KR970007632B1 - Ink-jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

None.

Description

Inkjet Printer

1 is an exploded perspective view showing the head substrate and the first and second carriage frames without the ink tank, according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an exploded perspective view showing the first and second carriage frames and the clamp mechanism.

3 is a perspective view showing a first carriage frame.

4 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the wiring board and the connector provided on the head board.

5 is an exploded perspective view of the ink cartridge.

6 is an exploded perspective view showing the positional relationship between the contact of the head board and the connecting piece of the connector.

7 is an enlarged front view of the tip of the ink jet head.

8 is a perspective view showing the inside of the ink cartridge.

9 is a perspective view of the ink cartridge.

10 is a perspective view showing a state in which the head substrate is fixed to the carriage without the ink tank.

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal front view showing the support structure of the connector in the second carriage frame. FIG.

12 is a perspective view of the front of a state where the entire ink cartridge is to be mounted on the carriage.

13 is a perspective view of the rear side in which the entire ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage.

FIG. 14 is a front view showing the attachment state of the head substrate to the support of the first carriage, according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing the timing of ejecting ink and the printing result thereof in the apparatus of this embodiment, (a) is an explanatory diagram showing the timing of ejecting ink from the nozzle, and (b) ) Is an explanatory diagram showing the result of the print.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing the ejection timing of ink and its printing result when the nozzle arrangement direction is made orthogonal to the carriage movement direction, and (a) shows the timing of ejecting ink from the nozzle One explanatory diagram (b) is an explanatory diagram showing the result of the printing.

17 is a perspective view of a first carriage frame showing a modification of this embodiment.

18 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the ink cartridge, according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

19 is a perspective view of the ink cartridge.

20 is an exploded perspective view showing the relationship between the head substrate and the first and second carriage frames without the ink tank.

21 is a perspective view of a chip attached to a cartridge support.

22 is a perspective view showing a conventional example.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer which selectively prints ink toward a recording medium and performs printing. In particular, the ink cartridge includes an ink cartridge head and an ink tank unitized in a carriage and freely detachable from a cartridge. It relates to an ink jet printer.

Conventionally, there has been an ink jet printer which mounts an ink cartridge in which an ink tank and an ink jet head are united in a carriage free of reciprocation, and moves ink from the nozzle of the ink jet head in the process of moving the carriage.

In such an ink jet printer, a structure in which the ink jet head is attached to and detached from the carriage on the main body case side, requires a structure for electrically connecting the print control circuit provided on the main body case and the ink jet head. As an example, a commercially available connector connected to the printing control circuit is attached to the carriage, the ink cartridge is provided with a pin terminal connected to the ink jet head, and the pin terminal on the ink cartridge side in accordance with the mounting operation of the ink cartridge to the carriage. And a connection method in which the connector on the carriage side is connected is considered. However, in such a connection method, the connector must be moved relative to the pin terminal when the ink cartridge is mounted due to assembly error of each part. Therefore, a relative moving structure between the pin terminal and the connector is required, resulting in a complicated structure. As a result, the parts cost a lot.

Therefore, the connection structure as shown in FIG. 22 is considered.

A description with reference to FIG. 22 is as follows.

The rubber pad 101 is supported by a carriage (not shown) in which the reciprocating motion is freely installed.

On the surface of the rubber pad 101, a plurality of protrusions 102 are formed.

The vinyl chloride-based flexible cable 103 is supported by a carriage facing the rubber pad 101. In this flexible cable 103, a plurality of connecting portions 104 opposed to the projections 102 and bulging toward the surface are formed of a thin film metal.

These connection part 104 is connected to the drive part (not shown) by the connection line 105 formed in the flexible cable 103. As shown in FIG.

A connection pattern 106 is formed of metal foil on one surface of an ink cartridge (not shown) which is attached to the carriage and is freely supported to be peeled off.

The connection pattern 106 has a plurality of terminals 107 connected to the connection portion 104.

These terminals 107 are connected to a heat generating element provided inside each nozzle of the ink jet head.

Therefore, by attaching the ink cartridge to the carriage, the connecting portion 104 connected to the driving portion is connected to the terminal 107 of the ink jet head.

Therefore, since the protrusion height of the connection part 104 is uneven and contact with a terminal becomes incomplete, the connection part 104 is pressed against the terminal 107 by the processus | protrusion 102 of the rubber fat 101. As shown in FIG.

When printing, a voltage is applied to the selected terminal 107, heats up the heat generating element connected to the terminal 107, and the ink in the nozzle is boiled, so that ink escapes from the nozzle by the pressure raised by the boiling. .

Each nozzle is supplied with ink from an ink tank (not shown).

This problem of the prior art is described next.

As a conventional method of attaching an ink cartridge to a carriage, a method of positioning and fixing the outer shell of the ink cartridge to the carriage is generally used.

In this method, however, the positioning of the ink jet head and the nozzle relative to the ink cartridge may be inaccurate, or a positional shift may occur when the ink cartridge is attached to the carriage, so that the relative position of the nozzle of the ink jet head with respect to the recording medium. It is easy to produce nonuniformity. In this case, there is a problem in that the ink quality does not fly in the correct direction and the printing quality is lowered.

In the case of using the structure illustrated in FIG. 22 as the structure for electrically connecting the print control circuit and the ink jet head, the protrusions 102 of the rubber pad 101 have a small amount of warpage, so that If there is a nonuniformity in the attachment position of the ink jet head, there is a problem that it is difficult to reliably press-contact all the connecting portions to the terminal 107.

In addition, since the rubber pad 101 is required, the number of parts increases, resulting in a large production cost.

The present invention makes it possible to reliably fly ink from the ink jet head in a predetermined direction by simply attaching the ink cartridge to the carriage, and can also reliably attach the ink jet head to the carriage at the correct position, and all the connecting portions. The ink jet printer can be reliably brought into contact with the ink cartridge side contacts, and the heating element corresponding to the plurality of ejection nozzles of the ink jet head can be divided into groups to obtain an ink jet printer suitable for time-division driving.

According to the present invention, an ink jet printer using an ink cartridge of a head substrate having an ink jet head including an ink tank and a plurality of ink ejecting means can be freely slidably attached to a carriage shaft, and at least three of the head substrates are provided. At least three protrusions, each of which is in contact with a point, are provided on the carriage, and the ink cartridge is fixedly attached to the carriage by pressing the head substrate on these protrusions, and the ink ejection means of the ink jet head is attached to the recording medium. Positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the ink jet head, the ink is reliably soared from the ink jet head in a predetermined direction.

In addition, the head board having the ink jet head and the relay contact point is provided with an ink cartridge coupled to the ink tank, and a connector for elastically contacting the contact point of the head substrate is provided in the carriage on which the ink cartridge is mounted. And a support having three projections in contact with the three places of the head substrate and a positioning portion engaged with the head substrate, and pressing the head substrate to the support of the carriage to provide the support to the contact of the head substrate. The ink cartridge is fixed to the carriage by contacting the connector accurately. At this time, the position of the head substrate is set to the positioning unit, and the position of the head substrate with respect to the moving direction of the carriage is determined by The image is formed integrally with the head substrate which is precisely positioned as a projection and thus accurately positioned. To accurately position the ink jet head, the ink from the ink jet head was configured to ensure emergency in a predetermined direction.

In addition, the head substrate having the ink jet head and the relay contact point is provided with an ink cartridge coupled to the ink tank, and is formed of a resilient metal plate to contact the contact points of the head substrate in a flexible manner. A connector fixed to an insulating material is installed in the carriage, the ink cartridge is installed in the carriage, and when the ink cartridge is mounted in the carriage, the amount of warpage of the connector connected to the contact point of the head substrate is increased; Even if there are irregularities in the arrangement of the connectors, and even if there is an error in the flatness of the contacts of the head substrate, the connectors are reliably in contact with the contacts on the ink cartridge side.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13.

First, the structure of the ink cartridge 1 is shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 8, and FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, the ink cartridge 1 has an ink tank 3 for accommodating ink with a cap 2 on one side thereof, a metal head substrate 4, and a cartridge cover 5 combined therewith. It is formed by.

A recess 6 is formed on a surface opposite to the cap 2 of the ink tank 3, and openings 7, 8, and 9 are formed at the bottom, the top, and the front of the recess 6. have. The head substrate 4 is fixed to the boss 11 protruding from the wall surface 10 of the recess 6.

The flat head substrate 4 is provided with flat surfaces 12 and 13 parallel to each other, circular positioning holes 14 and oblong (O-shaped) positioning holes 15 (see Fig. 8). ).

An ink jet head, which will be described later, is formed on the flat surface 13 of the head substrate 4, and is covered by the face plate 16 around the nozzle on the front surface of the ink jet head.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 9, the cartridge cover 5 is formed with three openings 17 which open part of the head substrate 4.

As shown in FIG. 6, a wiring board 20 having an ink jet head 18 and a plurality of contacts 19 is provided on the flat surface 13 on the inner surface side of the head substrate 4.

And the connector 24 which embeds the many connector 21 and one connector 22 in the insulating material 23 is provided. The connector 21 has a contact portion 21a which protrudes in a <shape and elastically contacts the contact point 19, and the connector 22 protrudes in a <shape to the metal surface of the head substrate 4. It has the contact part 22a which contacts elastically.

As shown in FIG. 4, the rear ends of the connectors 21 and 22 are soldered to the substrate 23a, and the substrate 23a is fixed to the second carriage frame 32 described later.

As shown in FIG. 7, the ink jet head 18 is formed by silicon substrates 26 and 29 polymerized and bonded to the front of the inner flat surface 13 of the head substrate 4, respectively. .

The silicon substrate 26 is provided with a heating element 27 which is a plurality of ink ejecting means.

The silicon substrate 29 is formed with an ink reservoir 28 formed by a plurality of grooves for positioning the heating element 27. The opening face of each tip of the reservoir 28 is a nozzle 25 opposite the printing medium. In addition, a matrix circuit (not shown) for driving the heat generator 27 is formed in the silicon substrate 26.

Next, the structure of the carriage 30 is shown in FIGS.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the carriage 30 is comprised from the 1st carriage frame 31 and the 2nd carriage frame 32 each formed by insulating resin.

In the first and second carriage frames 31 and 32, sliding motions are fitted freely along a carrier shaft (not shown), respectively.

That is, the first carriage frame 31 has a support piece 33 facing the flat surface 12 on the outer side of the head substrate 4 and a carrier shaft which is continuous from the inner surface of the support piece 33. Cylindrical portion 34 in which the sliding motion is fitted freely is formed.

The second carriage frame 32 is a pressing means for penetrating from the opening 7 of the ink cartridge 1 to the opening 8 to press the flat surface 13 of the head substrate 4. The columnar cartridge support part 35 is formed.

The second carriage frame 32 is again provided with a projection 36 along the upper surface of the cylindrical portion 34 and an inverted U-shaped wall portion 37 formed at the tip of the projection 36.

The cartridge support portion 35 is supported by one end of the leaf spring 38 and has a pressing body 39 that presses the head substrate 4 elastically.

In addition, a spiral cam 40 is formed integrally on the inner surface of the wall portion 37 with a straight line passing through the center of the wall portion 37 along the longitudinal direction of the protrusion 36.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 2, the support piece 33 of the 1st carriage frame 31 is provided with the release hole 41 which protrudes the said projection part 36 and the said wall part 37, have.

In both of the release holes 41, grooves 43 are formed to support the ribs 42 formed on both sides of the protruding portion 36 so as to be free to slide. In addition, ribs 44 are formed on both sides of the cylindrical portion 34 of the first carriage frame 31.

The second carriage frame 32 is provided with a c-shaped click 45 for supporting the rib 44 so as to be free to slide and a shaft 46 protruding laterally.

A spring 47 for pressing the support piece 33 is fitted to the shaft 46.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the inner surface of the support piece 33 of the first carriage frame 31 is provided with a flat surface 12 opposite to the contact 19 of the head substrate 4. The three projections 48 abutting () and the two positioning portions 49 fitted into the positioning holes 14 or 15 formed in the head substrate 4 protrude.

The tip ends of the three projections 48 are located in a predetermined plane that is substantially orthogonal to the above-described carrier shaft, and the first positioning means is configured therein. The tip 48 of the projection 48 is located in a predetermined plane parallel to the recording medium (not shown) supported at an appropriate printing position, and the second positioning means is formed therein.

Next, a partial longitudinal front view of the cartridge support part 35 of the second carriage frame 32 is shown in FIG. The contact portion 22a of the connector 22 for grounding is bent in a shape positioned above the head substrate 4 and above the contact portion 21a of the other connector 21.

In addition, the cartridge support part 35 serving as an insulator supports a plurality of grooves 21 and 22 of the connector 24 and insulates the grooves between adjacent connectors 21 and between the connectors 21 and 22. 50 is formed (see FIG. 2).

The depth of the bottom surface of the groove | channel 50 which supports the connector 21 is set to the dimension deeper than the depth of the bottom surface of the groove | channel 50 which supports the connector 22 for grounding.

As a result, the contact portion 22a of the connector 22 for grounding protrudes more toward the head substrate 4 than the substrate than the contact portion 21a of the other connector 21.

Moreover, although the space | interval of the connector 22 and the connector 21 which is closest to this connector 22 is about 2 times the space | interval of the arrangement | positioning pitch of the connector 21, the groove | channel 50 is formed also in between. . That is, the grooves 50 are formed at equal intervals, and the thickness between the grooves 50 is thin and evenly determined. Thereby, the error of the dimension by the dent at the time of shaping | molding is prevented.

Next, the clamp mechanism 51 is shown in FIG.

The clamp mechanism 51 includes a clamp shaft 53 having a flange 52 formed at one end thereof, and a clamp lever 55 having a cylindrical fitting portion 54 in which rotation can be freely fitted to the clamp shaft 53. Have

At one end of the fitting portion 54, a spiral cam 56 is formed which abuts against the spiral cam 40 (see FIG. 1) formed on the inner surface of the wall portion 37. As shown in FIG.

The other end of the fitting portion 54 is formed with a spiral cam 58 which abuts against the spiral cam 57 formed on the outer circumference of the flange 52 side of the clamp shaft 53.

The cams 56 and 58 of the clamp lever 55 are formed with their lead directions reversed.

The lead directions of the cams 40 and 56 are the same, and the lead directions of the cams 57 and 58 are determined to be the same. Further, protruding pieces 59 are formed on both sides of the flange 52 of the clamp shaft 53. Receiving surfaces 60 which receive these projecting pieces 59 are formed in both of the release holes 41 of the first carriage frame 31.

In the assembly of such a clamp mechanism 51, the rib 42 of the second carriage frame 32 is first fitted into the groove 43 of the first carriage frame 31.

At the same time, the rib 44 of the first carriage frame 31 is engaged with the click 45 of the second carriage frame 32, and the first and second carriage frames 31, 32 are along the carrier shaft. The sliding movement connects freely. Next, the wall part 37 of the 2nd carriage frame 32 protrudes to the maximum from the release hole 41 of the 1st carriage frame 31. As shown in FIG.

The clamp shaft 35 to which the fitting portion 54 of the clamp lever 55 is fitted is positioned between the support piece 33 of the first carriage frame 31 and the wall portion 37.

The projecting piece 59 of the flange 52 is brought into contact with the receiving surface 60 of the support piece 33.

In this state, when the support piece 33 moves toward the wall portion 37 by the pressing force of the spring 47, the tip of the clamp shaft 53 is fitted to the wall portion 37. As shown in FIG.

In addition, the clamp shaft 53 is prevented from rotating because the flange 52 and the protruding piece 59 are surrounded by the wall around the release hole 41.

Accordingly, by rotating the clamp lever 55 in the clamp releasing direction (the direction of the arrow A in the second direction), the helical surfaces of the cams 40 and 56 are brought into full contact with each other, and the spirals of the cams 57 and 58 are oriented. Make full contact with the surface.

As a result, the second carriage frame 32 moves in the direction away from the support piece 33 by the pressing force of the spring 47. On the contrary, when the clamp lever 55 is rotated in the clamp direction (the direction of the arrow B during the second drawing), the projection of the cam 40 presses the projection of the cam 56 toward the support piece 33, and the cam 58. The projection of squeezes the projection of the cam 57 toward the support piece 33.

As a result, the support piece 33 of the first carriage frame 31 is pushed toward the cartridge support part 35. In other words, the cartridge support part 35 is moved toward the support piece 35 against the pressing force of the spring 47. In such a configuration, when the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the carriage 30, As described above, the gap between the support piece 33 and the cartridge support part 35 is widened by rotating the clamp lever 55 in the clamp release direction. In this state, the support piece 33 can be separated from the cartridge support part 35 to the maximum by the pressing force of the spring 47. As shown in FIG.

Therefore, the openings 7 and 8 can be easily fitted to the cartridge support 35 without interfering the ink cartridge 1 with the projection 48 or the positioning portion 49 (see FIG. 12).

In this state, since the contact portion 22a of the connector 22 for grounding is located on the head substrate 4 side and higher than the contact portion 21a of the other connector 21, first, the contact portion of the connector 22 for grounding 22a is elastically in contact with the metal surface (ground surface) of the head substrate 4, and then the contact portion 21a of the connector 21 of the connector 24 is brought into contact with the head substrate 4 19. It is contacted elastically.

Therefore, even in the case where the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the cartridge support part 35 while the connector 21 is in a state where a voltage is applied, breakage of the matrix circuit of the silicon substrate 26 can be prevented.

In addition, since the connectors 21 and 22 are formed of an elastic metal plate, the amount of warpage of the connectors 21 and 22 can be increased, whereby the connector 21 is reliably in contact with the contact 19. The connector 22 can be reliably brought into contact with the metal surface (ground surface) of the head substrate 4.

Moreover, since the curvature amount of the connectors 21 and 22 is large, fatigue can be prevented and reliability can be improved. Moreover, since the rubber pad used conventionally can be omitted, cost reduction can be achieved by reducing the number of parts.

Subsequently, as described above, when the clamp lever 55 is rotated in the clamp direction, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 13, the distance between the cartridge support 35 and the support piece 33 is narrowed. The second carriage frame 32 is moved. As a result, the head substrate 4 is pressed by the cartridge support part 35 to abut on the protrusion 48 of the support piece 33 through the opening 17 of the cartridge cover 5, and the head shown in FIG. The positioning portions 49 are fitted into the positioning holes 14 and 15 of the substrate 4 through the different openings 17, respectively.

In this state, the position in the planar direction of the head substrate 4 is determined by the positioning portion 49, and the flat surface 12 of the head substrate 4 is located at the tip of the three projections 48 located in the same vertical plane. Abutment, whereby the position and verticality in the direction along the carrier shaft of the flat surface 12 are constant. Further, since the ink jet head 18 is formed integrally with the head substrate 4, the relative position of the ink jet head 18 with respect to the head substrate 4 can be accurately determined.

Therefore, by directly positioning the head substrate 4, the position of the nozzle of the ink jet head 18 with respect to the recording medium can be determined very accurately.

In addition, the head substrate is merely widened by the cams 40, 56, 57, 58 between the support piece 33 of the first carriage frame 31 and the wall portion 37 of the second carriage frame 32. The positioning holes 14 and 15 can be reliably engaged with the positioning portions 49 by pressing (4) against the projections 48 of the support piece 33.

In this case, cams 56 and 58 having different lead directions are formed at both ends of the fitting portion 54 of the clamp lever 55, and a cam 40 abutting against the cam 56 is formed at the wall portion 37. Since the cam 57 abutting on the cam 58 is formed in the clamp shaft 53, the stroke of the clamp shaft 53 can be increased.

Thereby, the space | interval of the support piece 33 and the cartridge support part 35 can be largely enlarged, Therefore, the operation of attaching and detaching the ink cartridge 1 with respect to the carriage 30 can be made easier.

Of course, even if one of the paired cams 40 and 56 or the cams 57 and 58 is omitted, the distance between the support piece 33 and the cartridge support 35 can be changed by the operation of the clamp lever 55. Can be.

Moreover, even if some nonuniformity arises in the relative position between the support piece 33 of the 1st carriage frame 31, and the cartridge support part 35 of the 2nd carriage frame 32, the head board is carried out by the press body 39. FIG. (4) can be reliably pressed against the support piece 33.

Further, the ink jet head 18 is adjusted to the correct position by simply mounting the ink cartridge 1 to the carriage 30 and rotating the clamp lever 55. Therefore, ink can be reliably made to fly from the ink jet head 18 toward the printing medium in a predetermined direction.

Then, the connector 24 is provided on the inner surface of the support piece 33, and the contact 19 and the ink jet head 18 are formed on the flat surface 12 on the support piece 33 side of the head substrate 4. The contact 19 and the connector 24 can also be connected by pressing the head substrate 4 onto the support piece 33 by the cartridge support part 35.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 17. FIG.

The same parts as those in the above embodiment will be omitted by the same reference numerals (the same as below).

As shown in FIG. 14, two projections 48 located below and one projection 48 located above are formed on the inner surface of the support piece 33 of the first carriage frame 31. However, the protrusion 48 located on the upper side has a protruding length from the support piece 33 than the protrusion 48 located on the lower side.

That is, the head substrate 4 and the ink jet head 18 are inclined at an angle θ with respect to a vertical line orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage 30 (see FIG. 1).

Therefore, the straight line passing through the centers of the plurality of nozzles 25 formed in the ink jet head 18 is inclined at an angle θ with respect to the vertical line, similarly to the flat surfaces 12 and 13 of the head substrate 4 (first See also 15). The third positioning means is configured here.

In addition, the ink jet head 18 in this embodiment has 128 nozzles 25. Therefore, the number of the heat generating elements 27 (see FIG. 7) as the ink storing portion 28 and the ink ejecting means provided therein is also 128.

Here, since the wiring is complicated to independently drive the 128 heating elements 27, a method of dividing the heating elements 27 into groups of four groups and time-dividing them into groups to apply voltage to the heating elements 27 is adopted. .

That is, each of the heating elements 27 forms one group with four of # 1 (first) to # 4 (fourth), hereinafter # 5 to # 8, # 9 to # 12,... Groups are formed in four units like # 125 to # 128.

Moreover, the nozzles 25 corresponding to each heating element 27 also have four adjacent ones, and form one group.

Where N... Number of all nozzles 25 (128)

n: number of heating elements 27 that can be driven simultaneously (4), m: time division number (32 times), T: cycle (sec) for driving the heating elements 27 in groups, P: nozzle 25 Array pitch (inch), V: moving speed of the carriage 30 (inch / sec), θ: array tilt angle of the nozzle 25 in the above-described group unit, θ: cos ^-1 (vmT / NP) = cos ^-1 (vT / nP).

In such a configuration, in the process of moving the carriage 30 from the left home position to the right, the heat generating element 27 of the ink jet head 18 is moved in the order of the group located below the group from the upper position. Consider the case of driving by cycle.

Between the timing of driving the heating elements 27 of # 1 (first) to # 4 (fourth) forming the first group, and the timing of driving the heating elements 27 of # 5 to # 8 forming the next group. There is a time deviation of T. During this time, the carriage 30 moves to the right, but since the arrangement angle of the nozzle 25 with respect to the moving direction X of the carriage 30 is inclined at an angle θ by the above equation, the X direction for each group The ink dispensing position in can be made the same.

FIG. 15 (a) shows the state in which the nozzles 25 of each group correspond to the recording medium at every period of T. As a result, as shown in FIG. 15 (b), from FIG. The arrangement angle of the ejected ink droplets is inclined in one group unit, but is vertical in all group units.

In this case, since the ink droplets formed in one group are minute, the inclination does not have any problem. Therefore, even when a straight line orthogonal to the moving direction X of the carriage 30 is recognized, the thickness of the line can be somewhat thicker but can print a vertical line.

In contrast, when the head substrate 4 is fixed in the vertical state together with the ink jet 18, and the nozzle 25 is orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage 30, # 1 (first) to form the first group- Since there is a deviation of time T between the timing of driving the # 4 (fourth) heating element 27 and the timing of driving the # 5 to # 8 heating elements 27 forming the next group, FIG. As shown in (a), in the group unit, as the group goes down, the nozzle 25 proceeds in the moving direction of the carriage 30, and as a result, as shown in FIG. 16 (b). Although four dots can be arranged vertically in one group unit, the straight lines formed by the nozzles 25 of the whole group are inclined to be inclined. Therefore, the advantages obtained by the configuration in the present embodiment will be understood.

And as shown in FIG. 17, the support piece 33 of the 1st carriage frame 31 is provided with the two projections 61 located in the lower part, and the screw 62 is provided as the projection located in the upper part. May be used.

That is, the inclination angle of the head substrate 4 can be adjusted by adopting a structure in which the screw 62 is fitted into the screw hole 63 formed in the support piece 33.

Further, by making the distal ends of the projection 61 and the screw 62 into spherical surfaces, all the distal ends of the projection 61 and the screw 62 can be brought into point contact with the flat surface 12 of the head substrate 4 under the same conditions. .

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 18 to 21. FIG.

This embodiment is an embodiment for mounting an ink cartridge of another shape to the carriage 30.

The ink cartridge may be changed in shape to distinguish it from others when, for example, the color of the ink contained in the ink tank 3 or the number of the nozzles 25 is changed.

Or the shape may differ according to the difference of the maker of an ink cartridge.

Here, as shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 19, only the point where the protrusion 64 is formed in the opening part 8 of the ink tank 3 is shown, and the remainder is the case of the same ink cartridge 1a.

In order to be able to mount such an ink cartridge 1a, as shown in FIG. 20, the cartridge support part 35 of the second carriage frame 32 has a convex part 65 and guide grooves located at both sides thereof. 66 and locking holes 67 located on both sides are formed.

Then, as shown in FIG. 21, a rib 68 in which a sliding motion is loosely fitted in the guide groove 66 somewhat loosely, a pressing portion 69 in contact with the head substrate 4, and the ink cartridge A chip 72 having a retraction portion 70 fitted to the protrusion 64 in (1a) and a locking click 71 that is elastically engaged in the locking hole 67 is provided.

73 is a leaf spring for pressing the chip 72 toward the head substrate 4.

In this configuration, the chip 72 is inserted by inserting the rib 68 of the chip 72 into the guide groove 60 of the cartridge support 35 and engaging the locking click 71 with the locking hole 67. It is attached to the cartridge support 35.

The leaf spring 73 is inserted between the inner surface of the recess 65 of the cartridge support 35 and the chip 72.

In this way, since the retracted portion 70 is formed in the chip 72 in order to prevent interference with the protrusion 64 of the ink cartridge 1a, the opening 8 of the ink cartridge 1a is formed by the cartridge support 35. Can be mounted on

In addition, it is also possible to mount the ink cartridge 1 shown in FIG. 9 as the first embodiment on the cartridge support portion 35 to which the chip 72 is attached.

Even when any ink cartridge is mounted, the chip 72 is elastically pressed by the leaf spring 73 to the head substrate 4 side by the amount of looseness between the guide groove 66 and the rib 68. As shown in Fig. 1, when the first and second carriage frames 31 and 32 are connected by the clamp mechanism 51, the head substrate 4 is connected to the first carriage by the press-fitting portion 69 of the chip 72. Can be pressed elastically to the support piece 33 of the frame 31

Claims (19)

An ink jet printer using an ink cartridge (1) comprising a head substrate (4) having an ink tank (3) and an ink jet head (18) including a plurality of ink ejecting means (27), which extends in the owner's direction. Ink including a carriage shaft and a carriage 30 freely installed on the carriage shaft to support the ink cartridge 1, and selectively discharged from the ink ejection means 27 of the ink jet head 18 Printing means for performing printing in the owner's direction on the recording medium, and the ink ejecting means 27 of the ink jet head 18 in contact with at least three positions of the head substrate 4, respectively. At least three projections 48 and 49 provided on the carriage 30 to position them, and the head substrate 4 mounted on the carriage 30 to press the head substrate 4 against the projections 48 and 49. Image composed of the pressing means (51) In an ink jet printer, each of the three projections 48 has a coplanar tip, each of which tips is in contact with the head substrate 4, and the urging means 51 causes the tip to face the head. Ink jet printer, characterized in that the pressing against the substrate (4). 2. The projections (48) and (49) of claim 1, wherein the projections (48, 49) have a first positioning means (48) for positioning the ink ejection means (27) in a direction orthogonal to the carriage shaft, and approximately with respect to the recording medium. And a second positioning means (49) for positioning the ink discharging means (27) in a parallel direction. 2. The projections (48) and (49) of claim 1, wherein the projections (48, 49) have a third positioning means (48) for orienting the ink ejection means in a direction having a predetermined angle with respect to the carriage shaft, and with respect to the recording medium. And a second positioning means (49) for positioning the ink discharging means in a parallel direction. 2. The carriage of claim 1, wherein the carriage includes a first carriage frame (31) having the projections (48, 49) and a second carriage frame (32) having a cartridge support portion (35) for temporarily supporting the ink cartridge. Inkjet printer, characterized in that it comprises. The first and second carriage frames (31, 32) of claim 4, wherein the pressing means (51) is provided along the carriage shaft such that the protrusions (48, 49) and the cartridge support (35) are close to each other. Inkjet printer, characterized in that it has a mechanism for moving the. 6. The printing means according to claim 5, wherein the printing means has a plurality of flexible connectors 21 provided on the cartridge support part 35, wherein the connectors are clamped by the first and second carriage frames 31 and 32. Characterized in that it is brought into contact with the contact 19 provided on the head substrate and connected to the ink ejection means 27 when moved along the carriage shaft by the urging means 51 formed by the mechanism 51. Inkjet Printer. 2. The carriage according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of contacts 19, three projections 48, and a positioning portion 49 engaged with the head substrate, respectively, connected to the ink ejection means 27. And a press means (51) mounted on the support (33) and on the carriage to press the head substrate (4) toward the support. 8. The second carriage frame of claim 7, wherein the carriage 30 is slid freely supported by the carriage shaft, and the second carriage frame is slid freely connected to the first carriage frame 31. (32), wherein the support (33) is installed on the first carriage frame (31), and the ink cartridge (1) is temporarily attached to the second carriage frame (32) to freely support it. By the clamp mechanism 51 which installs the cartridge support part 35 and slides the said 2nd carriage frame 32 in the direction which this cartridge support part 35 and the said support body 33 approach each other, Ink jet printer, characterized in that the pressing means (51) formed. The wall carriage 37 which penetrates the support body 33 installed in the said 1st carriage frame 31 from the inside outward is fixed to the said 2nd carriage frame 32, and The clamp mechanism 51 having the cams 40, 56, 57, 58 extending the distance between the support 33 and the wall 37 is provided between the support 33 and the wall 37. Inkjet printer, characterized in that. An ink jet printer according to claim 8, wherein a press body (39) for pressing the head substrate (4) elastically against the support body (33) is provided on the cartridge support portion (35). 8. The head substrate (4) according to claim 7, wherein the support board (33) is formed at right angles in the reciprocating direction of the carriage (30), and the head board (4) abuts against the protrusions (48, 49) formed on the support (33). An ink jet printer characterized in that the ink jet head (18) is formed on one surface in the sheet thickness direction. 12. The ink jet printer according to claim 11, wherein a plurality of nozzles (25) are arranged in the ink jet head (18) in a direction orthogonal to the reciprocating direction of the carriage (30). The ink jet printer according to claim 12, wherein the arrangement direction of the nozzle (25) is inclined according to the driving sequence of the ink ejecting means (27). 7. The wiring board (20) according to claim 6, which has the plurality of contacts (19) connected to the ink discharge means (27), and which is provided in the ink cartridge (1), and the insulating material (23); And the plurality of connectors 21 each formed by a metal plate having elasticity and fixed to the insulating material 23 to partially contact the contacts 19, and the carriage 30. Inkjet printer, characterized in that the connector (24) attached to the. 15. The ground plane of the ink cartridge (1) according to claim 14, wherein said connector, when mounting said ink cartridge (1) on said carriage (30), before said connector (21) contacts said contact point (19). An ink jet printer, comprising: a connector 22 for grounding determined in a shape in contact with (4). The inkjet printer according to claim 14, wherein an insulator (23) having a plurality of grooves (50) into which the connector (21, 22) is inserted is provided in the carriage. 17. The groove (50) of the insulator (23) according to claim 16, wherein a bottom surface that contacts the free ends of the connectors (21, 22) to define the return positions of the connectors (21, 22), respectively. Inkjet printer characterized by the above-mentioned. A contact portion (22a) protruding toward the ground plane (4) of the ink cartridge (1) is formed in a part of the connector (22) for grounding, and the ink is formed in the other connector (21). The contact portion 21a protruding toward the contact point 19 of the cartridge 1, and the depth of the bottom surface of one of the grooves 50 into which the connector 22 for grounding is inserted. An ink jet printer which is formed to be shallower than the depth of the bottom surface 50 of the groove into which the 21 is inserted. 18. The contact portion (22a) protruding toward the ground plane (4) of the ink cartridge (1) in a part of the connector (22) for grounding, and the ink in the other connector (21). The contact portion 21a protruding toward the contact point 19 of the cartridge 1, and the depth of the bottom surface of one of the grooves 5 into which the connector 22 for grounding is inserted. An ink jet printer which is formed to be shallower than the depth of the bottom surface 50 of the groove into which the 21 is inserted.