JPH07205522A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the operability in the replacement of a recording head and secure the connection a joint section of an ink tank and the head in the case of the recording head of tank separating type. CONSTITUTION:A head replacement position for setting and removing a recording head is provided in the vicinity of the center of recording device. In the replacement position, a stopper section 821 is formed by folding a guide rail 82 into the U-shape. The range of movement from a guide shaft 81 of a carriage section 5 is smaller than the devices of conventional type at the time of replacing the head, connecting an ink tank of tank separating type and the like.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus having a recording head for forming an image on a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording device having functions of a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, etc., or a recording device used as an output device of a composite type electronic device including a computer, a word processor, etc. An image is recorded on a recording material (recording medium) such as a plastic thin plate. The recording apparatus can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, a laser beam type, etc., depending on the recording method.

In a serial type recording apparatus which employs a serial scan system in which main scanning is performed in a direction intersecting a conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction) of a recording material, a recording means mounted on a carriage moving along the recording material. The image is recorded (main scanning) by, and after the recording of one line is completed, the paper is fed by a predetermined amount (pitch conveyance), and then the image of the next line is recorded on the recording material stopped again. Recording on the entire recording material is performed by repeating the operation of (main scanning). On the other hand, in a line type recording apparatus that records only by sub-scanning in the conveying direction of the recording material, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position, and one line of recording is collectively performed, and then a predetermined amount is recorded. The paper is fed (pitch feed), and the recording of the next row is collectively performed, whereby the entire recording material is recorded.

Among the above recording apparatuses, an ink jet type recording apparatus (ink jet recording apparatus) performs recording by ejecting ink from a recording means (recording head) onto a recording material, and the recording means can be made compact. Easy, high-definition images can be recorded at high speed, plain paper can be recorded without requiring special processing, running costs are low, and there is little noise because it is a non-impact method. It has an advantage that it is easy to record a color image using multicolor inks. Above all, the line type apparatus using the line type recording means in which a large number of ejection ports are arranged in the paper width direction can further speed up the recording.

In particular, an ink jet type recording means (recording head) for ejecting ink by utilizing heat energy,
Forming electrothermal converters, electrodes, liquid wall, top plate, etc., which are formed on the substrate through the semiconductor manufacturing process such as etching, vapor deposition, and sputtering, for generating thermal energy for ink ejection. As a result, it is possible to easily manufacture a device having a high-density liquid path arrangement (ejection opening arrangement), and it is possible to further reduce the size.

With these techniques, an ink tank integrated type or a simple integrated type head cartridge in which only the ink tank can be replaced is used. The use of these head cartridges has the following effects.

(1) It is easy to replace the entire head cartridge, and it is possible to easily perform maintenance and the like. (2) It is not necessary to draw around ink tubes and the like, and the configuration of the recording apparatus can be simplified.

FIG. 14 shows the construction of a conventional recording apparatus including a carriage portion for mounting and detaching these head cartridges.
Through FIG.

The recording apparatus shown in FIG. 14 employs a serial type ink jet system.

As shown in FIGS. 14 to 16, the carriage section 1005 has a carriage 1050 to which a recording head 1007 is attached. And the carriage 10
Reference numeral 50 denotes a guide shaft 1081 for reciprocating scanning in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sheet material P as a recording member.
And the recording head 1 by holding the rear end of the carriage 1050.
Guide rail 1 for maintaining a gap between 007 and the sheet material P
082 and is supported by. The guide shaft 1081 and the guide rail 1082 are attached to the chassis 1
It is attached to 008. In addition, the carriage 105
0 is driven by a carriage motor 1080 attached to the chassis 1008 via a timing belt 1083. The timing belt 1083 is stretched and supported by an idle pulley 1084.
Further, the carriage 1050 is provided with a flexible substrate for transmitting a head signal of the recording head 1007 from the electric substrate 1009.

On the other hand, the sheet material P as a recording member is
It is mounted on the paper feeding unit 1002 shown in FIG. 15, and is separated one by one by a separating means including the separating claw 26 and is conveyed by the conveying roller 1036 between the carriage 1050 and the platen 1034. Here, recording is performed by the recording head 7, and the recorded sheet material P is sandwiched between the sheet discharge roller 1041 and the spur 1042 that is in contact with the sheet discharge roller 1041 and is discharged.

On the other hand, on the upper part of the carriage 1050, as shown in FIG. 16, there is provided a sheet interval adjusting unit 1058 for adjusting the gap between the recording head 1007 and the sheet material P. The paper interval adjusting unit 1058 is provided with the adjusting lever 15
81, a pressure contact lever 1582, a pressure contact spring 1583, and a top cover 1584.

The adjusting lever 1581 is provided on the carriage 105.
It is configured to be rotatable by inserting a pin into a hole provided in 0. The adjusting lever 1581 has a polygonal sliding surface 1585 having different distances from the rotation center of the adjusting lever according to the number of positions between sheets. The pressure contact lever 1582 is rotatable around a pin provided on the carriage 1050, and the sliding surface 1585 of the adjustment lever 1581 is moved by the pressure contact spring 1583 to the guide rail 108.
I am pushing to 2. Sliding surface 158 of adjusting lever 1581
5 is changed so that the carriage 1050 moves the guide shaft 10
Since it rotates around 81, the distance between sheets can be changed. The top cover 1584 is fixed to the carriage 1050 with the claws on both sides, and the adjustment lever 1581 and the pressure contact lever 15 are attached.
Holds 82 etc. Further, the lever tip end portion of the adjusting lever 1581 has elasticity, and the adjusting lever 1581 is fixed and fixed by engaging a predetermined portion of the lever tip end portion with a groove (not shown) of the top cover 1584. It is possible to form a sheet interval.

[0014]

The conventional carriage described above has the following problems.

(1) When the head cartridge is replaced, since the carriage has no stopper, the movable range of the carriage is large and the operability is poor (see FIG. 15).

(2) Especially, in the case of a tank separation type head cartridge, when the tank is replaced on the carriage,
There is a possibility that it may cause the ink to dry or adhere due to the connection at the joint between the ink tank and the head.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art, and improves operability in replacement of the recording head, and in the case of a tank separation type recording head, the ink tank and the head are separated from each other. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording device that can more reliably connect at a joint portion.

[0018]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To achieve the above object, the present invention is directed to a carriage portion to which a recording means for forming an image on a recording member is detachable, and a carriage portion which is penetrated at one end of the carriage portion. A guide shaft slidably supporting the carriage part, a guide rail provided on the other end side of the carriage part in parallel with the guide shaft, and for adjusting a gap between the recording member and the recording means. An adjusting member for rotating the eccentric cam, which is provided at the other end of the carriage portion, and a press-contact member for press-contacting the guide rail so as to sandwich the guide rail with the cam surface of the eccentric cam. In a recording apparatus including a gap adjusting unit, a movable range of the carriage unit about the guide shaft when the recording unit is attached and detached is provided on the guide rail. Stopper portions win, characterized in that are provided corresponding to the surface opposite to the cam surface of the eccentric cam.

Further, the recording device has an exchange position for detaching and exchanging the recording means, and the stopper portion is
It may be provided in the exchange position, and in this case, the stopper portion of the guide rail is formed by forming the guide rail in a U-shape in the exchange position.

Further, it is also preferable that both ends of the stopper portion formed on the guide rail are respectively bent in a taper shape so that a distance between the guide rail and the stopper portion becomes wide.

Further, in the recording apparatus, when the eccentric cam is rotated by the adjusting member, the distance from the cam surface of the eccentric cam in contact with the guide rail to the surface opposite to the cam surface is always constant. The eccentric cams may have a polygonal columnar shape or a columnar shape, since they are substantially the same.

The recording means provided in the above-mentioned recording apparatus is characterized by including an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy for ink ejection, and the thermal energy applied by the electrothermal converter is provided. Thus, the recording means for ejecting the ink from the ejection port by utilizing the film boiling generated in the ink can be applied to the apparatus of the present invention.

[0023]

According to the present invention constructed as described above, when the recording means is detached from the carriage portion, the carriage portion is moved around the guide shaft which penetrates one end of the carriage and slidably supports the carriage portion. When moved, the eccentric cam of the gap adjusting means provided at the other end of the carriage portion abuts on the stopper portion provided on the guide rail parallel to the guide shaft. Therefore, the movable range of the carriage portion when the recording means is attached or detached. Is regulated.

[0024]

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

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall construction of a first embodiment of the recording apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the recording device shown in FIG.

The recording apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 employs a serial type ink jet system, and is composed of a paper feed unit 2, a paper feed unit 3, a paper discharge unit 4, a carriage unit 5, and a cleaning unit 6. ing. Therefore, these are divided into items and the schematic configuration is described sequentially.

(A) Paper Feeding Section As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the paper feeding section 2 includes a pressure plate 21 on which a sheet material P as a recording member is stacked, and a sheet material P.
A feeding rotating body 22 for feeding the sheet is attached to the base 20. A movable side guide 23 is movably provided on the pressure plate 21 to regulate the stacking position of the sheet material P. The pressure plate 21 is rotatable about a rotation shaft connected to the base 20, and is biased by the pressure plate spring 24 against the feeding rotating body 22. A separation pad 25 made of a material having a large friction coefficient, such as an artificial leather, which prevents double feeding of the sheet material P is provided at a portion of the pressure plate 21 that faces the feeding rotating body 22. Further, the base 20 covers a corner in one direction of the sheet material P to separate a separation claw 26 for separating the recording sheets P one by one, and a thick paper or the like that cannot be used by the separation claw 26. A bank portion (not shown) integrally formed with the base 20, a switching lever 28 for switching so that the separation claw 26 operates in the plain paper position and the separation claw 26 does not operate in the thick paper position, and the pressure plate 21 and the feeding plate 21. A release cam 29 that releases the contact of the rotating body 22 is provided.

In the above structure, the release cam 29 pushes down the pressure plate 21 to a predetermined position in the standby state. As a result, the contact between the pressure plate 21 and the feeding rotary body 22 is released. In this state, when the driving force of the transport roller 36 is transmitted to the feeding rotating body 22 and the release cam 29 by a gear or the like, the release cam 29 is separated from the pressure plate 21, so that the pressure plate 21 rises and the feeding rotation is performed. The body 22 and the sheet material P come into contact with each other, and the sheet material P is rotated as the feeding rotary body 22 rotates.
Are picked up, and the feeding of the sheet material P is started, and at the same time, the sheet is separated by the separating claw 26 one by one.
Sent to. The feeding rotator 22 and the release cam 29 rotate until the sheet material P is fed into the sheet feeding unit 3, and the contact state between the recording sheet P and the feeding rotator 22 is released again, and the conveyance roller 36 is set. The driving force from is cut off.

(B) Paper Feeding Section As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the paper feeding section 3 has a carrying roller 36 for carrying the sheet material P and a PE sensor 32. The transport roller 36 includes a driven pinch roller 3
7 are provided in contact with each other. The pinch roller 37 is held by the pinch roller guide 30 and is urged by a pinch roller spring (not shown) to press the pinch roller 37 against the conveying roller 36 to generate a conveying force for the sheet material P. Further, an upper guide 33 and a platen 34 for guiding the sheet material P are arranged at the entrance of the sheet feeding unit 3 to which the sheet material P is conveyed. Further, the upper guide 33 has a PE for detecting the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet material P.
A PE sensor lever 35 that communicates with the sensor 32 is provided. Further, a recording head 7 as a recording unit that forms an image based on image information is provided on the downstream side of the conveyance roller 36 in the recording sheet conveyance direction.

In the above structure, the sheet material P sent to the paper feeding section 3 is guided by the platen 34, the pinch roller guide 30 and the upper guide 33, and sent to the roller pair of the transport roller 36 and the pinch roller 37. At this time, the PE sensor lever 35 detects the leading edge of the conveyed sheet material P, and the print position of the sheet material P is obtained from this. The sheet material P is conveyed on the platen 34 by rotating the roller pairs 36 and 37 by an LF motor (not shown).

As the recording head 7, an easily replaceable ink jet recording head integrally formed with an ink tank is used. Then, the recording head 7 is provided with an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy for ejecting ink, the thermal energy applied by the electrothermal converter causes the ink to undergo film boiling, and bubble growth due to the film boiling. Alternatively, the ink is ejected from the nozzle portion 70 (see FIG. 5) of the recording head 7 due to the pressure change caused by the contraction, and an image is formed on the sheet material P.

(C) Carriage Section As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the carriage section 5 has a carriage 50 for mounting the recording head 7. The carriage 50 holds and records a guide shaft 81 for reciprocating scanning in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the sheet material P, and a rear end of the carriage 50 (an end opposite to the paper feeding unit 3 side). It is supported by a guide rail 82 that maintains a gap between the head 7 and the sheet material P. The guide shaft 81 and the guide rail 82 are attached to the chassis 8. The carriage 50 is driven via a timing belt 83 by a carriage motor 80 attached to the chassis 8 as shown in FIG. The timing belt 83 is stretched and supported by an idle pulley 84. Further, the carriage 50 is provided with a flexible board (not shown) for transmitting a head signal of the recording head 7 from the electric board 9.

In the above structure, when an image is formed on the sheet material P, the roller pair 36, 37 conveys the sheet material P to the row position for image formation (position in the conveying direction of the sheet material P), and the carriage motor 80 is used. Carriage 5
0 is moved to the row position for image formation (position perpendicular to the sheet material P conveyance direction), and the recording head 7 is opposed to the image formation position. Then, the recording head 7 ejects ink toward the sheet material P in response to a signal from the electric substrate 9 to form an image.

(D) Paper Discharging Section As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, in the paper discharging section 4, the transmission roller 40 contacts the conveying roller 36, and the transmission roller 40 contacts the paper discharging roller 41. Is provided. Therefore, the driving force of the transport roller 36 is transmitted to the paper discharge roller 41 via the transmission roller 40. Further, a spur 42 is in contact with the paper discharge roller 41 so as to be rotatable following the paper discharge roller 41. With the above configuration, the seal material P on which an image is formed by the carriage unit 5
Is sandwiched in the nip between the paper discharge roller 41 and the spur 42, conveyed, and discharged to a paper discharge tray or the like (not shown).

(E) Cleaning Section As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cleaning section 6 includes a pump 60 for cleaning the recording head 7, a cap 61 for suppressing the drying of the recording head 7, and a conveying roller 36. And a drive switching arm 62 for switching the driving force from the sheet feeding unit 2 and the pump 60. When the drive switching arm 62 is not feeding or cleaning, the planetary gear (not shown) that rotates around the axis of the transport roller 36 is fixed at a predetermined position, so that the drive unit 2 and the pump 60 are driven. No power is transmitted. The carriage 50 is moved and the drive switching arm 62 is moved to the arrow A
When the carrier roller 36 is rotated in the normal direction, the planetary gear (not shown) becomes free, so that the planetary gear (not shown) moves in accordance with the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the transport roller 36. The driving force is transmitted to the pump 2, and when it is reversed, the driving force is transmitted to the pump 60.

Next, details of each main part of the carriage unit 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 10.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the carriage portion 5 also shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a recording head 7 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
6 is a plan view of the carriage portion 5 shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the guide rail 82 side, FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of the contact portion 503 of the carriage portion 5, and FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a main part of the detaching / attaching mechanism of FIG.
An explanatory view of the assembled state of the tip portion 562 of the flexible substrate 56 is shown.

The carriage unit 5 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is
The components are attached to the carriage 50 to form a unit.

The removable portion of the recording head 7 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 includes a carriage 50, a head holder 51, a base cover 52, a hook lever 53, a contact spring 54,
It is composed of a hook cover 55, a flexible substrate 56, and a rubber pad 57.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B,
The head holder 51 is configured so that the recording head 7 mounted along a guide (not shown) provided on the carriage 50 can slide left and right in the drawing. The head holder 51 includes a guide portion 511 that guides the recording head 7, and a side plate 5 that stands upright on the carriage 50.
No. 02 contact surface 503 and a pressing portion 512 for pressing the head against the positioning surface 504 are provided. There are three positioning surfaces 504 on the side plate 502 of the carriage 50. That is, two points on the base plate 72 near the nozzles 70 of the recording head 7, the ink tank 7 of the recording head 7,
One point is arranged above 3 (see FIG. 7).
reference). The contact surface 503 of the recording head 7 and the carriage 50 is configured to be located inside the triangle formed by the three points of the positioning surface 504. The guide arm 51 is provided at a position facing the pressing portion 512 of the head holder 51.
3 is provided to connect the recording head 7 to the contact surface 50.
The guide arm 513 acts on the recording head 7 when the recording head 7 is separated from the recording head 7. On the side plate 502 of the carriage 50,
A rib 509 which also serves as a guide when the recording head 7 is attached and detached (see FIG. 6).
7) is provided to protect and blind the contact portion 561 (see FIG. 7) of the flexible substrate 56 described later.

As shown in FIG. 5, the recording head 7 is provided with a guide 74 on the side surface of the ink tank 73.
The guide arm 513 (see FIG. 4) is mounted along the tip surface. At a predetermined position where the recording head 7 is mounted, the guide 74 of the recording head 7 is provided with a concave portion 75, and the convex portion 514 as a regulation means for engaging with the concave portion 75 and regulating the position of the recording head 7 is guided. It is provided on the arm 513. Further, a convex portion 76 is provided on the bottom surface of the recording head 7 on the nozzle side, and the head holder 51 has a concave portion 5 as a receiving portion corresponding to the convex portion 76.
15 (see FIG. 8) is provided. As a result, when the recording head 7 is mounted, the nozzle portion 70 does not have to hit the platen 34 or the like, and as a result, the recording head 7 is not damaged. Then, a click feeling at the time of wearing is obtained, and the wearing feeling is improved. Further, the protrusion 514 of the guide arm 513 is caught, so that the recording head 7 can be prevented from falling from the nozzle side, and the sense of instability such as positional deviation after mounting can be eliminated.

The hook lever 53 shown in FIG. 4 is rotatably attached to the side plate 502 of the carriage 50.
A contact spring 54 is provided at the center of rotation of the hook lever 53, and biases the hook lever 53 in the arrow direction (see FIG. 3). The hook cover 55 is attached so as to cover the hook lever 53, and holds the hook lever 53 so as not to come off from the carriage 50. As shown in FIG. 8, the hook lever 53 and the head holder 51 have cams 516 and 531 that come into contact with each other, and the rotation of the hook lever 53 causes the head holder 5 to rotate.
1 is configured to move in the left-right direction as viewed in the drawing.
Further, the urging force of the contact spring 54 is the pressing force of the recording head 7 of the head holder 51 via the hook lever 53.

Fitting pins 505a and 505 for positioning the recording head 7 are provided on the side plate 502 of the carriage 50.
b is provided. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the fitting pins 505a and 505b are provided corresponding to the fitting holes 77a and 77b of the base plate 72 of the recording head 7. The base plate 72 of the recording head 7 is about 1 ° with respect to the scanning direction of the carriage unit 5 from the driving of the recording head 7.
The configuration is tilted by ~ 4 ° (see FIG. 5). Inclined fitting hole 7
In order to correspond to 7a and 77b, one fitting hole 77a of the base plate 72 of the recording head 7 was made into a square hole, and the corresponding fitting pin 505a on the carriage 50 side had a partly cylindrical shape 505d. It was a square pin. Further, the other fitting hole 77b is formed as a round hole, and the corresponding fitting pin 505b on the carriage side is removed from the undercut portion due to the mold configuration of the carriage, and the recording head 7 is abutted against the positioning surface 504 of the carriage. The mating can be done at the required position. By doing so, the recording head 7 can be accurately and smoothly positioned on the inclined base plate 72 without requiring a complicated mold structure.

As shown in FIG. 7, the contact surface 503 (see FIG. 4) provided on the side plate 502 of the carriage 50 has a rubber strength of 30 ° to 50 ° for making electrical contact with the recording head 7. There is a rubber pad 57 made of an elastic body such as silicon rubber. Then, the contact portion 561 of the flexible substrate 56 is provided thereon. Both the rubber pad 57 and the flexible substrate 56 are positioned by the positioning pins 506 provided on the side plate 502 of the carriage 50. A slit 563 is provided on the opposite side of the contact portion 561 of the positioning portion of the flexible substrate 56.
Is provided so that the contact portion 561 is not affected by deformation of the flexible substrate 56 during assembly. As shown in FIG. 10, the flexible substrate 5
The leading end 562 of the contact portion 561 of No. 6 has the recording head 7
The base plate 72 is thin according to the shape of the base plate 72, and a hook portion 562a is provided at an end portion thereof. in this way,
By forming the contact portion 561 into a triangular shape and reducing the number of contact pads toward the tip, forming of the signal line is facilitated and high density can be achieved. Further, the processing of the tip portion 562 of the flexible substrate 56 becomes easy. The flexible board 5 is provided on the side plate 502 of the carriage 50.
A slit hole 507 for inserting the front end portion 562 of No. 6 is provided. The tip portion 562 is warped so that the slit hole 50
Insert into 7. When passing through the slit hole 507, the tip portion becomes straight and is not caught because it is caught. With this structure, the tip portion is free and the contact portion 561 of the flexible substrate 56 does not have rigidity, so that good contact can be made with the contact surface 78 (see FIG. 5) of the recording head 7. When the recording / recording head 7 is mounted, the contact surface 503 (see FIG. 4) of the carriage 50 has a notch 79 in the base plate 72 of the recording / recording head 7.
(See FIG. 5) and contacts the contact surface 78 (see FIG. 5) on the substrate formed inside the notch 79 (see FIG. 5).

The flexible substrate 56 is drawn along the side plate 502 of the carriage 50, is bent vertically, and is fixed to the carriage 50 by the base cover 52. At this time, since the flexible substrate 56 is provided with the temporary fixing protrusion 564 (see FIG. 4), the temporary fixing convex portion 56 is provided.
Since the flexible substrate 56 can be fixed by stopping 4 on the carriage 50, the base cover 52 can be assembled efficiently when it is attached. further,
The base cover 52 is provided with positioning holes for the rubber pad 57 and the flexible substrate 56, and a holding portion 521 is provided so that the fitting portions of the pins 506 on the carriage 50 do not come off. Further, the recording head 7 has a recess 7 for escaping the protrusion of the positioning pin 506 and the pressing portion 521 of the base cover 52.
31 is provided (see FIG. 5). As a result, the length of the positioning pin 506 and the holding portion 502 of the base cover 52.
Since the wall thickness can be increased, the rubber pad 57 and the flexible substrate 56 can be firmly positioned and prevented from coming off. The flexible substrate 56 is fixed to the chassis 8 by the flexible fixing plate 85 (see FIG. 2), and
The curvature is changed according to the position of
The head drive signal from the electric board 9 is transmitted to the recording head 7 in response to the movement of the recording head 7.

With the above structure, the recording head 7 can be attached to and detached from the carriage portion 5, held, positioned, and electrically contacted.

FIG. 4 shows a front view of the carriage portion 5 at the time of attachment / detachment.

When the recording head 7 is mounted, the hook lever 53 is raised upward as shown in FIG. 4 (a) and the head holder 51 is moved to the left side in the drawing, whereby the recording head 7 is moved. Be able to put it on. When the recording head 7 is mounted in this state and the hook lever 53 is rotated downward, as shown in FIG.
Moves to the right side in the drawing together with the recording head 7, and the recording head 7 is positioned and electrically contacted. In this state, an image can be formed on the sheet material P. further,
When the recording head 7 is detached from the carriage unit 5, the hook lever 53 is moved upward as shown in FIG. 4A and the head holder 51 is moved to the left side in the drawing, the guide arm 513 of the head holder 51 is moved. Since the recording head 7 is pressed to the left side in the drawing, the recording head 7 is removed from the carriage unit 5.

The recording head 7 is provided above the carriage 50.
A sheet interval adjusting unit is provided for adjusting the gap between the sheet and the recording sheet P. The paper interval adjusting unit is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 6, it comprises an adjusting lever (adjusting member) 581, a pressure contact lever 582, a pressure contact spring 583, and a top cover 584 (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 6).

As shown in FIG. 6, the adjusting lever 581 is
A pin (not shown) is inserted into a hole provided in the carriage 50 so as to be rotatable. On the adjusting lever 581, polygonal sliding surfaces 585a (three surfaces) having different distances from the center of rotation of the adjusting lever are formed in accordance with the number of sheet positions. That is, the polygonal sliding surface 58
The eccentric cam having 5a is an adjusting lever 5 as an adjusting member.
81 is formed. The pressure contact lever 582 is rotatable around a pin provided on the carriage 50, and the pressure contact spring 583 biases the sliding surface 585 a of the adjustment lever 581 toward the guide rail 82. By changing the sliding surface 585a of the adjusting lever 581, the carriage 50 rotates about the guide shaft 81, so that the distance between sheets can be changed. Further, the top cover 584 is fixed to the carriage 50 by the claws on both sides, and the adjustment lever 581 and the press contact lever 582 are provided.
And so on. Further, the lever tip portion of the adjusting lever 581 is elastic, and the adjusting lever 581 is fixed by engaging a predetermined portion of the lever tip portion with the groove 586 (see FIG. 4) of the top cover 584. A predetermined sheet interval can be formed.

As a feature of the present invention, this apparatus has a recording head replacement position for attaching and detaching the recording head 7 near the center of the apparatus (see FIG. 1). In the exchange position, the stopper portion 821 is formed by bending the guide rail 82 into a U-shape (see FIGS. 1 to 3 and 6). At the time of replacing the head cartridge, the movable range of the carriage can be made smaller than that in the prior art, so that the operability can be improved. Further, in the tank separation type head cartridge, when the tank is replaced on the carriage, since the movable range of the carriage is made small by the stopper portion 821, the connection at the joint portion between the ink tank and the head is surely made. It is possible to prevent the ink from drying and sticking.
Also, from the polygonal sliding surface 585a to the facing surface 585b.
The distances L1, L2 and L3 up to are formed the same.
Therefore, the movable range of the carriage can be kept constant at any gap adjustment position.

The carriage unit 5 reciprocally scans by passing the bearing of the carriage 50 through the guide shaft 81 attached to the chassis 8 and sliding the adjusting lever 581 and the pressure contact lever 582 on the guide rail 82 also attached to the chassis 8. It is possible. A timing belt 83 is attached to the back surface of the carriage 50. The timing belt 83 is suspended by a pulley 801 mounted on the shaft of a carriage motor 80 mounted on the chassis 8 and an idle pulley 84 stretching the timing belt 83 mounted on the chassis 8.

Next, another embodiment of the recording apparatus of the present invention is shown in FIGS. In the following description, the same components as those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description thereof will be omitted.

(Second Embodiment) In the above embodiment,
Although the adjusting lever 581 has polygonal sliding surfaces 585a (three surfaces) having different distances from the rotation center of the adjusting lever according to the number of positions between sheets, the present invention is not limited to this and is shown in FIG. Thus, a cylindrical eccentric cylindrical cam 587 may be used. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, by increasing the number of the grooves 586 of the top cover 584, it is possible to adjust the inter-paper gap more finely than in the first embodiment.

With the above structure, it is possible to form a head gap more suitable for an image. The movable range of the carriage can be kept constant at any gap adjustment position.

The other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment.

(Third Embodiment) In the above embodiment,
In the exchange position, the guide rail 82 had the stopper portion 821 bent in a U shape,
Further, as shown in FIG. 13, tapered insertion ports 822 may be provided at both ends of the stopper portion 821.
The insertion opening 822 is provided with the guide rail 82 and the stopper portion 82.
It is a part where the distance from 1 is wide.

With the above construction, even if the carriage receives some impact, the stopper portion 821 and the guide rail 8
There is no possibility that it will pass over the distance between the two and enter the outside of the stopper portion 821.

The other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment.

Among the recording methods, the present invention brings excellent effects particularly in an ink jet type recording head and recording apparatus for forming flying droplets by utilizing thermal energy for recording.

Regarding its typical structure and principle, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal to the electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which is stored, a rapid temperature rise corresponding to the recorded information and exceeding nucleate boiling is applied. , It is effective because it generates heat energy in the electrothermal converter, causes film boiling on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, and as a result, can form bubbles in the liquid (ink) that correspond one-to-one to this drive signal. Is. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings by the growth and contraction of the bubbles to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make the driving signal into a pulse shape because bubbles can be grown and contracted immediately and appropriately, and thus a liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness can be ejected.

As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the discharge port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications. The present invention also includes configurations using US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.

In addition, JP-A-59-123670 discloses a structure in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and a pressure wave of thermal energy is absorbed. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-138461, which discloses a configuration in which an opening corresponds to a discharge portion.

Further, as a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum recording medium width that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, a combination of a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification provides the length. The present invention can exert the above-mentioned effects more effectively, although it may have a configuration that satisfies the above requirement or a configuration as one recording head integrally formed.

In addition, by being mounted on the apparatus main body, it can be electrically connected to the apparatus main body and can be supplied with ink from the apparatus main body by a replaceable chip type recording head or the recording head itself. The present invention is also effective when a cartridge-type recording head provided with an ink tank is used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, etc., which are provided as a configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If you list these specifically,
Capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or sucking means for the recording head, preheating means using an electrothermal converter or another heating element or a combination thereof, and a preliminary ejection mode for performing ejection other than recording It is also effective to perform stable recording.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but the recording head may be integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. The present invention is also extremely effective for a device provided with at least one of full colors by color mixing.

In the embodiment of the present invention described above,
Although the ink is described as a liquid, it is an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and softens at room temperature, or is a liquid, or the ink itself is 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower in the above-mentioned inkjet method. Since the temperature is generally adjusted within the range to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range, it is sufficient that the ink is in a liquid state when the use recording signal is applied.

In addition, the temperature rise due to the thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or the ink is solidified in a standing state for the purpose of preventing evaporation of the ink. In some cases, such as ink that is liquefied by applying heat energy according to a recording signal and ejected as a liquid ink, or one that has already started to solidify when it reaches a recording medium. The use of an ink having a property of being liquefied only by heat energy is also applicable to the present invention. In such a case, the ink is disclosed in JP-A-54-5684.
No. 7 or JP-A-60-71260, a mode in which the porous sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter in the state of being held as a liquid or solid in the recess or through hole of the porous sheet. Also good. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as a form of the recording apparatus according to the present invention, a recording apparatus provided integrally or separately as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a word processor or a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader, and It may take the form of a facsimile machine having a transmission / reception function.

[0072]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects.

According to the first aspect of the invention, when the recording means is attached to or detached from the carriage portion, the movable range around the guide shaft of the carriage portion can be reduced by the stopper portion, so that the operability can be improved. Further, in the ink jet type recording means of the tank separation type, the tank can be exchanged at the carriage portion, and the ink can be prevented from drying and sticking.

According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, when the recording device has an exchange position for detaching and exchanging the recording means, the stopper portion is simply provided at the exchange position. I'm done.

According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 2, the stopper portion can be formed only by making the guide rail U-shaped at the exchange position.

According to the invention described in claim 4, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 3, both ends of the stopper portion formed on the guide rail are arranged so that the distance between the guide rail and the stopper portion becomes wide. In addition, since each of them is bent in a taper shape, even if the carriage part receives some impact, it does not come off between the guide rail and the stopper part and enter the outside of the stopper part.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, when the eccentric cam is rotated by the adjusting member of the gap adjusting means, the cam of the eccentric cam is in contact with the guide rail. Since the distance from the surface to the cam surface on the opposite side of the cam surface is always substantially the same, the movable range around the guide shaft of the carriage can be kept constant at any gap adjustment position.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the fifth aspect of the invention, the eccentric cam has a polygonal prism shape so that the gap between the recording medium and the recording means can be adjusted frequently. It can be done in stages.

According to the invention described in claim 7, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 5, the eccentric cam has a cylindrical shape, so that the gap adjustment between the recording medium and the recording means can be continuously performed. Can be done

According to the eighth aspect of the invention, the same effect as the invention according to each of the above-mentioned aspects can be obtained even in the recording means provided with the electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy for ejecting ink.

The invention according to claim 9 is the recording means for ejecting the ink from the ejection port by utilizing the film boiling generated in the ink by the thermal energy applied by the electrothermal converter. This is the same as the effect of the invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a front view of the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

3 is a schematic sectional view of the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the carriage unit shown in FIG.

5 is an external view of the recording head shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the carriage unit shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the guide rail side.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a contact portion and the like of a carriage portion.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a main part of a recording head attaching / detaching mechanism.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of recording head fitting pins of a carriage.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which a tip portion of a flexible substrate is assembled.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a paper interval adjusting unit in the second embodiment of the recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a paper interval adjusting unit in a second embodiment of the recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a carriage unit in a third embodiment of the recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a conventional recording apparatus.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a conventional recording device.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a conventional recording device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Paper Feeding Section 3 Paper Feeding Section 4 Paper Discharging Section 5 Carriage Section 6 Cleaning Section 7 Recording Head 8 Chassis 9 Electrical Board 20 Base 21 Pressure Plate 22 Feeding Rotating Body 23 Movable Side Guide 24 Pressure Plate Spring 25 Separation Pad 26 Separation Claw 28 Switching Lever 29 Release cam 30 Pinch roller guide 32 PE sensor 33 Upper guide 34 Platen 35 PE sensor lever 36 Conveying roller 37 Pinch roller 40 Transmission roller 41 Ejection roller 42 Spur 50 Carriage 51 Head holder 52 Base cover 53 Hook lever 54 Contact spring 55 Hook cover 56 Flexible substrate 57 Rubber pad 58 Paper interval adjustment unit 60 Pump 61 Cap 62 Drive switching arm 70 Nozzle unit 72 Base plate 73 Ink tank 74 Guide 75 Recessed portion 76 Convex portion 77a Square hole 77b Round hole 78 Contact surface 79 Notched portion 80 Carriage motor 81 Guide shaft 82 Guide rail 83 Timing belt 84 Idle pulley 85 Flexible fixing plate 501 Guide 502 Side plate 503 Contact surface 504a, 504b Positioning surface 505a, 505b Fitting pin 505d Cylindrical shape 507 Slit hole 509 Rib 511 Guide portion 512 Pushing pressure portion 513 Guide arm 514 Convex portion 515 Recessed portion 516 Cam 521 Holding portion 531 Cam 561 Contact portion 562 Flexible board tip portion 562a Slit portion 564 Convex part for temporary fixing 581 Adjustment lever 582 Pressure contact lever 583 Pressure contact spring 584 Top cover 585 Sliding surface 586 Groove 731 Recess 801 Lee

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Hiroyuki Saito Inventor Hiroyuki Saito 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Kinoshita 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Incorporated (72) Inventor Masahiro Taniguro 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Koichi Tanno 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Tetsuo Suzuki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Makoto Karama 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A carriage unit to which a recording unit for forming an image on a recording member is detachable, a guide shaft which penetrates one end of the carriage unit and slidably supports the carriage unit, and the carriage. A guide rail provided at the other end of the carriage portion in parallel with the guide shaft, and an eccentric cam provided at the other end of the carriage portion for adjusting the gap between the recording member and the recording means. A recording apparatus comprising: an adjusting member for rotating; and a gap adjusting unit including a pressure contact member that presses the guide rail so as to sandwich the guide rail with a cam surface of the eccentric cam. Includes a stopper portion that restricts a movable range of the carriage portion around the guide shaft when the recording unit is attached and detached, and a stopper portion that is a cam surface of the eccentric cam. And being provided in correspondence with the surface of the contralateral,
Recording device. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an exchange position for detaching and exchanging the recording unit, wherein the stopper portion is provided at the exchange position. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the stopper portion of the guide rail is formed by forming the guide rail in a U shape at the exchange position. 4. The both ends of the stopper portion formed on the guide rail are each bent in a taper shape so that a distance between the guide rail and the stopper portion is widened. Item 5. The recording device according to item 3. 5. When the eccentric cam is rotated by the adjusting member, the distance from the cam surface of the eccentric cam in contact with the guide rail to the surface opposite to the cam surface is always substantially the same. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the eccentric cam has a polygonal prism shape. 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the eccentric cam has a cylindrical shape. 8. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit includes an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy for ejecting ink. .. 9. The recording device according to claim 8, wherein the recording means ejects the ink from the ejection port by utilizing the film boiling generated in the ink by the thermal energy applied by the electrothermal converter. Recording device.