JPH0768880A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance the positioning precision of a carriage and consequently recording quality by a simple structure. CONSTITUTION:To a carriage 4, loaded with a recording head, a rotating shaft 21, fixed with a friction roller 22, and a disc-like slit plate 23 having a plurality of slits radially formed are rotatably supported. The friction roller 22 abuts against a guide shaft 5, which guides the movement of the carriage 4. By moving the carriage 4, the rotating shaft 21 rotates by the friction between the guide shaft 5 and the friction roller 22, resulting in rotating the slit plate 23. Further, an optical sensor, which consists of a light emitting element 24 and a light receiving element 25 so as to detect the slits of the slit plate 23, is mounted to the carriage 4. By counting the number of the slits passing between the light emitting element 24 and the light receiving element 25 due to the rotation of the slit plate 23, the position of the carriage 4 is detected.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording device used as an output device for computers, word processors, facsimiles and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of personal computers, word processors, etc., inkjet recording systems, wire dot recording systems,
Recording devices of various recording systems such as a thermal recording system are used. Among them, a recording apparatus that mounts a recording head on a carriage that reciprocates and repeats the reciprocating movement of the carriage and the feeding of a recording target member at a predetermined pitch to perform recording is relatively small and can be easily installed. Widely used for reasons.

Conventionally, as a method of driving a carriage in a recording apparatus of this kind, a belt drive system in which the carriage is fixed to a timing belt and the timing belt is driven by a motor, or a carriage is slidably mounted on a lead screw shaft is used. A lead screw shaft drive system is used in which a pin is provided on the carriage for supporting and engaging with a lead groove of the lead screw shaft, and the carriage is moved by rotating the lead screw shaft by a motor. The lead screw shaft driving method further includes a method of transmitting the driving force of the motor by a combination of a timing belt and a gear, and a method of transmitting a driving force by a gear group formed by combining a plurality of gears. In either method, a pulse motor is used as the motor, and the movement of the carriage is generally controlled by the open loop control by controlling the number of pulses given to the pulse motor. Further, in order to improve the response speed of the motor and the positioning accuracy of the carriage, a DC motor is used as the motor, and the position of the carriage is detected by a linear encoder having a length corresponding to the movement distance of the carriage, and the detection signal is detected. Closed loop control for controlling the rotation speed, position or torque of the DC motor is also performed based on the above. In particular, in the case of color recording, the carriage must be positioned with higher accuracy than in the case of a single color because it is necessary to overlap the inks of a plurality of colors, and thus the carriage is generally driven by the closed loop control.

[0004]

However, in the case where the position of the carriage is detected by using the linear encoder, the linear encoder itself has a length corresponding to the movement distance of the carriage, so that sufficient accuracy is not obtained due to its deflection or the like. It was difficult to obtain. The insufficient accuracy of the linear encoder means that the positioning accuracy of the carriage is not sufficient, and as a result, there is a problem that desired recording quality cannot be obtained. Further, the linear encoder has a problem that it is difficult to handle in the manufacturing process and the management becomes complicated.

On the other hand, when the carriage is driven by the lead screw shaft drive system, the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the lead screw shaft by the combination of the timing belt and the gear or the gear group. Backlash or backlash of gears causes a play between the output shaft of the motor and the lead screw shaft, which lowers the rotation accuracy of the lead screw shaft, that is, the positioning accuracy of the carriage. In particular, when a timing belt is used, the positioning accuracy of the carriage depends on the environment because the timing belt expands and contracts due to changes in the environment, and when transmitting the driving force of the motor via the gear group, Noise caused by friction between the two becomes loud. In order to solve this, in a handy type microminiature recording apparatus, a mechanism in which the lead screw shaft also serves as the output shaft of the motor and the motor directly drives the carriage is also implemented. However, in a recording apparatus capable of recording at least A4 size, it is difficult in processing to use the lead screw shaft as the screw shaft of the motor due to the lengthening of the lead screw shaft. There was a problem that it would grow.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus which improves the positioning accuracy of a carriage with a simple structure and further improves the recording quality.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a recording apparatus of the present invention comprises a carriage slidably supported by a guide member and moved along the guide member by a driving force of a motor, and the carriage. In a recording apparatus having a recording head for recording on a recording member and a carriage position detecting unit for detecting the position of the carriage, the carriage position detecting unit is rotatably attached to the carriage. A rotating shaft that is pivotally supported,
It is characterized by comprising a roller fixed to the rotation shaft and having an outer peripheral surface in contact with the guide member, and a rotation angle detection means for detecting a rotation angle of the rotation shaft.

In this case, the rotation angle detecting means has a slit plate fixed concentrically with the rotation shaft and having a plurality of slits radially formed therein, and an optical sensor for detecting the slits of the slit plate. Alternatively, it may have a magnetizing plate that is concentrically fixed to the rotating shaft and has an outer peripheral surface magnetized in multiple poles, and a magnetic sensor that detects a magnetic change of the magnetizing plate. .

Further, a lead groove is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lead screw shaft, which is rotated by the driving force of a motor supported by a supporting member, and a pin which engages with the lead groove. In a recording apparatus having a carriage slidably supported and a recording head mounted on the carriage for recording on a recording target member, the motor is configured such that the motor is connected to the supporting member via an elastic member. The motor may be non-rotatably supported in the circumferential direction and elastically supported in other directions, and the output shaft of the motor may be directly connected to the lead screw shaft.

In this case, the output shaft of the motor is a hollow shaft, and one end of the lead screw shaft is fitted and fixed in the hollow portion of the output shaft, and the elastic member is The motor may be supported at a plurality of points, and the elastic member may be made of rubber.

Further, in each of the above inventions, the recording head may perform recording on the recording member by ejecting ink from an ejection port, and the recording head may be a thermal device for ejecting ink. What has an electrothermal converter for generating energy, and the recording head,
The ink may be ejected from the ejection port by utilizing the film boiling generated in the ink by the thermal energy applied by the electrothermal converter.

[0012]

In the invention according to claim 1 configured as described above, since the rotary shaft to which the roller that abuts against the guide member is fixed is rotatably supported by the carriage, the carriage serves as the guide member. As the carriage moves, the rotary shaft rotates as the carriage moves due to friction between the guide member and the rollers. The rotation angle of the rotary shaft corresponds to the movement distance of the carriage. By detecting the rotation angle of the rotary shaft by the rotation angle detection means, the carriage position can be detected with higher accuracy, and by extension, the carriage positioning accuracy. Is improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, when the lead screw shaft is rotated by the driving force of the motor, the pin provided on the carriage slides along the lead groove of the lead screw shaft, and the carriage moves on the lead screw shaft. Move along. At this time, since the lead screw shaft and the motor output shaft are directly connected, there is no play between the lead screw shaft and the motor output shaft, the rotation of the output shaft is directly transmitted to the lead screw shaft, and the carriage positioning accuracy is improved. Is improved. Further, since the motor is supported by a supporting member supporting the motor so as not to rotate in the circumferential direction of the motor via an elastic member and elastically supported in other directions, the lead screw is rotated when the lead screw shaft rotates. Even if the screw shaft shakes, the elastic member elastically deforms and the motor also shakes together with the lead screw shaft. As a result, the output shaft of the motor and the lead screw shaft are maintained on the same straight line, and the rotation of the motor is not hindered.

[0014]

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

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a first embodiment of a recording apparatus of the present invention. The recording apparatus of the present embodiment is an inkjet recording apparatus that ejects ink to perform recording on a recording target member. As shown in FIG. 1, the carriage 4 has two guide shafts 5 and 6 as guide members. A timing belt slidably supported in the directions A and B and wound around a motor pulley 8 fixed to the output shaft of a carriage motor 7 which is a DC motor and a second pulley 9 rotatably supported. It is bound to 10 sites. The second pulley 9 is constantly urged in the direction of the arrow B by a spring (not shown) to apply tension to the timing belt 10. The cartridge 1 is detachably mounted on the carriage 4. The cartridge 1 includes a recording head 2 that ejects ink and an ink storage portion 3 that includes an ink absorber that stores the ink to be supplied to the recording head 2 and are integrated by a driving force of a carriage motor 7. By rotating the belt 10 in the normal direction and the reverse direction, the carriage 4 reciprocates in the directions A and B, and the recording head 2 reciprocates accordingly.

Further, in a portion facing the recording head 2,
A transport roller 11 for transporting a recording paper 17, which is a recording target member, is rotatably supported. A pressure contact plate 15 is pressed against the transport roller 11 by a spring (not shown). The pressure contact plate 15 is for keeping the distance between the recording head 2 and the recording paper 17 at a predetermined distance by pressing the recording paper 17 against the conveying roller 11 by the urging force of the spring. A transport roller gear 12 is fixed to one end of the transport roller 11, and the motor gear 1 fixed to the output shaft of the transport roller motor 13 is fixed to the transport roller gear 12.
4 is in mesh. By rotating the transport roller 11 by the driving force of the transport roller motor 13, the recording paper 17 is transported in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the recording head 2 and discharged by the discharge roller 16.

The recording head will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the recording head 2 shown in FIG. The recording head 2 has a plurality of ejection openings 2b formed at a predetermined pitch on an ejection opening surface 2a facing a recording paper 17 (see FIG. 1) at a predetermined interval, and the common liquid chamber 2c and each ejection opening 2b are formed. An electrothermal converter (e.g., a heating resistor) 2e for generating energy for ejecting ink is provided along the wall surface of each liquid passage 2d communicating with the outlet 2b.
The common liquid chamber 2c communicates with the ink storage unit 3 (see FIG. 1), and the ink is supplied from the ink storage unit 3 to the common liquid chamber 2c. The ink that is supplied from the ink storage unit 3 to the common liquid chamber 2c and temporarily stored therein enters the liquid passage 2d due to a capillary phenomenon and forms a meniscus at the ejection port 2b to keep the liquid passage 2d filled. . At this time, when a drive signal for rapidly increasing the temperature is applied to the electrothermal converter 2e via an electrode (not shown), the ink on the electrothermal converter 2e film-boils and bubbles are generated in the liquid passage 2d. Then, due to the expansion of the bubbles, ink is ejected from the ejection port 2b toward the recording paper 17, and recording is performed. Here, the electrothermal converter 2e is shown as the energy generating element for generating energy, but the invention is not limited to this, and a piezoelectric element for generating mechanical energy that instantaneously applies the discharge pressure may be used.

On the other hand, the carriage 4 is provided with a carriage position detecting means 20. The carriage position detecting means 20 will be described below with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the carriage 4 for explaining the carriage position detection means 20 of the recording apparatus shown in FIG.
The state seen from the 2nd pulley side 9 (refer to Drawing 1) is shown. As shown in FIG. 3, the carriage position detecting means 20 of this embodiment includes a rotary shaft 21 rotatably supported by the carriage 4 such that the axial direction is perpendicular to the axial direction of the one guide shaft 5. The friction roller 22 fixed to the rotary shaft 21 and having the outer peripheral surface abutting the one guide shaft 5, the disk-shaped slit plate 23 also fixed to the rotary shaft 21, and the slit plate 23 at the outer peripheral portion of the slit plate 23. It is composed of a pair of optical sensors composed of a light-emitting element 24 and a light-receiving element 25 fixed to the carriage 4 so as to face each other.

The friction roller 22 is made of rubber or urethane having a high friction coefficient, and when the carriage 4 is moved, the rotary shaft 21 is rotated together with the slit plate 23 by the friction between the guide shaft 5 on one side and the friction roller 22. It is composed. The slit plate 23 is made of a colorless and transparent acrylic plate, and 50 slits 23a radially arranged as shown in FIG. 4 are etched and printed on the outer peripheral portion of the surface thereof. As a result, when the slit 23 a is not located between the light emitting element 24 and the light receiving element 25, the light emitted from the light emitting element 24 passes through the slit plate 23 and is incident on the light receiving element 25. Although converted into an electric signal, when the slit 23a is located between the light emitting element 24 and the light receiving element 25, the light emitted from the light emitting element 24 is blocked by the slit 23a.

Next, the operation of the recording apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the transport roller motor 13 is driven to rotate the transport roller 11, and the recording paper 17 is transported to a predetermined position. Then, the carriage motor 7 is driven to reciprocate the carriage 4 and the recording paper 1 is moved.
While repeating the conveyance of the recording medium 7 at a predetermined pitch, a recording signal is given to the recording head 2 in accordance with the position of the carriage 4, whereby ink is ejected from the ejection ports 2b and recording is performed on the recording paper 17. At this time, the position of the carriage 4 is detected by the carriage position detection means 20, and the recording head 2 is driven based on the detection result.

Now, the process of detecting the carriage position by the carriage position detecting means 20 will be described. When the carriage 4 is moved, the rotary shaft 21 rotates with the slit plate 23 by a predetermined angle according to the moving distance of the carriage 4 due to the friction between the guide shaft 5 and the friction roller 22. As a result, the number of slits 2 corresponding to the rotation angle of the slit plate 23 is set between the light emitting element 24 and the light receiving element 25.
3a passes. When the slit 23a passes between the light emitting element 24 and the light receiving element 25, the light emitting element 24
The light emitted from is blocked by the slit 23a, and the light from the light emitting element 24 is intermittently incident on the light receiving element 25 by the same number as the number of the slits 23a that have passed through. Since the light receiving element 25 outputs the same number of pulse signals as the number of slits 23a that have passed through, that is, the number corresponding to the moving distance of the carriage 4, this pulse signal is counted and used as the position information of the carriage 4. .

Now, the outer diameter of the friction roller 22 is d = 4.49.
In the case of mm, since the number of slits of the slit plate 23 is 50 as described above, the moving distance ΔL of the carriage 4 for obtaining one pulse signal from the light receiving element 25 is ΔL = (d / 2) × (2π / 50) = 0.141 mm = 1/180 inch. On the other hand, the recording density of this recording apparatus is 360 dpi,
That is, assuming that the number of dots is 360 dots per inch, it is sufficient to apply the recording signal of 2 pulses to the recording head 2 for the output of 1 pulse from the light receiving element 25. Also,
The dimensional accuracy of the outer diameter of the friction roller 22 is ± 2.2% (± 0.
1 mm), the accuracy of the slit 23a for one pulse also fluctuates only by ± 2.2%, that is, 2.2 / 180 = 0.1 μm, and the accuracy of the carriage position detection due to the dimensional change of the outer diameter of the friction roller 22 is reduced. It is thought that there will be little impact.

As described above, the slit plate 23 rotated by the carriage 4 according to the moving distance of the carriage 4.
By providing the carriage position detecting means 20 having an optical sensor for detecting the rotation angle of the slit plate 23, the carriage 4 can be accurately arranged with a relatively simple structure without using a long linear encoder. The position can be detected. Then, the carriage position detecting means 20
Based on the position information detected by the carriage motor 7
By performing the control of (1), the positioning accuracy of the carriage 4 is improved, and higher quality recording can be performed. Further, since the positioning accuracy of the carriage 4 is improved, bidirectional printing can be performed even when printing a chart or the like that requires high printing accuracy, and the throughput of the printing apparatus can be improved. Further, since the DC motor is used as the carriage motor 7, the responsiveness is improved as compared with the pulse motor, so that the recording speed can be improved, and the step out peculiar to the pulse motor due to the torque fluctuation is also eliminated.

In the present embodiment, the carriage position detecting means 2
The resolution of 0 is twice the recording density, but by performing constant speed control of the carriage 4 based on the position information of the carriage 4, stable recording accuracy can be obtained even if the above resolution is lowered. In this case, since the number of slits 23a provided in the slit plate 23 can be reduced, the slit plate 23 can be easily manufactured, which contributes to a reduction in manufacturing cost.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a carriage for explaining a carriage position detecting means of a second embodiment of the recording apparatus of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the carriage position detecting means 40 of this embodiment includes a rotary shaft 41 rotatably supported by the carriage 34 so that the axial direction is perpendicular to the axial direction of the guide shaft 35, and Axis 4
1, a friction roller 42 whose outer peripheral surface abuts the guide shaft 35, a disk-shaped magnetizing plate 43 which is also fixed to the rotating shaft 41, and a portion of the carriage 34 which faces the outer peripheral end surface of the magnetizing plate 43. And the Hall element 44 provided. The magnetized plate 43 has 50 N poles and S poles alternately magnetized on the outer peripheral surface thereof. The Hall element 44 is a magneto-electric conversion element, which changes the output voltage by changing the magnetism. The rest of the configuration may be similar to that of the first embodiment, so its explanation is omitted.

When the carriage 34 is moved based on the above structure, the rotating shaft 41 rotates with the magnetizing plate 43 by a predetermined angle according to the moving distance of the carriage 34 due to the friction between the guide shaft 35 and the friction roller 42. This allows
The N-pole and the S-pole are alternately opposed to the Hall element 44 according to the rotation angle of the magnetized plate 43, and a pulse signal is output from the Hall element 44 due to the magnetic change. That is, since the number of pulse signals corresponding to the movement distance of the carriage 34 is output from the Hall element 44, the pulse signals are counted and used as the position information of the carriage 34, and the comparison is performed as in the first embodiment. The position of the carriage 34 can be accurately detected with a simple structure, and the positioning accuracy of the carriage 34 can be improved.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the third embodiment of the recording apparatus of the present invention. The recording apparatus according to the present embodiment is also an inkjet recording apparatus that ejects ink to perform recording on a recording target member as in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, in the recording apparatus of this embodiment, the right side plate 58 and the left side plate 59 as a supporting member for supporting the carriage motor 57 are arranged facing each other with a space therebetween.
A guide shaft 55 is fixed to the right side plate 58 and the left side plate 59, and a lead screw shaft 56 is rotatably supported. The carriage 54 is slidably supported by the guide shaft 55 and the lead screw shaft 56 in the arrow C and D directions. The carriage 54 has a lead groove 56a formed in the lead screw shaft 56.
A pin 54a for engaging with the pin 54a is provided.
A is constantly biased to the lead groove 56a by a spring (not shown). The lead screw shaft 56 is directly connected to an output shaft of a carriage motor 57, which is a pulse motor supported by the left side plate 59, by a structure described later, and the drive of the carriage motor 57 causes the lead screw shaft 56 to rotate normally and reversely.
The pin 54a slides along the lead groove 56a, and the carriage 54 reciprocates in the arrow C and D directions. As with the first embodiment, the carriage 54 is removably mounted with the cartridge 51 in which the recording head 52 and the ink storage portion 53 are integrated.

Here, the structure in the vicinity of the connecting portion between the carriage motor 57 and the lead screw shaft 56 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a front view of the vicinity of the connecting portion between the carriage motor 57 and the lead screw shaft 56 of the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 6, and shows a section below the central axis of the lead screw shaft 56 in a cross section. Also, FIG.
Is the carriage motor 57 of the recording apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 is a side view of the left side plate 59 as seen from the side of the carriage motor mounting surface.

As shown in FIG. 7, the carriage motor 57
Is a stator 71 fixed inside the housing 57a.
And a rotor 72 fixed to a hollow output shaft 74 that is rotatably supported by a housing 57a via a bearing 73, and is fixed to four elastically deformable motors made of thin metal plate as elastic members. It is fixed to the left side plate 59 via a plate 75 with a space therebetween. Each motor fixing plate 75 elastically supports the carriage motor 57, and as shown in FIG. 8, is arranged at each of four positions divided in the circumferential direction of the carriage motor 57. As a result, the carriage motor 57 is fixed in the circumferential direction of the carriage motor 57, but in the other directions, the motor fixing plates 75 are fixed.
The left side plate 59 so that the
Supported by.

On the other hand, the carriage 54 (see FIG. 6) is attached to the lead screw shaft 56 while the lead screw shaft 56 is being rotated.
Circumferential groove 5 for waiting (see) at home position
6b is formed in the circumferential direction of the lead screw shaft 56 and continuously with the lead groove 56a. Further, the tip portion of the lead screw shaft 56 penetrates the left side plate 59, fits into the hollow portion of the output shaft 74 of the carriage motor 57, and is screwed to the output shaft 74.

Furthermore, between the portion of the lead screw shaft 56 where the circumferential groove 56b is formed and the portion where the output shaft 74 of the carriage motor 57 is fitted, a lead groove 56a and a circumferential groove 56b are formed. The diameter is smaller than that of the portion in which the flange 56c is integrally provided, and the clutch gear 68 is provided so as to be fixed in the rotational direction and movable in the thrust direction. The clutch gear 68 is constantly urged to the right in the figure by a clutch spring 67 provided between the clutch gear 68 and the flange 56c. Further, a head recovery device (not shown) for maintaining the ink ejection characteristics of the recording head 52 by operating the ejection port surface of the recording head 52 (see FIG. 6) or wiping off dirt is used. Timing gear 69
Is rotatably provided on the left side plate 59. The operation of the head recovery device is performed when the carriage 54 is at the home position, at which time the clutch gear 68 is pushed by the carriage 54 and meshes with the timing gear 69 against the biasing force of the clutch spring 67. Further, the pin 54a (see FIG. 6) of the carriage 54 is engaged with the circumferential groove 56b, and when the lead screw shaft 56 is rotated in this state, the carriage 54 remains at the home position and the lead screw shaft 56 is kept. Is transmitted to the timing gear 69 via the clutch gear 68, and the recovery device is operated. If the recovery device is operated by utilizing the rotation of the lead screw shaft 56 in this way, the drive mechanism of the recovery device becomes simple.

Returning to FIG. 6 again, a transport roller 61 and a transport roller gear 62 for transporting the recording paper 67.
The transport roller motor 63, the motor gear 64, the pressure contact plate 65, and the paper discharge roller 66 may have the same configurations as those in the first embodiment, and therefore their description will be omitted.

Next, the operation of the recording apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the transport roller motor 63 is driven to rotate the transport roller 61, and the recording paper 67 is transported to a predetermined position. Then, by repeating the reciprocating movement of the carriage 54 by the driving of the carriage motor 57 and the conveyance of the recording paper 67 at a predetermined pitch, a recording signal is given to the recording head 52 according to the number of drive pulses given to the carriage motor 57. Ink is ejected from the ejection port (not shown) of the recording head 52 to record on the recording paper 67.

At this time, since the lead screw shaft 56 is directly connected to the output shaft 74 of the carriage motor 57 as described above, there is no play between the output shaft 74 of the carriage motor 57 and the lead screw shaft 56. The rotation of 74 is transmitted to the lead screw shaft 56 as it is, and the positioning accuracy of the carriage 54 is improved. As a result, the printing quality is improved, and bidirectional printing is possible even when printing a chart or the like, and the throughput is also improved. Further, since the driving force of the carriage motor 57 is transmitted to the lead screw shaft 56 without passing through the timing belt or the gear, the positioning accuracy of the carriage 54 does not deviate due to changes in the environment.
Moreover, it is less noisy.

Further, while the carriage 54 is moving, the lead screw shaft 56 is swayed due to the eccentricity of the lead screw shaft 56 and the moving load of the carriage 54. However, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. Since the motor 57 is elastically supported by the left side plate 59 via the motor fixing plate 75, when the lead screw shaft 56 swings, each motor fixing plate 75 elastically deforms and the carriage motor 57.
Also swings in the same manner as the lead screw shaft 56. As a result, even if the lead screw shaft 56 swings, the axis line of the lead screw shaft 56 and the axis line of the output shaft 74 of the carriage motor 57 are maintained on the same straight line, and the rotation of the carriage motor 57 is not hindered and stable. It can be rotated. At this time, when the moving direction of the carriage 54 is reversed, a force that moves the lead screw shaft 56 and the carriage motor 57 in the axial direction is generated by the load applied to the lead screw shaft 56, and the force causes the force to move the lead screw shaft 56 and the carriage motor. There is concern that the motor 57 may be moved and the positioning accuracy of the carriage 54 may be reduced. However, in order to move the lead screw shaft 56 and the carriage motor 57 in the axial direction, it is necessary to apply a force to the lead screw shaft 56 or the carriage motor 57 to deform all the motor fixing plates 75 at the same time. In this embodiment, all the motor fixing plates 7
The force required to deform 5 simultaneously is the carriage 54
Is sufficiently larger than the load applied to the lead screw shaft 56 when reversing the moving direction of the carriage 54, the lead screw shaft 56 and the carriage 54 do not move due to the reversing of the moving direction of the carriage 54, and the positioning accuracy of the carriage 54 is maintained. You can

In this embodiment, an example in which the motor fixing plate 75 made of a thin metal plate is used as the elastic member is shown.
As the elastic member, as shown in FIG.
May be used. 9 is a front view of the vicinity of the connecting portion between the carriage motor 87 and the lead screw shaft 86 when the rubber block 95 is used as the elastic member in the recording apparatus shown in FIG. ~ Since it is the same as that shown in Fig. 8, its description is omitted.
In this way, by using the rubber block 95 as the elastic member, the vibration of the carriage motor 87 is absorbed by each rubber block 95, so that noise due to the vibration of the carriage motor 87 can be reduced. In addition to the motor fixing plate 75 shown in FIG. 7 and the rubber block 95 shown in FIG. 9, a compression spring may be used as the elastic member.

In each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which the present invention is applied to an ink jet recording apparatus has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to a thermal type recording apparatus or a wire dot type recording apparatus. The recording device according to the present invention may be provided integrally or separately as an image output terminal of an information processing device such as a word processor or a computer, a copying device combined with a reader, and a facsimile having a transmission / reception function. It may take the form of a device.

[0038]

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

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rotating shaft, which is rotatably supported by the carriage, in which a roller abutting the guide member is fixed, and a rotating angle detecting means for detecting a rotating angle of the rotating shaft. By providing the carriage position detecting means, the position of the carriage can be detected with a simple structure and with high accuracy. As a result, the positioning accuracy of the carriage is improved, the recording quality is improved, and the throughput can be improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the output shaft of the motor is directly connected to the lead screw shaft, the rotation of the output shaft of the motor is transmitted to the lead screw shaft as it is, so that the positioning accuracy of the carriage is improved, and the recording is performed. The quality and throughput can be improved. In addition, since the motor is supported by the supporting member supporting the motor so as not to rotate in the circumferential direction of the motor via the elastic member and elastically supported in other directions, it is The runout of the lead screw shaft can be absorbed by the elastic member. As a result, the output shaft of the motor and the lead screw shaft can be maintained on the same straight line, and the motor can be stably rotated. And in this case,
Since the elastic member is made of rubber, the vibration of the motor is absorbed by the elastic member, so that the noise generated by the vibration of the motor can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a first embodiment of a recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the recording head of the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a carriage for explaining a carriage position detecting unit of the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a slit plate of the carriage position detecting means shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a carriage for explaining a carriage position detecting means of a second embodiment of the recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a third embodiment of a recording apparatus of the present invention.

7 is a front view of the vicinity of a connecting portion between a carriage motor and a lead screw shaft of the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 shows a carriage motor of the recording apparatus shown in FIG.
It is the side view seen from the carriage motor mounting surface side of the left side plate.

9 is a front view of the vicinity of a connecting portion between a carriage motor and a lead screw shaft when a rubber block is used as an elastic member in the recording apparatus shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 51 Cartridge 2, 52 Recording head 2a Discharge port surface 2b Discharge port 2c Common liquid chamber 2d Liquid path 2e Electric machine heat converter 3,53 Ink storage unit 4,34,54 Carriage 5,6,35,55 Guide shaft 7 , 57, 87 Carriage motor 8 Motor pulley 9 Second pulley 10 Timing belt 11, 61 Conveying roller 12, 62 Conveying roller gear 13, 63 Conveying roller motor 14, 64 Motor gear 15, 65 Pressure contact plate 16, 66 Discharging roller 17, 67 Recording Paper 20,40 Carriage position detecting means 21,41 Rotating shaft 22,42 Friction roller 23 Slit plate 23a Slit 24 Light emitting element 25 Light receiving element 43 Magnetizing plate 54a Pin 56,86 Lead screw shaft 56a Lead groove 56b Circular groove 56c Flange 57a housing 58 right Plate 59 left side plate 44 Hall element 67 clutch spring 68 clutch gear 69 timing gear 71 stator 72 rotor 73 bearing 74 output shaft 75 the motor fixing plate 95 rubber blocks

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A carriage that is slidably supported by a guide member and is moved along the guide member by a driving force of a motor; and a recording head mounted on the carriage for recording on a recording member. In a recording apparatus having a carriage position detecting unit for detecting the position of the carriage, the carriage position detecting unit includes a rotating shaft rotatably supported by the carriage and an outer peripheral surface fixed to the rotating shaft. A recording apparatus comprising: a roller that comes into contact with the guide member; and a rotation angle detection unit that detects a rotation angle of the rotation shaft. 2. The rotation angle detecting means includes a slit plate fixed concentrically to the rotation shaft and having a plurality of slits radially formed therein, and an optical sensor for detecting slits of the slit plate. The recording device according to 1. 3. The rotation angle detection means includes a magnetized plate which is concentrically fixed to the rotation shaft and whose outer peripheral surface is magnetized to have multiple poles, and a magnetic sensor which detects a magnetic change of the magnetized plate. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 4. A lead screw shaft formed with a lead groove on an outer peripheral surface thereof and rotated by a driving force of a motor supported by a supporting member, and a pin engaging with the lead groove are provided on the lead screw shaft. In a recording apparatus having a carriage slidably supported and a recording head mounted on the carriage for recording on a recording target member, the motor is configured such that the motor of the motor is connected to the supporting member via an elastic member. A recording apparatus, which is non-rotatably supported in a circumferential direction and elastically supported in other directions, and an output shaft of the motor is directly connected to the lead screw shaft. 5. The output shaft of the motor is a hollow shaft,
The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein one end of the lead screw shaft is fitted and fixed in the hollow portion of the output shaft. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the elastic member supports the motor at a plurality of locations. 7. The elastic member is made of rubber,
The recording device according to 5 or 6. 8. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head records on the recording member by ejecting ink from ejection ports. 9. The recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the recording head has an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy for ejecting ink. 10. The recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the recording head ejects the ink from the ejection port by utilizing film boiling generated in the ink by the thermal energy applied by the electrothermal converter.