JPH09109402A - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify and miniaturize the constitution of a cap means by driving the cap means without requiring a special drive mechanism constituted of a motor or a cam. SOLUTION: When a scanner 78 approaches the standby region of a carriage 12 for black ink, the bearing 69 of the scanner 78 comes into contact with a cap holder 206 and this holder 206 is downwardly separated and displaced from the ink jet head of the black ink cartridge 13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inkjet printing apparatus provided with a scanning type carrier.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the Japanese Patent Application No. 6-164430, the inventor of the present invention selectively scans functional elements such as an ink jet head and a reading sensor with a simple structure.
A scanning type carrier that can obtain various operating modes according to the type of the functional element and that can hold the functional elements easily and make them stand by to simplify the configuration and reduce the size thereof is provided. Suggested equipment. Such a device includes a carrier on which a functional element can be mounted, and the function of the functional element can be achieved by scanning the carrier while the functional element is mounted. When an inkjet printing apparatus is configured with an inkjet head as a functional element, a cap means capable of capping the inkjet outlet of the inkjet head is provided to prevent clogging of the inkjet outlet due to drying of the ink. It has become.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in connection with the above-mentioned proposed development, and its purpose is to:
To provide an inkjet printing apparatus capable of driving a cap unit without requiring a special drive mechanism composed of a motor, a cam, etc., and simplifying and downsizing the structure of the cap unit. is there.

[0004]

A first embodiment of an ink jet printing apparatus of the present invention is a scanning type carrier that receives a driving force to perform scanning, a guide mechanism that enables the scanning of the carrier, and one end side in the scanning direction. Has a standby portion capable of holding an inkjet head capable of ejecting ink,
In the inkjet printing apparatus in which the carrier is integrally movable by mounting the inkjet head in the standby portion, the carrier is relatively moved closer to the inkjet head in the standby portion to move the inkjet head. It is characterized by comprising a capping-capable cap means and an actuating mechanism for relatively changing the inkjet head and the cap means by the moving force of the carrier.

A second mode of the ink jet printing apparatus of the present invention is a scanning type carrier which receives a driving force to perform scanning, a guide mechanism which enables the carrier to scan, and a first functional element on one end side in the scanning direction. And a second standby portion capable of holding the second functional element on the other end side in the scanning direction, and at least one of the first and second standby elements is made of ink. In an inkjet printing apparatus in which at least the inkjet head is mounted and the carrier is integrally movable, the inkjet head is located at the first or / and second standby portion. A cap means capable of capping the inkjet head by relatively displacing the inkjet head, and the transfer of the carrier. And characterized in that it comprises an actuating mechanism for relative displacement between said cap means and said ink-jet head by the force.

According to the present invention, the moving force of the scanning type carrier relatively displaces the ink jet head and the cap means relatively close to and away from each other at the standby portion of the ink jet head. The cap can be capped to prevent the non-ejection of the ink due to the drying of the ink, and the driving mechanism of the cap means can be simplified and downsized.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below based on Examples.

(First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 and 7. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing this embodiment.

Reference numeral 1 is a right side plate, and 2 is a left side plate. 3
Denotes a platen roller, which is made of an elastic material such as rubber. Reference numeral 4 denotes a platen roller shaft formed at the center of the platen roller, the left and right ends of which are supported by the left side plate 2 and the right side plate 1. Reference numeral 5 denotes a paper feed motor, which is supported by the right side plate 1 and rotates the platen roller shaft 4 via a gear train (not shown). A paper guide 6 is provided along the circumference of the platen roller 3. Pinch rollers 7 and 8 are pressed against the surface of the platen roller 3 with a predetermined pressure by a spring (not shown). A recording sheet 9 as a print medium is fed from a direction of an arrow 10 and inserted between the platen roller shaft 4 and the paper guide 6,
It is pinched between the pinch rollers 7 and 8 and the platen roller shaft 4, bent in a U-shape, and fed. Reference numeral 11 is a guide shaft having a diameter of 10 mm as a guide mechanism, and its end is supported by the left side plate 2 and the right side plate 1.

Reference numeral 12 is a black ink carriage. Details of the black ink carriage 12 will be described with reference to FIG. A black ink cartridge 13 is mounted on the black ink carriage 12. 2
A cartridge hook 4 serves to press the cartridge 13 against the contact portion 26 located in the carriage 12. When the button 27 is pressed, the locking portion 30 is disengaged from the square hole 29 provided in the carriage 12, and the fulcrum 28 is used as an axis to move the 31
The hook 24 rotates in the direction and opens. With the hook 24 open, the black ink cartridge 13 is inserted into the carriage 12 from above, and when the hook 24 is closed, the cartridge 13 is pressed against the contact portion 26 and fixed. Pins 99 and 100 project from the carriage 12, and these pins 99 and 100 are attached to the cartridge 13
It fits into the positioning hole of the aluminum plate described later attached to the. The cartridge 13 is positioned by hitting the roots of the pins 99 and 100. Reference numeral 32 denotes a flexible cable, which curves and follows the movement of the carriage 12.
The flexible cable 32 has the contact portion 26 formed at the end and is arranged inside the carriage 12, and supplies an ink ejection signal as a drive signal from the substrate (not shown) to the cartridge 13. The carriage 12 has fitting holes 33, 3 for integrating with a scanning element 78 as a carrier which will be described later.
It has 4, 35 and a grip portion 36. The hole 35 is a long hole that is long in the vertical direction, and the grip portion 36 is
Projects outward from the wall of the. Reference numeral 37 is a hole provided in the carriage 12 through which the guide shaft 11 penetrates, and its inner diameter is set to 10.2 mm so that a frictional load does not occur when it is integrated with the scanning element 78. This hole 3
7 is engaged with the guide shaft 11, the carriage 12 is swingably engaged with the guide shaft 11 serving as a guide mechanism, and the cap holder 206, which will be described later, serves as a first standby portion.
(See FIG. 1) At the upper portion, downward swing is restricted and held. Reference numeral 79 is a black carriage sensor shield plate that shields a light transmission type home position sensor 74 described later. Reference numeral 200 denotes a protrusion, which is fitted into a groove 210 of a cap holder to be described later so that the carriage 1
Position and fix 2.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 38 denotes a color ink carriage in which a color ink cartridge 44 is mounted. The carriage 38 will be described with reference to FIG. The carriage 38 is the carriage 1 for black ink in FIG.
Since the shape is similar to that of 2, if only the differences are explained, 39,
Reference numerals 40 and 41 are fitting holes for a scanner 58 described later,
The positions of the fitting holes 39 and 40 are left and right opposite to the positions of the fitting holes 33 and 34 of the black ink carriage 12. The hole 41 is a long hole that is vertically long. Reference numeral 43 denotes a grip portion, which projects outward from the wall portion of the carriage 38. Reference numeral 80 is a sensor shield plate for the color carriage. Further, the carriage 38 is provided with a hole similar to the hole 37 of the carriage 12, and by fitting the hole and the guide shaft 11, the carriage 12 is guided by the guide shaft 1 as a guide mechanism.
1 is swingably engaged. Further, a cap holder 207 similar to the cap holder 206 provided at a position facing the carriage 38 in FIG. 1 has a top standby portion as a first standby portion, and the carriage 38 at that portion.
It regulates the downward swing of and holds it. Reference numeral 201 denotes a protrusion, which fits into a groove of a cap holder described later to position and fix the carriage 38.

The black ink cartridge 13 has an ink tank for containing the black ink and an ink jet recording head as a functional element for ejecting the black ink. Further, the heat dissipation aluminum plate (not shown) provided in the cartridge 13 is provided with a positioning hole for the carriage 12. Further, a substrate having contacts (not shown) corresponding to the contact portions 26 is fixed in parallel with the aluminum plate.

The color ink cartridge 44 has a black ink tank, a color ink tank, and a color ink jet recording head as a functional element,
Unlike the black ink cartridge tank 13 described above, these ink tanks can be removed from the color recording head and replaced. Inside the color tank, there are formed ink containing areas for yellow, magenta, and cyan ink, and the respective inks are supplied to the inkjet recording head through the ink supply ports from the sponges contained in these areas. It

Next, referring again to FIG. 1, the scanner 78 as a scanning carrier will be described. In FIG.
Left and right bearings 68 and 69 of the scanner 78 are fitted to the guide shaft 11. Further, the upper guide 67 swings along the rail 70. Reference numeral 65 denotes a belt, which is fixed to a belt stopper 64 which is located in the middle of the scanner 78 in the left-right direction and serves as a drive force receiving portion. One side of the belt 65 is hung on the motor pulley 72, and the other side is hung on a tension pulley 73 urged in a direction of stretching the belt by a spring (not shown). By driving the carrier motor 71, the scanning element 78 is moved in the main scanning direction. 6
Reference numeral 6 denotes a sensor shield plate which interrupts the optical path of the light transmissive home position sensor 74 to generate an output signal for position control of the scanning element 78.

Reference numeral 62 is a resin gripper fixed on the scanning element 78. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 202 denotes a bifurcated claw that grips the grip portions 36 and 43 on the black ink carriage 12 and the color ink carriage 38. Reference numeral 203 denotes a lock portion, and the claw portions 203A and 203A at the free ends thereof are hooked at the tips of the grip portions 36 and 43, and the scanner 78 and the carriage 12 are
And the carriage 78 and the carriage 38 are locked. The lock portion 203 keeps the claw portions 203A and 203A in a locked state with the grip portions 36 and 43 even if a force forcibly separating the carriages 12 and 38 from the scanner 78 is applied. Has become.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in which the scanning element 78 and the black ink carriage 12 are combined. The grip portion 36 of the carriage 12 abuts against the stopper portion 98 of the scanning element 78 and is held. That is, the cartridge 1
3 are positioning pins 99 and 1 for the carriage 12.
Positioned by hitting the base of 00, carriage 1
2 is positioned by abutting a stopper portion 98 with respect to the scanning element 78. As a result, when the scanner 78 is scanned,
It is possible to record at an accurate position on the paper 9. Scanner 7
8 is a grip portion 36 of the black ink carriage 12.
When the gripper is gripped, the fitting shafts 59, 6 of the scanner 78 are
1, 63 are fitted into the fitting holes 34, 33, 35 of the carriage 12, respectively, so that the scanning element 78 and the carriage 12 can be integrally scanned. On the other hand, when the color ink carriage 38 and the scanning element 78 are integrated, the gripper 62
Grips the grip portion 36, and the fitting shaft 6 of the scanner 78 is
Nos. 0, 61 and 63 are fitted into the fitting holes 40, 39 and 41 of the color ink carriage 38, respectively, so that scanning can be performed similarly. Gripper 62 and fitting shafts 59, 61, 63
Is an engagement mechanism for restricting the swinging of the carriages 12, 38 when the carriages 12, 38 located on the caps as the first and second standby parts are coupled and mounted on the scanning element 78. Is done.

75 is a carriage 12 for black ink.
, A resin black gripper for restraining the
Is a color gripper for restraining the color ink carriage 38 at the position shown in FIG. Black gripper 75
Since the shapes of the color gripper 76 and the color gripper 76 are in a mirror image relationship and the operation is the same, only the black gripper 75 will be described. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 204 denotes an unlocking portion, and when the scanning element 78 approaches the position of the carriage 12 in FIG. 1, the inclined tip portion 204A rides on the inclined surface 203B of the claw portion 203A of the lock portion 203. , And is elastically deformed in the opening direction of arrow 306 in FIG. 4 to release the lock with the grip portion 36. Reference numeral 205 denotes a bifurcated claw, which has the same shape as the bifurcated claw 202 of the gripper 62 described above.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing the relationship between the grip portion 36, the gripper 62, and the black gripper 75 of the black ink carriage 12, and the carriage 12 is not shown. FIG. 7A shows a state where the black gripper 75 restrains the carriage 38. Since the bifurcated claw 205 of the black gripper 75 holds the grip portion 36, it is displaced so as to open outward. FIG.
(B) shows a state where the scanning element 58 approaches the carriage 12, and the forked claw 202 of the gripper 62 is about to enter the inside of the claw 205 of the opened black gripper 75. At this time, the tip portion 20 of the lock portion 203
4A is an inclined surface 203B of the claw portion 203A of the lock portion 203
Is about to get on. FIG. 7C shows a state where the scanning element 78 is further approached, and the claw 202 of the gripper 62 is shown.
Grips the grip portion 36, and the black gripper 75
The claw 205 is further expanded. At this time, the tip portion 204A of the lock portion 203 rides on the inclined surface 203B of the claw portion 203A of the lock portion 203, and the claw portion 2
03A is opened in the direction of arrow 306 in FIG. 4, and the tip of the grip portion 36 is allowed to enter the inside of the claw portion A. After that, when the scanning element 78 moves in the opposite direction as shown in FIG. 7D, the carriage 12 becomes in a state of scanning together with the scanning element 78. At this time, the claw portion 203A of the lock portion 203 elastically returns in the direction opposite to the arrow 306 in FIG. 4 and is hooked at the tip of the grip portion 36, so that the carriage 12 and the scanning element 78.
Lock the bond with. After that, when the scanner 78 moves to the right again, the scanner 78 moves in the opposite manner to the above process.
Therefore, the carriage 12 moves to the black gripper 75. In this way, each time the scanner 78 approaches the black gripper 75, the carriage 12 is delivered.

In FIG. 1, 206 is a cap holder for capping the recording head of the black ink cartridge 13 to protect it from drying. The same cap holder 207 is used for the color ink cartridge 44.
Is provided. Since the cap holders 206 and 207 have similar functions, only the black cap holder 206 will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 8, 206A is a cap rubber, which prevents the ink from drying by coming into contact with the ink ejection surface of the recording head in the black ink cartridge 13. The base end of the cap holder 206 is supported by a shaft 209 projecting from the side plate 1 in a direction opposite to the side plate 2, and is rotatable around the shaft 209 in the up and down arrow 211 direction. When the carriage 12 is in the state shown in FIG. 1, the cap holder 206 is rotated upward by a spring (not shown) to come into contact with the black ink cartridge 13, and the cap rubber 206A caps the recording head. Further, at this time, the protrusion 208 having the tapered portion 208A on the left side is located on the left side of the bearing 37 of the black carriage 12, and the protrusion 200 of the carriage 12 is fitted into the groove 210 of the cap holder 206, so that the carriage 12 is Movement is prevented and it is locked in place in the position of FIG. Therefore, displacement of the carriage 12 due to vibration or the like is prevented, and the cap rubber 2
Invasion of outside air into 06A is avoided. The scanner 78 moves from the position of FIG. 1 to the carriage 1 for black ink.
When moving to the right on the second side, the bearing 69 hits the tapered portion 208 against A and pushes down the protrusion 208. As a result, the cap holder 206 rotates downward, the cap rubber 207 separates from the recording head of the cartridge 13, and at the same time, the positioning of the carriage 12 by the protrusion 208 and the groove 210 is released. After that, when the scanning element 78 separates to the left, as described above, the scanning element 78 and the black ink carriage 12 are integrated so that printing is possible. In this way, the cap by the cap holder 206 is released only by moving the scanning element 78 to the standby portion of the carriage 12.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 9.

Before the power is turned on, the scanner 78 is stationary 50 mm on the left side in FIG. 1 from the position where the shield plate 66 blocks the optical path of the home position sensor 74, and the carriage 12 for black ink and the carriage for color ink. 38
Are in their respective cap positions and their cartridges 13, 44 are capped.

When the power is turned on, the scanning element 78 moves 100 mm to the right toward the black ink carriage 12 side (Bk side) (steps S1 and S2). At this time, the number of times the optical path of the home position sensor (HP) 74 is blocked is determined, and if it is once, the scanning element 78 is reversed and moved to the left (step S5), and the optical path of the sensor 74 is again determined. A position moved 50 mm to the left after being blocked (hereinafter,
It stops at the "initial position" (step S6). On the other hand, if the optical path of the sensor 74 is blocked twice, the scanner 7
It is determined that the black ink carriage 12 or the color ink carriage 38 is connected to the nozzle 8, and the on / off timing of the detection signal of the sensor 74 is determined. The shield plate 66 and the shield plate 79 have a distance of 20 mm in the moving direction of the scanner 78 when the scanner 78 and the carriage 12 are coupled, and the shield plate 66 when the scanner 78 and the carriage 38 are coupled. And shield 8
0 has a space of 6 mm in the moving direction of the scanning element 78. Therefore, it is possible to determine which of the carriages 12 and 38 is connected to the scanning element 78 depending on the timing of blocking the optical path of the sensor 74.

Black ink carriage 12 ("Bk
(Also called "carriage" or "black carriage")
, The black ink carriage 12 is moved to the cap position after the shielding plate 66 has passed the sensor 74 (steps S4 and S11), and the carriage 12 is restrained by the black gripper 75.
The scanner 78 is reversed and moved to the left (step S
5) Then, the optical path of the sensor 74 is blocked again and then stopped at the initial position (step S6). On the other hand, when the color ink carriage 38 is connected, the shielding plate 66 is reversed and moved to the left at the position moved 50 mm to the right after passing the sensor 74 (step S9). The carriage (also called "color carriage") 38 is moved to the cap position (step S1).
0), and the color carriage 38 to the color gripper 7
After being restrained by 3, the scanner 78 is re-inverted (step S5) and stopped at the initial position (step S6).

As described above, when neither of the carriages 12 and 38 is connected to the scanning element 78, only the scanning element 78 moves and stops at the initial position.
Due to an unforeseen situation, the carriage 1 is in the power off state.
When the scanners 2 and 38 are coupled to the scanner 78, the carriers 12 and 38 are brought to the corresponding cap positions and restrained, and then only the scanner 78 moves to the initial position and stops.

When a recording signal is input, it is determined whether the recording signal is for black-based recording such as text or ruled lines or a color image signal (steps S7, S).
8) In the former case, the scanning element 78 scans to the cap position of the black carriage 12 to scan the black carriage 12.
(Step S16), and in the latter case, the scanning element 78 scans the cap position of the color carriage 38 and is integrated with the color carriage 38 (step S1).
3). At the same time, the cartridge 13 or 44 used for recording
Then, the cap holder 206 or 207 is retracted downward (steps S17 and S14), and the positioning fixing of the cartridge 13 or 44 is released. In the recording by the black carriage 12, recording is performed by using 128 nozzles and recording for one scanning is performed (step S18).
The paper 9 is fed for 8 nozzles (steps S19, S2
3) The next scan is performed (step S18). When recording of one page is completed, the paper is ejected (steps S19, S2
0), if recording is continued, new paper is fed (step S
24, S25). When recording is completed, the scanning element 78 moves until the black carriage 12 reaches the cap position (step S26), and the black carriage 12 is restrained by the black gripper 75. After that, the scanner 78 moves to the initial position when the power is turned off and stops (step S2).
7), the movement of the scanner 78 causes the cap holder 2 to move.
6 rotates once downward and then returns upward to cap the recording head of the cartridge 13 (step S
28). Then, the power is turned off (step S2
9). On the other hand, in the recording by the color carriage 38, an area having a large proportion of a color image is superposed by feeding 24 nozzles in the order of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, and the black image area is Paper is fed by 64 black nozzles by 64 (step S22).

By the way, the gripper 62 is provided with a lock portion 203 in addition to the bifurcated claw 202, and the lock portion 203 is attached to the carriage 12 for the scanning element 78.
Since the combined state of 38 is locked, the combined state of the two will not be unintentionally released even if an unexpected situation such as the touch of the user's hand occurs.

In addition, the scanner 78 and the carriage 1 should be used just in case.
In order to respond to the occurrence of the separation of 2.38, it may be monitored whether or not the optical path of the sensor 74 is blocked twice at a predetermined timing during one scan of the scanning element 78. That is, if it shields only once, it is determined that the scanner 78 and the carriage 12 or 38 are separated, and the scanner 78 is separated.
Stop and enter the relief sequence. If the black carriage 12 was recording until just before the determination, the scanning element 78 is moved to the right by 350 mm. During the movement, the gripper 62 contacts the grip portion 36 and pushes the black carriage 12 as it is to move it to the right. After that, the bifurcated claw 202 of the black gripper 75
The grip portion 36 comes into contact with, and the grip portion 36 is gripped by the black gripper 75. Further, when the scanning element 78 moves to the right, the claw 202 of the gripper 62 enters inside the claw 205 of the black gripper 75. The carrier motor 71 stops after losing synchronism for the surplus movement. Next, the scanning element 78 reverses along with the black carriage 12 and moves to the left, and after passing through the sensor 74, stops at the initial position. At the same time, the platen roller 3 rotates to eject the paper, and a new paper 9 is fed to prepare for recording again. on the other hand,
If the color carriage 38 is recording until just before the above determination, the scanner 78 is moved to the left by 350 mm. The subsequent process is the same as the relief of the black carriage 12 described above. As described above, even if the scanning element 78 and the carriage 12 or 38 are separated in the unlikely event of an unexpected situation, the printing can be executed by automatically executing the relief sequence.

As described above, in the present embodiment, printing is performed by selecting a suitable carriage according to the type of printing signal. Further, such selection may be performed according to the operation mode of the recording apparatus. Further, in this embodiment, as the recording head of the color ink cartridge 44, a head in which nozzles of different colors are vertically arranged is used. Therefore, the width is smaller than that in the horizontal arrangement, and the effect that the entire apparatus can be made compact can be obtained. is there.

Further, in this embodiment, the carriages 12, 38 are
Since the first and second standby parts for holding the scanner are provided on both end sides in the scanning direction of the scanning element 78, the scanning element 78 can be moved in one direction or the other by simply scanning the scanning element 78. On the other hand, the carriages 12 and 38 can be easily attached and detached, and the configuration and size of the entire apparatus can be simplified.

As is clear from FIG. 5, the scanner 7
In the combined state of the carriage 8 and the carriage 12, the scanner 78
In the projection space of the carriage 12 in the direction perpendicular to the scanning direction, that is, in the projection space of the carriage 12 in the front-back direction of the paper surface of FIG. As described above, since the belt stopper 64 (see FIG. 1) as the receiving portion of the driving force of the scanning element 78 is positioned at the middle of the scanning element 78 in the left-right direction, the belt stopping 64 is naturally the same as the carriage. It will intervene in 12 projection spaces. This shortens the distance between the belt stopper 64 receiving the driving force and the center of gravity of the carriage 12, and occurs between the belt stopper 64 and the bearings 68, 69 when the scanner 78 scans together with the carriage 16. The moment is suppressed to a small extent, which is advantageous in smoothing those scans. Further, since the grip position between the gripper 62 and the grip portion 36 is also located within the projection space of the carriage 12, the occurrence of the shake of the carriage 16 can be suppressed when the carriage 16 scans together with the scanning element 78. . This is the same when the scanner 78 and the carriage 38 are in the combined state. In addition, since the intermediate position of the scanner 78 in the left-right direction is selectively used as the space occupied by each of the carriages 12 and 38, the size of the scanner 78 in the left-right direction can be reduced accordingly.

Further, when the scanner 78 and the carriage 12 are coupled, the gripper 62 on the scanner 78 side and the fitting shaft 5 are attached.
9, 61, 63 and the grip portion 3 on the carriage 12 side
6. It is preferable to preset the positional relationship between the fitting holes 34, 33, and 35 so that the order of fitting the fitting holes 34, 33, and 35 is as follows. First, the fitting hole 35, which is a long hole, and the fitting shaft 63 are fitted to each other to position the carriage 12 in the front-back direction of the paper surface in FIG.
The carriage 12 is positioned in the vertical direction of FIG. 7 by fitting the gripper 36 and the gripper 36 together.
In this way, as the pulling / releasing engagement of the scanner 78 with respect to the carriage 12, the carriage 12 is positioned and the carriage 12 and the scanner 78 are moved relative to each other before the gripper 36 grips the gripper 62. Restricting the positional relationship is advantageous in ensuring the engagement for pulling / disengaging. This also applies to the connection between the scanner 78 and the carriage 38.

Although the ink cartridges 13 and 44 are mounted on the carriages 12 and 38 in this embodiment, the carriages 12 and 38 do not exist, and the cartridges 13 and 4 do not exist.
4 or the recording head itself may be delivered by the scanning element 78 and selectively coupled to the scanning element 78.
Further, in this embodiment, the carriages 12 and 38 are connected to the scanning element 7.
A gripper 62 having a resin-like bifurcated claw 202 as a means for connecting to 8 and a means for restraining the cap position.
However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a method of opening and closing a bifurcated claw using a solenoid, a method of utilizing an attractive force between an electromagnet and a metal, etc. can be used as a means for realizing coupling / disengaging. Included as.

Further, the functional element is not limited to the recording head and is arbitrary. For example, an image reading device can be configured by providing an image reading sensor as the functional element. Also, the carriages 12, 38
One of them is a carriage dedicated to the inkjet recording head,
The other may be provided with a carriage dedicated to an image reading head. The carriages 12 and 38 may be the same, and one may be provided as a spare. Further, as the functional element, the resolution is, for example, 300 dpi or 350 dpi.
i, 600 dpi, 720 dpi, different image reading heads are replaceably provided, and recording heads that eject different types of ink, such as dark black ink ejection, yellow, magenta, cyan ink ejection, yellow, magenta , For cyan, black ink ejection,
Alternatively, a recording head for ejecting light black ink may be replaceably provided. Of course, as the recording head, various types such as a thermal head can be adopted.

Further, an autochanger for selectively moving a plurality of functional elements is provided at a portion of the scanning element 78 on the end side in the scanning direction, and the functional element moved at the portion is coupled to the scanning element 8 by the autochanger. You may do it.

In this embodiment, two carriages 1 are used.
However, the present invention can also be applied to a printing apparatus having only one carriage. In this case, for example, depending on the number of times the optical path of the sensor 74 is shielded when the scanner 78 scans once,
It can be determined whether one carriage is coupled to the scanner 78. Of course, one carriage may be provided with various functional elements, and the functional elements themselves may be coupled to the scanning element 78.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 10 is an overall perspective view of this embodiment.
In FIG. 10, reference numerals 275 and 276 are a black gripper plate and a color gripper plate. Since these have a mirror image relationship and perform similar operations, only the black gripper plate 275 will be described with reference to FIG. 11. In FIG. 11, 215 is a hole fitted into the guide shaft 11.
The black gripper plate 275 is rotatable around this hole 215. Reference numeral 216 is a bifurcated claw having the same function as the claw 205 of the first embodiment described above. 214
Is a hole into which the pin 212 protruding from the black ink carriage 12 of FIG. 10 is inserted. The color ink carriage 38 also has similar pins 213. When the black ink carriage 12 is gripped by the nail 216, the black gripper plate 2 is centered around the hole 215.
The 75 and the carriage 12 are integrally rotatable.
77 and 277 are caps, which are fixed at the positions shown in FIG. The black gripper plate 275 is urged downward by a spring (not shown) toward the cap 77, whereby the recording head of the cartridge 13 mounted on the carriage 12 is pressed against the cap 77 and capped. When the scanner 78 approaches the carriage 12 so as to be coupled to the carriage 12, the shafts 59, 61 and 63 are fitted into the fitting holes 34, 33 and 35 of the carriage 12, respectively, so that the carriage 12 is moved upward. Raised and leaves the cap 77. Then, similarly to the above-described first embodiment, the scanner 78 and the carriage 12 are integrally coupled and then moved to the printing area to perform printing. When the printing is completed, the scanning element 78 moves again to the black gripper plate 275 side, and the carriage 12 is removed. When the scanner 78 moves away from the carriage 12 to move to the initial position, the carriage 12 rotates downward together with the black gripper plate 275, and the recording head of the cartridge 13 is capped.

In this embodiment, the caps 77 and 277 are fixed, and the carriages 12 and 38 are urged toward the corresponding caps 77 and 277. In addition, the carriage 7
A positioning pin is provided on the bottom surface of
Carriage 1 is provided with a fitting hole in the facing surface of 7, 277.
If the focus and the fitting holes are fitted when the 2, 2 move to the cap 77, 277 side, the positioning of the carriages 12, 38 with respect to the caps 77, 277 becomes reliable.

(Third Embodiment) In the first and second embodiments described above, the cap holders 206, 207 or the caps 72, 277 are provided with positioning means for positioning the carriages 12, 38. It is also possible to provide the positioning means at another site.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the carriage 12 side showing an example thereof. Reference numeral 217 is a positioning pin that is inserted into a fixed position of a frame or the like of a printing device (not shown), and is movable in the vertical direction of arrow 218. In the state of FIG. 12, the pin 217 is biased upward by a spring (not shown). When the pin 217 projects upward as shown in FIG. 12, by sandwiching the bearing portion 237 of the carriage 12 in which the holes 34 and 37 are formed between the pin 217 and the side plate 1, the pin 217 moves in the main scanning direction of the carriage 12. It regulates movement.

When the scanner 78 approaches the carriage 12 for coupling with the carriage 12, the bearing 69 of the scanner 78 steps on the pin 217, retracting it downwards. Thereafter, the scanning element 78 and the carriage 12 are integrally combined and moved to the print area. The subsequent operation is the same as in the first embodiment described above. In this way, the positioning means may be configured separately from the cap means.

(Others) It should be noted that the present invention includes a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for performing ink ejection, particularly in an ink jet recording system. An excellent effect is obtained in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a type in which the state of ink is changed by the thermal energy. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical configuration and principle are described, for example, in US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
Although it can be applied to any type of continuous type, in particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to a sheet holding liquid (ink) or an electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and giving a rapid temperature rise exceeding the nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and film boiling occurs on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis.
This is effective because air bubbles inside can be formed. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of a liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (linear liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat.
A configuration using the specification of Japanese Patent No. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration corresponding to the ejection portion is disclosed in JP-A-59-138461. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be surely and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the main body of the apparatus or the electrical connection to the main body of the apparatus or the ink from the main body of the apparatus by mounting the recording head The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is integrally provided in the recording head itself is used.

Further, as the constitution of the recording apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to add the ejection recovery means of the recording head, the auxiliary auxiliary means, etc. because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If these are specifically mentioned, the recording head is heated using capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, an electrothermal transducer, another heating element or a combination thereof. Pre-heating means for performing the pre-heating and pre-discharging means for performing the discharging other than the recording can be used.

Regarding the type or number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, only one is provided corresponding to a single color ink, or a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities are supported. A plurality of pieces may be provided. That is, for example, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but it may be either the recording head is integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. The present invention is also extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full-color recording modes by color mixing.

In addition, in the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. Or, in the inkjet system, it is common to control the temperature of the ink itself within the range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range. Sometimes, a liquid ink may be used. In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy of the state change from the solid state of the ink to the liquid state, or in order to prevent the evaporation of the ink, it is solidified and heated in the standing state. You may use the ink liquefied by. In any case, by applying heat energy such as ink that is liquefied by applying heat energy according to the recording signal and liquid ink is ejected or that begins to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention can be applied to the case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time is used. In this case, the ink is
JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-7
As described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1260, it is also possible to adopt a form in which the sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter in a state where it is held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as a form of the ink jet printing apparatus of the present invention, in addition to the one used as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmitting / receiving function are provided. It may be a form or the like.

[0051]

As described above, the ink jet printing apparatus of the present invention has a structure in which the ink jet head and the cap means are relatively displaced toward and away from the standby portion of the ink jet head by the moving force of the scanning type carrier. Therefore, when the inkjet head is not used, it can be capped to prevent the ejection failure of the ink due to the drying of the ink, and the drive mechanism of the cap means can be simplified and downsized.

Further, when the ink jet head is capped at the standby position, the position of the ink jet head is regulated so that the ink jet head is surely capped without being affected by vibration and the like, and the ink is not damaged. Ejection can be prevented more reliably, and by using the cap means as means for restricting the position of the inkjet head, the structure can be simplified and downsized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the black ink carriage shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the color ink carriage shown in FIG.

4 is a perspective view of the gripper shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

5 is a front view for explaining a combined state of the black ink carriage and the carrier shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

6 is a perspective view of the black gripper shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a main part for explaining a coupling operation between the black ink carriage and the carrier shown in FIG.

8 is a perspective view of the cap holder shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an overall schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a perspective view of the black gripper plate shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a main part showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Platen Roller 9 Recording Paper (Print Medium) 12 Black Ink Carriage 13 Black Ink Cartridge 16 Black Ink Cartridge 16 Black Head (Inkjet Head) 36 Grip Section 38 Color Ink Carriage 43 Grip Section 44 Color Ink Cartridge 47 Color Head (Inkjet Head) 62 Gripper 66 Shield Plate 74 Home Position Sensor 75 Black Gripper 76 Color Gripper 78 Scanner (Carrier) 79 Shield Plate 80 Shield Plate 200 Protrusion 202 Bifurcated Claw 203 Lock Part 204 Lock Release Part 205 Bifurcated Claw 206 Cap Holder

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A scanning type carrier that receives a driving force to perform scanning, a guide mechanism that enables scanning of the carrier, and a standby portion that can hold an inkjet head capable of ejecting ink on one end side in the scanning direction. In the inkjet printing apparatus in which the carrier is integrally movable by mounting the inkjet head at the standby portion, the carrier is relatively moved closer to the inkjet head at the standby portion, An inkjet printing apparatus comprising: a cap means capable of capping an inkjet head; and an actuating mechanism that relatively changes the inkjet head and the cap means by a moving force of the carrier. 2. The actuating mechanism relatively displaces the ink jet head and the cap means in the standby region away from each other when the carrier moves within a predetermined range near the standby region, 2. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the carrier moves out of the predetermined range, the inkjet head and the cap means in the standby portion are relatively displaced. 3. The regulating means for regulating the position of the ink jet head when the ink jet head and the cap means in the standby portion are displaced relatively close to each other. 1. The inkjet printing device according to 1 or 2. 4. The regulating means is provided at an opposing portion of the cap means and the ink jet head, and has an engaging portion that engages with each other when they are displaced relatively close to each other. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 3. 5. The carriage according to claim 1, further comprising a carriage on which the inkjet head can be mounted, the carrier being mounted on the inkjet head by being combined with the carriage. The inkjet printing apparatus described. 6. A scanning type carrier that receives a driving force to perform scanning, a guide mechanism that allows the carrier to scan, and a first standby portion that can hold a first functional element at one end side in the scanning direction. A second standby portion capable of holding a second functional element on the other end side with respect to the scanning direction;
At least one of the standby elements is an inkjet head capable of ejecting ink, and the carrier is an inkjet printing apparatus in which at least the inkjet head is mounted, and the carrier is integrally movable. A cap means capable of capping the inkjet head by relatively displacing the inkjet head in the standby position of 2; and an operating mechanism for relatively displacing the inkjet head and the cap means by a moving force of the carrier. An inkjet printing apparatus comprising: 7. The actuating mechanism is provided in the first or / and second standby portion when the carrier moves within a predetermined range near the first or / and second standby portion. When the inkjet head and the cap means are displaced relative to each other, and when the carrier moves out of the predetermined range, the inkjet head and the cap means in the first or second standby portion are moved relative to each other. 7. Displacement in close proximity mechanically.
5. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 1. 8. A regulation means for regulating the position of the ink jet head when the ink jet head and the cap means at the first and / or second standby portion are relatively displaced relatively. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the inkjet printing apparatus is an inkjet printing apparatus. 9. The regulating means has an engaging portion which is provided at a facing portion of the cap means and the ink jet head and which engages with each other when they are relatively displaced. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 8. 10. A carriage that can mount the inkjet head on the first or second standby portion, and the carrier is mounted on the inkjet head by being combined with the carriage. 10. The inkjet printing apparatus according to any one of 9 to 9. 11. The inkjet printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet head constitutes an inkjet cartridge integrated with an ink tank. 12. The ink jet head has an electrothermal conversion element that generates heat energy that causes film boiling in the ink as energy used for ejecting the ink. The inkjet printing device according to any one of 1.