JPH0939221A - Ink type recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent failure of ink ejection from occurring owing to drying of a nozzle ejection opening surface by preventing occurrence of jamming due to a float of paper. SOLUTION: A cartridge (ink cartridge) 1A is equipped to a carriage, and besides a detection means (lever 9a) detecting float (turning up) of paper 16 is equipped thereto. When the lever 9a abuts against the float part of the paper 16 in transfer of the carriage 1 in the arrow Xa direction, the lever 9a is made to pivot counterclockwise, and the float is detected thereby. Therefore, the float of the paper can be detected before jamming is caused by transfer of the carriage 1, and occurrence of jamming can be prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink type recording apparatus, and more particularly to an ink type recording apparatus which prevents jamming due to floating of a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the recording method of an ink type recording apparatus is
In general, a printing operation is performed by moving ink on a paper (recording medium) placed on a carrier while moving a carriage on which a recording head is mounted.

Here, the distance between the recording head and the paper needs to be a short distance of about 1.5 mm in order to guarantee the printing accuracy and the printing quality, and the recording head scans the paper at high speed at this distance. ing. Further, the recording head has an ink ejection port (orifice) having a diameter of about 0.05 mm (in the case of the bubble jet system). When the surface of the ink ejection port is dried, the ejection state of the ink is deteriorated and the ink is not ejected. There is a risk that Therefore, normally, when the printing operation is not performed, the nozzle ejection port surface is capped to prevent drying, and the ejection port surface is prevented from drying.

Further, depending on the type of the ink type recording apparatus, there is a type in which a carriage is provided with a cutter for cutting the paper, and the paper is cut by the cutter while moving the carriage.

The ink type recording apparatus having the above structure is
In printing, in a region where printing is concentrated, a recording medium (recording paper) absorbs a large amount of ink and expands, and so-called paper floating may occur. The floating of the paper occurs on the edge (blown) of the recording sheet or on a part other than the edge (central portion, etc.). Further, when the paper is cut after the image recording, if the cutter blade is worn out, the paper cannot be cut smoothly and becomes ruffled, and the paper floats.

Even if the amount of floating of the paper is slight, the distance between the recording head and the paper is very small. Therefore, when the recording head, the carriage, or the holder of the cutter blade comes into contact with the paper, the paper is wound around the lower portion or the side surface of the carriage. Therefore, a load larger than the carrying force of the carriage is applied, and scanning of the carriage becomes impossible, which may cause a jam. When a jam occurs, the jam detecting unit detects the jam and forcibly stops all the operations such as the carriage motor, the paper transport roller, and the ink ejection under the control of the control device. . That is, in the conventional ink-type recording apparatus, a jam is detected after the occurrence of a jam, and based on the result of the jam detection, measures such as forcibly stopping the entire operation are taken as described above.

[0007]

However, if the operation of the ink recording apparatus is stopped after the occurrence of the jam as in the conventional case, it takes a lot of time to recover the jam, and in some cases, the ink is not recovered during the jam processing. The discharge port may be dried. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an ink recording apparatus that prevents the occurrence of jams due to floating of paper and prevents the non-ejection of ink due to the drying of the nozzle ejection port surface.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is an ink-type recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium by scanning a carriage carrying an ink-type recording head, The present invention is characterized in that a float detection means for detecting the float of the recording medium is provided. Further, the invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the floating detection means is provided in the carriage. Further, the invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the floating detecting means is provided in a carrying means for carrying the recording medium.

According to the first to third aspects of the present invention, the float detecting means detects the float of the recording medium.

Further, the invention according to claim 4 is characterized by comprising first retracting control means for retracting the carriage to a portion where there is no recording medium after detecting the floating of the recording medium. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the first retraction control unit retracts the carriage to a portion without the recording medium after detecting the floating of the recording medium. Therefore, the occurrence of jam can be prevented.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, after the carriage is retracted by the control of the first retracting control means,
A second retracting control unit for transporting the recording medium by a predetermined amount and then retracting the carriage to the capping position is provided. According to the invention of claim 5,
The second retraction control unit conveys the recording medium by a certain amount after the carriage retreats, and then retracts the carriage to the capping position. Therefore, the floating recording medium is conveyed by a fixed amount, so that even if the carriage is retracted to the capping position, the carriage does not catch on the floating and jam does not occur.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

(1) Example of First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink type recording apparatus according to an example of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 (a) is a front view and FIG. 2 (b) is a side view. FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A and 2B, the first and second standing walls B are provided on the left and right ends of the rectangular pedestal B, respectively.
a and Bb are formed, and two rails 3a and 3b are bridged between the first and second standing walls Ba and Bb. A carriage 1 is slidably inserted through the rails 3a and 3b, and a recording head cartridge (hereinafter referred to as a cartridge) 1A is mounted on the lower surface side of the carriage 1.

A motor 7 is attached to the outer surface of the first standing wall Ba, and a timing belt 4 is stretched between an output shaft 7a of the motor 7 and a pulley 7b provided on the outer surface of the second standing wall Bb. Has been done. The carriage 1 is fixed to the upper side of the belt 4, and the carriage 1 is driven in the arrow W direction (left and right direction) according to the rotation direction of the motor 7.

A motor 8 is mounted below the outer surface of the first standing wall Ba, and an output shaft of the motor 8 is provided with a paper 16.
A conveyance roller 5 that conveys is attached. The two pinch rollers 6a and 6b are in contact with above the conveying roller 5
Are arranged. The sheet 16 is nipped by the conveying roller 5 and the pinch rollers 6a and 6b, and is conveyed in the arrow V direction.

A drying prevention device 2 for preventing the ink ejection surface of the cartridge 1A from drying is disposed below the inside of the second standing wall Bb, and the drying prevention device 2 is used when the cartridge 1A is not printing or while waiting for printing. It has a cap 2A for capping the nozzle of the cartridge 1A. The cap 2A is arranged on the traveling path of the cartridge 1A.

FIG. 3 shows the first and second floating detection mechanisms U for detecting the floating of the sheets mounted on both side surfaces of the carriage 1.
It is a front view of a and Ub. In addition, in FIG. 1, the floating detection mechanisms Ua and Ub are not shown. As shown in FIG. 3, the first and second floating detection mechanisms Ua and Ub have first and second levers (floating detection means) 9a and 9b that rotate around a fulcrum, respectively, and upper ends of the levers. Photosensors 10a and 10b for turning on / off the optical path, and a spring 11 for urging the lower end of the lever in a direction to push it out.
a and 11b. Then, the photo sensors 10a and 10b are provided on the paper 1 when the carriage 1 moves.
6 is not lifted (ie, levers 9a, 9b
Is on), for example, the right end of the sheet 16 is lifted up and the first edge is lifted in the carriage movement direction Xa.
When the lower end of the lever 9a is contacted, the first lever 9a is rotated counterclockwise and the photo sensor 10a is turned off.

On the left side surface of the carriage 1, the paper 1
A cutter device 1B for cutting 6 is provided (FIG. 1,
2 (a) and 2 (b)). As will be described in detail below, the cutter device 1B includes a cutter 12, and the cutter 12 follows the guide groove 14g formed in the cutter driving cam 14 shown in FIG. 4B only when the paper 16 is cut. 16
Comes down to the position.

4A and 4B are views showing the peripheral mechanism of the cutter 12, wherein FIG. 4A is a front view of the cutter, and FIG. 4B is a front view of the drive cam 14 of the cutter. Is. FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), the cutter device 1B includes a holder 13 that supports the cutter 12, a cutter drive cam 14 that moves the holder 13 in the vertical direction, and the like.

A pin 15 is erected on the front side surface of the holder 13, and the pin 15 is inserted into a guide groove 14g formed in a horizontally long cutter driving cam 14. The guide groove 14
g is a flat portion 1 formed at a slightly higher position on both left and right ends
4a and 14c, and a flat portion 14b formed at a lower position in the center.

The cutter driving cam 14 moves (slides) in the left-right direction by contacting the compatible walls Ba and Bb with respect to the carriage 1, and the guide groove 1
When the pin 15 is on the flat portion 14a or the flat portion 14c of 4 g, the tip of the cutter 12 is at a position higher than at least the height of the bottom surface of the carriage 1 (that is, even if the carriage 1 is moved, the cutter 12 is not moved). The paper 16 is not cut). When the pin 15 is located on the flat portion 14b of the guide groove 14g, the cutter 12 is lowered and the paper 16 is cut.

Next, the operation of the ink type recording apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. Detection of floating during printing operation (Fig. 5) During printing operation or during carriage movement, the paper 16 floats in the carriage movement direction due to curling of the paper 16 or curling or waviness due to ink absorption during printing. When the first and second levers 9a and 9b are brought into contact with each other (see FIG. 3), the floating is detected by, for example, the first lever 9a (step S1). Based on the floating detection result, the carriage 1 temporarily suspends the movement operation and the printing operation under the control of the control device (first retraction control means, second retraction control means, not shown) (step S2).

Thereafter, under the control of the control device, the carriage 1 moves in the direction opposite to the moving direction and stands by at a predetermined position which does not affect the conveyance of the paper 16 (step S).
3). It is determined whether or not the standby position (retracted position) of the carriage 1 is on the cap side (step S4). If it is not on the cap side, the sheet 16 on which the floating has occurred is
A certain amount is conveyed in the direction of arrow V (see FIG. 1) (step S5). Since a certain amount of the paper 16 is conveyed, an obstacle (that is, floating of the paper) is eliminated in the passage of the carriage 1, so that the carriage 1 moves to a position (capping position) where the drying prevention device 2 exists (step S6). The ink ejection port surface is capped (step S7).

As described above, since the floating of the paper 16 is detected during the movement of the carriage 1 and the movement of the carriage 1 is temporarily interrupted, the occurrence of jam can be prevented. Further, when the floating is detected, the carriage is moved to the drying prevention device and the nozzles of the recording head are automatically capped, so that the drying of the ink ejection port can be prevented.

Float Detection During Paper Cutting (FIG. 6) When the paper 16 is lifted due to defective cutting of the paper 16 during the paper cutting operation (for example, movement in the direction of arrow W in FIG. 4) (step S11) ), Either one of the first and second levers 9a and 9b is turned off, and the cutting operation of the paper 16 is interrupted under the control of the control device (step S12), and the carriage 1 reverses the paper cutting direction. In the direction (step S13). As a result, the abutting portion 14d of the cutter driving cam 14 comes into contact with and is pushed by the first standing wall Ba, and the pin 15 is positioned on the flat portion 14a.
3 is lifted upward and the cutter 12 is the paper cutter device 1
It is stored inside B (step S14).

Next, it is judged whether or not the standby position (retracted position) of the carriage 1 is on the cap side (step S1).
5) If it is not on the cap side, after the paper 16 is conveyed by a certain amount (step S16), the carriage 1 is moved to the capping position (step S17), and the nozzle of the cartridge is capped (step S18).

At this time, the abutting surface 14e of the cutter driving cam 14 is pressed against the second standing wall Bb, and the pin 15 on the flat portion 14a again passes through the flat portion 14b of the guide groove 14g to reach the flat portion 14c. Then, the cutter 12 is stored inside the paper cutter device 1B.

As described above, since the floating of the paper 16 is detected during the cutting operation by the cutter 12 and the movement of the carriage 1 is temporarily interrupted, the occurrence of jam by the cutter can be prevented. Further, when the floating is detected, the carriage is moved to the drying prevention device and the nozzles of the recording head are automatically capped, so that the drying of the ink ejection port can be prevented.

Further, in the example of the present embodiment, the cutter 12
Although the carriage 1 is provided on the carriage 1, a cutter device provided with a cutter separately from the carriage 1 is provided, and the cutter device is configured to scan the paper only when cutting, and the cutter device is an example of the present embodiment. A floating detection means similar to the above may be provided.

Further, in the example of the present embodiment, after the floating of the paper is detected, the paper is conveyed when the carriage is retracted to the side opposite to the capping position, but the paper is jammed without being conveyed. In order to prevent this, the user may be prompted to take an action while the carriage is retracted.

(2) Example of Second Embodiment The example of the present embodiment is a case where a sheet floating detection mechanism is provided in the transport device.

As shown in FIG. 7, pinch rollers 6a, 6
A photo interrupter (a light emitting portion 17a and a light receiving portion 17b) is arranged to face each other inside b. Then, when the sheet 16 floats, the light emitted from the light emitting unit 17a is blocked by the floating of the sheet 16 and does not reach the light receiving unit 17b. In this way, the floating of the paper 16 may be detected, and the same processing as that described in the example of the first embodiment (see FIGS. 5 and 6) may be performed according to the detection result.

When the floating of the sheet 16 is detected as described above, the suction force of the suction means (not shown) provided on the platen P is strengthened to suck the floating, and the sheet is flat. It may be returned to. Further, a display unit for displaying that the sheet 16 is floated may be provided so that the user can easily perform a process of removing the float, replacing the cutter blade, changing the cutting position of the cutter blade, and the like. . At that time, if printing or cutting is restarted from a position during printing or cutting, the time can be shortened as compared with the case of starting over from the beginning.

[0034]

As described above, according to the invention described in each of the claims, there is provided the float detecting means for detecting the float of the recording medium, and after detecting the float of the recording medium, the recording medium is conveyed by a predetermined amount, After that, since the retreat control means for retreating the carriage to the capping position is provided, the carriage moving operation can be stopped at the time when the floating of the recording medium is detected to prevent jamming. It is possible to prevent the ejection port surface from drying and maintain the nozzle state in a good condition.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of an ink type recording apparatus according to an example of a first embodiment of the invention.

2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating the overall configuration of the ink type recording apparatus according to the first embodiment, in which FIG. 2A is a front view and FIG. 2B is a side sectional view.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram (front view) of a sheet floating detection mechanism in the example of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a peripheral portion of the cutter in the example of the first embodiment, wherein (a) is a front view of the periphery of the cutter;
(B) is a front view of a guide groove for vertical movement of the cutter.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process associated with floating detection during printing in the example of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of processing associated with floating detection during sheet cutting in the example of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a front view of an ink-type recording apparatus including a sheet floating detection unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Ba, Bb Standing wall 1 Carriage 1A Recording head cartridge 1B Paper cutter device 2 Drying prevention device 2A Cap 6a, 6b Pinch roller 9a, 9b Lever 14 Cutter drive cam 14g Guide groove 16 Paper 17a Photo interrupter (light emitting part) 17b Photo interrupter (light receiving) Part)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An ink recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium by scanning a carriage having an ink recording head mounted thereon, characterized by comprising a float detecting means for detecting float of the recording medium. Ink recording device. 2. The ink-type recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the floating detection unit is provided in the carriage. 3. The floating detecting means is provided in a carrying means for carrying the recording medium.
The ink type recording apparatus described. 4. The ink type apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first retracting control unit that retracts the carriage to a portion without the recording medium after detecting the floating of the recording medium. Recording device. 5. A second withdrawal control means is provided which, after the carriage is withdrawn under the control of the first withdrawal control means, conveys the recording medium by a certain amount and then withdraws the carriage to a capping position. The ink type recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.