JPS5991064A - Drying protector of typing head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely prevent a typing head from drying without sacrificing the typing performance of printer, by obtaining the operating force of drying protector of typing head provided in the printer body from the moving operation of carriage. CONSTITUTION:When the waiting of carriage 3 after the end of typing is finished, the carriage 3 is stopped and respective head caps 31A-31D are fit to typing heads 2A-2D and sealed. Thus, the setting of drying protector 30 to respective typing heads 2A-2D ends. Further, a stepping motor 12 maintains the setting state of said protector 30 by the built-in permanent magnet even though the apply of power is stopped. When typing is reopened, the carriage 3 is moved from waiting position A to starting position B, the pressing of rotary arm 34 being released by this movement, the link bar 36, rotary arm 34 and cam plate 39 being respectively returned to original positions by the operation of spring 43 and the cap stopping board 44 returns to its original position at that time, too. Because the drying protector is provided thus on the side part of platen, high typing performance can be obtained by the miniaturization and lightening of carriage.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for preventing drying of a print head.
The present invention relates to a print head drying prevention device suitable for use in a printer using raw ink as a print medium.

In printers that use raw ink as a printing medium, if the printing operation is interrupted and left for a long time, the ink at the tip of the print head may dry, causing printing defects.

In order to prevent this print head from drying out, conventionally
6-50638, the print head tip l (
An idea has been proposed in which a motor-driven printer is provided with a rad cover, a cap plate made of an elastic member is attached within the cover, and the tip of the print head is sealed by the elastic force of the cap plate.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technology, since the cap plate, the cap plate operating mechanism, and the motor as a driving means are all mounted on the carriage, the structure of the carriage becomes complicated and heavy. When using multiple print heads, each print head must be equipped with the cap plate, motor, etc., which places an extremely large burden on the structure and weight of the carriage, and reduces printing speed, printing accuracy, etc. −
This has disadvantages in that performance is unavoidably reduced and the entire device becomes expensive.

In addition, in a raw ink dot impact printer, the clearance between the recording paper and the printing pad is only about 0.5 yn, making it completely impossible to arrange the cap plate of the prior art at the tip of the print head. Ta.

The present invention has been made in view of the drawbacks of the prior art described in 1. The present invention includes a printer body equipped with a print head drying prevention device, and the operating force of the print head drying prevention device being used to move the carriage. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a drying prevention system for a print head that is simple in structure and easy to use, and that can reliably prevent the print head from drying out without sacrificing the printing performance of the printer. do.

The present invention provides a cap that is provided to be movable in a lower position opposite to the print head when the carriage, which is equipped with a print head and is movable to a standby position outside the printing range, is in the standby position; The above object is achieved by including a motion conversion mechanism that converts the standby movement motion of the cap to move the cap toward the print head.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 5.

FIG. 1 is a partially omitted schematic diagram showing a printing section of a raw ink type wire dot printer according to the present invention. In the figure: facing the platen 1, a plurality of print heads 2A~
A carriage 3 carrying a 2D is equipped so as to be movable in the left and right direction. A pair of guide covers 4.4 extends along the moving direction of the carriage 3, and a bush 6 protruding from the bottom of the carriage 3 extends between the guide covers 4.4 and 4.4.
．． 6°... are slidably fitted and guided in parallel. The carriage 3 is moved by the clamping part 10 to the drive boob IJ7. It is connected to a timing belt 9 wound around an idle pulley 8. The drive pulley 7
is directly connected to a stepping motor 12 which operates in response to a drive signal sent from a motor driver 11. With this stepping motor rotating 120 times, the carriage 3
can be moved to any position. A recording paper 13 is wound around the platen l, and line breaks, page breaks, etc. are performed on the recording paper 13 by rotation of a paper feed roller (not shown).

The motor driver 11 rotates and stops the stepping motor 12 under the control of a print control unit (not shown), and during printing operation, moves the carriage 3 to the printing start position (solid line A in FIG. 1). (Refer to Figure 4), the carriage 3 is moved to the right one after another, and on the other hand, when the printing of the - character is completed, the gear ridge return operation is performed. The tc is turned so as to return it to the starting position.

Separately, when performing ink drying prevention for the print heads 28 to 2D, the carriage 3 is moved further to the left from the printing start position to a fixed standby position D1, which is outside the printing range by a distance l (see Fig. 1). (see solid line B in Figure 5). The print heads 2A to 2D, which are fixed to the carriage 3 and have a length of 1 t, have a clearance α (see FIG. 2) between the leading edge and the recording paper 13 of 0.0 to 100 mm so that the optimum 7':C printing can be performed. It is set around 5 dragons.

The print heads 2A to 21J are yellow, mabinta,
They are provided for cyan and black printing colors, and this makes it possible to print characters, figures, etc. in color by dot printing. Each of the print heads 28 to 2Dt has the same configuration, and as shown in FIG. A large number of wires 17° 17, . It has become so. 24 is an air hole for air replacement. The ink storage body 16 is connected to an externally provided wiper tank 20 via an ink pipe 19, and the detection electrode 2
According to the amount of ink suction H detected in step 1.21, the °C flow rate control side 1 valve 22 is operated, so that the ink is always filled with the amount of ink that enables optimal printing. Said wire l 7.17
, . . . are individually slid by a solenoid mechanism (not shown) K at the rear end of the wire, protrude from the light guide 18 and impact the recording paper 13, and at this time the wire tip Dots are printed on the recording paper 13 using the ink that is applied to the paper. By repeating the above-mentioned impact operation while the carriage 3 moves to the right during the printing operation, it is possible to print the fixed character mark '↑' in the row 1:Q.

in front! The printer main body (not shown) W on the left side of the Eg12 recorder 13 has a drying top protection device 30 for the print heads 2A to 2D.
(device) 11. This dry flame prevention device 3o is
Carriage 3 moved to fl”, machine attached 161! When 1σ1, each print head 2 A-21) l/C/% head gap 31A~3 lI) is printed with -IJ-.
There is a device to prevent the ink from drying at the tip of the pad.As shown in Figure 4, the pressure roller 32 is pivotally supported on the left side of the carriage 3. In the moving direction of the suppression roller 32, a rotary arm 34 is provided which has a contact portion 33 formed of a smooth curved line opposite to each other. , 111ii The medium heat part is rotatably supported on the plink body, and it is designed to easily rotate when the ^11 joint part 33 on one end side is pressed. J+9 arm 3
A vi-shaft screw 35 and a link par 36 installed at the rotation point are connected to the other end of the shaft 4. The other end of this linker 36 is connected via a shaft screw 41 to a protrusion 40 of a cam plate 39 that is guided by a pin 38, 38 provided on a fixed plate 37. The linker 36 is rotated in 11 directions by the rotary arm 34 and presses the cam plate 39 in the right direction. At this time, the cam plate 39 , long diameter 42. drilled in the left and right direction.
The bins 38 and 38 are fitted into the bins 42 and 38, so that they move in parallel to the right.

On the other hand, 1111 link par 36 ii sum 1.11 di 4
A tension spring 43 is tensioned between the printer body and the vicinity of the linker 36, so that a leftward return force is always applied to the linker 36. For this reason, when the carriage 3 moves to the right and the pressure on the rotation arm 34 by the suppression roller 32 is released, the front 1;
The cam plate 3 moves to the left with the tensile force of 3, and at the same time the cam plate 3
9 to the left.

The fixing plate 37 is fixed to the plink body V. Between this fixed plate 37 and the cam plate 39, the f cap locking plate 4
4 is equipped so as to be slidable in the vertical direction in FIG. The cam plate 39 of No. 111 is provided with a length 45.45 mm as a driving joint which is bored in an oblique direction. Bins 4G and 46 as follower members are fitted. Further, on both left and right ends of the cap locking plate 44, ε64
8!7 long holes 47.47 are provided in the vertical direction of the figure, and upper pins 48, 48 of the fixing plate 3 are fitted into these long holes 47.47. λtsu-C cam version 39
When it moves to the right, the bin 46.46 opens the hole 45,
45 also receives a downward pressing force τ, and at this time, the elongated hole 47
．． 47 is guided to the bin 748, 48, the cap locking plate 44 moves in parallel. On the contrary, when the cam plate 39 moves to the left, the cap locking plate 44 moves upward. The horizontal movement of the i'jiJ writing lz board 39 is 42.
The left and right ends of the V-shaped pins 38 and 38 of the key 42 are brought into contact and restricted, and the vertical movement Q of the key lug locking plate 44 is restricted by the elongated hole 42,
42.47, 47 upper-lower end with bin 46.46.48
゜48 is in contact? Fill is limited. The cap locking plate 411 has holes 49 and 49 into which the bottles 38 and 38 are loosely inserted.

At the lower edge of the cap locking plate 44, head caps 31A to 31D made of a rubber member with strong ink resistance are installed corresponding to the print heads 28 to 2D. Each head cap 31A to 311) is attached to the print head 28 to 21
) is formed with a cap hole that can be fitted into the tip, and an elastic member (for example, N15R (i = - coated sponge) that has been treated with ink-resistant water repellent treatment is formed in this cap hole.
50A to 50D are installed inside. The head caps 31A to 311) move downwards +C together with the cap locking plate 44 in conjunction with the standby movement of the carriage 3, and are finally exposed to the tips of the print heads 28 to 2D. It has become so.

Next, the overall operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

First, when performing a printing operation, the carriage 3t is previously located at a printing start position A, and upon receiving a printing start command, moves in the right direction (row direction) K by the rotation of the stepping motor 12. Each of the print heads 28 to 2D is driven with a certain period of delay, and when it reaches a predetermined print position on the recording paper 13, it sequentially prints dots in different colors according to the character pattern. When the printing of the negative part is completed in this way and a carriage return command is received, the stepping motor 12 is reversed and the carriage 3 returns to the printing start position A described above. During this time, the recording paper 13 is fed one line.

Thereafter, one page or multiple pages are printed on the recording paper 13 in the same manner.

When printing is completed, the carriage 3 performs a standby operation. That is, the carriage 3, which has returned to the printing start position A upon completion of printing, is further moved to the left by the rotation of the stepping motor 12 which has received a standby command. During the moving operation, the pressing roller 32 provided at the left end of the carriage 3 presses and rotates the contact portion 33 of the rotating arm 34 against the tension spring 43, and the rotation of the rotating arm 34 causes the linker 36 to be rotated. ．． The cap locking plate 44 moves downward via the cam plate 39. Then, when the standby of the carriage 3 is completed, the carriage 3 is stopped, and at this time, each of the head caps 31A to 31D is fitted onto the print heads 2A to 2D,
Each of the print heads 28 to 21) is in a sealed state (the fifth
(see figure). This completes the setting of the drying prevention device 300 to each print head 28 to 2D.

Even if the stepping motor 12 is de-energized, the detent force of the built-in permanent magnet maintains the set state of the anti-drying device 30 against the return force of the tension spring 43. Printing is resumed. When the carriage 3
is moved from standby position B to print start position A. When the pressing force on the rotating arm 34 is released due to this rightward movement of the carriage 3, the link bar 369 rotates the rotating arm 34 due to the action of the tension spring 43. The cam plates 39 each return, and at this time, the cap locking plate 44 also returns upward to its original position.

According to this embodiment, there is no need to provide a special power source such as a motor or solenoid in order to operate the desiccation prevention device, and the structure of the entire device can be made simple and inexpensive, and the desiccation prevention device can be installed separately from the carriage. Since it is installed on the side of the printed platen, high printing performance can be obtained with carriage-colored compact TVCT, and it can also be easily installed on raw ink type wire dot printers with narrow clearance between the print head and the recording paper. can do. Further, as described above, since the drying prevention device is provided on the side of the platen 1, it can be approached relatively easily, and maintenance and inspection such as replacement and cleaning of the elastic member inside the head cap can be easily performed. Also,
Since the head cap moves horizontally in opposition to the tip of the print head, a sufficient gap can be secured between the print head and the head cap when the anti-drying device is not operating. The stroke allows the ink-resistant elastic member to be brought into close contact with the print head tip. Therefore, for example, if the air hole 24 for air replacement is provided on the front surface of the head as shown in FIG.
, . . . and the air holes 24 are simultaneously closed to ideally dry the print head. Furthermore, since the elastic member inside the head cap is water-repellent, it is possible to prevent the head cap and the print head tip from being contaminated by ink. Furthermore, in a multicolor printer, each print head is provided with a head cap, so there is no risk of color mixing within the head cap.

In the above embodiment, the link bar and the cam plate are connected to the rotating arm that rotates during the standby operation of the carriage to move the cap locking plate up and down as shown in FIG. However, the present invention is not limited to this, but may be implemented by a pole interlocking mechanism 60 as shown in FIG. 6, a piston/cylinder mechanism 70 such as hydraulic pressure as shown in FIG. The cap locking plate 100 may be configured to be moved by the rotational force of the rotation arm 9o. Further, the standby movement of the carriage may be performed based on a clock signal from a timer even when printing is interrupted for a predetermined period of time or more because it takes time to receive print data from the outside during a printing operation.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a print head drying prevention device that can reliably prevent the print head from drying without sacrificing printing performance and is simple in construction and inexpensive.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the printing section of a wire dot type printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
3 is a schematic perspective view showing the print head in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a drying prevention device;
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of FIG. 4, and FIGS. 6 to 8 are schematic plan views showing modifications of the drying prevention device. 28~2D...Print head, 3...Carriage, 3
4, 9.0... Rotating arm, 36... Link bar, 39... Cam plate, 44.100... Cap locking plate, 60... Pole interlocking mechanism, 70... Piston・
Cylinder am, 80...Push-pull wire. Patent applicant Bentel Co., Ltd. Agent Patent attorney Isamu Takahashi,,') “i,:
'J-J. ：j −； 、−、”+ Figure 6 J Figure 7 Figure 8

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) a cap provided at a movable position to be fitted facing the print head when a gear ridge equipped with a print head and movable to a standby position outside the printing range is in the standby position; 1. A drying prevention device for a print head, comprising: a motion conversion mechanism that changes the standby movement motion of a carriage to move the cap toward the print head.