JP2774538B2 - Liquid jet recording device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a liquid jet recording apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as an ink jet printer) that performs recording by discharging a recording liquid such as ink (hereinafter simply referred to as ink) onto a recording medium. In particular, capping means for preventing discharge failures such as clogging of discharge ports due to thickened ink, solidified ink, dust, air bubbles, and the like, or discharge that eliminates defective ink discharge using capping means. The present invention relates to an inkjet printer having a recovery device.

[Prior Art] In an ink jet printer that performs recording by ejecting ink droplets from ejection ports provided in a recording head in accordance with recording data, it is possible to prevent clogging of ink near the ejection ports and adhesion of dust. In order to solve the problem, an ink recovery system is provided which pressurizes ink from the ink supply system to the discharge port side or suctions ink from outside the discharge port.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet printer provided with a conventional recovery device. In the figure, reference numeral 101 denotes a recording head having a plurality of ink ejection ports, and a carriage 102
Mounted on top. The carriage 102 is supported and guided by a pair of guide rails 103 fixed to both side plates (not shown), and is scanned in the direction of arrow A by a wire 104 driven by a drive source (not shown). 106 and 108 are recording media 10
7 is a roller pair for nipping and transporting 7. Reference numeral 105 denotes a discharge recovery device, which is driven by an unillustrated driving source by arrows B (B 'and B ").
It has a cap 116 that moves in the direction, and suctions ink while the cap 116 is joined to the head 101.

When performing the ejection recovery operation, the carriage 102 starts moving from the position on the printing area where printing is performed on the printing medium 107 to the illustrated position. At this time, the cap 116 is retracted in the direction of the arrow B 'in the drawing and is stored in the ejection recovery device 105. After the carriage 102 stops at the illustrated position,
The cap 116 is moved in the direction of arrow B ″ in the figure by a drive source such as a motor or the like, and comes into contact with the leading end 101A of the recording head 101.
The cap 116 is made of a flexible member, whereby the ink ejection port of the tip portion 101A of the recording head 101 is sealed from the outside. When the ejection recovery device 105 generates a suction pressure in this state, the ink is sucked and discharged from the recording head 101, and the cause of ejection failure such as ink clogging is eliminated.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such a conventional example, since all the pressing force of the cap 116 is received by the recording head distal end portion 101A, deformation of the recording head 101 and the cap 116 due to repetition of capping is performed. Can not maintain the sealed state,
It is also conceivable that the suction effect is reduced. Further, if a strong pressing force is applied to the recording head, there is a possibility that the distance (0.3 mm to 20 mm) between the ejection port and the recording surface to be kept during recording cannot be accurately maintained.

Therefore, in order to support the pressing force at the time of capping and to ensure sealing, it is necessary to increase the rigidity of the carriage 102, the rigidity of holding between the recording head 101 and the carriage 102, and the rigidity of the guide rail 103. . In particular, for example, when considering a color recording apparatus or the like in which a plurality of recording heads 101 are mounted in accordance with the ink colors, it is necessary to further increase the size of the members, and consequently, the increase in the size and cost of the apparatus cannot be avoided.

An object of the present invention is to minimize the number of members for increasing rigidity in order to secure the above-mentioned sealed state, and to prevent the apparatus from increasing in size and cost even when the number of recording heads increases. .

[Means for Solving the Problems] For this purpose, the present invention provides a recording head having a discharge port for discharging a recording liquid, a support means for mounting and supporting the recording head, and a recording head facing the recording head. A cap member capable of covering the ejection port forming surface of the recording head provided with the ejection port by relatively moving so as to approach the recording head at the opposing position. Capping means, and engagement means for engaging the recording head or the support means with the capping means when the cap member faces the recording head,
The recording head and the cap member are provided with engaging means for preventing the cap member from moving relatively apart in the direction of the relative movement.

According to the present invention, there is provided an engaging means for engaging a recording head or its supporting means with a cap member of a capping means at a position where the recording head or its supporting means and the capping means face each other. Has an engaging means for preventing the relative movement of the recording head, the engaging means prevents the recording head or its supporting means from escaping due to the pressing force of the cap member, and seals between them during capping. The state can be reliably maintained.

Examples Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIGS. 1 and 2 are a perspective view and a sectional side view including a carriage unit of an ink jet printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention, respectively.

In FIG. 1, 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 and 1-4 are:
These are heads for four colors mounted on the carriage 2 as support means. Reference numeral 3 denotes a carriage shaft supported by the frame 8, on which the carriage 2 runs. Reference numeral 6 denotes a motor, and reference numeral 4-1 denotes a belt fixed to the carriage 2, which is stretched between pulleys 5-1 and 5-2. Reference numeral 6 denotes a motor, and 4-2 denotes a belt stretched between a pulley 5-3 provided on a shaft of the motor 6 and a pulley 5-2. The carriage 2 is moved via 4-1. 9 and 10 are replaceable ink cartridges, which are heads 1-1 to 1-4 on the carriage 2 via flexible supply pipe groups 11 and 11 '.
Ink is supplied to the

Reference numeral 14 denotes a recording medium such as a recording sheet or an OHP film, which is loaded in the cassette 12 and is driven by a motor (not shown) as a driving source by a pair of conveyance rollers (not shown) arranged in parallel with the carriage shaft 3. The sheet is conveyed to the recording position, and after recording, is discharged by a pair of discharge rollers 21 and 22 supported by the chassis 20. Reference numeral 13 denotes a paper table for manual paper feed, which is shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 15 denotes an ejection recovery device including caps 16-1 to 16-4, each of which is a flexible member capable of contacting the recording heads 1-1 to 1-4, and a suction pump (not shown). B is a discharge pipe connected between a suction pump and a joint to a waste ink storage unit provided in the ink cartridges 9 and 10.

FIG. 2 shows a state where the recording medium 14 is placed on the paper table 13. In the drawing, reference numeral 28 denotes a guide plate which is disposed on the carriage 2 and supports a moment (direction of arrow W) acting on the carriage 2 with the carriage shaft 3 as a center.
25 is a slider that slides on top.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a paper feed roller for feeding the recording medium 14, reference numeral 38 denotes a separation piece which is urged by a spring and abuts against the paper feed roller 26 to separate the recording medium 14 one by one, and 29 denotes a recording medium. The rollers 23 and 30 are guide plates for the recording medium 14, and 24 is a pressing plate for pressing the recording medium 14.

The guide plate 25 is rotatably supported on a shaft 27 of the paper feed roller 26, and has a bearing to rotatably support the contact roller 31. The contact roller 31 is in contact with the conveying roller 29, and the recording medium 14 is conveyed by this pair of rollers. When the recording medium 14 is conveyed between the pair of rollers, a guide plate according to its thickness is provided. The slider 25 rotates around the shaft 27, and accordingly, the slider abuts on the guide plate 25.
The carriage 2 is turned around the shaft 3 via 28. Accordingly, the recording head 1 (the heads 1-1 to 1-1 in FIG. 1)
-4) is maintained at a constant distance from the recording surface irrespective of the thickness of the recording medium 14.

In FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, 2-A is a projection provided on the carriage 2, and 15-A is a hole provided on the recovery device 15, which is provided when the recording head 1 or the carriage 2 is set to the cap position. An engaging means for receiving and engaging with the intrusion of 2-A is constituted.

In the above configuration, when recording, the ink cartridge
9, 10 inks are supplied to each of the recording heads 1-1 to 1-4, and an ejection energy generator such as an electrothermal conversion element provided inside each ejection port is driven according to the recording information,
Ink droplets are ejected from the ejection ports, and the ink droplets are adhered and absorbed on the surface of the recording medium 14, and the recording dots are fixed, and recording is sequentially performed. The motor 6 rotates with the progress of recording, and the carriage 2 moves in the main scanning direction. The position control at this time can be performed by detecting a slit formed in the film 7 by a sensor (not shown) provided on the carriage 2.

If the ejection openings of the recording heads 1-1 to 1-4 cause ejection failure due to ink clogging or dust adhesion, the carriage 2 is moved to a position where the recording head 1 faces the ejection recovery device 15 (recovery position). At this time, caps 16-1 to 16-4
Is located at a position retracted in the direction of arrow C 'in FIG. 1 and does not hinder the movement of the carriage 2. In the recovery position, the protrusion 2-A provided on the carriage 2 and the recovery device
There is a positional relationship where the hole 15-A provided in the hole 15 is engaged.
After the stop at the recovery position, the caps 16-1 to 16-4 are moved in the direction of the arrow C "to cover the face (face) provided with the ejection ports of the recording heads 1-1 to 1-4 to form a closed system. I do.
In this state, the suction pump is actuated to suck impurities and dust adhered together with the ink, and the waste ink is discharged to the waste ink storage section in the ink cartridges 9 to 10 via the tube 15B.

At this time, the pressing force of the caps 16-1 to 16-4 is
Acting in the direction of arrow F in FIG. However, since the carriage 2 and the ejection recovery device 15 are engaged with each other by the protrusion 2-A and the hole 15-A, the pressing force is supported by the engaging portion, and the carriage 2 does not escape.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the holding rigidity of the carriage 2 and the recording heads 1-1 to 1-4, and the protrusions 2-A and the holes 15 are provided.
If the rigidity with -A is sufficient, and only the positional accuracy of the fitting portion is secured, the recovery operation by reliable sealing can be performed without increasing the rigidity and accuracy of other parts.
In particular, only the rotation moment around the shaft acts on the carriage shaft 3, and there is no need to improve the rigidity of the shaft. In addition, since the carriage is guided by the slider 28 so as to correspond to the paper thickness, the number of shafts can be reduced to one.

In this embodiment, the protrusion is on the carriage 2 side,
Although the holes are provided on the ejection recovery device 15 side, these may be reversed.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 3 shows a second other embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the carriage 2 and a part of the recovery device 15 are partially changed from FIG. 1, and only the main parts are shown. Components having the same or the same functions as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In the figure, 2-A 'is a protrusion on the carriage 2, and the recovery device 15 is provided with a U-shaped groove 15 so as to be engageable with the protrusion.
A 'is provided.

According to this embodiment, the same effects as described above can be obtained.
In particular, it is possible to dispose the engaging portion at the center of a configuration having a plurality of recording heads 1-1 to 1-4 and having caps 16-1 to 16-4 configured to be wide in the horizontal direction. As a result, the caps 16-1 to 16-4 could be adhered in a well-balanced manner.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 shows the third
The carriage 2 and a part of the recovery device 15 are partially changed from the configuration shown in the figure, and only the main parts are shown. Components having the same or the same functions as those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In the figure, 15-A ″ is a protrusion on the recovery device 15,
A U-shaped groove 2-A ″ is formed in the carriage 2 so as to be able to engage with the groove.
Is provided. According to this embodiment, the same effect as that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 can be obtained.

In each of the embodiments described above, four recording heads are mounted. However, it goes without saying that the number of heads can be arbitrarily determined.

Further, it is also possible to provide a plurality of engaging means, for example, a combination such as (Example 1) and (Example 2) or (Example 1) and (Example 3). Since 16 sealing forces are supported by multiple engagement means,
The stability of the sealed state is improved. This is particularly effective when a plurality of recording heads are provided as in the above example.

Further, in the above example, the replaceable type ink cartridge is provided separately from the recording head, but it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which both can be integrally attached to and detached from the carriage.

Further, the recording head and the carriage may be integrally formed, and the recording head itself and the recovery device may be engaged to support the pressing force.

In addition, in the above example, the cap is movable back and forth, but the recording head side may be movable back and forth with respect to the cap.

In addition, it is also possible to arrange a member that supports a pressing force that is more than necessary to obtain a sealed state by the cap, and to reduce the holding rigidity between the head and the carriage.

Further, the ejection recovery processing performed in the closed state may be performed by suction, as in the above example, or may be performed by, for example, pressurizing the ink supply system, or simply provided with capping means. You may.

Further, it is needless to say that the structure of the members (the protrusions 2-A and the like and the holes 15-A and the like in the above example) for preventing the rotation of the carriage 2 at the time of capping can be appropriately modified. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which, for example, an advanceable / retractable projection driven by a solenoid or the like is provided on the ejection recovery device 15 side, and a hole is provided on the carriage 2 side for engaging with the projection. Further, in addition to the configuration for obtaining such mechanical engagement, the engagement may be performed by being magnetically attracted by a combination of an electromagnet and a magnetic material or a combination of an electromagnet and a permanent magnet.

In addition, in the above example, the recording head or the carriage is configured to be displaceable in accordance with the thickness of the recording medium. However, the present invention can be very effectively applied to an apparatus without such a mechanism.

Further, in the above example, the case where the present invention is applied to a serial type apparatus that performs printing while scanning the print head in a predetermined direction with respect to the print medium has been described. The present invention can be effectively and easily applied to an apparatus having a so-called full multi-type recording head that is aligned, if the apparatus employs a mechanism for moving the recording head to a cap position during capping. Of course, it can be applied.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, an engagement portion is provided at a position where a recording head and a cap member oppose each other, and between the recording head mounting portion and the cap member with capping. By adopting a configuration in which the generated force is supported by the capping means, regardless of the number of recording heads, rigidity improvement and precision improvement are suppressed to the minimum necessary members,
Reliable recovery processing was made possible by realizing reliable sealing. Further, according to the present invention, a capping means including a cap member capable of covering a discharge port forming surface of a recording head by relatively moving so as to approach the recording head at a position facing the recording head, and The movement of the recording head and the cap member relatively separated along the direction of the relative movement by the engagement means for engaging the head or the like, that is, the recording head generated by the pressing force of the cap member or its support. The escape of the means can be prevented, and the sealed state between the two can be reliably maintained during capping.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view including a carriage portion thereof, and FIGS. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a main part of the third embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a part of a conventional ink jet printer. 1, 1-1 to 1-4: recording head, 2: carriage (supporting means), 3: carriage shaft (supporting means), 2-
A, 2-A '... protrusion, 2-A "... groove, 15 ... recovery device (capping means), 15-A ... hole (part of capping means), 15-A' ... groove (Part of the capping means), 15-A "... Projection (part of the capping means), 16
-1 to 16-4: Cap (cap member).

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tetsuo Suzuki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-62-202739 (JP, A) JP-A-2 167 754 (JP, A) Fully open 1986-98041 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 2/165

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A recording head having a discharge port for discharging a recording liquid; supporting means for mounting and supporting the recording head; and a recording head disposed at a position facing the recording head. A capping means including a cap member capable of covering the ejection port forming surface of the recording head provided with the ejection port by relatively moving so as to approach the recording head; and Engaging means for engaging the recording head or the support means with the capping means when facing the head, wherein the recording head and the cap member are arranged along the direction of the relative movement. And an engaging means for preventing the relative movement of the liquid jet recording apparatus. 2. The receiving means according to claim 2, wherein said engaging means includes a projection provided on one of said recording head or said support means and said capping means, and a receiving part engageable with said projection provided on the other. The liquid jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: 3. The liquid jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head has an electrothermal conversion element that generates discharge energy used for discharging the recording liquid. .