether or not a command to execute recording, for example, a paper feed command or data to be recorded is received. If there is a recording command, the process proceeds to step S62, and if not, the process proceeds to step S69, and this processing ends. In step S62, the online state is checked. If it is in the online state, the process proceeds to step S63, and if it is in the offline state, the process proceeds to step S69 and the present process is terminated. In step S63, a process for starting recording is performed. Specifically, the recording head 2
The heater inside 00 adjusts the temperature of the print head 200, the discharge of the print head 200 to the outside of the print area is adjusted, and the amount of deviation of the carrier motor 255 during forward and reverse scanning is measured by the home position sensor. ,
It also corrects the deviation during bidirectional recording.

Next, in step S64, the paper feeding is checked. When the paper is not inserted at the recording position in the automatic paper feed state, the automatic paper feed motor 323 is driven to feed the paper. Next, the process proceeds to step S65, and recording is performed in units of one line. Specifically, the carrier motor 255 is driven,
The recording head 200 ejects ink to perform recording,
When recording of one line is completed, a predetermined amount of paper is fed, and step S6
Go to 6. In step S66, an error check is performed. If there is an error, the process proceeds to step S68, and if there is no error, the process proceeds to step S67. Check for errors
For example, it is detection of the bottom edge of the paper, detection of paper jam, detection of ink presence, scanning error of various motors, and the like, and the detected error is processed in step S51 described above. In step S67, reception of a command indicating the end of recording, for example, a paper discharge command is checked. If the recording is completed, the process proceeds to step S68. If the recording is not completed, the process returns to step S65 to continue the recording. In step S65, a recording end process is performed. Specifically, paper ejection,
The recording head 200 is cabbed or the like. Next, the process proceeds to step S69, and the recording process of step S53 ends.

An embodiment of the flexible cable will be specifically described below with reference to FIGS. 43 to 45;
(A) is explanatory drawing of one Example of a flexible cable. In the figure, reference numeral 1000 denotes a flexible cable on which a conductor pattern necessary for the device is printed.
The thickness and width of the conductor pattern are determined by the current capacity, allowable voltage drop value, etc. required for each conductor pattern. In order to improve the folding endurance characteristics of the flexible cable 1000, it is advantageous that the thickness of the conductor pattern is thin, but it is necessary to make the width of the conductor pattern wide, which increases the width of the flexible cable.

1001a is a flexible cable 100
0 is a moving side, 1001b is a fixed side, and a flexible cable fixed side 1001b has a contact portion 1001c.
Is provided. Flexible cable moving side 100
1a and the flexible cable fixed side 1001b are two flexible cable division parts 1001 of width Wd.
d, 1001e. The flexible cable 1000 is bent and overlapped by the bent portion 1001f of the flexible cable moving side 1001a and the bent portion 1001g of the flexible cable fixed side 1001b, and the width of the flexible cable 1000 becomes the width Wd at the divided portion. 1001a
Can be made smaller than the width Wo. Although the figure shows an example in which the width is divided into two, a smaller width can be obtained by further dividing. Positioning holes 1001h, 1001h ', 1001i, 1001 are formed in the flexible cable dividing portions 1001d, 1001e.
i'is provided and positioning holes 1001h, 1001h, 100
1h 'and the positioning holes 1001i, 1001i' are separated by a predetermined distance d.

FIG. 43B shows the flexible cable 10.
It is an example figure of the device using 00. In the figure, 100
Reference numeral 2 denotes a moving portion, which is arranged so as to be movable in the direction of the arrow in the figure. The moving unit 1002 is equipped with a recording head in the case of a printer and a sensor in the case of a scanner. 100
3 is a fixed part, and a positioning pin 1003a is provided on the fixed part.
Is provided. 1001 uses the flexible cable 1000 of FIG. 43 (a) in a folded and stacked state, and is used on the flexible cable moving side 1001a (FIG. 43).
(A)) is connected to the moving unit 1002. In addition, flexible cable positioning holes 1001h and 1001
h ′, 1001i and 1001i ′ are positioning pins 10
03a and is fixed by the fixing member 1004.
It is fixed at 03.

As described above, the positioning holes 1001h and 1001h
Since 01h 'and 1001i, 1001i' are separated by the distance d, the flexible cable dividing portion 1001d
The bending positions of 1001e and 1001e are displaced by the distance 1. The thickness of the flexible cable 1000 is the bending height h
When it is sufficiently smaller than, 1 becomes almost equal to d / 2. Therefore, since the flexible cable dividing portions 1001d and 1001e have different bending positions, the bending portions do not receive the force from the other flexible cable, and the bending durability performance is similar to that when there is no bending. However, making the interval 1 between the bending positions larger than necessary leads to an increase in the size of the device. It is desirable that the interval 1 between the bending positions is equal to or less than the bending height h, that is, the interval d between the flexible cable positioning holes is equal to or less than twice the bending height h.

As described above, the flexible cable is divided into a plurality of layers, the layers are overlapped with each other, and the divided flexible cables are arranged so that the bending positions are different from each other. The width of the flexible cable and the bending height can be reduced without lowering the bending endurance performance properly and the downsizing of the device can be achieved.

Although FIG. 43 shows an example in which the flexible cable is divided into two, the flexible cable may be divided into two or more, and the positioning holes of the flexible cable are arranged at a predetermined interval by the number of divisions in the longitudinal direction of the flexible cable. It is provided in.

FIGS. 44 (a) and 44 (b) are respectively shown in FIG.
It is a figure which shows the modification of (a), (b). Figure 44
In (a), 1010 is a flexible cable, 1010a is a moving side of the flexible cable 1010, 1010b is a fixed side, and a flexible cable fixed side 1010b is provided with a contact portion 1010c. Between the flexible cable moving side 1010a and the flexible cable fixed side 1010b, two flexible cable dividing portions 1010d and 101 having a width Wd are provided.
It is divided into 0e. Flexible cable moving side 1
The flexible cable 1010 is bent and overlapped at the bent portion 1010f of 010a and the bent portion 1010g of the flexible cable fixed side 1010b, and the width of the flexible cable 1010 becomes the width Wd 'at the divided portion, and the width of the flexible cable moving portion 1010a. W
It can be smaller than o '.

Although the figure shows an example of division into two,
A smaller width can be obtained by further dividing. In addition, the flexible cable dividing unit 101
Positioning notches 1010h, 10 are provided in 0d, 1010e.
10h ', 1010i, 1010i' are provided, and the positioning holes 1010h, 1010h 'and the positioning holes 1010i, 1010i' are arranged at the same position in the width direction of the flexible cable.

FIG. 44 (b) shows a flexible cable 10
It is an example figure of the apparatus using 10. In the figure, 102
Reference numeral 0 denotes a moving portion, which is arranged so as to be movable in the direction of the arrow in the figure. The moving unit 1020 is equipped with a recording head in the case of a printer and a sensor in the case of a scanner. 103
Reference numeral 0 denotes a fixed portion, and the fixed portion has a positioning pin 1030.
a and 1030b are arranged at a distance d '.

Reference numeral 1010 is the flexible cable 1010 of FIG. 44 (a), which is used by bending and superimposing it on the flexible cable moving side 1010a (FIG. 44).
(A)) is connected to the moving unit 1020. Also, flexible cable positioning notches 1010h, 1010
The h'is inserted into the positioning pin 1030a, and the flexible cable positioning notches 1010i and 1010i 'are inserted into the positioning pin 1030b and fixed to the fixing portion 1030 by the fixing member 1040. As described above, since the positioning pins 1030a and 1030b are separated by the distance d ', the flexible cable dividing portions 1010d and 101
The bending position of 0e is displaced by the distance 1 '. When the thickness of the flexible cable 1010 is sufficiently smaller than the bending height h ', 1'is approximately equal to d' / 2. Therefore, since the flexible cable dividing portions 1010d and 1010e have different bending positions, they do not receive a force from the other flexible cable at the bending portion, and the bending durability performance is similar to that without bending.

Although the flexible cable is divided into two in FIG. 44, it may be divided into three or more, and the fixed-side positioning pins are flexible at a predetermined interval corresponding to the number of divided flexible cables. It is provided in the longitudinal direction of the cable.

In this embodiment, the flexible cable for electrically connecting the moving portion and the fixed portion has been described.
The same applies to a flexible cable that electrically connects members that move relative to each other.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the flexible cables are divided into a plurality of layers, and the flexible cables are arranged so that the bending positions of the divided flexible cables are different from each other. The width and bending height of the flexible cable can be reduced without reducing the bending endurance performance by appropriately adjusting the voltage drop, and the device can be downsized.

The present invention brings excellent effects particularly in a recording head and a recording apparatus of the type which utilizes thermal energy among the ink jet recording systems. With regard to its typical configuration and principle, it is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740,796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-denmand type and the continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, it is arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path holding the liquid (ink). By applying at least one drive signal to the electric heat exchange element, which corresponds to the recorded information and causes a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, thermal energy is generated in the electric heat exchange element, and the recording head. This is effective because the film is boiled on the heat-acting surface and the bubbles in the liquid (ink) can be formed corresponding to the drive signal as a result. When the liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings by the growth and contraction of the bubbles to form at least one drop of this drive signal in a pulse shape, the growth and contraction of the bubbles are immediately performed appropriately.
In particular, it is possible to achieve ejection of liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness,
More preferable. Drive signals for this panel shape are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262.
The ones described in the issue are opponents. 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 specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 455,833, U.S. Pat. No. 445, which discloses a configuration in which the heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of No. 9600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 123670/1984 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1983461/1984, which discloses a configuration that corresponds to the discharge portion.

[0148]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the cover member of the waste ink absorber of the waste ink tank is provided with the hole communicating with the absorber, the operator can attach the hole through the hole. By absorbing the waste ink collected in the absorber using a pump or the like, the absorber can be reused, and the operator does not have to change the waste ink tank.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the recording apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the pinch roller pressure release state of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a pressed state of the pinch roller of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of the lead screw mechanism of FIG. 1.

5 is an enlarged sectional view of the carrier bearing portion of FIG.

6 is an enlarged view of the end portion of the lead screw in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a left end view of the lead screw in FIG.

FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory view of the clutch mechanism of FIG.

9 is a meshing diagram of the clutch gear and the control gear of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a recovery mechanism.

11 is a detailed perspective view of the pump unit of FIG.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged perspective view of the blade portion of FIG.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the plate stopper of FIG.

14 is an explanatory view of the cap opening / closing cam of FIG.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged sectional view of the cap.

FIG. 16 is a timing chart of the recovery mechanism.

FIG. 17 is a schematic perspective view of a head cartridge portion and a carrier portion.

FIG. 18 is a schematic perspective view of a head cartridge unit.

FIG. 19 is a partially enlarged sectional view of a carrier part.

FIG. 20 is a schematic perspective view of a joint portion between a carrier portion and a head cartridge portion.

FIG. 21 is a schematic sectional view of a head cartridge connecting portion.

FIG. 22 is a schematic perspective view of an example of an ink tank replacement system.

FIG. 23 is a schematic perspective view of another example of the exchange method of FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 is a schematic plan view showing how a force is applied.

[Fig. 25] Positional relationship diagram of automatic paper feeder

FIG. 26 is an external perspective view of the automatic paper feeding unit.

FIG. 27 is a plan view of the automatic paper feeder

FIG. 28 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an automatic paper feeding unit

FIG. 29 is an explanatory view of the mechanism / operation of the automatic paper feeder.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an example of a mechanism / operation sequence of an automatic paper feeding unit.

[Fig. 31] Sectional view for explaining the release mechanism / operation of the automatic sheet feeder

FIG. 32 is an example diagram of an initial control procedure sequence flowchart of the automatic paper feeding unit.

FIG. 33 is a flow chart of a control procedure sequence of the automatic paper feeder.

FIG. 34 is an external perspective view of an example of an information processing device incorporating a recording device.

FIG. 35 is a block diagram of an electric circuit configuration of the information processing device of FIG. 34.

FIG. 36 is an operation sequence flowchart of power-on / off processing of the information processing apparatus.

FIG. 37 is a sequence flowchart of the power-on processing procedure of FIG. 36.

FIG. 38 is a sequence flowchart of the power-off processing procedure of FIG. 36.

FIG. 39 is a sequence flowchart of the pause processing procedure of FIG. 36.

FIG. 40 is a sequence flowchart of the pause release procedure of FIG. 36.

FIG. 41 is a sequence flowchart of the power-on processing procedure of FIG. 36.

42 is a sequence flowchart of the recording processing procedure of FIG. 41.

FIG. 43 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a flexible cable.

FIG. 44 is a modification of FIG. 43.

FIG. 45 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a conventional flexible cable.

FIG. 46 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional example related to cleaning.

47 is a top view in the direction of arrow A in FIG.

48 is a sectional view taken along arrow B in FIG.

FIG. 49 is an exploded perspective view of the waste ink tank portion of the embodiment.

FIG. 50 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the waste ink absorber reuse pump is used.

51 is an example of a sequence flowchart of an initialization execution determination procedure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Chassis 3 Recording Material 104 Blade 113d Waste Ink Tube 115 Plunger 116 Piston 121 Pump Absorber 160 Waste Ink Absorber 160a Recess 161 Platen (Cover Member) 161b Hole 172 Reuse Pump 200 Recording Head 201 Ink Tank 202 Head Cartridge 410 Exterior Material 410a Opening

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. In an ink jet recording apparatus provided with a waste ink tank for storing waste ink, a hole communicating with the absorber is formed in a cover member of the waste ink absorber at a position corresponding to an opening of a device exterior material. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by being provided. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cover member of the absorber is a platen. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the absorber has a hole portion of the absorber cover member communicating with the absorber, which has a concave shape with respect to the periphery thereof.