JPH09123478A - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a highly reliable pumping mechanism by means of a simple construction so as to prevent a sucked ink from back-flowing to a recording head side by a method wherein an ink sucking rubber tube is prevented from being pressed to the backward direction even when a scanning member equipped with a pressing roller is moved to the direction opposite to a specified direction. SOLUTION: This ink jet recording device is equipped with a scanning member 78, with and from which a recording head installing carriage is engaged and separated, a pump made of a rubber tube arranged along the travelling course of the scanning member 78 for vacuumizing the interior of the capping means 77 of a recording head, a roller 101 for sucking ink by compressing the rubber tube arranged on the scanning member and a backward rotation preventing member 200, which allows to make the roller pivotable only which the roller is present at a predetermined position.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink from a recording means onto a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording device having a function such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile or the like, or a recording device used as an output device such as a composite electronic device including a computer or a word processor or a workstation, is based on paper based on the recording information. It is configured to record an image (including characters and symbols) on a recording medium (recording material) such as a recording medium or a plastic thin plate. The recording apparatus, depending on the recording method, inkjet type, wire dot type, thermal type,
It can be divided into laser beam type and the like.

In a serial type recording apparatus that performs recording while performing main scanning in a direction crossing the transport direction (sub-scanning direction) of the recording medium, the recording medium is set at a predetermined recording position and then moved along the recording medium. By combining the recording operation of the recording means and the transport operation of feeding the recording medium in a direction crossing the moving direction of the recording means, the recording of the entire recording medium is performed.

On the other hand, in a line type recording apparatus that performs recording only by sub-scanning in which a recording medium is transported in a transport direction, the recording medium is set at a predetermined recording position, and recording for one line is continuously performed collectively. While feeding a predetermined amount of paper (pitch feed), an image is recorded on the entire recording medium.

[0005] Among the above recording apparatuses, an ink jet recording apparatus (ink jet recording apparatus) performs recording by discharging ink from a recording means (recording head) onto a recording medium, so that it is easy to make the recording means compact. It can record high-definition images at high speed, can be recorded on plain paper without requiring special processing, running cost is low, and because it is a non-impact method, there is little noise, and It has the advantage that it is easy to record a color image using multicolor inks. Above all, a line type using a full multi-type recording means in which a large number of discharge ports are arranged in the paper width direction can further increase the recording speed.

[0006] In particular, an ink jet type recording means (recording head) for discharging ink by using thermal energy,
Through a semiconductor manufacturing process such as etching, vapor deposition, sputtering, etc., an electrothermal converter, an electrode,
By forming the liquid path wall, the top plate, and the like, it is possible to easily manufacture a device having a high-density liquid path arrangement (discharge port arrangement), and to further reduce the size. On the other hand, there are various demands for the material of a recording medium (recording material). In recent years, in addition to ordinary recording media such as paper and resin thin plates (OHP, etc.), thin paper or processed paper (for filing) has been used. Bunch holes, perforated paper, paper of any shape, etc.) have been required to be used.

In the above ink jet recording apparatus,
A pump means is used for discharging ink having a problem such as mixing of dust or drying, from an ejection port, or filling the ink in an ink reservoir to the ejection port before starting recording. As this pump means, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-5160
A piston pump accompanied by reciprocating motion of a piston as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 5-6959058, and an elastic tube (flexible member) as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-690558 are squeezed with rollers (pressing members) or the like. A typical type is a tube pump.

Although the piston pump can be generally miniaturized, there is a technical difficulty in maintaining airtightness by a sliding piston member, and a sealing member such as an O-ring for forming a hermetically sealed structure. Need to be used, and the number of parts tends to increase. On the other hand, in the tube pump, the airtightness is maintained by the tube itself, and the ink can always flow in one direction by squeezing in one direction, so that the pump means can be constructed at a lower cost, but the pump capacity Since the tube length corresponding to the content integral corresponding to is necessary, the entire device tends to be large.

Conventionally, there have been the following methods for driving the above-mentioned pump. Firstly, a system in which the pump is operated by interlocking with the operation member, and the user pumps by means when necessary, secondly, a system in which a dedicated motor is provided and the pump is driven by the motor, and thirdly, when pumping Only the clutch mechanism that connects the motor and pump device is provided,
There is a system in which a motor (paper feed motor) for feeding the recording medium in the sub-scanning direction or a motor (carriage motor) for reciprocating the recording means (recording head) in the main scanning direction is used as a drive source.

[0010]

However, the above-mentioned conventional pump drive system has the following drawbacks. First
In the above-described method of manually pumping, the pumping speed is not stable because of manual operation, and a predetermined pressure may not act on the ink ejection portion.In addition, for the user, pumping is not performed until recording failure is confirmed. There is a drawback that it is difficult to operate because it is not possible to know whether it is necessary or not.

In the above conventional method of driving with a dedicated motor, there is a problem that the pump device itself becomes large and the cost becomes high because the dedicated motor is provided. Further, even in the method of using the existing motor by providing the clutch mechanism, there is a drawback that the device is complicated. These points will be further described below.

In order to control the original intended function of each motor, that is, the drive of the paper feed motor that conveys the recording medium in the case of the paper feed motor, and the drive of the carrier in the case of the carrier motor, it is extremely high. Precision is required. Therefore, it is desirable that the drive transmission system between the motor and the paper feed roller as the driven body (object to be controlled) or the carrier is not disconnected. However, in that case, even when the motor is driven for a purpose other than the original purpose, the paper feed roller or the carrier, which is the original object, moves.

Generally, in many serial type recording apparatuses, the carrier motor is directly connected to the carrier via a belt. In that case, it is difficult to use the carrier motor for other purposes for the following reasons. First, the amount of rotation of the motor in one direction is limited to an amount corresponding to the stroke scanned by the carrier. Secondly, particularly when used as a pumping drive source, the recording head moves during pumping, which makes it difficult to connect the pump and the recording head. Therefore, in such a recording apparatus, the paper feed motor is used as a drive source for other purposes instead of the carrier motor.

However, normally, in the ink jet recording apparatus, at least the recording sheet of the cut sheet feeder must be picked up in addition to pumping.
Since these need to have different operation timings, at least two clutch mechanisms that can be arbitrarily controlled are required. Further, in order to arbitrarily control the clutch mechanism, a mechanism described below is required.

Firstly, a mechanism for connecting and disconnecting an arbitrary gear train to the motor by electromagnetic force using a solenoid or an electromagnetic clutch is required. Second, it requires a mechanism that uses the carrier as a selector. That is, when the carrier moves to a certain position, the planetary gear is forcibly meshed with the gear train from the motor, and the carrier phase and the clutch mechanism are mechanically associated with each other while the clutch is engaged. A mechanism for driving the paper feed motor to perform an arbitrary work is required.

Thirdly, if the direction in which the paper feed roller rotates in order to convey (paper feed) the recording medium is forward, it is necessary to provide a one-way clutch mechanism for transmitting the rotational force only when it is reversed. There is. However, when using these mechanisms, there are the following technical problems to be solved. That is, in the configuration in which the solenoid or the electromagnetic clutch is used to connect and disconnect, the cost is the same as when the dedicated motor is set.

Further, in the mechanism using the carrier as a selector, the carrier has to be moved to the outside of the recording area by the number of clutch mechanisms, which has a disadvantage of increasing the size of the apparatus. Further, in the mechanism using the above one-way clutch mechanism, although it is a simple and inexpensive method, only one job can be assigned other than paper feeding. As described above, in the conventional example, since a lot of work is allocated to the paper feed motor, the device becomes large and complicated, and the cost becomes high accordingly.

Further, when the conventional tube pump is adopted, there is a drawback that the pump itself becomes large as described above. For example, when the tubes are arranged in an arc shape as disclosed in JP-A-5-690558, the tube inner diameter is 2 mm and the pump capacity is 0.3.
In ml, the length of the tube is 95.5 mm, which is the pump capacity divided by the tube cross-sectional area. Furthermore, assuming that the circular arc portion of the tube is just a semicircle, the diameter of the circle is 9
It becomes 60.8 mm at 5.5 × 2 / 3.14.
This is a fairly large size for a typical serial recording device.

Further, in the ink jet recording apparatus in which the pump can be driven by a simple mechanism that responds to the movement of the carrier (carriage), the apparatus can be simplified and the cost can be reduced, but there are the following problems. In other words, there is a case where the carrier motor gets out of step due to an unexpected situation (for example, the carrier hits a hand during the pumping operation) because pumping is performed by scanning the carrier. Should a step-out occur during pumping, the next operation will be the reverse operation with the tube sealed and the ink sucked from the recording head will be pushed back to the recording head side.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, and an object of the present invention is to cause a scanner provided with a pressing member to step out during pumping operation and move in a direction opposite to a predetermined direction. It is possible to prevent pressing of a flexible member such as a tube, so that it is possible to prevent the ink that has once been sucked from flowing back to the recording means side, and also to provide a highly reliable pumping mechanism that does not cause ink backflow. An object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet recording device that can be realized with a simple configuration.

[0021]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink from a recording unit onto a recording medium, a carriage for holding the recording unit and a combination / separation of the carriage are possible. A scanning unit for moving the carriage in the main scanning direction, a cap unit for capping the ink ejection portion of the recording unit, and a moving region of the scanning unit for making the inside of the cap unit negative pressure. A pump means formed of a flexible member arranged along the line, and a switch provided at the scanner and switched and held at a plurality of positions relative to the flexible member corresponding to the position of the scanner in the main scanning direction. A pressing member that presses the flexible member to cause the ink to be discharged by the pump means, and a rotating member that engages with the pressing member and is rotated only when the pressing member is in a predetermined position. With the structure comprising a reverse rotation prevention member made freely, and is intended to achieve the above object.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the structure of the first aspect, when the pressing member is in a position to press the flexible member, the reverse rotation preventing member causes the scanning element to move only in a predetermined direction. By adopting a structure that can be engaged with the moving direction regulating means, the above object can be achieved more efficiently.

[0023]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, 1 is a right side plate, 2 is a left side plate, and 3 is a platen roller. The platen roller 3 is made of an elastic body such as rubber. A platen roller shaft 4 is formed at the center of the platen roller 3, and its left and right ends are supported by the left side plate 2 and the right side plate 3.

A paper feed motor 5 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 paper 9 as a recording medium (recording material) is fed from a direction of an arrow 10, is inserted between a platen roller 3 and a paper guide 6, and is pinched by pinch rollers 7 and 8 and a platen roller 3. The paper is bent and bent.

Reference numeral 11 is a guide shaft for guiding and supporting a carriage and a scanning element (carrier) described later. The guide shaft 11 is formed of, for example, a shaft having a diameter of 10 mm, and both ends thereof are supported by the left side plate 1 and the right side plate 2. Reference numeral 12 is a carriage for black ink. This carriage 12
Is equipped with a functional element such as recording means for recording with black ink and reciprocates along the guide shaft 11.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the black ink carriage 12 in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a black ink carriage 13 is mounted on the black ink carriage 12 as a recording unit using black ink. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 24 is a cartridge hook, which serves to press the cartridge 13 against the contact portion 26 located in the carriage 12.

When the button 27 is pushed, the engaging portion 30 is disengaged from the square hole 29 provided in the carriage 12, and the hook 24 is rotated around the fulcrum 28 in the direction of arrow 31 to open. With the hook 24 open, the black ink cartridge 1
3 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 fitted into positioning holes of an aluminum plate, which will be described later, attached to the cartridge 13. The cartridge 13 is positioned by hitting the roots of the pins 99 and 100. Reference numeral 32 denotes a flexible cable, which bends and follows the movement of the carriage 12. The flexible cable 32 has the contact portion 2 at the end.
6 is formed and arranged inside the carriage 12, and an ink ejection signal as a functional element drive signal is given to the cartridge (recording means) 13 from a substrate (not shown).

The black ink carriage 12 has fitting holes 33, 34, 35 and a grip portion 36 for integrating with a scanning element 78 as a carrier which will be described later. Hole 3
Reference numeral 5 denotes a vertically long slot, and the grip portion 36 projects outward from the wall portion of the carriage 12. Further, the carriage 12 is provided with a hole 37 through which the guide shaft 11 penetrates. When the guide shaft 11 has a diameter of 10 mm, the hole 37 has an inner diameter of 10.2 mm so that a frictional load is not generated when the guide shaft 11 is integrated with the scanning element 78.

In FIG. 2, the carriage 12 is swingably engaged with the guide shaft 11 as a guide mechanism by fitting the hole 37 and the guide shaft 11, and will be described later as a first standby portion. At a portion on the cap 77 (see FIG. 1), downward swing is regulated and held. 7
Reference numeral 9 is a black carriage sensor shield plate that shields a light transmission type home position sensor 74 (FIG. 1) described later.

In FIG. 1, the recording apparatus of the present embodiment includes
In addition to the black ink carriage 12, a color ink carriage 38 is provided. A color ink cartridge 44 is mounted on the carriage 38. FIG. 3 shows the color ink carriage 38 shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of FIG. The color ink carriage 38 has a shape structure similar to that of the black ink carriage 12 of FIG. 2, and only differences will be described below.

In FIG. 3, 39, 40 and 41 are fitting holes for a scanning element 58 which will be described later, and the positions of the fitting holes 39, 40 are the same as the fitting holes 33, 34 of the black ink carriage 12 described above. Are symmetric (left and right reversed). Hole 4
1 is a long hole vertically long. Reference numeral 43 denotes a grip portion, which projects outward from the wall portion of the carriage 38.
Reference numeral 80 denotes a color carriage sensor shield plate that shields a light transmission type home position sensor 74 (FIG. 1) described later.

Further, the color ink carriage 38 is provided with a hole similar to the hole 37 of the black ink carriage 12, and by fitting the hole with the guide shaft 11, the carriage 38 serves as a guide mechanism. The shaft 11 is swingably guided and supported. Further, a cap similar to the cap 77 (FIG. 1) is provided at a position facing the carriage 38 in FIG. 1, and this cap has a top surface portion as a first standby portion, and at that portion. The carriage 38 is held by restricting the downward swing of the carriage 38.

1 and 2, 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. This ink tank has a sponge (not shown) inside and contains ink. The ink capacity is, for example, an amount corresponding to 100 sheets of A4 size recording paper 9 for character recording. Further, a heat dissipation aluminum plate (not shown) provided in the black ink cartridge 13 is provided with a positioning hole for the black ink carriage 12. Further, a substrate having contacts (not shown) corresponding to the contact portions 26 is fixed in parallel with the aluminum plate.

1 and 3, the color ink cartridge 44 is provided with a black ink tank, a color ink tank and a color ink jet recording head (functional element), and these ink tanks are the black ink cartridge 13 described above. Unlike the ink tank of the above, it can be removed and replaced from the color recording head. The color ink tank has a sponge structure similar to that of the black ink cartridge 13. Yellow, magenta, and cyan ink storage areas are formed inside the color ink tank, and the respective inks are supplied from the sponges stored in these areas to the recording head through the ink supply ports.

The recording heads provided in the black ink cartridge 13 and the color ink cartridge 44 are ink jet recording means for ejecting ink by utilizing thermal energy, and an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy. It is equipped with. Further, the recording means records ink by ejecting ink from an ejection port by utilizing a pressure change caused by growth and contraction of bubbles due to film boiling caused by thermal energy applied by the electrothermal converter. .

FIG. 16 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of the ink ejection portion of the ink jet recording means.
In FIG. 16, the recording medium 9 and a predetermined gap (for example, about
A plurality of discharge ports 82 are formed at a predetermined pitch on the discharge port surfaces 81 facing each other at a distance of about 0.5 to 2.0 mm), and the wall surface of each liquid passage 84 that connects the common liquid chamber 83 and each discharge port 82. An electrothermal converter (heat generating resistor, etc.) 85 for generating energy for ejecting ink is disposed along the line.

The ink jet recording means has the ejection port 8
2 are mounted on the carriages 12 and 38 in such a positional relationship that they are aligned in a direction intersecting the scanning (moving) direction of the carriages 12, 38. In this way, the corresponding electrothermal converter 85 is driven (energized) based on the image signal or the ejection signal to cause the ink in the liquid passage 84 to film-boil, and the ink generated from the ejection port 82 is ejected by the pressure generated at that time. Recording means is configured.

Next, referring to FIG. 1, a scanner 78 as a scanning type carrier will be described. In FIG. 1, the left and right bearings 68 and 69 of the scanning element 58 are fitted to the guide shaft 11. The upper guide 67 of the scanning element 78 slides 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 of the belt 65 is hung on a tension pulley 73 urged by a spring (not shown) in a direction to stretch the belt.

By driving the carrier motor 71, the scanning element 78 is moved in the main scanning direction along the guide shaft 11. Reference numeral 66 denotes a sensor shield plate provided on the scanning element 78, which interrupts the optical path of the light transmission type home position sensor 74 to generate an output signal for controlling the position of the scanning element 78.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an essential part schematically showing an arrangement state of tubes connected to the cap 77 in FIG.
In FIG. 7, reference numeral 101 is a roller as a pressing member which is held by the rear extension portion 150 of the scanner 78 (FIG. 1) so as to be movable in the vertical direction in the figure. Reference numeral 105 denotes a cam which is formed of a member fixed to the recording device and which regulates the vertical position of the roller 101.

FIG. 8 is a front view of an essential part showing a deployed state of the roller 101 in FIG. In FIG. 8, the rear extending portion 150 of the scanner 78 has a slit 150a extending vertically.
A shaft of the roller 101 (hereinafter referred to as a roller shaft) 101a is engaged with the slit 150a. A leaf spring 102 is fixed to the rear extension 150 of the scanning element 78, and the leaf spring 102 biases the roller shaft 101a in the leftward direction in the drawing. The leaf spring 102 has two bent portions as shown in the figure, and is configured to stably hold the roller 101 at the first position indicated by the solid line or the second position indicated by the chain double-dashed line. There is.

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 62 denotes a resin gripper fixed on the scanning element 78. The gripper 62 is provided on the grip portion 36 on the black ink carriage 12.
(FIG. 2) and the grip portion 43 (FIG. 3) on the color ink carriage 38 are gripped by the bifurcated claws on both sides. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the scanning element 78 and the black ink carriage 12 are connected to each other. In this state, the grip portion 36 of the carriage 12 abuts on the stopper portion 98 of the scanning element 78 as indicated by. It is held by a bifurcated claw on one side (right side in the drawing) of 62.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the cartridge 13 is positioned by abutting the roots of the positioning pins 99 and 100 (FIG. 2) with respect to the carriage 12, and the carriage 12 is stopped by the stopper portion 9 with respect to the scanning element 78.
8 is hit and positioned. As a result, when scanning the scanning element 78, it is possible to perform recording at an accurate position on the recording medium (recording paper) 9. When the scanner 78 grips the grip portion 36 of the black ink carriage 12 (FIG. 6), the fitting shafts 59, 61, 63 of the scanner 78 are provided.
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 grip portion 43 (FIG. 3) is gripped by the bifurcated claw on the other side of the gripper 62, and the fitting axis of the scanning element 78 is gripped. 60, 61 and 63 are fitted in the fitting holes 40, 39 and 41 (FIG. 3) of the color ink carriage 38, respectively, so that they can be integrally scanned as in the case of the black ink carriage 12 described above.

Gripper 62 of scanner 78 and fitting shaft 5
9, 61 and 63 are caps 7 as first standby parts.
7 or the carriage 38 located on the cap on the opposite side as the second standby portion.
When they are mounted on the scanner 78, the engaging mechanism controls the swing of the carriages 12, 38.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 75 is a resin black gripper for restraining the black ink carriage 12 at the position shown in FIG. 1, and 76 is a color ink carriage 38.
Is also a resin color gripper for restraining the same at the position shown in FIG. The shapes of the black gripper 75 and the color gripper 76 are mirror images, and their operations are the same. Therefore, only the black gripper 75 will be described.

FIG. 4 shows the carriage 12 for black ink.
5 is a front view showing the relationship among the grip portion 36, the gripper 62 of the scanning element 78, and the black gripper 75, and the carriage 12 is omitted in FIG. 4. FIG. 4A shows a state in which the black gripper 75 restrains the black ink carriage 12. In this state, the forked claw I of the black gripper 75 is elastically displaced so as to open outward because it grips the grip portion 36. FIG. 4B shows a state in which the scanning element 78 approaches the black ink carriage 12, and in this state, the bifurcated claw on the right side of the gripper 62 in the figure is elastically displaced in the opening direction. Attempting to penetrate inside the claw I of 75.

FIG. 4C shows a state in which the scanning element 78 further approaches the black ink carriage 12, and in this state, the gripper 62 of the scanning element 78 grips the grip portion 36 of the carriage 12 and the black gripper 75. The claw I is further spread. Next, as shown in FIG. 4D, when the scanning element 78 moves in the reverse direction (left direction in the drawing), the carriage 12 becomes in a state of scanning together with the scanning element 78. In this state, the bifurcated claw on the right side of the gripper 62 in the drawing is elastically displaced so as to open outward because it grips the grip portion 36.

Contrary to the above, when the scanning element 78 moves to the right in the figure, the tip of the bifurcated claw I of the black gripper 75 is inside the bifurcated claw on the right side of the gripper 62 in the figure. The grip portion 36 of the carriage 12 moves from the gripper 62 of the scanning element 78 into the bifurcated claw I of the black gripper 75. That is, when the scanning element 78 holding the carriage 12 moves to the right, the carriage 12 is moved from the scanning element 78 toward the black gripper 75. In this way, the carriage 12 is delivered each time the scanning element 78 approaches the black gripper 75.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 77 is a cap for capping the recording head of the black ink cartridge 13 to protect it from drying. A similar cap (not shown) is also provided at the opposite side of the color ink cartridge 44. The cap 77 is driven by means such as a cam (not shown) to contact the head surface (ejection surface) of the recording head of the black ink cartridge 13 when the black ink carriage 12 is held at the cap position by being constrained by the black gripper 75. The cap 77 is retracted from the head surface when the carriage 12 is released from the black gripper 75 due to the release of the constraint (driving force).

As shown in FIG. 7, a tube 103 as a flexible member is connected to the cap 77 so as to communicate with the inside of the cap 77. The tube 103 is made of a material such as rubber or soft resin that elastically returns to the deformation, and extends from the cap 77 to a lower vicinity of the roller 101 in parallel with the scanning direction. Similarly, the color ink cartridge 44 is also provided with a cap and a tube 104 (not shown).

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the operation of the ink jet recording apparatus described above. Next, the operation of the inkjet recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. Before the power is turned on, the scanner 78 moves from the position where the shield plate 66 blocks the optical path of the home position sensor 74 to the position shown in FIG.
The carriage 12 for the black ink and the carriage 38 for the color ink are in the cap positions corresponding to each other, the cartridges 13 and 44 are capped, and the roller 101 is in the first position ( The position of the solid line in FIG. 8) is maintained.

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 scanner 78 is reversed and moves to the left (step S5), and the optical path of the home position sensor 74 is then determined. Is blocked again and then stopped at a position of 50 mm (hereinafter, initial position) (step S6).

On the other hand, if the optical path of the sensor 74 is blocked twice, the carriage 78 for black ink is attached to the scanning element 78.
Alternatively, it is determined that the color ink carriage 38 is connected, and further the on / off timing of the detection signal of the sensor 74 is determined. Scanner 78 and carriage 12
The shield plate 66 and the shield plate 79 (FIG. 2) have a distance of 20 mm when they are connected, and the shield plate 66 and the shield plate 80 (FIG. 3) are 6 mm when the scanner 78 and the carriage 38 are connected. Have a spacing of. Therefore, which of the carriages 12 and 38 is coupled to the scanning element 78 can be determined by the timing of blocking the optical path of the sensor 74.

When the black ink carriage 12 (also referred to as a Bk carriage or a black carriage) is connected, the shield plate 66 causes the home position sensor 7 to operate.
4, the black ink carriage 12 is moved to the cap position (steps S4 and S11), the carriage 12 is restrained by the black gripper 75, and then the scanning element 78 is reversed to move to the left (step S4). S5), and after the optical path of the home position sensor 74 is blocked again, the home position sensor 74 is stopped at the initial position (step S).
6).

On the other hand, when the color ink carriage 38 is connected, the shielding plate 66 is reversed at a position moved 50 mm to the right after passing the home position sensor 74 and moved to the left (step S9). ), And a carriage for color ink (also called a color carriage) 38
Is moved to the cap position (step S10), the color carriage 38 is restrained by the color gripper 76, and then the scanning element 78 is reversed again (step S10).
5) Stop at the initial position (step S6).

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, and due to an unexpected situation, the carriage 12 is turned off. , 38 is the scanner 7
When it is coupled to 8, the carriers 12 and 38 are brought to the corresponding cap positions and restrained, and then only the scanning element 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 scanner 78 is the black carriage 1.
The cap 2 is scanned and integrated with the black carriage 12 (step S16). In the latter case, the scanner 78
Scans to the cap position of the color carriage 38 and is integrated with the color carriage 38 (step S13). At the same time, the cap is retracted from the cartridge 13 or 44 used for recording (steps S17 and S14).

1 for recording by the black carriage 12
Recording is performed using 28 ejection openings, and recording is performed for one scan (step S18), and then the recording medium 9 for 128 ejection openings is formed.
The paper feeding is performed (steps S19 and S23), and the next scanning is performed (step S18). When recording of one page is completed, the sheet is discharged (steps S19 and S20), and if recording is continued, a new sheet is fed (steps S24 and S25).

When the recording is completed, the scanner 78 moves the black carriage 12 to the cap position (step S
26), the black carriage 12 is the black gripper 7
5 and after capping the black ink cartridge 13 with the cap 77 (step S2
7), the scanning element 78 scans to the position when the power is turned off and stops (step S28). Then, the power is turned off (step S29).

On the other hand, in the recording by the color carriage 38, in the area having a large proportion of the color image, the colors are overlapped while feeding the 24 discharge ports in the order of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, and the black image is formed. The area is recorded by using 64 black ejection ports and the paper is fed by 64 ejection ports (step S).
22).

FIG. 9 shows the roller 101 and the cam 10 at this time.
5 is a front view of a main part showing a relationship with FIG. In FIG.
The cam 105 includes cam portions 105a, 105b, 105c, 1
A dash-dotted line of reference numeral A represents a movement locus of the center of the roller 101 when pumping is not performed. A roller 101 shown in the drawing is in a state before the power is turned on, is in a moving area for recording normally above the cam portion 105a in the left-right direction, and is in an upper first position in the vertical direction. (FIG. 8) and there is a slight gap between the upper surface of the cam 105a and the roller shaft 101a.

From this state, the scanner 78 is replaced with the cap 77.
When moving to the right in the direction of, the roller shaft 101a comes into contact with the cam portion 105b at a position outside the scanning range required for recording, and the roller 101 moves to the second position (see FIG. 8) along the arrow in the lower right direction. ) Move to. Further, the scanner 78 is the cap 7.
When the movement in the direction of 7 is continued, the roller 101 is returned to the first position by the cam portion 105c, and the roller 101 stops at the position where the recording head faces the cap 77.

When the scanning element 78 is reversed and moved to the left,
The roller 101 is lifted up by the cam portion 105b, and then returned to the first position again by the leaf spring 102. When the scanner 78 continues to move in the reverse direction, the roller 101 operates symmetrically with the above description by a cam similar to the cam 105 provided on the color ink carriage 38 side.

Therefore, as long as the scanning element 78 scans so as to pass the cam portion 105b in one direction, the roller 101 does not interfere with the tube 103. Also, the cam 105
Since b and the roller 101 make contact with each other outside the area for recording, there is nothing that makes contact with the roller 101 during recording, and the cam 105 does not affect recording. As long as it does not adversely affect the recording, the cam 10
It may be provided in the area for recording 5b.

Next, the operation when performing pumping will be described. FIG. 10 shows a state in which the roller 101 is moved to the second lower position by the cam portion 105b. When the scanner 78 moves to the left from this state, the roller 101 is forcibly pushed down from the second position to the third position below by the cam portion 105a. The roller 101 is guided to the lower side of the cam portion 105a, abuts on the tube 103, and operates to crush it.

When the crushed portion of the tube 103 becomes airtight and the roller 101 moves leftward at the third position below the cam portion 105a, a negative pressure is applied to the inside of the tube on the right side of the roller. Occurs. In addition, the roller 101 at the third position has the cam portion 10 below the cam portion 105a.
Since it is located on a horizontal guide surface continuous with 5c and 105d, it does not fall off. If pumping is performed from the state in which the black ink cartridge 13 is capped in advance, negative pressure acts on the ejection port of the ink cartridge 13, and the ink in the ejection port is forcibly discharged until the negative pressure disappears.

After the ink is discharged, the roller 101 is moved to the cam portion 105.
Return to the first position by d. After that, the scanning element 78 and the black ink carriage 12 are connected to each other, and a pumping operation is performed in the same manner. At this time, since the cap 77 is open to the atmosphere, the ink in the tube 103 moves leftward every time the tube 103 is squeezed by the roller 101. If you perform such open air suction several times, the tube 1
All the ink sucked into the ink cartridge 03 is discharged from the left end in the figure. The operation for discharging the ink from the color ink cartridge 44 is also the same as the above-described operation except that the left-right direction in the drawing is reversed.

The normal pumping operation is as described above. However, in the tube pump of the type in which the tube is arranged along the scanning element 78, the scanning element 78 is the driving source while squeezing the tube. In the recording apparatus, an operator generally touches the vicinity of the recording range for cartridge replacement and paper jam processing. Therefore, there is a possibility that the carriage motor may be stepped out by being touched by the hand while the scanner 78 is performing the pumping operation.

For example, it is assumed that the motor goes out of step while the ink is being sucked. Then, as the next operation, the motor is reversed (rightward in FIG. 10). At this time, since the roller 101 keeps the tube 103 closed,
The ink being sucked is pushed back to the head side. Then, a positive pressure is applied to the ejection port of the head, causing ink to drop inside the head or causing a cap 77
This causes inconvenience such as dust inside being pushed into the discharge port, resulting in non-discharge.

Therefore, in the present invention, the reverse rotation preventing member 200 fitted to the roller shaft 101a of the roller 101 is provided.
11 is a sectional view showing a main part of the first embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 12 is a partial front view showing an operation of FIG. 11, and FIG. 13 is a main part of FIG. It is a perspective view. The configuration and operation of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

During normal recording, the roller 101 is shown in FIG.
(A), the roller holding portion 1 of the scanning element 78 is held without contacting the cam portion 105a.
It is held at 50 and is scanning. When the above-described pumping operation is performed, the roller 101 moves from the first position shown in FIG. 12A to the second position shown in FIG. 12B, and when the scanner 78 further moves to the left, the roller 101 rolls. 10
1 moves to the tube pressing position for pressing the tube 103 in FIG. 12 (c).

At this time, the reverse rotation preventing member 200 has the structure shown in FIG.
In each of the positions (a) and (b), since the roller holding portion 150 is engaged, it cannot rotate. The roller 101 is shown in FIG.
Only when the tube is moved to the tube pressing position of (c), the engagement with the roller holding portion 150 is released, and the roller holding portion 150 becomes rotatable.

In the state of FIG. 12 (c), the scanner 7
When 8 moves to the left, the reverse rotation preventing member 200 freely lifts up the saw-toothed direction regulating means 201,
You can move to the left freely. However, FIG.
When the scanner 78 tries to move to the right in FIG. 12C in the state of (c), the reverse rotation preventing member 200 rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 12C and engages with the saw-toothed direction regulating means 201. Therefore, the scanning element 78 cannot move to the right.

Therefore, even if the motor goes out of step, the ink once sucked will never flow back. Also,
In the unlikely event of a step out, an error will occur. When an error occurs, the reset operation is performed. However, at the beginning of the reset operation, the scanner 78 is controlled to move to the left (the direction of the arrow in FIG. 10) by the distance that the roller 101 is pulled out from the cam portion 105a. Therefore, the roller 101 always returns to the first position.

By the way, when the ink is discharged, the liquid passage leading to the discharge port and the filter in the ink cartridge function as a flow resistance, and it usually takes about 1 to 3 seconds until the discharge of the ink is completed. Therefore, if the roller 101 is moved to the left at a high speed and then stopped before the engagement between the roller 101 and the left end side of the cam portion 105a is released to wait for the completion of ink discharge, a larger negative pressure is generated. This is advantageous for removing dust adhering to the vicinity of the ejection port and for removing ink whose viscosity has increased due to drying.

Further, by removing the roller 101 from the left end side of the cam portion 105a without waiting for the completion of the ink discharge, it is possible to control the ink discharge amount. Further, in the present embodiment, a tube pump is used, and the selector for selecting whether to pump is the tube 103.
Since the roller 101 itself is constituted by the squeezing roller 101, it is possible to construct an inexpensive pump means with a small number of parts.

Further, since the tube 103 is arranged in the vicinity of the scanner 78 in parallel with the scanning direction and pumping is performed utilizing the moving area for normal recording, the tube having a sufficient length is laid out. It is efficient to do so, and a sufficient stroke of the tube 103 can be secured.

By the way, the springiness of the bifurcated claws of the gripper 62 ensures that the scanner 78 and the carriages 12 and 38 are connected, and they will not be easily separated during scanning. However, when the user touches it with his / her hand, the two may be separated from each other. Therefore, it is monitored whether the optical path of the home position sensor 74 is blocked twice at a predetermined timing during one scan of the scanning element 78.

If the scanning is performed only once, it is determined that the scanning element 78 and the carriage 12 or 38 are separated from each other, and the scanning element 74 is stopped to start 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 of the black carriage 12 and pushes the black carriage 12 as it is to move it to the right. afterwards,
The grip portion 36 contacts the bifurcated claw I of the black gripper 75, and the black gripper 75 grips the grip portion 36.

When the scanner 78 further moves to the right, the claws of the gripper 62 enter inside the claws I of the black gripper 75. The carrier motor 71 stops after stepping out due to the excess movement. Next, the scanning device 78 moves the black carriage 12
Along with this, it reverses and moves to the left, and after passing through the home position sensor 74, it stops at the initial position. At the same time, the platen roller 3 rotates to eject the paper, and a new recording medium (recording paper) 9 is fed to prepare for recording again.

On the other hand, when the color carriage 38 is recording until just before the above determination, the scanning element 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. Thus, in an unexpected situation, the scanner 78 and the carriage 12 or 3
Even if 8 is separated, recording can be executed by automatically executing the relief sequence.

In the above embodiment, as described above, printing is performed by selecting a carriage suitable for the type of print 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 ejection ports of different colors are vertically arranged is used. Therefore, the width of the recording head becomes smaller than that in the case of arranging the ejection ports horizontally, and the apparatus The effect is that the whole can be made compact.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the carriage 1
Since the first standby portion and the second standby portion for holding 2, 38 are provided at both ends in the scanning direction of the scanning element 78, the scanning element 78 is caused to scan in one direction or the other direction. Only the carriage 1 for the scanner 78
2, 38 can be easily attached and detached, and the overall structure of the device can be simplified and downsized.

As is clear from FIG. 6, the scanner 7
8 and the carriage 12 are combined and integrated, the projection of the carriage 12 in the projection space of the carriage 12 in the direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the scanning element 78, that is, in the front-back direction of the paper surface in FIG. The space includes the left and right intermediate portions of the scanner 78. As described above, the belt stopper 6 as the receiving portion for the driving force of the scanner 78
4 (FIG. 1) is located in the middle of the scanning element 78 in the left-right direction, so that the belt stopper 64 of course intervenes in the projection space of the carriage 12.

This means that the belt stopper 6 which receives the driving force
4 and the center of gravity of the carriage 12 are shortened so that the moment generated between the belt stopper 64 and the bearings 68 and 69 when the scanner 78 scans together with the carriage 16 is suppressed to a small value. It is advantageous in making the smooth. Further, since the clip position between the gripper 62 and the grip portion 36 is also located within the projection space of the carriage 12, the occurrence of shake of the carriage 16 can be suppressed when the carriage 16 scans together with the scanning element 78. .

This means that the scanner 78 and the carriage 38 are
This is also the case when the are connected. In addition, the middle position of the scanning element 78 in the left-right direction is set on both carriages 12, 38.
Since it is selectively used as each occupied space of,
Therefore, the scanner 78 can be downsized in the left-right direction.

Further, when the carriage 12 is coupled to the scanner 78, the gripper 62 and the fitting shafts 59, 61, 63 on the scanner 78 side and the grip portion 36 on the carriage 12 side.
It is preferable that the positional relationship between the fitting holes 34, 33, and 35 is set in advance so that the fitting order with the fitting holes 34, 33, and 35 is as follows. First, the fitting hole 35, which is an elongated 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. 6, and then the fitting holes 34 and 33 and the fitting shaft 5 are arranged.
The carriage 12 is positioned in the vertical direction in FIG. 6 by fitting the gripper 36 and the gripper 36 together.

As described above, as the engagement of the scanner 78 for pulling / disengaging the carriage 12, the carriage 12 is positioned and the carriage 12 and the scanner 78 are positioned before the gripper 36 grips the gripper 62. Restricting the relative relationship with is advantageous in ensuring the engagement for pulling / disengaging. This also applies to the connection between the scanner 78 and the carriage 38. Note that, in FIG. 1, the fitting shafts 60, 61, 63 and the gripper 62 on the side of the scanner 78 are denoted by reference characters A, B, and
Carriage 38 designated by C and D and corresponding thereto
The fitting holes 40, 39, 41 and the grip portion 43 on the side are denoted by E, F, G, H.

Although the ink cartridges 13 and 44 are mounted on the carriages 12 and 38 in this embodiment, the cartridge 1 is not provided.
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which 3, 44 or the recording head itself is transferred by the scanning element 78 and selectively coupled to the scanning element 78. Further, in this embodiment, the gripper 6 having a resin bifurcated elastic claw is used as a means for connecting the carriages 12 and 38 to the scanning element 78 and a means for restraining the carriage position at the cap position.
2 was used, but not limited to this, for example,
A coupling / decoupling means such as a method of opening and closing a bifurcated claw using a solenoid or a method of utilizing an attractive force between an electromagnet and a metal may be used.

Further, the functional element is not limited to the print head, and any functional element can be used. For example, an image reading device can be configured by including an image reading sensor as a functional element. Further, one of the carriages 12 and 38 may be a carriage dedicated to the inkjet recording head, and the other carriage may be a carriage dedicated to the image reading head. In addition, the carriages 12 and 38 are the same,
One may be provided as a spare.

As the functional element, the resolution is, for example, 3
00 dpi, 350 dpi, 600 dpi, 720 dpi
Different image reading heads such as i are replaceable, or recording heads that eject different types of ink, such as dark black ink ejection, yellow, magenta, and cyan ink ejection, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black ink ejection heads. A recording head or the like for ejecting ink or ejecting light black ink may be replaceably provided.

Further, as the recording head, various types such as a thermal head can be adopted. Further, an auto changer 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 by the auto changer is coupled to the scanning element 78. You may

FIG. 14 is a schematic partial front view showing the main part and operation of the second embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 14, the saw-tooth direction restricting means 201 in the first embodiment is omitted, and the reverse rotation preventing member 200 has a wedge shape with respect to the center of rotation. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment of FIGS. 11 to 13 in the above points, but has substantially the same configuration in other points.

In FIG. 14, during normal recording, the roller 101 is held at the first position shown in FIG. 14A, and the scanner 78 does not come into contact with the cam portion 105a.
It is held by the roller holding unit 150 and is scanning. When performing the pumping operation described above, the roller 101 is shown in FIG.
From the first position shown in (a) to the second position in FIG.
When the scanning element 78 further moves to the left, the roller 101 moves to the tube pressing position for pressing the tube 103 in FIG. 14C.

The reverse rotation preventing member 200 is shown in FIG.
In each position of (b), since it is engaged with the roller holding portion 150, it cannot rotate. The reverse rotation preventing member 200 becomes rotatable while the roller 101 is in the tube pressing position of FIG. 14C and performing the pumping operation. At this time, the reverse rotation preventing member 200 rides on the direction regulating means 201 by its own weight.

When the roller 101 tries to rotate in the reverse direction in the state of FIG. 14C, the reverse rotation preventing member 200 is moved to the state of FIG.
Since it receives a force in the direction of the arrow, it causes a bite between the cam portion 105a and the direction regulating means 201 because of its wedge shape, and the scanner 78 cannot move in the right direction in the figure. In this case, the reverse rotation preventing member 200 bites at the same time when the reverse rotation occurs, so that there is almost no backlash during reverse rotation prevention. Other configurations, operations, operations, and effects are the same as those in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 to 13.

FIG. 15 is a schematic partial front view showing the main part and operation of the third embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In the third embodiment of FIG. 15, the direction restricting means 201 in the first and second embodiments is omitted, and the tube 103 itself serves as the direction restricting means. This embodiment is different from the above-described first and second embodiments in this respect, but is substantially the same in other respects.

In FIG. 15, during normal recording, the roller 101 is held at the first position shown in FIG. 15A, and the scanner 78 does not come into contact with the cam portion 105a.
It is held by the roller holding unit 150 and is scanning. When the pumping operation described above is performed, the roller 101 is shown in FIG.
From the first position shown in (a) to the second position in FIG.
When the scanning element 78 further moves to the left, the roller 101 moves to the position of the tube 1 in FIG.
Move to the tube pressing position where 03 is pressed.

The reverse rotation preventing member 200 is shown in FIG.
In each position of (b), since it is engaged with the roller holding portion 150, it cannot rotate. The reverse rotation preventing member 200 becomes rotatable during the pumping operation in which the roller 101 is at the tube pressing position in FIG. 15C.

If the scanner 78 tries to move (reverse) to the right in the drawing during the pumping operation of FIG. 15C, the reverse rotation preventing member 200 rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The tube 101 and the reverse rotation preventing member 200 are sandwiched by the tube 101 at the same time.
8 cannot move to the right in the figure. In that case, since the tube 103 has flexibility and little slippage, the reverse rotation preventing member 200 is instantly bitten into the tube 103.
There is almost no backlash. Other configurations and operations,
The operation and effect are the same as those in the above-mentioned first and second embodiments.

According to the ink jet recording apparatus described above, it is possible to combine and separate the carriages 12 and 38 for holding the recording means, and the scanning element 78 for moving the carriages in the main scanning direction, and the recording means. The cap means for capping, the pump means composed of a rubber tube (flexible member) 103 arranged along the moving area of the scanner to make a negative pressure inside the cap means, and the scanner. A roller provided to press and hold the flexible member at a plurality of positions with respect to the flexible member corresponding to the position of the scanning element in the main scanning direction so as to perform an ink discharging operation by the pump means ( (Pressing member) 101 and a reverse rotation preventing member 20 which is engaged with the pressing member and is rotatable only when the pressing member is at a predetermined position.
Since 0 is provided, it is possible to prevent the phenomenon that the scanner 78 loses step during the pumping operation and presses the flexible member 103 in the direction opposite to the predetermined direction.

That is, according to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to prevent the ink once sucked from flowing back to the recording head side. Further, it is possible to obtain an inkjet recording apparatus capable of forming a highly reliable pumping mechanism having no ink backflow with a simple configuration. The following first to thirteenth embodiments can be mentioned as an inkjet recording apparatus provided with a scanning type carriage suitable for carrying out the present invention.

A scanning element (scanning type carrier) which receives a driving force to perform scanning, and a guide mechanism which enables the scanning element to scan.
In the inkjet recording apparatus having the above, in the scanning direction, a first standby portion capable of holding a functional element (recording means) at one end side and a second standby portion capable of holding a functional element at the other end side in the scanning direction
A standby portion, the guide mechanism allows the scanner to move between the first standby portion and the second standby portion, and the scanner has the first standby portion or the second standby portion.
A first embodiment characterized in that a functional element on at least one of the standby parts is mounted so that it can be moved integrally.

In the first embodiment, the first,
Each of the second standby portions is provided with a functional element mounting carriage having electrical contacts for operating the functional element (recording means) and a mechanism for positioning the functional element, and the scanning element is provided with the functional element. A second embodiment characterized in that a functional element is mounted by mounting a mounting carriage.

In the second embodiment, the functional device mounting carriage is swingably engaged with the guide mechanism, and the first and second standby parts regulate the swing of the carriage. The third embodiment is characterized in that the scanner is provided with an engagement mechanism for restricting the swing of the carriage by mounting the carriage.

In the third embodiment, the functional element mounting carriage is arranged so that the receiving portion for the driving force of the scanner intervenes in the projection space of the carriage in the direction perpendicular to the scanning direction. A fourth embodiment characterized by being engaged with a scanning element.

In the fourth embodiment, the functional element mounting carriage is the scanning element (scanning type carrier).
The fifth embodiment is characterized in that a restriction engagement for restricting a relative positional relationship with the scanning element is performed before the engagement for pulling / disengaging by the.

A sixth embodiment according to the first embodiment, wherein the scanning element is provided with an electrical contact for operating the mounted functional element and a mechanism for positioning the functional element.

A scanning element (scanning type carrier) which receives a driving force to perform scanning, and a guide mechanism which enables the scanning element to scan.
In an ink jet recording apparatus having the above-mentioned, in the scanning direction, a functional element (recording means) can be mounted and held at one end side and a functional element mounting carriage that is swingably engaged with the guide mechanism, And a mechanism for restricting the movement of the scanner, and the guide mechanism enables the scanner to scan between the first standby portion and the information processing basin on which the functional element operates, The seventh embodiment is characterized in that a functional element in the first standby standby portion is integrally mounted and an engaging mechanism for restricting the swing is provided.

A scanning element which receives a driving force to perform scanning, and a guide mechanism which enables the scanning element (scanning type carrier) to scan.
In an ink jet recording apparatus having the above-mentioned, in the scanning direction, a functional element (recording means) can be mounted and held at one end side and a functional element mounting carriage that is swingably engaged with the guide mechanism, And a mechanism for regulating the scanning position, and the guide mechanism enables the scanner to scan between the first waiting region and the information processing region on which the functional element operates, Is equipped with the functional element in the first standby portion integrally and has an engaging function of restricting the swing, and the functional element mounting carriage is
An eighth embodiment, characterized in that the driving force receiving portion of the scanning element is engaged with the scanning element so as to intervene in a projection space of the carriage in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction.

In an ink jet recording apparatus having a scanning element which receives a driving force to perform scanning and a guide mechanism which enables the scanning element to scan, a functional element is mounted and held at one end side in the scanning direction. And a first standby portion provided with a functional element-carrying carriage, wherein the guide mechanism enables the scanner to scan between the first standby portion and an information processing area on which the functional element operates. Is integrally mounted with the functional element at the first standby portion, and the functional element mounting carriage has a receiving portion for the driving force of the scanning element in a projection space of the carriage in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction. A ninth embodiment characterized in that it is engaged with the scanner so as to intervene.

In an ink jet recording apparatus having a scanning element that receives a driving force to perform scanning and a guide mechanism that enables the scanning element to scan, a functional element is mounted and held at one end side in the scanning direction. And a first standby portion provided with a functional element-carrying carriage, wherein the guide mechanism enables the scanner to scan between the first standby portion and an information processing area on which the functional element operates. Integrally mounts the functional element in the first standby portion, and the functional element mounting carriage regulates the relative positional relationship with the scanner before receiving the pulling / disengaging engagement by the scanner. The tenth embodiment characterized in that the restriction engagement is performed.

In an ink jet recording apparatus having a scanning element (scanning type carrier) and a guide mechanism capable of scanning the scanning element, a first standby position where an ink jet head can be mounted on one end side in the scanning direction. A second standby position where an ink jet head can be mounted on the other end side,
The guide mechanism includes a cap mechanism that acts on the inkjet head at the first standby position to perform capping, and a cap mechanism that acts on the inkjet head at the second standby position to perform capping. Is movable between the first standby position and the second standby position, and the scanner can be moved integrally with the inkjet head at either the first standby position or the second standby position. An eleventh embodiment characterized by:

In an ink jet recording apparatus having a scanning element and a guide mechanism capable of scanning the scanning element, with respect to the scanning direction, a first standby position dedicated to a carriage in which an ink jet head can be mounted on one end side, and other And a second standby position dedicated to the carriage on which a functional element different from the inkjet head can be mounted on the end side, and the guide mechanism separates the scanning element from the first standby position and the second standby position. A twelfth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the scanning element is movable between the scanning element and the carriage at one of the first standby position and the second standby position.
Of embodiments.

With respect to the scanning element (scanning carrier), in the scanning direction of the scanning element, a first standby position where the first functional element (recording means) can be mounted on one end side and a second function on the other end side. A second standby position on which an element (recording means) can be mounted; a guide mechanism that enables the scanner to scan between the first standby position and the second standby position; and the first standby position or the first standby position. A selection means for selecting a functional element in any one of the two standby positions in accordance with an operation mode of the device or a functional element drive signal to integrate the functional element with the scanning element. Form.

The present invention is provided with means (eg, electrothermal converter or laser light) for generating heat energy as energy used for ejecting ink, especially in the ink jet recording system, and The effect is excellent in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a system that causes a change in ink state by energy. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

For typical achievements and principles thereof, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
What is carried out using the basic pattern principle disclosed in the 796 specification is preferable. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding the nucleate boiling to an electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or the liquid path holding the This is effective because it generates heat energy in the electrothermal transducer, causes film boiling on the heat-acting surface of the recording head, and consequently forms bubbles in the liquid (ink) one-to-one corresponding to this drive signal. It is.

Due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles, the liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings 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 this pulse-shaped drive signal, US Pat.
Those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,633,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. In addition, U.S. Pat.
If the conditions described in the specification No. 124 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 conversion pair (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 the heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region. In addition, for multiple electrothermal conversion pairs,
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-123670, which discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as the discharge portion of the electrothermal conversion pair, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-63, which discloses a configuration in which an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is associated with the discharge portion. The effect of the present invention is effective even with a configuration based on Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 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, in the case of the serial type as in the above example, a replaceable chip type recording head or recording head capable of electrically connecting to the main body and supplying ink from the apparatus main body The present invention is also effective when a cartridge type recording head in which an ink tank is integrally provided 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 preliminary auxiliary means and the like because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specific examples thereof include preheating for heating the recording head by using a capping unit, a cleaning unit, a pressure or suction unit, an electrothermal conversion pair or a heating element other than this, or a combination thereof. Means and preliminary ejection means for performing ejection different from recording can be mentioned.

The type and number of recording heads to be mounted are not limited to those provided only for one color ink, for example, and for a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. A plurality may be provided. That is, for example, the recording apparatus is not limited to a recording mode in which only a mainstream color such as black is used as a recording mode, and the recording head may be integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. The present invention is 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 for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or in order to prevent the evaporation of the ink, it is left unattended. Ink that is solidified and liquefied by heating may be used. 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 in a dictionary that 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.

The ink in such a case is described in JP-A-54-
As described in JP-A-56847 or JP-A-60-71260, a configuration in which a liquid sheet or a solid substance is held in a concave portion or a through hole of a porous sheet so as to face an electrothermal converter. It may be. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

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

[0129]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the invention of claim 1, in an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink from a recording means to a recording medium, a carriage holding the recording means, and In order to connect and separate the carriage to move the carriage in the main scanning direction, a cap means for capping the ink ejection portion of the recording means, and a negative pressure inside the cap means. A pump means formed of a flexible member arranged along the moving region of the scanner, and a plurality of positions with respect to the flexible member corresponding to positions of the scanner provided in the main scanning direction. A pressing member that is pressed and held by switching to press the flexible member to perform an ink discharging operation by the pump means, and the pressing member that is engaged with the pressing member. Since the reverse rotation preventing member which is rotatable only at a predetermined position is provided, the scanner provided with the pressing member loses its synchronism during the pumping operation to prevent the reverse rotation of the tube or the like in the direction opposite to the predetermined direction. It is possible to prevent the flexible member from being pressed, so that it is possible to prevent the ink that has once been sucked from flowing back to the recording means side, and a highly reliable pumping mechanism that does not cause ink backflow with a simple structure. An inkjet recording apparatus that can be realized by

According to the invention of claim 2, in addition to the structure of claim 1, when the pressing member is in a position for pressing the flexible member, the reverse rotation preventing member causes the scanner to move in a predetermined direction. Since it is configured so that it can be engaged with the direction restricting means that moves only in the direction, the scanner provided with the pressing member steps out during the pumping operation and presses the flexible member such as the tube in the direction opposite to the predetermined direction. Can be prevented more efficiently, and therefore ink once sucked can be more efficiently prevented from flowing back to the recording unit side, and a highly reliable pumping mechanism with no ink backflow can be provided with a simple structure. An inkjet recording apparatus that can be realized by

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an overall configuration of an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

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

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

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing the operation of the gripper of the scanning element and the claw I of the black gripper with respect to the grip portion of the black ink carriage.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 6 is a schematic front view showing a state in which a scanning element and a black ink carriage are combined.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a main part schematically showing an arrangement state of a flexible tube connected to a cap means.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a main part showing a deployment state of a scanner and rollers.

9 is a front view of a main part in a state where the rollers shown in FIG. 7 are not in a pumping operation.

FIG. 10 is a front view of a main part in a state where the rollers shown in FIG. 7 start pumping.

FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the main parts of the first embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

12 is a partial front view showing the operation of the configuration of FIG.

13 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a schematic partial front view showing the main part and operation of the second embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 15 is a schematic partial front view showing the main part and operation of the third embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

16 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of an ink ejection portion of the ink cartridge shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 Platen Roller 9 Recording Medium (Recording Paper) 11 Guide Axis 12 Black Ink Carriage 13 Black Ink Cartridge 36 Grip (Black Ink Carriage) 38 Color Ink Carriage 43 Grip (Color Ink Carriage) 44 Color Ink Cartridge 62 Gripper 65 Belt 70 Rail 71 Carrier motor 74 Home position sensor 75 Black gripper 76 Color gripper 77 Cap means 78 Scanning element 79 Blocking plate 80 Blocking block 81 Discharging surface 82 Discharging port 84 Liquid path 85 Electrothermal converter 98 Stopper (scanning part) ) 101 pressing member (roller) 101a roller shaft 103 flexible member (rubber tube) 104 flexible member (rubber tube) 105 cam 150 roller holding portion 200 reverse rotation prevention member 20 1 direction regulation means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. In an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink from a recording means to a recording medium, a carriage for holding the recording means and a combination of the carriage and the carriage.
A scanning element that is separable and that moves the carriage in the main scanning direction, a cap means that caps the ink ejection portion of the recording means, and a scanning element that moves the scanning means to make the inside of the cap means a negative pressure. Pump means formed of a flexible member arranged along the moving area, and switching holding at a plurality of positions with respect to the flexible member, which are provided on the scanner and correspond to the position of the scanner in the main scanning direction. Thereby pressing the flexible member to cause the pump means to perform an ink discharging operation, and a reverse rotation preventing member which is engaged with the pressing member and is rotatable only when the pressing member is at a predetermined position. An inkjet recording device comprising: 2. The reverse rotation preventing member is engageable with a direction regulating means for moving the scanning element only in a predetermined direction when the pressing member is in a position for pressing the flexible member. The inkjet recording device according to claim 1. 3. The ink jet recording means according to claim 1, wherein the recording means is an ink jet recording means provided with an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy used for ejecting ink. Inkjet recording device. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the recording unit ejects the ink from the ejection port by utilizing film boiling generated in the ink by the thermal energy generated by the electrothermal converter. Recording device.