JPS62263058A - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To remarkably miniaturize the apparatus by enabling the realization of substantial cost down without requiring the drive source of a high cost recovery system exclusive use, by providing a switch means for switching so that the drive force from a drive means may be transmitted to an ink non-discharge recovery system. CONSTITUTION:If the non-discharge or the inferiority of discharge of ink occurs, a carriage 1 reaches a position facing a recovery system P beyond a home position. As the result, an idle pulley 8 is rotated more than for ordinary positive and negative rotation via a timing belt 5 and the pin of a pivot lever 25 is engaged with the actuation point of a cam groove. The pivot lever 25 is rotated in the arrow D1 direction via the actuation point of the cam groove and a switch 10 is also rotated in the same direction. A switch latchet 12 is moved in the same arrow D1 direction via a switch plate 11 and the recovery latchet gear 14 in an idle running state to this time and the switch latchet 12 are engaged, united in a body to be rotated. Consequently, an intermediate gear 15 is rotated via a pinion gear 4a, the gear driving the recovery system P is rotated and the non-discharge recovery operation of a nozzle 2 is executed via a cap P1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an inkjet printer, and more particularly to an inkjet printer with an improved drive source for an ink failure recovery system.

[Prior Art] An ink jet printer is a printer that performs dot recording by ejecting ink droplets, but ink may fail to eject.

This non-ejection or ejection failure occurs due to various reasons such as dust adhering to the tip of the nozzle that ejects ink droplets, air being sucked in from the nozzle tip, or drying of the ink.

Therefore, various types of non-discharge recovery systems are provided to eliminate such ink non-discharge states.

Such a non-discharge recovery system may be a manual system or an automatic system having a dedicated drive source.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The manual method requires the user to perform the recovery operation, and the user must follow a certain procedure, which is extremely troublesome.

Additionally, an automatic recovery system with a dedicated drive source has the advantage of not requiring the user to perform complicated operations;
Since the printer has an independent drive source, there is a problem in that it causes cost stubs and prevents the printer from becoming more compact.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an inkjet head that performs recording by ejecting ink as droplets onto a recording medium, and a device for conveying the recording medium. and an ink non-discharge recovery system for recovering from ink non-discharge of the inkjet head, wherein the driving force from the drive unit is switched to be transmitted to the ink non-discharge recovery system. A structure with switching means for this purpose was adopted.

[Operation] When the above-described structure is adopted, when the carriage comes to the position where the recovery operation is performed, the switching means can be operated to switch the driving force of the paper feed motor to the driving force of the recovery system.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the example shown in the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an embodiment of the present invention, and what is indicated by the reference numeral 1 in the figures is a carriage on which a number of inkjet nozzles 2 are mounted, which are slidably attached to a guide shaft 3.4. It is being

This carriage 1 is fixed in the middle of an endless timing belt 5.

One end of the timing belt 5 is wrapped around a pulley 7 fixed to the output shaft of a motor 6, and the other end is wrapped around an idle pulley 8 located beyond the home position.

This idle pulley 8 is integrated with the support shaft of the three gears of the planetary gear device 9, and rotates the planetary gear device 9 with a predetermined reduction ratio.

The output gear (not shown) of the planetary gear device 9 has a cam groove formed on its outer circumferential surface, the major axis and the minor axis of which change along the circumferential direction.

This cam groove has only one operating point within 360 degrees for operating a rotating lever 25, which will be described later.

This operating point is set so that the rotation lever 25 is not operated within the range of forward and reverse rotation of the idle pulley 8 via the timing belt 5 as the carriage l moves back and forth. .

Further, a recovery system P is arranged at a non-ejection recovery position beyond the home position.

A plurality of caps P for capping the nozzle 2 are provided on the front surface of the recovery system P.

This recovery system P uses a suction device (not shown) to suck ink from the nozzle 2 through the cap P1 to recover from the non-ejection.

On the other hand, on the outside of this recovery system P, there is a shaft 25a 15-25.
It is rotatably provided in a horizontal plane via the.

A pin (not shown) is protruded from one end of the rotary lever 25, and this pin is fitted into a cam groove of the planetary gear assembly fi9.

Further, one end of the switching shaft 10 is fixed to the other end of the one-turn lever 25.

This switching axis lO extends below the gear group as will be described later.

A paper feed motor 22 is arranged above the switching shaft 10, and a drive gear 23 fixed to its output shaft meshes with an intermediate gear 24.

Coaxially with this intermediate gear 24 are a recovery ratchet gear 14, a pinion gear 14a integrated therewith, and a switching ratchet 1.
2, a paper feed ratchet gear 13, and a pinion gear 13a integrated therewith.

Although the intermediate gear 24 and the switching ratchet 12 are fixed to the shaft, the recovery ratchet gear 14 and the paper feed ratchet gear 13 are rotatable.

In addition, the pinion gear 1 integrated with the recovery ratchet gear 14
4 meshes with the intermediate gear 15;
drives the recovery system P via a gear not shown.

Binion gear 13a of paper feed ratchet gear 13 meshes with paper feed gear 16.

There is another paper feed gear 17 coaxially with this paper feed gear 16.
is fixed.

On the other hand, a switching plate 11 is fixed to the tip of the switching shaft lO as shown in FIG. 1, and the upper end of this switching plate 11 is fitted into the gap 12a of the switching ratchet 12.

On the other hand, what is indicated by the reference numeral 19 is a platen, and the guide shaft 3.4
A sheet of recording paper (not shown) is guided between the paper press plate and the platen 19.

A gear 18 for rotating the platen is fixed to the shaft 21 of the platen 19.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as above will be explained.

During normal recording operation, the carriage l moves back and forth to perform recording.

At this time, the idle pulley 8 is also rotated forward and backward via the timing belt 5 in accordance with the reciprocating movement of the carriage 1.

However, the timing of this forward rotation and reverse rotation is made to coincide with the operating point of the cam groove for the rotation lever that operates the one-turn lever 25, and is within the range of forward and reverse rotation of the idle pulley 8 due to normal recording operation. In this case, the rotating lever 25 is not rotated.

Therefore, the paper feed motor 22 performs only normal paper feeding operations.

On the other hand, when ink failure or ejection failure occurs, the gear ridge 1 moves beyond the home position and reaches a position facing the recovery system P.

As a result, the idle pulley 8 is rotated through the timing belt 5 more than in normal forward and reverse rotation, and the pin (not shown) of the rotary lever 25 engages with the operating point of the cam groove.

Then, the rotary lever 25 eventually moves to arrow D through the actuation point of the cam groove. The switching shaft 10 is also rotated in the same direction, and the switching ratchet is rotated via the switching plate 11.
2 similarly moves in the direction of the arrow, and the recovery ratchet gear 14 and the switching ratchet 12, which have been in an idling state until now, mesh and rotate as one.

As a result, the intermediate gear 15 is rotated via the pinion gear 14a to rotate the gear that drives the recovery system P, and the nozzle 2 performs a non-discharge recovery operation via the cap Pl.

When the recovery operation is completed, the carriage returns to the home position and the rotating lever 25 is rotated in the direction of arrow D2, the switching ratchet is also moved in the same direction via the switching plate 11, and the switching ratchet 12 and paper feed ratchet gear 13 are moved. The rotation of the paper feed motor 22 is controlled by the paper feed gears 16 and 17.
Communicate to the side.

In this way, paper feeding and recovery operations can be performed using the driving force of one paper feeding motor, the number of parts can be reduced, the space can be reduced, and the device can be made smaller.

Furthermore, since a dedicated drive motor or the like is not required, the electrical system for driving it can be simplified and the printed circuit board etc. can also be made smaller.

[Effects] As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, a structure is adopted in which a single paper feed motor can be used to perform the paper feed operation and the drive operation of the recovery system, so that a control system is not required. This eliminates the need for an expensive drive source dedicated to the recovery system, making it possible to achieve significant cost reductions and significantly downsize the device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1 and 2 are a perspective view and a plan view illustrating an embodiment of the present invention. l... Carriage 2... Nozzle 9... Planetary gear device 10... Switching shaft 11... Switching plate
12...Switching ratchet 13...Paper feed ratchet gear 14...Recovery ratchet gear 15.24...Intermediate gear 22...Paper feed motor

Claims (1)

[Claims] An inkjet head that performs recording by discharging ink as droplets onto a recording medium, a driving means for transporting the recording medium, and an ink non-discharge recovery system for recovering from a non-discharge of ink from the inkjet head. An inkjet printer further comprising a switching means for switching so that the driving force from the driving means is transmitted to the ink failure recovery system.