JPH09323458A - Power transmission control mechanism for printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to dispose a switching lever of a power transmission route at an arbitrary position without influence of the erroneous operation of a carriage loaded with a printing head in a printer having the lever operated by using the carriage. SOLUTION: A switching lever 71 for switching the transmission route of the automatic sheet feeding mechanism of an ink jet printer from the disconnecting state to the connecting state is movable from an initial position (first position) operable by an engaging protrusion 42 of a carriage 4 side to a position (second position) for not disturbing the passage of the carriage 4. When it is moved to the position for not disturbing the passage of the carriage 4, a clutch mechanism 70 is switched to the connecting state. Since the carriage 4 can be passed over the lever 71, even if the carriage is erroneously operated or overrun by the erroneous operation, there is no evil such as the damage of the lever or a component for constituting the route linked to the lever. Further, the lever 71 can be disposed at an arbitrary position in the moving range of the carriage 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention, in a printer such as an ink jet printer, uses a carriage having a print head mounted thereon to perform operations such as switching of power transmission paths for supplying cut sheets and the like, connection / disconnection, and the like. The present invention relates to a power transmission control mechanism for performing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A printer incorporated in a facsimile or the like is generally of a type in which a carriage carrying a print head such as an ink jet head is reciprocated to print on a cut sheet conveyed by a conveying mechanism. . After the printing of one cut sheet is completed, it is necessary to automatically feed the cut sheets one by one from the cassette in which the cut sheets are stored to a position where the conveyance mechanism can convey the cut sheets. For this reason, a feeding mechanism usually called an automatic paper feeder is attached, and the feeding mechanism feeds cut sheets one by one from the cassette and delivers them to the side of the transport mechanism. .

In this type of printer, due to the demand for downsizing and weight saving, the drive sources of the transport mechanism and the supply mechanism are shared, and, for example, the shared drive is performed each time printing of one cut sheet is completed. The power transmission path from the source to the supply mechanism is switched from the disconnected state to the connected state to perform the cut sheet supply operation.

Here, incorporating a dedicated mechanism or component for the switching operation of the power transmission path goes against the demand for downsizing and weight reduction of the device. Therefore, conventionally, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 63-139765 and 1-184174, the state of the power transmission path is switched using a carriage that reciprocates. The configuration is adopted.

That is, the state switching mechanism of the power transmission path disclosed in these publications is provided with a lever arranged at the end position outside the printing area. When this lever is pushed, the power transmission path is switched from the disconnected state to the connected state, and the cut sheet feeding operation is performed. That is, when the carriage moves to the end and hits the lever, the lever is pushed by the carriage to forcibly move the clutch that holds the power transmission path in the disconnected state, and switches the power transmission path to the connected state. . When the carriage starts moving in the opposite direction and leaves the lever,
Since the lever returns to the original position and the clutch is disengaged, the power transmission path returns to the disengaged state again.

[0006]

The conventional power transmission path state switching mechanism thus configured has the following problems to be solved.

First, when the carriage moves beyond the preset moving range, an excessive pressing force acts on the lever from the carriage. As a result, the lever may be damaged or the clutch moved by the lever may be damaged.

Secondly, the carriage cannot be moved to a position further outside the position where the lever is arranged. For this reason, as the arrangement position of the lever, naturally only the both end positions of the movement range of the carriage can be adopted. With this,
The layout of the device can be restricted. Further, there is an inconvenience that only two levers for switching the transmission path of the driving force can be arranged.

An object of the present invention is to realize a power transmission control mechanism of a printer which can solve the above problems. That is, an object of the present invention is to realize a power transmission control mechanism for a printer in which a lever or the like for switching the state of a power transmission path is not damaged even when a carriage overruns due to a malfunction or the like. Another object of the present invention is to realize a power transmission control mechanism of a printer in which a lever for switching the state of the power transmission path can be arranged at a position other than both ends of the carriage movement range.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention operates a lever for switching a power transmission path between a disconnected state and a connected state by using a carriage having a print head mounted thereon. In the power transmission control mechanism of the configured printer, a configuration is adopted in which the lever can be moved between a first position operable by the carriage and a second position that does not prevent passage of the carriage. are doing.

In a preferred embodiment, the lever may be rotatable between the first and second positions about a rotation center line parallel to the movement path of the carriage.

Further, it is preferable that the lever is configured to move a predetermined distance in a direction along a moving path of the carriage when the lever is rotated from the first position to the second position.

In the power transmission control mechanism of the printer according to the present invention thus constructed, the lever for switching the power transmission path from the disconnected state to the connected state is operated by the carriage passing therethrough at the first position. However, when operated to the second position, the carriage can pass over the lever. Therefore, even if the carriage overruns due to an erroneous operation or an erroneous operation, the lever or the component forming the power transmission path linked to the lever is not damaged.

Further, in the mechanism of the present invention, since the carriage can pass without being obstructed by the lever, the lever can be arranged at any position within the moving range of the carriage. Generally, the lever is placed out of the print area,
According to the present invention, there is no problem even if it is arranged at a position within the printing area. As a result, according to the present invention, it is possible to arrange the levers for switching the power transmission path by utilizing the movement of the carriage at three or more places.

According to the present invention, the driving force transmitted to the transport mechanism for transporting the cut sheet along the transport path passing through the print position by the print head is used to feed the cut sheet to a position at which the transport mechanism can transport the cut sheet. Can be applied to the power transmission path for transmitting to the supply mechanism of the above.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An ink jet printer to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Overall Structure) FIGS. 1 to 3 show the structure of a main part of an ink jet printer to which the present invention is applied. The inkjet printer 1 includes a box-shaped carriage 4 on which an inkjet head 2 and an ink tank 3 can be mounted. The inkjet head 2 and the ink tank 3 are, for example, of a cartridge type, and are detachably mounted inside the upper lid 41 of the carriage 4 by opening it. The carriage 4 is capable of reciprocating linear movement in the long side direction (left-right direction) of the device frame 5. While moving the carriage 4, the inkjet head 2 mounted on the carriage 4 is driven to print on the cut sheet 100 conveyed.

First, the reciprocating mechanism of the carriage 4 will be described. The carriage 4 has a front side slidably supported by a guide shaft 6 laid between the left and right side walls 5a and 5b of the apparatus frame 5, and a rear side similarly to the side walls 5a and 5b.
It is slidably mounted on the upper surface of the guide plate 7 which is bridged between b. A drive side pulley 8a and a driven side pulley 8b are attached to both ends of the front wall 5c of the apparatus frame 5, and a timing belt 8c is laid between them. The timing belt 8c is connected to the front portion of the carriage 4. When the drive pulley 8a is rotated by the carriage motor 8d attached to the front wall 5c of the apparatus frame, the carriage 4 connected to the timing belt 8c moves in the left-right direction along the guide shaft 6.

Next, the conveyance path of the cut sheet 100, the conveyance mechanism and the supply mechanism will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 2, an automatic sheet feeding mechanism 10 that is a feeding mechanism of the cut sheet 100 is attached to the front side of the apparatus frame 5.
The automatic paper feed mechanism 10 includes a cassette 11 that can store a large number of cut sheets 100, a paper feed roller 12 that feeds the cut sheets 100 stored in the cassette 11 one by one from the cassette, and a paper feed roller 12. A power transmission path 13 (indicated by a double broken line in the figure) for transmitting a driving force to the sheet, and a cut sheet 100 sent out from the cassette 11 are cut inside the apparatus frame 5. The sheet feeding mechanism 14 is provided with a sheet feeding path 14 that leads to a position where the sheet can be delivered. Paper feed roller 1
The second drive source is shared with the drive source of the transport mechanism 20 as described later. Therefore, the power transmission path 13 is
In the normal printing operation, the paper feed roller 12 is held in the disconnected state, and is switched to the connected state only when necessary.
A clutch mechanism is provided so that the driving force can be transmitted to. This configuration will be described later.

The cut sheet conveying mechanism 20 formed inside the apparatus frame 5 is provided with a cut sheet introducing port 23 defined by a pair of upper and lower guide plates 21 and 22 on the frame front wall 5c side. When the cut sheet 100 supplied from the automatic paper feed mechanism 10 is fed through the introduction port 23, the cut sheet 100 is gripped by the conveyance roller 24. The cut sheet 100 is conveyed by the transport roller 24.
It is conveyed via a printing position defined by a guide plate 25 facing the inkjet head 2. Then, the sheet is discharged by the discharge roller 26 via the discharge port 27 formed on the rear side of the apparatus frame.

A transport motor 2 which is a drive source of the transport mechanism 20.
Reference numeral 8 is attached to the front wall side of the device frame 5. The rotational force of the carry motor 28 is as shown in FIG.
It is transmitted to the transport roller shaft 29 via the gear train. Further, the transport roller shaft 29 and the gear train 31 on the opposite side
Is transmitted to the discharge roller shaft 32 side via the.

Here, the carriage 4 reciprocates in a preset printing area, and the inkjet head 2 mounted therein prints on the surface of the cut sheet 100 conveyed as described above. In this example, the carriage 4 is capable of reciprocating over a range including the print area. That is, it is possible to move to a position on the side of the side wall 5a of the device frame which is out of the printing area. This position is a home position of the inkjet head 2 and is a position for cleaning the inkjet head 2. Further, it is also a position for driving the automatic paper feed mechanism 10 to supply cut sheets.

For this reason, the nozzle capping mechanism 50 for capping the nozzles of the ink jet head 2 is disposed between the end of the guide plate 25 that defines the printing position and the apparatus frame side wall 5a. Suction pump mechanism 60 for sucking and collecting ink, and automatic paper feed mechanism 10
A clutch mechanism 70 is arranged to switch the driving force transmission path 13 from the disconnected state to the connected state.

Prior to the description of the configuration and operation of each of these parts, the overall flow of each operation executed as the carriage 4 moves will be described.

(Outline of Operation) FIG. 4 shows a moving position of the ink jet head 2 mounted on the carriage 4 (hereinafter, referred to as a moving position).
The position of the carriage 4 will be simply described. ) And each operation performed corresponding to those positions. The moving position of the carriage 4 is detected by a photo sensor or a mechanical micro switch.

As shown in FIG. 4, the pump power cutting position P and the flushing position (preliminary discharge position) are directed from the end of the printing area A by the ink jet head 2 mounted on the carriage 4 toward the side wall 5a of the apparatus frame. ) F, empty suction position K, home position HP, and pump power connection position R are arranged in this order. The operation at each position is as follows.

Pump power disconnection position P: A position where the driving force of the carry motor 28 is switched from the suction pump mechanism 60 side to the carry mechanism 20 side, and the drive of the suction pump mechanism 60 is stopped.

Flushing position F (preliminary ejection position): This is a position where the ink is preliminarily ejected (flushed) from all the nozzles of the ink jet head 2 and ink of increased viscosity is ejected from unused nozzles. At this position, the nozzles of the inkjet head 2 face the head capping mechanism 50, and the pre-ejected ink droplets are collected by the head capping mechanism 50.

Empty suction position K: a position where the nozzle of the ink jet head 2 is capped by the head capping mechanism 50, and the waste ink collected by the ink capping mechanism 50 by the action of the suction pump mechanism 60 is the ink capping mechanism. Emitted from 50.

Home position HP (cut sheet feeding position): This is the initial position of the carriage 4, and the carriage 4 is located at this home position HP when the power is turned on. At this position, the inkjet head 2 is capped by the head capping mechanism 50. Therefore, it is possible to prevent adverse effects such as evaporation of the solvent of the ink in the head nozzle to increase its viscosity, or receding of the ink meniscus.

At this position, the cut sheets are fed.

Pump power connection position R: A position at which the driving force of the transport motor 28 is switched from the transport mechanism 20 side to the suction pump mechanism 60 side so that the suction pump mechanism 60 can be driven.

Although the operation content at each position is as described above, the ink jet head is held in a capped state between the above-mentioned idle suction position K and the pump power connection position R. That is, this range is the capping area.

An operation example of the ink jet printer 1 of this example will be described. When the drive power is turned on at time T0 in FIG. 4, the carriage 4 is at the home position HP. Therefore, the head 2 has the head capping mechanism 50.
Capped by. After the power is turned on, an initial operation including a cleaning operation of the head 2 and a cut sheet supply operation is executed, and then a print operation is started while the supplied cut sheet is being conveyed.

More specifically, at time T0, first, the carriage 4 is moved toward the pump power connection position R. When the carriage 4 reaches the position R at time T1, the transmission path of the driving force to the suction pump mechanism 60 is switched to the connected state. As a result, the driving force of the carry motor 28 can be transmitted to the suction pump mechanism 60 side. After that, the carriage 4 is moved toward the home position HP, and when the home position HP is reached, the transport motor 28 is driven to start the suction pump mechanism 60. As a result, the waste ink is sucked and collected from the nozzles of the inkjet head 2 in the capping state and the head capping mechanism 50.

After that, the carriage 4 is moved to the empty suction position K. At time T3 when the position K is reached, the carry motor 28 is driven again. At this position, the head capping mechanism 50 is open to the atmosphere. By this idle suction operation, the inclusion of air bubbles in the nozzle and the destruction of the ink meniscus are prevented.

After stopping the carrying motor 28, the carriage 4
Is moved to the pump power cut position P. Carriage 4
At time T4 when the position P is reached, the transmission mechanism for transmitting the driving force of the carry motor 28 to the suction pump mechanism 60 side is switched to the disconnected state. After this, the carriage 4
Is again moved in the opposite direction toward the home position HP.

The carriage 4 returns to the home position HP
At the time point T5, the transmission path of the driving force of the carry motor 28 is switched to the carry mechanism 20 side.
Further, at this position, the clutch mechanism 70 of the transmission path for transmitting the driving force of the carry motor 28 to the automatic paper feed mechanism 10 side.
Has switched to the connected state. Therefore, the transport motor 2
When 8 is driven, the driving force is transmitted to the automatic paper feed mechanism 10 to rotate the paper feed roller 12. As a result,
The feeding operation of the cut sheet 100 starts. The cut sheet 100 is transferred by the automatic paper feed mechanism 10 to the transport mechanism 20.
The sheet is conveyed to a position where it is held by the conveying roller 24 constituting the. The driving force of the transport motor 28 is the drive mechanism 20.
Since it is also transmitted to the side of, the cut sheet 100 caught by the transport roller 24 is transported by the transport mechanism 20 along the transport path passing through the printing position.

After that, the carriage 4 is moved toward the printing area A. When the carriage 4 starts moving from the home position HP toward the printing area A, the clutch mechanism of the driving force transmission path of the automatic paper feed mechanism 10 is switched to the disengaged state. Therefore, the paper feeding operation is stopped. After that, the capping by the head capping mechanism 50 is released when passing through the idle suction position K on the way to the print area A.

At the time point T6, when the end of the printing area A is reached, the ink jet head 2 is drive-controlled in synchronization therewith, and the printing operation on the conveyed cut sheet 100 is started. Printing is performed for each line or for every plurality of lines. Further, the carriage 4 is periodically moved out of the printing area A to the flushing position F, and flushing of the inkjet head 2 is executed (time T).
7).

When the printing of one cut sheet 100 is completed, the carriage 4 is returned to the home position HP again. As a result, the automatic sheet feeding mechanism 10 is driven to perform another sheet automatic feeding operation (time point T8).
Thereafter, the cycle of automatic paper feeding and printing is repeated in this manner. Then, when the printing operation ends, the carriage 4
Is returned to its home position HP and stops there (time T9).

Among the above operations, the switching operation of the clutch mechanism 70 of the transmission path 13 of the automatic paper feed mechanism 10, the connection / disconnection operation of the driving force transmission path of the suction pump mechanism 60, and the ink jet head 2 by the head capping mechanism 50. The capping operation is performed by using the movement of the carriage 4.

Therefore, as schematically shown in FIG. 5, the carriage 4 is provided with engaging protrusions 42, 43 and 44a, 44b formed for switching these respective parts. . Further, the clutch mechanism 70 of the automatic paper feed mechanism includes a switching lever 71 operated by the engagement protrusion 42, and the suction pump mechanism 60.
Also includes a switching lever 61 that is operated by the engagement protrusions 44a and 44b. Similarly, the head capping mechanism 50 also includes a lever 51 that is operated by the engagement protrusion 43 of the carriage 4.

(Clutch Mechanism of Transmission Path of Automatic Paper Feeding Mechanism) First, the clutch mechanism 70 for switching the transmission path 13 of the automatic paper feeding mechanism 10 will be described. 3 and 6
As shown in FIG.
A clutch gear 72 mounted on the outer periphery of the shaft end of the No. 1 and a clutch disc 73 that can be connected to the gear by moving the clutch gear 72 in the axial direction. The clutch gear 72 is rotatably attached to the outer periphery of the transport roller shaft 29, and is always meshed with a paper feed mechanism side transmission gear 74 connected to the paper feed roller 12 side of the automatic paper feed mechanism 10. The clutch disk 73 side is attached to the outer circumference of the transport roller shaft 29 so as to be movable only in the axial direction of the transport roller shaft 29. Normally, the clutch gear 72 is biased to the side by a coil spring 75 mounted in a compressed state between the transmission roller 34 and the transmission gear 34 fixed to the shaft end of the transport roller shaft 29. Further, the clutch gear 72 and the clutch plate 73
Since the coil springs 76 are also arranged between them, they are always separated from each other.

A sleeve 7 is provided on the opposite side of the clutch gear 72.
7 is attached to the transport roller shaft 29 in a rotatable state. A switching lever 71 is integrally formed on the outer circumference of the sleeve 77 and extends substantially in the radial direction. Sleeve 7
7, a spiral sliding surface 77a is formed, and a fixing pin 77b fixed to the device frame 5 side is always in contact with this surface. When the sleeve 77 rotates, the action of the sliding surface 77a and the pin 77b causes the sleeve 7 to rotate.
7 is movable in the axial direction.

On the rear surface of the carriage 4, that is, on the surface 45 facing the guide plate 25 defining the printing position, the switching lever 71 is provided, as briefly described with reference to FIG. Is formed with an engaging projection 42 that can be engaged with the. The engagement protrusion 42 has an inclined surface 42a inclined at an angle of approximately 45 degrees with respect to the moving direction of the carriage 4,
A side surface 42b is provided continuously with the inclined surface 42a and extending in the carriage movement direction. The movement locus of the inclined surface 42a is set so as to intersect the tip of the switching lever 71.

Therefore, when the carriage 4 moves out of the printing area A, the inclined surface 42a of the engaging projection 42 is moved.
Hits the switching lever 71. Switching lever 71
Is rotatably attached to the transport roller shaft 29. Therefore, when the carriage 4 further moves in a state where they hit, the switching lever 71 is pushed by the inclined surface 42a and rotated from the initial position (first position) by a predetermined angle to continue to the inclined surface 42a. The state is changed to the state (second position) of riding on the side surface 42b.

FIG. 7 shows this state. As described above, the sleeve 77 integrated with the switching lever 71 also rotates in the direction of the arrow together with the switching lever 71. Here, since the spiral sliding surface 77a of the sleeve 77 contacts the fixing pin 77b, the sleeve 77 moves in the axial direction by an amount according to the rotation angle. In this case, the clutch gear 72 is moved toward the clutch disc 73 in the pressing direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the clutch gear 72 meshes with the clutch disc 73 to form a connected state.

This state is maintained while the switching lever 71 rides on the side surface 42b of the engagement projection 42 on the carriage 4 side. Further, when the switching lever 71 rides on the side surface 42b in this way, the carriage 4 moves further toward the shaft end side (the side wall 5a side of the device frame) without being disturbed by the switching lever 71. can do. In this example, taking advantage of this advantage,
The carriage 4 is further moved to the shaft end side, and the driving force transmission path of the suction pump mechanism 60 is switched to the connected state at that position.

When the clutch mechanism 70 is switched to the engaged state in this way, the rotational driving force of the carry motor 28 is transmitted to the gear train 80 which constitutes the driving force transmission path of the carry mechanism 20.
To the transmission gear 34 via the clutch gear 72 of the clutch mechanism 70, and is transmitted to the transmission gear 74 that constitutes a power transmission path to the automatic paper feed mechanism 10 side. Therefore, the paper feed roller 12 can be driven, and the cut sheet 100 can be automatically fed.

However, the carriage 4 is again moved to the printing area A.
When it moves to the side of, the tip of the switching lever 71 is moved to the side surface 42 of the engagement protrusion 42 of the carriage 4 along with the movement.
It slides from b along the inclined surface 42a, and then completely disengages from the engaging projection 42. As a result, the switching lever 7
1 returns to the initial state shown in FIG. That is, the sleeve 77 rotates with the switching lever 71 by a predetermined angle,
With the rotation, the clutch gear 72 moves away from the clutch gear 72 and returns to the initial state. As a result, the clutch mechanism 70
Returns to the cut state again, and the driving force is not transmitted to the automatic paper feed mechanism 10.

(Switching of Driving Force Transmission Path of Suction Pump Mechanism) Referring to FIG. 6, the suction pump mechanism 60 will be described.
Includes a pump 62 and is configured to receive a driving force via a pump gear 63. Pump gear 63
A swivel plate 65, which is swivelable about a shaft 64 extending in the carriage movement direction and is also movable in the axial direction, is disposed on the side of. A transmission gear 66 for transmitting the rotational force of the transport motor 28 to the transport roller shaft side and a planetary gear mechanism 67 for transmitting the rotational force of the transport motor 28 to the pump 62 side are provided on the swivel plate 65. Is held.

The sun gear 67a of the planetary gear mechanism 66 and the transmission gear 66 rotate integrally and are movable together in the axial direction of the shaft 64. Sun gear 67a
The carrier plate 67d that supports the pair of planetary gears 67b and 67c meshing with each other is attached to the swivel plate 65 so as to swivel integrally with the swivel plate 65.

As briefly described with reference to FIG. 5, the rear surface 45 of the carriage 4 is provided with engagement protrusions 44a and 44b for switching the driving force transmission path of the suction pump. A lever 61 that can be operated by these engaging protrusions 44a and 44b is formed on the swivel plate 65.

The operation of switching the transmission path of the suction pump mechanism 60 in accordance with the movement of the carriage 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8. When the carriage 4 moves out of the printing area A and moves toward the shaft end side, the engagement protrusion 44a formed on the back surface 45 of the carriage 4 hits the engagement lever 61 of the swivel plate 65 to move the switching lever 61 to the shaft end side. Push in. As a result, the swivel plate 65 and the transmission gear 6 held therein
6 and the planetary gear mechanism 67 move integrally along the shaft 64.

Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the side surface of the swivel plate 65 is pulled by a coil spring 68 from a position below the shaft 64 in an oblique direction, and the device frame 5
It hits the guide surface 5e formed on the side of. Swivel plate 6
When 5 is pushed in the direction of the shaft 64 as a whole, the spring force of the coil spring 68 causes it to pivot about the shaft 64,
The upper switching lever 61 is deviated from the movement locus of the engagement projection 44a on the carriage 4 side. In addition, the swivel plate 65
Is fitted in the step portion of the guide surface 5e, and is held in a moved and swung state. This state is shown by an imaginary line in FIG.

When the swivel plate 65 moves and swivels in this manner, the state shown in FIG. 7 is formed. That is, the transmission gear 66 is disengaged from the transmission gear 15 on the transport mechanism 10 side.
The planet gear 66b meshes with the pump gear 63. As a result, the rotational driving force of the carry motor 28 is increased by the carry mechanism 10.
Is transmitted to the suction pump mechanism 60 side without being transmitted to the side.

As described above, by the movement of the carriage 4, the transmission path is switched from the disconnected state to the connected state by the driving force of the suction pump mechanism 60. When the carriage 4 moves toward the print area A, the engagement protrusion 44a
The switching lever 61 of the swivel plate 65 is not located on the movement locus of. However, the carriage 4 has an engaging protrusion 44.
b is formed. The engagement protrusion 44b is formed at a position where it can be engaged with the moved switching lever 61, and an inclined surface 44c for pushing the switching lever 61 toward its original position. Therefore, as the carriage 4 moves, the inclined surface 44c of the engaging protrusion 44b
When the switch lever 61 hits the switch lever 61, the switch lever 61 is pushed and the swivel plate 65 is disengaged from the step portion of the guide surface 5e. As a result, the swing plate 65 returns to the original position and posture by the spring force.

(Drive of Head Capping Mechanism) Next,
The head capping mechanism 50 driven by the movement of the carriage 4 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. The head capping mechanism 50 includes a cap 52 for capping the nozzles of the inkjet head 2 and a box-shaped slider 53 that supports the cap 52. The cap 52 is filled with an ink absorber 54. An engagement lever 51 that can be engaged with the side of the carriage 4 is integrally formed with the slider 53. Further, the slider 53 is movable along the guide rail 55 toward the device frame side wall 5a by a predetermined distance.

The guide surface of the guide rail 55 is inclined midway and is raised by one step. Therefore, the slider 53 moving along this position has an initial position (see FIG. 10) shown by the solid line in FIG.
The moving position (capping position) (the empty suction position K and the home position HP shown in FIG. 10) indicated by an imaginary line is higher than the flushing position F shown in FIG. That is, in the moving position, the cap 52 supported by the slider 53 hits the front surface (nozzle surface) 2a of the inkjet head 2 mounted on the carriage 4 moving above the cap 52 from below,
It will be capped there.

In this example, the engaging protrusion 43 formed on the carriage 4 side uses the side surface 2b of the ink jet head 2. Of course, the engagement protrusion may be separately formed on the carriage 4 itself.

After the carriage 4 moves from the printing area A side and the ink jet head side surface 2b (engagement protrusion) hits the engagement lever 51 of the slider 53,
It moves with the slider 53. As a result, the slider 5
3 moves along the guide rail 55 and rises to a position higher by one step. As a result, the cap 52 supported there is capped on the nozzle surface 2 a of the inkjet head 2.

When the carriage 4 moves toward the printing area A, the slider 53 returns to its original position by the spring force of the coil spring 56, and the cap 52 thereof is separated from the ink jet head 2.

Here, two holes are formed in the bottom of the cap 52, one hole communicates with the suction pump mechanism 60 side, and the other side is a ventilation hole. In FIG.
Only the vent hole 52a formed in the cap 52 is shown. An atmosphere opening valve 52b is attached to the vent hole 52a, and when the valve 52b is opened, the inside of the cap is opened to the atmosphere.

The atmosphere opening valve 52b is provided with a valve body 52c for opening and closing the vent hole 52a and a valve lever 52d supporting the valve body 52c. The valve lever 52d is supported by a support plate 53a of the slider 53 via a biasing spring 52e so that the valve body 52c can move in a direction in which the vent hole 52a can be opened and closed. A pin 52f is connected to the lower end of the valve lever 52d, and the pin 52f is movable along the valve guide rail 52g. The valve guide rail 52g has an inclined surface formed in the same way as the guide rail 55 of the slider 53, and the pin 52
When f gets over this, it moves to a higher position. As a result, the valve lever 52d connected to the pin 52f is pushed up, and the valve body 52c at the upper end is also pushed up.

As can be seen from FIG. 10, the inclined surface of the valve guide rail 52g with respect to the guide rail 55 of the slider 53 is formed at a position moved by a certain distance in the slider movement direction. Therefore, up to the flushing position F, the slider 53 and the atmosphere release valve 52b move at a certain height position. In this state, the vent hole 52a is blocked by the atmosphere release valve 52d.

However, the slider 53 rides on the inclined surface of the guide rail 55 and is lifted up before reaching the empty suction position K. On the other hand, the side of the atmosphere opening valve 52b is maintained at a constant height even in the empty suction position K. As a result, at the empty suction position K, the atmosphere opening valve 52d is disengaged from the vent hole 52a, and the cap 52 is opened to the atmosphere. As a result, when the suction pump mechanism 60 is driven, the ink contained in the ink absorber 54 can be collected. After this, the side of the atmosphere release valve 52b is also replaced by the valve guide rail 52.
Since the sloping surface of g is ridden and lifted, the vent hole 52a is closed again.

Next, referring again to FIG. 9, in this example,
A drive pin 57 that moves together with the slider 53 is arranged. The drive pin 57 always moves at the same height position regardless of the elevation of the slider 53. As shown in FIG. 9 (B), this drive pin 57 turns a turning lever 58 that can turn up and down against the spring force. The tip of the turning lever 58 is engaged with an elevating lever 81 that moves up and down together with the head wiper 80. When the swiveling lever 58 swivels, the tip of the swiveling lever 58 goes under the engaging portion 81 a of the elevating lever 81.

In this state, when the drive pin 57 returns from the position 57A shown by the imaginary line to the original position, the turning lever 58 that goes around downward is turned upward about the fulcrum 58a. Therefore, since the elevating lever 81 is pushed up, the wiper 80 also rises accordingly. As a result, the nozzle surface 2a of the moving inkjet head 2 can be wiped by the side surface of the wiper 80.

When the swiveling lever 58 swivels to a certain extent or more, the tip of the swiveling lever 58 comes off the lifting lever 81. As a result, the elevating lever 81 and the wiper 80 are lowered to their original positions, and the tip of the turning lever 58 is returned to the initial state in which the upper end of the elevating lever 81 is mounted.

(Relationship Between Moving Position of Carriage and Operating State of Each Part) Here, the relationship between the moving position of the carriage 4 and the operating state of each part will be described collectively with reference to FIG.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show a state in which the carriage 4 reaches the flushing position F from the print area A side. In this state, the inclined surface 42a of the engagement protrusion 42 formed on the back surface 45 of the carriage 4 is
The clutch mechanism 70 has reached a position slightly separated from the switching lever 71. The side surface 2b of the inkjet head 2 also reaches a position slightly apart from the engaging protrusion 51 of the slider 53 of the capping mechanism. On the other hand, the engagement protrusion 44a is located sufficiently away from the switching lever 61 formed on the swivel plate 64 of the suction pump mechanism 60.

At the flushing position F, the nozzle surface 2a of the ink jet head 2 is at a position just facing the cap 52. In this state, flushing is performed, and the ink droplets ejected from each nozzle are absorbed by the ink absorber 54 of the cap 52.

When the carriage 4 moves from the flushing position F toward the home position HP, first, the inclined surface 42a of the engaging projection 42 formed on the back surface 45 of the carriage 4 contacts the switching lever 71 of the clutch mechanism 70, and The lever 71 is operated. At the same time, the side surface 2b of the inkjet head 2 also hits the engaging protrusion 51 of the slider 53 of the capping mechanism to operate the slider 53.

In FIGS. 5C and 5D, the carriage 4 is shown.
Shows the state when the home position HP is reached via the idle suction position K while moving from the flushing position F and operating the lever 71 and the slider 53.
In this state, the switching lever 71 is operated to switch the clutch mechanism 70 to the connected state. Further, the ink cap 52 of the ink capping mechanism 50 is capped on the nozzle surface 2 a of the inkjet head 2.

However, the swing plate 6 of the suction pump mechanism 60
The switching lever 61 of No. 4 has not been operated yet. That is, the engagement protrusion 44 a on the carriage 4 side is in a state of slightly preceding the switching lever 61. When the carriage 4 moves from this state toward the pump driving force connection position R, the engagement protrusion 44a of the carriage 4 contacts the switching lever 61, and the switching lever 61 is operated.

5E and 5F, the swivel plate 65 of the suction pump mechanism 60 is operated by the engagement projection 44a of the carriage 4, that is, the carriage 4 is at the pump driving force connection position R. The state is reached. In this state, the driving force of the carry motor 28 is equal to the suction pump mechanism 6
It is transmitted only to the 0 side.

FIGS. 5G and 5H show a state in which the carriage 4 has moved toward the printing area A and reached the pump power cut-off position P thereof. In this state, the switching lever 61 of the swivel plate 65 is returned to the original position by the inclined surface 44c of the engagement protrusion 44b of the carriage 4, and the driving force of the carry motor 28 can be transmitted to the carry mechanism 10. Are formed.

(Other Embodiments) The ink jet printer to which the present invention is applied has been described above. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to a printer other than the inkjet printer, for example, a thermal printer. That is, the present invention can be applied as it is to a printer of a type that prints on a recording medium conveyed while the print head mounted on the carriage reciprocates.

In the above description, the home position of the carriage in which the ink jet head is in the capping state and the position of the switching lever 71 for automatically feeding cut sheets are on the same side with respect to the printing area. It is in. Alternatively, for example, the switching lever may be arranged at a position opposite to the print area.

Furthermore, the switching lever 71 can be arranged at an intermediate position of the printing area A.

On the other hand, in the above description, the present invention is applied to the clutch mechanism for connecting and disconnecting the power transmission path of the automatic sheet feeding mechanism. Further, it is applied to a mechanism for connecting and disconnecting the driving force transmission path to the suction pump mechanism. However, the present invention can be applied for switching the power transmission path other than this.

[0083]

As described above, according to the present invention, the lever for switching the power transmission path to the automatic paper feed mechanism or the like between the disconnected state and the connected state is operated by using the carriage on which the print head is mounted. In the configured power transmission control mechanism of the printer, the lever can be moved between a first position operable by the carriage and a second position that does not prevent passage of the carriage.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when the lever is operated to the second position, the carriage can pass over the lever. Therefore, even if the carriage overruns due to an erroneous operation or an erroneous operation, the lever or the component forming the power transmission path linked to the lever is not damaged. Further, in the mechanism of the present invention, since the carriage can pass without being obstructed by the lever, the lever can be arranged at any position within the moving range of the carriage. Generally, the lever is arranged at a position outside the printing area, but according to the present invention, there is no problem even if it is arranged at a position inside the printing area. As a result, according to the present invention, the lever for switching the power transmission path using the movement of the carriage is provided.
It is possible to place more than one place.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing main components of an inkjet printer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional configuration diagram showing a cross-sectional configuration of a portion including a printing position of the inkjet printer of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan configuration diagram showing a main component part of the inkjet printer of FIG. 1 partially omitted.

FIG. 4 is a schematic operation flow showing an operation of the inkjet printer of FIG.

5 is an explanatory diagram showing a movement position of a carriage and an operation state of each part in the inkjet printer of FIG.

6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a case where a clutch mechanism of an automatic paper feeding mechanism in the printer of FIG. 1 is in a disengaged state.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a state after the clutch mechanism shown in FIG. 6 is switched to a connected state.

8 is an explanatory diagram showing a switching operation of a driving force transmission path of a suction pump mechanism in the printer of FIG.

9A is an explanatory view showing the operation of the capping mechanism of the inkjet head in the printer of FIG.
(B) is an explanatory view for explaining the movement of the wiper of the inkjet head.

10 is an explanatory diagram showing the movement of the atmosphere release valve attached to the capping mechanism of the inkjet head in the printer of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer 2 Inkjet head 2a Nozzle surface 2b Head side surface 3 Ink tank 4 Carriage 42 Engagement protrusion 43 Engagement protrusion (nozzle side face) 44a, 44b Engagement protrusion 10 Automatic paper feed mechanism 13 Power transmission path of automatic paper feed mechanism 20 Conveying mechanism 28 Conveying motor 29 Conveying roller shaft 70 Clutch mechanism of power transmission path of automatic paper feeding mechanism 71 Switching lever 72 Clutch gear 73 Clutch board 74 Transmission gear to automatic paper feeding mechanism side 77 Sleeve 77a Spiral sliding surface 77b fixing pin

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A power transmission control mechanism of a printer configured to operate a lever for switching a power transmission path between a disconnected state and a connected state by using a carriage on which a print head is mounted, wherein the lever is the carriage. A power transmission control mechanism for a printer, wherein the power transmission control mechanism is movable between a first position that can be operated by the and a second position that does not prevent passage of the carriage. 2. The lever according to claim 1, wherein the lever is rotatable between the first and second positions about a rotation center line parallel to the movement path of the carriage. Printer power transmission control mechanism. 3. The lever according to claim 2, wherein when the lever is rotated from the first position to the second position, the lever moves in a direction along a movement path of the carriage by a certain distance. A power transmission control mechanism for a printer, which is characterized in that 4. The power transmission path according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the power transmission path is transmitted to a conveyance mechanism that conveys a cut sheet along a conveyance path that passes through a printing position of the print head. A power transmission control mechanism of a printer, which is a path for transmitting a driving force to a supply mechanism for feeding a cut sheet to a position where the conveyance mechanism can convey the cut sheet.