JPH07100385B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, and more particularly, to a recording apparatus that has a recording head and performs recording on a recording medium by the recording head, prior to recording processing. The present invention relates to a mechanism for setting a recording medium on a portion facing a recording head.

[Prior Art] In a recording apparatus in which a recording medium is opposed to a recording head and recording is performed in this state, a platen for restricting the surface of the recording medium is generally provided at the facing portion, and a platen is provided toward the platen. A transport path is formed to supply the recording medium and to separate the recording medium from the platen after recording. Further, with respect to the platen, upstream and downstream portions of the transport path are provided with transport members such as rollers for holding the print medium to regulate the transport path and to bring the print medium into close contact with the platen.

Therefore, the recording medium must be guided in the conveying path prior to the recording process, and the leading end of the recording medium must be held by the conveying member at the downstream side portion.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] When setting a recording medium in this way, the operation of holding the recording medium on the downstream side conveying member at the leading end of the recording medium is not performed smoothly by simply conveying the recording medium, and a so-called paper jam condition occurs. May occur. That is, the leading edge of the recording medium that has passed through the upstream-side transport member may be displaced from the transport path on the platen due to the bending and the own weight of the recording medium, and may hit another portion. This is particularly remarkable when a large-sized recording medium such as A2 or A1 is used, or when a recording medium such as roll paper is used.

Therefore, it is conceivable to position an appropriate member near the platen when setting the recording medium to smooth the movement of the leading end of the recording medium, but this member is retracted to a position that does not hinder the operation of the recording head during recording. Is desirable.

An object of the present invention is to appropriately configure such a member and a moving mechanism for the member, thereby enabling a smooth setting of the recording medium regardless of the type and state of the recording medium used, and a recording head for recording. It is to provide a recording device that does not hinder the operation.

Another object of the present invention is to detect that the recording medium has been conveyed to the vicinity of the downstream side conveying means when setting the recording medium, and thereby to surely set the recording medium. At the same time, the means for performing the detection except when the recording medium is set is protected from the recording head, paper dust and the like.

[Means for Solving Problems] Therefore, according to the present invention, a platen that restricts a recording surface of a recording medium, and a recording device that opposes the platen and has a recording surface restricted by the platen in a predetermined recording area. A recording head for recording on a medium, an upstream conveyance means and a downstream conveyance means that are provided on the downstream side and the upstream side of the platen on the conveyance path of the recording medium, and that clamps and conveys the recording medium, and the recording head. To the outside of the recording area,
At the time of setting the recording medium that is fed until it is held by the downstream conveying means, a guide path is formed on the platen so as to face the platen, and the leading end of the recording medium is set to the upstream conveying means. A guide member for guiding the guide member to the downstream side conveying means, a displacement means for displacing the guide member to an opposed position forming the guide path, and a retracted position that does not interfere with the recording head during recording, and the guide member. When the guide member faces the platen so as to be displaceable integrally, the recording medium conveyed between the platen and the guide member toward the downstream-side conveying unit moves to a position near the downstream-side conveying unit. When the recording medium is set, the guide member is integrally displaced with the detecting means to the facing position when the recording medium is set, and the recording medium is conveyed to the downstream side. The displacement means is configured to determine that the setting is completed by being held by the detection means based on the detection of the recording medium by the detection means, and after the completion of the setting, the guide member is integrally displaced with the detection means to the retracted position. And a control means for controlling the.

[Operation] According to the present invention, when the recording medium is set, the leading end thereof is guided by the guide member and is sent to the downstream side conveying means. Therefore, the jam is irrelevant regardless of the type or state of the recording medium such as roll paper or cut sheet. This makes it possible to set such that conveyance abnormalities such as the above do not occur. Further, the guide member is integrally provided with the detecting means, and when the recording medium is set, the detecting member is positioned near the downstream side conveying means to detect that the recording medium is conveyed to near the downstream side conveying means. Thus, the recording medium can be set reliably. Further, after the setting, the guide member and the detection means integrated therewith are set to the retracted position apart from the recording head or the conveying means, so that the recording operation by the recording head is not hindered and the detection means does not interfere with the recording head. It is also not contaminated by paper dust or the like.

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

(External Appearance Configuration Example) FIG. 1 shows an example of the external appearance configuration of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied. Here, 1 is the device body,
It is connected to a host device 1000 (see FIG. 29) not shown in FIG. 1 through the transmission cable 3, and receives image data and the like from this to output an image by inkjet recording. Reference numeral 5 denotes a door that is opened for maintenance of each part such as ink replenishment, and rotates in the direction of the arrow in the drawing in accordance with the operation of the handle 6 to open the inside of the main body 1.

7 is a cassette for loading cut sheet recording media, 9
Is the manual supply of recording media by the operator (paper feed)
Is a manual insertion point. Reference numeral 11 denotes a discharge port through which a recorded recording medium or the like is discharged from the inside of the apparatus main body 1, and 13 is a discharge tray that stores the discharged recording medium.

Reference numeral 15 is a power switch for turning on / off the power of the apparatus main body 1, reference numeral 17 is an online switch with the host device, command means such as a switch for selecting a recording medium or its paper feeding mode, an online state, and a selected mode It is an operation panel on which a display unit for displaying the above is arranged.

(Outline of Internal Configuration) FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and an outline of the internal configuration of the apparatus will be described centering on the recording medium transport system with reference to this figure. Here, this example is roughly divided into the following parts.

Recording system 100 is a system including an ink tank for supplying ink to the recording head 101 via an inkjet recording head 101 and an ink supply tube 103, and details will be described later with reference to FIGS. 14 to 18.

Recording unit transport system 200 The recording head 101 is mounted, and the recording head 101 scans the recording medium by moving along a guide rail 221 extending in a predetermined direction (here, a direction orthogonal to the drawing). Recording system 100 that includes the carriage 201 and other components
Along with this, FIGS. 14 to 18 will be described in detail.

Recording Medium Conveying System 300 This is a system that includes the conveying paths P, PC, PR, PI of the recording medium shown in FIG. 2 and rollers of each part, as well as a guide portion used when setting the recording medium described later with reference to FIGS. 19 to 28. .

The air system 400 is connected to the platen 401 facing the recording head 101, and air is sucked through a hole provided in the platen 401 to regulate the recording surface of the conveyed recording medium to be flat and to record outside the recording range. A system for connecting the head 101 and a cap portion (not shown in FIG. 2) facing the head 101 to supply air to clean the vicinity of the ink ejection port of the recording head 101.
The air suction source and the air supply source are configured as the same blower. This structure will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

Control system 500 (not shown in FIG. 2) is a system for controlling each part of the apparatus, and will be described later with reference to FIGS. 29 to 31.

Referring to FIG. 2, CS is a cut sheet-shaped recording medium (for example, cut recording paper) and is stacked on the cassette 7. The RP is a recording medium on continuous roll paper, and is rotatable around a rotation axis RPA. PC, PR and
PI is a conveyance path for the cut sheet CS, the roll paper PR, and the recording medium inserted in the manual feed port 9, and merges in the vicinity of the holding position of the conveyance roller 301.

The cut sheet CS separated from the cassette 7 is introduced into the conveyance path PC by the cooperation of the pickup roller 311 and a separation member such as a separation claw, and the cut sheet CS is provided by rollers 316, 315 and 314 provided on the path. It is guided by the conveyance path PC while being held by the conveyance path PC. Transport path P
In R, in addition to a set roller 324 for introducing the recording medium onto the path while pulling out the recording medium from the roll portion, a roller 325 for conveying on the path toward the conveying roller 301, the roll paper PR is cut into a predetermined size. A cutter 326 for this is provided.
321 is a holder for holding the roll paper RP.

The recording medium introduced into the conveying roller 301 via each path PC, PR or PI is guided to the platen 401 via the lower conveying roller 331 on the upstream side of the conveying path P near the platen 401 such as the registration roller, and further. Platen 401 on the transport path P
It is nipped by an upper conveyance roller 341 on the downstream side in the vicinity and conveyed on the conveyance path P. In this process, recording is performed by the recording head 101 and discharged from the discharge port 11 to the outside. Also,
Prior to recording, when the leading end of the recording medium is clamped by the upper conveying roller 341, a guide portion, which will be described later with reference to FIGS. 19 to 28, faces the platen 401 so that the recording medium can be set smoothly.

(Air System, etc.) FIGS. 3 and 4 are a perspective view and an explanatory view, respectively, showing a schematic configuration example of the air system 400. In these figures, reference numeral 450 denotes a surface (ejection surface) on which the ejection port of the recording head 101 is provided.
The recording head 101 is a cap portion that can be covered and joined.
It is provided outside the recording range. A blower 410 sucks air from the platen 401 or supplies air to the cap unit 450. That is, this single blower 410 is used both as an air suction source and an air supply source.

405 is a platen 401 corresponding to the width of the recording medium PP used.
A partition for partitioning the portion to be sucked inside, 407 is a distributor for selecting the partitioned portion to be suctioned according to the width of the recording medium PP, for example in Japanese Patent Application No. 62-62475 filed by the applicant of the present application. Those disclosed can be used. 406 is provided for each suctioned portion, and is a negative pressure generated in the suctioned portion, that is, a pressure for keeping the adhesion force of the recording medium PP to the platen 401 at an appropriate value that does not hinder the smooth conveyance of the recording medium PP. A regulating valve, for example, including a spring member having an appropriately determined spring constant and a valve body, and when a negative pressure equal to or higher than a predetermined value is generated, the spring member bends to allow the suctioned portion to communicate with the atmosphere. can do.

420 and 421 are switching valves arranged between the blower 410 and the distributor 407 and the cap portion 450, respectively. The switching valve 420 switches the suction path to the distributor 407 side or the atmosphere side, and is set to the distributor 407 side during the recording process and to the atmosphere side during the cleaning of the ejection surface. The switching valve 421 switches the air supply path to the cap portion 450 side or the atmosphere side. The switching valve 421 is set to the atmosphere side during recording processing and to the cap portion 450 side during cleaning of the ejection surface. Reference numeral 440 is a filter inserted between the switching valve 421 and the cap portion 450, which prevents dust, paper dust, and the like from being introduced to the cap portion 450 side when cleaning the discharge surface by supplying air to the cap portion. Is.

Reference numeral 451 denotes a gas derivation nozzle provided at the end of the air supply path in the cap portion 450, which is arranged at a position suitable for introducing a high-speed air flow into each ejection surface according to the number of the recording heads 101. . For example, if three (for example, three ink colors of yellow Y, magenta M, and cyan C) inks are provided according to the ink color used by the recording head 101, when facing the cap portion 450 of the recording head 101. Three heads 101 can be provided so that high-speed airflow can be introduced. of course,
If the effect of jetting the high-speed airflow is sufficient, it is not always necessary to make one-to-one correspondence with the recording head. However, when the color mixture of ink from each recording head occurs, it is preferable to provide a gas derivation nozzle for each recording head or for each recording head ejecting liquid of the same color.

Further, in FIG. 3, 331A and 331B are respectively
A main roller and an urging roller for urging the recording medium PP against the main roller, and these rollers form a lower conveyance roller 331. Similarly, 341A and 341B are a main roller and an urging roller, respectively, and constitute an upper conveyance roller 341. Further, M1 is a motor for driving the upper conveyance roller 341. The urging rollers 341B and 331B have the form of dividing rollers as shown in FIG. 4, and the dividing portions (the joints between the dividing rollers) that do not depend on the urging of the recording medium PP to the main rollers 341A and 341B. Part) does not face the partition wall 405.

Next, a detailed configuration of each part of the air system will be described.

FIG. 5 shows a structural example of the switching valves 420 and 421. In the figure, an arrow shown by a solid line shows an air flow when the illustrated switching valve is the switching valve 421, and a broken line shows an air flow when the illustrated switching valve is used as the switching valve 420.

For example, the cylindrical switching valve 422 includes a communication part 422C with the blower 410 provided on the side surface of the cylinder, a communication part 422A with the atmosphere provided at one end of the cylinder, and a cap part 450 or a distributor 407 provided at the other end. And a bidirectional solenoid 4
A valve body 423A capable of closing the communication portions 422A and 422B along with the movement of the shaft portion 423 at both shaft end portions of the shaft portion 423 that is movable in the axial direction of the cylindrical main body 422 by driving 24.
423B is provided. That is, when the solenoid 424 is driven to move the shaft 423 to the right in the figure, a communication state between the blower 410 and the atmosphere is obtained, and when the shaft 423 is moved to the left in the figure, the blower 410 and the atmosphere are communicated. A communication state with the cap portion 450 or the distributor 407 can be obtained.

Thus, at the time of recording, the atmosphere communicating portion 4 of the switching valve 420
22A is closed to connect the blower 410 to the distributor 407, and the communication part 422B of the switching valve 421 with the cap part 450 is closed to connect the blower 410 to the atmosphere, and the blower 410 is driven in this state. . As a result, an airflow from the blower 410 to the atmosphere via the atmosphere communication portion 422A of the switching valve 421 is generated, and the distributor 40
Negative pressure is generated in the attracted portion of the platen 401 selected by 7, and the recording medium P is brought into close contact with the platen and is in a state of being flatly regulated.

On the other hand, when cleaning the ejection surface of the recording head 101, the switching valve 420
The communication part 422B with the distributor 407 is closed, the blower 410 is communicated with the atmosphere, the atmosphere communication part 422A of the switching valve 421 is closed, and the blower 410 and the cap part 450 are communicated with each other. Drives the blower 410. As a result, air is sucked from the atmosphere communication portion 422A of the switching valve 420, and the blower 410 causes the cap member via the switching valve 421 and the filter 440.
Air is pumped to 450, and the high-speed airflow is supplied to the ejection surface from the nozzle 451.

As described above, according to this example, the single blower 410 is used for cleaning the ejection surface of the recording head 101 and the platen 4 of the recording medium PP.
Since it is also used for adsorption to 01, it is possible to reduce the number of parts, noise, etc., compared to the case where a blower and its drive motor are separately provided, and it is possible to contribute to reduction in size and weight and cost of the device.

Further, in this example, a switching valve 421 is inserted between the blower 410 and the cap portion 450, and this switching valve 4 is used during recording.
The air is released via 21 and the communication path to the cap portion 450 is closed. This allows the blower 410
And the cap member 450 may be directly connected to each other, that is, the nozzle 451 narrows the flow path to increase the load resistance on the discharge side.
There is a problem that the attractive force from
It is possible to eliminate the problem that the cap portion 450 is easily dried and the ink may not be ejected, or the problem that the life of the blower motor is shortened by finely driving / stopping the blower 410 to avoid this.

Further, in this example, a switching valve 420 is inserted between the blower 410 and the distributor 407, and this switching valve 420 is used during non-recording such as cleaning.
The communication with the atmosphere is performed via the valve and the communication passage to the distributor 407 is closed. As a result, there is a problem that may occur when the blower 410 and the distributor 407 are directly connected, that is, a problem that the suction may be constantly performed to prevent the smooth movement of the tip of the recording medium PP, which will be described later, from being set. Or, to avoid this, blower 410 when setting
The problem that the standby time is required in addition to the cleaning process when the operation is stopped and the problem that the life of the blower motor is shortened due to an increase in the number of times of driving / stopping can be solved.

The configuration of the switching valves 420, 421 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 5, but may be various ones, for example, the configuration shown in FIG.

The configuration shown in FIG. 6 has an atmosphere communication section 425A, a cap section 450 or a communication section 425B with the distributor 407 and a communication section with the blower 410.
Communication part 425A or 425 in switching valve body 425 having 425C
A valve body 426 capable of closing B is provided, and a solenoid 427 provided outside the main body 425 and the valve body 426 are connected via a link 429. Then, in order to obtain communication between the atmosphere and the blower 410, the solenoid 427 is de-energized, and the plunger 427A is set to the position shown by the biasing force of the spring 428, while the blower 410 and the cap portion 450 or When communicating with the distributor 407, the solenoid is energized to retract the plunger 427A against the urging force of the spring 428, thereby closing the atmosphere communicating portion 425A. With such a configuration, the same effect as in the case of the fifth illustration can be obtained. Further, in the configurations shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, it is possible to clean the inside of the pipeline by opening the atmosphere together with the switching valves 420 and 421 and driving the blower in this state.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the structure of the cap unit 450, and the recording head 1
It is joined to the front surface of 01 and has a shape capable of covering the ejection surface 101A. Reference numeral 452 is an elastic member such as rubber provided at a joint portion with the front surface of the recording head 101, and is used for alleviating impact force at the time of joining and for obtaining a joined state with no gap. Reference numeral 453 denotes an end portion 453A disposed in the cap portion 450 so as to engage with a lower portion of the front surface of the recording head 101, and then the cap portion 450.
This is an ink absorber that extends in a strip shape to the outside waste ink tank 455, and is supported by a spring 456 in the cap portion 450 and the end portion 453A is in the direction of arrow C when the cap portion 450 is joined to the front surface of the head 101. It is possible to surely contact the engaging portion on the front surface of the head 101 by displacing to. Also 45
Reference numeral 4 is an ink absorber provided on the inner wall surface of the cap portion 450. Reference numeral 445 is a tube that connects the nozzle 451 arranged to supply the high-speed airflow from above the discharge surface 101A and the filter 440 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Reference numeral 101B is a nozzle portion in which a plurality of liquid flow paths are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction, and a discharge energy generating element such as an electrothermal converter is provided. 101C is an ink chamber that supplies ink to each liquid flow path in common, and is connected to an ink tank 110 via supply pipes 103 and 104. A gear pump 105 is provided on one of the supply pipes 104, and when a discharge recovery process such as a removal process of bubbles or dust mixed in the supply path or the nozzle portion 101B, a removal process of thickened ink, or the like is performed, the recording head 101 is provided. The ink is pressure-fed to the ink supply system, and the ink is discharged from the ejection port.

The ink discharged by such a discharge recovery process by pressure-feeding the ink is collected by the ink absorber 453 and guided to the waste ink tank. On the other hand, the nozzle 45
By the cleaning process by blowing the airflow from 1, the ink droplets, dust, etc. remaining on the ejection surface are also collected by the ink absorber 453.

Although not shown in FIG. 7, the back surface of the cap portion 450 can be opened in connection with the cleaning process so that the air flow from the nozzle 451 is not disturbed in the cap 450.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the configuration of the cap portion 450 and a moving mechanism for joining / separating the cap portion 450 to / from the recording head 101. Here, 450A is an opening provided on the rear wall surface of the cap portion, which can be opened / closed by the door 456. The door 456 is supported by a lever 457 that is rotatable around a pin fulcrum 458, and the lever 457 is a solenoid.
Combines with 459 Plunger 459A. That is, when the solenoid 459 is energized, the plunger 459A retracts and the lever 4
The opening 450A is opened by rotating 57 around the pin fulcrum 458 in the counterclockwise direction in the figure, while the energization of the solenoid 459 causes the plunger 459A to move forward by the urging force of a spring (not shown) to move the lever 457. The door 456 is rotated clockwise in the figure.
Closes the opening 450A.

Reference numerals 460 and 461 respectively denote a fixed base and a cap feed motor fixed to the apparatus, 461A denotes a motor shaft, and screws are engraved. 462 is a moving link, and the motor shaft 461A
It is screwed together and moves along the cap guide 463 in the left-right direction in the figure as the motor shaft 461A rotates. Reference numeral 464 denotes a cap base on which the cap portion 450 is placed, which is coupled to the link 462 via the spring 465 and is engaged with the latch 462A provided on the link 462.

466 and 467 respectively detect that the cap unit 450 is in the forward position (capping position) where it is joined to the recording head 101, and that it is in the retracted position (cap-off position) separated from the recording head 101. It is a switch to do.

In such a structure, when capping is performed, the cap feed motor 461 is rotated in the normal direction, and the cap base 4 is moved through the screw feed mechanism including the motor shaft 461A and the moving link 462.
Move 64 toward the capping position. Then, when the capping is detected by the capping position detection switch 466, the motor 461 is stopped. At this time, since the cap base 464 is engaged with the link 462 via the spring 465, the impact force caused by the contact between the cap portion 450 and the recording head 101 is effectively absorbed. Thus, in this capping state, protection of the recording head 101 when the apparatus is not used,
Alternatively, the discharge recovery process by pressurization using the gear pump 105 becomes possible.

In connection with the discharge recovery process, when cleaning the discharge surface 101A, the solenoid 459 is energized to open the door 456,
When a high-speed airflow is supplied from the nozzle 451 in this state, the jetted air is discharged through the opening 450A, and a stable airflow without turbulence is formed, so that the joining portion between the cap portion 450 and the recording head 101 is formed. Also, contamination of the front surface of the recording head 101 is prevented.

At the end of the cleaning process or when the cap is off, the solenoid
The power supply to 459 is stopped to close the opening 450A, the motor 461 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the link 462 is retracted. With this backward movement, the cap base 464 engaged with the latch 462A is separated from the recording head 101, and the cap portion 450 is set at a predetermined position where the cap-off position detection switch 467 operates.

As described above, according to the present example, since the number of setting positions of the cap portion 450 is two, compared to the case where the cap portion 450 is slightly separated from the recording head 101 and cleaned in order to obtain a stable air flow. The position control becomes easy.

The structure of such a cap moving mechanism is not limited to that shown in FIG. 8, and various structures can be used.
For example, the motor 461 may be used for both opening and closing without providing a solenoid for opening the door 456.

FIG. 9 shows another structural example of such a cap moving mechanism.
In this example, the cap base 4 on which the cap unit 450 is placed
74 is biased rightward in the figure by a tension spring 481 stretched between the recording head 101 and the fixed base 470.
Is set to the position where it abuts. Motor shaft with engraved screws
The 461A has a link 47 that can be screwed with this to move left and right.
The link 472 is provided with a cap base 474 and a roller 472A capable of engaging with the other end of the door support lever 477. The lever 477 is rotatable around a pin fulcrum 478 provided on the cap portion 450, and a pulling spring 479 stretched between the lever 477 and the cap portion 450 constantly imparts a turning habit in the clockwise direction in the figure. .

486 and 487 are switches that can be engaged with the portion 472B provided on the link 472, and are used to detect the capping position and the cap-off position, respectively. Further, 488 is a switch fixed to the cap portion, and engages with the lever 477 to detect opening of the door 456.

In such a configuration, the link 472 is in the retracted position when the cap is off, and the cap portion 450 is set to a position separated from the recording head 101 by the engagement of the roller 472A and the cap base 474. Then, when the motor 461 is rotated in the forward direction to perform capping, the roller 472A moves to the right in the figure, and along with this, the cap base 474 simultaneously moves to the right due to the urging force of the spring 481, and the recording head. At the contact position with 101, the switch 486 detects the capping state while hitting the fixed base 470. In this state, the motor is temporarily stopped, so that the recording head 101 can be protected when the apparatus is not used and the ejection recovery process by pressurization can be performed.

When the discharge surface 101A is cleaned together with the discharge recovery process, the motor 461 is further rotated in the normal direction.
At this time, the cap portion 450 is held at the capping position, and only the link 472 moves to the right to move the roller 472A.
Engages with the lever 477 and rotates counterclockwise in the figure against the biasing force of the spring 479, whereby the door 456 is opened. When the opening is detected by the switch 488, the motor 461 is stopped, and the cleaning process can be performed in this state.

At the end of the cleaning process or when the cap is off, the motor 461
By reversing and moving the link 472 to the left in the figure,
The lever 479 rotates clockwise in the figure by the biasing force of the spring 479, the opening 450A is closed by the door 456, and the roller 472A resists the biasing force of the spring 481 and moves the cap base 463 leftward in the figure. The cap portion 450 is moved and is set to a position separated from the recording head 101 by the detection of the switch 487.

Also in this example, not only the same effect as the configuration example shown in FIG. 8 can be obtained, but also a solenoid is not required, so that the mechanism for moving the cap portion 450 or the mechanism for opening the back surface can be constructed at low cost.

Next, the platen 401 and the biasing roller 3 involved in the air system
The configuration of 31B and 341B will be described.

FIG. 10 shows a configuration example of the platen 401. In this example, A4, A3, A2, and A1 size recording media can be selected, and therefore the platen width is set to the long side (592 m) of the A2 plate.
m) and the partition wall 405 is provided at a distance corresponding to the long side length (296 mm) of the A4 plate and the long side length (420 mm) of the A3 plate from one side surface (conveyance reference side). There is. Then, the distributor 407 is switched to select the suction section corresponding to the size of the selected recording medium, that is, the section I in the case of the A4 version and the section I in the case of the A3 version.
And II, A2 plate, and A1 plate, by selecting sections I to III, suction from outside the range where the recording medium exists is not performed, and the recording medium is securely sucked by the platen 40.
It is designed to be attracted to the front of 1.

Here, the pitch p1 of the suction holes 403 is desired to be as small as possible because the suction force of the recording medium is large. on the other hand,
Since the partition wall 405 is disposed on the platen 401 by the sealing material 405A, the width of the partition wall 405 is set to the pitch p1 in consideration of the sealing effect and the like.
Larger is desirable. It is also conceivable that the recording medium may be conveyed in a skewed state to some extent, or in a continuous recording medium such as roll paper, it may be transported in a meandering state to some extent. Considering this, it is preferable that the partition wall 405 has a large width.

Therefore, in this example, while increasing the width of the partition wall 405,
Pitch p2 between adjacent suction holes sandwiching this partition wall 405
Is larger than p1.

The relationship between the platen 801 and the biasing rollers 341B and 331B will be described.

As shown in FIG. 11, the recording medium PP on which recording is performed by the recording head 101 swells due to the adhesion of ink (region W ′), especially when it is paper, and the upper conveying rollers 341A, 3
It is transported to the position where it is held by 41B. The biasing rollers 341B and 331B are recording media P that can be selected by the apparatus of this example.
It is divided into three parts according to the size of P (a, b,
c). That is, it is divided at a distance from one side surface on the transport reference side which is substantially equal to the length of the long side of the A4 plate and the length of the long side of the A3 plate. This is Platen 40
In the case of this example in which recording media of various sizes can be selected on the basis of one side of 1, the recording medium PP is effective in preventing skewing. However, the minimum size (in this example
(A4 size) When the recording medium PP having a larger size is conveyed while being recorded, the swelling region W ′ in the divided portion of the urging roller 341B (the joint portion of the roller) is constrained by suction and holding. Do not work together, so that the paper will be lifted at that portion. The paper float W grows in the direction opposite to the transport direction. However, as shown in FIG. 12, if there is a non-suction portion due to the partition wall in the growth direction, the paper float W also grows on the front surface of the platen 401. Continuing, it is conceivable that the recording quality is deteriorated, the ejection surface of the recording head 101 is contacted to contaminate the ejection surface, or the ejection head is damaged.

Therefore, in this example, as shown in FIG. 13, at least the biasing roller 341B is arranged so that the divided portion of the biasing roller 341B exists at a position deviated from the upper partition wall 405 in the transport direction, that is, at a position not facing each other. The length of each split roller is selected. According to this, even if the paper float W occurs in the portion where there is no roller, it is restrained by the suction force on the platen 401, the growth of the paper float is blocked, and the recording medium PP becomes flat along the surface of the platen 401. Therefore, it is possible to prevent deterioration of recording quality and damage to the recording head 101.

(Recording System and Recording System Unit Transport System) FIG. 14 shows an example of the configuration of the recording system 100 and the recording system unit transport system 200. Here, 201 and 203 are tank carriages respectively accommodating a carriage on which the recording head 101 is mounted and an ink tank 110 (see FIG. 7) as an ink supply system, which are scanned along the guide rails 211. Reference numerals 209A and 209B denote wires installed between the pulley 207A and the idler 208A and between the pulley 207B and the idler 208B, respectively.
It is also fixed to the tank carriage 203. 210A and 210B are motors coupled to pulleys 207A and 207B, respectively, and wire 209A and
The carriages 201 and 203 are scanned via 209B, respectively.

211 and 212 are sensors that detect the home positions of the carriage 201 and the tank carriage 203, respectively. In particular, the home position sensor 211 is arranged in connection with the joining of the cap portion 450 and is also used for performing accurate capping. Reference numerals 213 and 214 denote reversal position sensors that set reversal positions of the carriages 201 and 203 in the scanning direction when the recording head PP is repeatedly scanned to record continuously. Reference numeral 215 denotes an image leading edge sensor for recognizing the drive timing of the recording head 101 when starting scanning and recording on the recording medium PP.

Further, although not shown in FIG. 14, the recording head 101
The ink tank 110 housed in the tank carriage 203 is connected via a supply pipe 104, and the supply pipe 104 is provided with a gear pump 105 for performing a pressurizing process (see FIG. 7). The gear pump 105 may be mounted on the carriage 201 or the tank carriage 203.

In this example, the carriage 2 equipped with the recording head 101
01 and a tank carriage 203 containing the ink tank 110
And are driven by different motors. This means that the tank that stores the ink supplied to the recording head
This has a great advantage as compared with the method of fixing the recording apparatus to the main body side and the method of mounting the recording head together with a single carriage.

When the scanning distance of the recording head is considerably long, that is, in the case of this example which enables recording of A2 or A1 plate called a large plate having a large recording width in a recording medium such as recording paper, the former In the case of the tank fixing method, the length of the supply tube to the recording head becomes too long, and it is necessary to give the supply tube a flexibility that does not hinder the scanning of the recording head. There are problems such as an increase in resistance and the possibility that air may accumulate in the middle.

On the other hand, in a system in which the tank and the recording head are mounted on a carriage and moved together, the larger the amount of the recording liquid stored in the tank, the more the replenishment frequency can be reduced. However, on the other hand, in order to obtain high-quality printing, extremely precise operation is required for main scanning by the print head, and the drive motor equipped with such a function must be of even higher output. Therefore, it is difficult to increase the amount of liquid stored in the tank.

In contrast to these methods, in this example, since the carriage drive motor 207A bears a relatively small weight,
High accuracy is required, but it does not have to be high output,
Even if the drive motor 207B for moving the one tank carriage 203 has a high output, the drive motor 207B need not be as accurate as the motor 207A. That is,
According to the configuration shown in FIG. 14, the ink storage amount of the tank 110 can be made sufficiently large without increasing the output of the drive source of the recording head 101 and the carriage 201 mounted thereon, and the ink supply path Since it is short, ink can be smoothly supplied to the recording head 101, and high-precision and high-quality recording can be performed even on a large-sized recording medium.

However, due to factors such as a change in inertial force due to ink consumption, there is some slippage between the wires 209A and 209B and the pulleys 207A and 207B or idlers 208A and 208B, and there is some movement in the motors 210A and 210B. If there is an error and these are accumulated, it is conceivable that the carriage 201 and the tank carriage 203 collide with each other during the recording operation and disturb the recording quality. On the contrary, it is conceivable that the two carriages are significantly separated from each other, and the ink supply pipe 103 or 104 is detached or cut.

Therefore, in this example, both carriages 20 are moved to the home position or the reversal position every time when scanning is performed a plurality of times, such as every scanning or recording on one recording medium.
Corrected the interval of 1,203. That is, the carriages 201 and 203 are reset to the detection positions of the home position sensors 211 and 212 or the detection positions of the reverse position sensors 213 and 214, respectively, at appropriate timings, and the intervals between the two are set to appropriate values. I tried to keep it.

According to this, it is possible to prevent slipping between wire pulleys, collision of both carriages due to error accumulation in motor operation, disconnection of the wire supply pipe, and the like. The mode of this control will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 30 and 31.

FIG. 15 shows another configuration example of the recording system 100 and the recording system unit transport system 200. In this example, the carriage 201 and the tank carriage 203 are arranged so as to be offset in the transport direction of the recording medium PP, and the guide rails 221A are respectively provided. And 221B. According to this configuration, collision of the two carriages due to slippage and error accumulation or problems associated therewith do not occur, but cutting of the ink supply tube 103 or 104 may occur, so control similar to that of the example shown in FIG. 14 can be performed. It is valid.

16 to 18 show three examples of still another configuration of the recording system 100 and the recording system unit transport system 200. The example shown in the sixteenth example is a restriction member having an elongated hole 216A in addition to the configuration shown in the fourteenth example.
216 and a carriage 201, which extends toward the carriage 203 and has a pin 217 on the carriage 203.
And is engaged with the elongated hole 216A. Therefore,
The carriage 203 can be displaced relative to the carriage 201 only within the range of the elongated hole.

In addition, in the example shown in the seventeenth example, in addition to the configuration shown in the fourteenth example, the carriages 201 and 203 are connected by a wire 218, and the two carriages are not separated from each other by the length of the wire 218 or more.

Furthermore, in the example shown in the eighteenth example, in addition to the configuration shown in the fourteenth example, a gap portion 220 having a predetermined gap is provided in the proximity portion of the carriage 201 to the wire 208B, and a predetermined position of the wire 208B corresponding to the gap portion 220. A retaining ring 219 is fixed to and is engaged with this. Therefore, the carriage 203 can be displaced relative to the carriage 201 only within a range in which the retaining ring 219 can move within the gap 220.

According to these three examples, slipping between wire pulleys, error accumulation of the motor, failure of the motor, and disconnection of the supply pipe 103 or the like that may occur when only one carriage is moved during maintenance. Does not happen.

Therefore, also in these examples, it is effective to control the position correction of both carriages as in the example shown in FIG. Moreover, in the example shown in the seventeenth example, if the two carriages directly collide with each other, or conversely, if the wire 218 is fully extended, the impact will not disturb the print quality. Further, in the example shown in FIGS. 15 and 18, when the relative displacement is reached, the pin 217 collides with the end of the slot 218B or the snap ring 219 collides with the side wall of the gap 220. Even if it does, this impact force will not disturb the recording quality.

Note that it is conceivable to connect both carriages to each other with a wire or the like in the configuration shown in FIG. 15, and the control as in this example is similarly effective for this.

(Recording medium conveying system) As described in FIG. 2, the conveying path PC, PR or PI
The recording medium PP that has been conveyed through the
The sheet is discharged from 1 through the platen 401 and the upper conveyance roller 341. The recording medium PP is held in the recording device (hereinafter referred to as a set) by holding the tip of the recording medium PP between the upper conveying rollers 341A and 341B, and from this state, the recording medium PP on the platen 401 by the recording head 101 is held. The recording to is started.

However, as shown in FIG. 19, the transport rollers 331A, 331B
It is also conceivable that the recording medium passing through the gap collides with the lower edge of the platen 401, the upper transport roller 341B, or the like, or is displaced from the transport path due to bending due to its own weight.

FIG. 20 shows a schematic configuration example of the guide unit according to the present example that sets the recording medium PP smoothly. Here, 350 is a guide member for guiding the leading end of the recording medium PP rotatably supported by the arm 370 around the rotation shaft 380 to between the upper conveyance rollers 341. Thus, when the recording medium PP is set, the recording head 101 is out of the recording area (for example, the home position).
The guide member 350 is positioned at the set position A for smooth setting, and the guide member 350 is positioned at the retracted position B so as not to disturb the scanning of the recording head 101 during recording. Further, the front surface of the platen 401 (the suction surface of the recording medium PP provided with the suction holes 304) is moved by a predetermined amount e from the holding position of the upper and lower conveying rollers.
If the recording medium PP is arranged so as to be biased to the 1 side, the recording medium PP is moved to the platen 401.
By conveying the recording medium PP while being regulated by the upper and lower edges, it is possible to remove fine wrinkles and the like together with the restoring force (so-called “waist”) of the recording medium PP.

In the figure, reference numeral 351 denotes an abutting portion provided on the front surface of the platen 401 of the guide member 350 outside the conveyance path of the recording medium PP (described later with reference to FIGS. 27 and 28), and the guide member 350 and the platen 401. It is used to keep the gap between and at an appropriate predetermined value. A paper passage sensor 399 is provided integrally with the guide member 350, and is used for detecting passage of the recording medium PP.
This paper passage sensor 399 sets the guide member 350 at the set position A.
It is provided so as to be located in the vicinity of the upper conveyance roller 341 as shown in the figure when it is positioned at, and it is detected whether or not the recording medium PP is surely conveyed up to the upper conveyance roller 341. Roller described later with reference to FIG. 30 (B)
It is possible to reliably hold the recording medium in the 341 (setting of the recording medium is completed), and to prevent a malfunction such as the motor stopping thereafter and the guide member 350 retracting. Further, since the paper passage sensor 399 is displaced to the retracted position B apart from the recording head and the recording medium conveying path together with the guide member 350 when not set, the ink mist generated by the recording operation of the recording head 101 in the form of an inkjet head. It is not easily affected by paper dust or the like of recording media.

FIGS. 21 (A) and 21 (B) show an example of the configuration of the main part of the recording medium transport system according to the present example. FIG. 21 (A) shows the paper guide member 350 in the set position A, FIG. 6B is a perspective view showing a state in which the retreat position B is located.

In these drawings, 342 is a conveyance motor such as a pulse motor, 344 is a pulley fixed to the shaft of the conveyance motor 342, and 34 is a pulley.
6 is a pulley fixed to the shaft of the main roller 341A of the upper conveyance roller, 345 is a belt hung between the pulleys 344 and 346,
The rotation of the carry motor 342 is transmitted to the main roller 341A. Reference numeral 382 denotes a guide drive motor for positioning the guide member 350 at the set position A and the retracted position B. The guide drive motor 382 includes a worm 384 provided on its shaft and a worm gear 386 meshed with the worm 386 and fixed to the rotary shaft 380. Drive the guide member 350.

In such a configuration, when the recording medium PP is set, the 21st
As shown in FIG. 10A, when the guide member 350 is opposed to the platen 401 and the recording medium PP is conveyed in the f direction in this state, the leading end of the recording medium PP is the main roller 331A and the urging roller 331B of the lower conveying roller 311. After being sandwiched between, the guide member 350 is guided on the platen 401 while controlling the transport path,
Main roller 341A and urging roller 341 of the upper conveyance roller 341
Hold between B. Further, when a conveyance abnormality occurs in this process, it can be detected by the paper passage sensor 399.

Thus, when the recording medium PP is set, that is, when the leading end of the recording medium PP is sandwiched between the upper conveyance rollers 341, the guide drive motor 382 is driven and the worm gear 386 is used to drive the recording medium PP as shown in FIG. Further, it is possible to perform the recording process by setting the guide member 350 to the retracted position and scanning the recording head 101 in the S direction in this state.

In FIG. 21 (B), 150A and 150B are a pair of sensors fixed to the side surface of the recording head 101 in the scanning direction and a portion in the scanning direction opposite to the side surface, respectively. For the control mode,
The figure will be described in detail.

By using the guide section as described above, the recording medium PP
The set will be much smoother than if it were not used.

Furthermore, in this example, the platen 40
1 The width of the front conveyance path is made as small as possible and the following configuration is adopted to prevent floating.

FIG. 22 and FIG. 23 show two examples of such a configuration, and a restricting member 353A (mylar), which is wholly or partially in the width direction, is formed on the surface of the guide member 350 facing the platen 401. (Fig. 22) Or regulating member consisting of leaf spring
It is equipped with 353B (Fig. 23). When these members are pressed against the front surface of the platen 401 over the entire width of the recording medium PP or partially when set,
If the pressing force is set so as not to hinder the conveyance of the recording medium PP, or if the pressing force is set to be close to the thickness of the recording medium PP (about 0.1 mm), a set in which the recording medium PP does not float is created. It will be possible.

Further, depending on the arrangement position of the recording head 101, etc., the regulating member 353C may be moved to the guide member 35 as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23.
Instead of being provided on the surface of 0, it may be provided below the guide member 350 as a separate body from the guide member 350 as shown in FIG. Also in this case, the regulating member 353C can be combined with the arm 370 to be movable between the set position and the retracted position.

This urging member 353C can also be a member such as a mylar or a leaf spring, and it is set on the front surface of the platen 401 at the time of setting and the pressing force is set to an extent that does not hinder the conveyance of the recording medium PP, or Alternatively, if the recording medium PP is made to face the recording medium PP in close proximity, it is possible to set the recording medium PP without floating.

Next, the abutting portion 351 used in this example will be described with reference to FIGS. 25 and 26.

The abutting portion 351 has a uniform spacing between the guide member 350 and the platen 401, and is for smooth setting,
In this example, the abutting is performed at two places on each side of the platen 401, and the abutting is elastically performed by the elastic force of the coil spring, so that the above intervals are uniformly maintained and set. Try to reduce the impact force that occurs when setting the position.

FIG. 25 and FIG. 26 show the abutting portion according to the present example, respectively.
35A and 35B are a perspective view and a side view showing 351. Such abutting portions 351 are provided at portions corresponding to both sides of the platen 401.

In the figure, reference numeral 355 denotes a cylindrical abutting plate provided at each of two positions on both sides of the guide member 350 (outside the conveyance path of the recording medium PP) with the platen, and 356 denotes the guide member 350 at the arm 370.
The coil spring elastically supports the. Further, reference numeral 357 is a positioning pin, which can enter the positioning hole provided in the platen 401. In the present example, the abutting portion 351 is configured by the above three persons. In this example, the positioning pin
357 a coil spring 356 and a cylindrical butting plate 355.
The hollow portion is inserted through and also serves as a holding member for the coil spring 356. However, such an arrangement is not always essential and may be arranged at another position.

According to this structure, the guide member 350 is attached to the recording medium PP.
When the arm 370 is rotated to set to the set position of the guide member 350, the guide member 350 does not depend on the stop position accuracy and the like.
Since it is displaced along the plane of 01, it is possible to maintain a uniform interval, and also the impact force can be alleviated by the spring 356. In other words, if only the accuracy of the components of the butting plate 355 is secured, even if the accuracy of other components and the mounting accuracy are somewhat inferior, uniform intervals can be maintained, and therefore the recording medium PP can be set more smoothly. Becomes

Note that such a configuration is not limited to the case where the flat platen 401 is used as in the present example, and, for example, a guide plate having an equivalent curvature or an approximate polygonal guide member is opposed to a cylindrical platen. It is also extremely effective when it is used.

Next, detection of floating of the recording medium PP (hereinafter referred to as paper floating) will be described. In this example, as shown in FIG. 21 (B), a pair of optical sensors 150A and 150B are provided with the recording head 101 on one side surface and a portion in the scanning direction facing the side surface, respectively. Even if paper floating occurs due to any of these factors, for example, this is detected immediately before the start of recording to prevent contamination of the recording medium, deterioration of recording quality, or ejection failure or damage of the recording head 101. be able to.

Such floating detection can be performed not only in the example shown in FIG. 21 (B) but also as follows.

That is, as shown in FIG. 27, a contact-type sensor 160 is provided on the side surface of the recording head 101 in the scanning direction, and when the paper floats, the actuator 160a of the sensor 160 makes contact with the sensor 160 to perform detection. May be. Alternatively,
As shown in FIG. 28, when there is paper float, air is sucked into the platen 401 from that portion, so pay attention to the fact that the suction force fluctuates, and pressure is applied midway along the suction path to the fan 410. It is also possible to perform the detection by providing the sensor 415 and monitoring it, that is, by comparing with a detection value when there is no paper floating, for example.

(Control System) FIG. 29 shows a configuration example of the control system 500 according to the present example. Here, 501 is a control unit that controls each unit, and also serves as a processing device that performs a recording process according to data transmission from a host device 1000 that is an image data supply source to the inkjet recording apparatus 1 according to this example. be able to. Reference numeral 503 denotes a microcomputer-type CPU that forms the center of the control unit.
0 Each part is controlled according to the illustrated processing procedure and the like. 505 is CPU5
The ROM stores a program corresponding to the processing procedure shown in FIG. 30 executed by 03 and other fixed data. 507 is CP
A RAM that has a work area used by the U503 in the process of executing processing procedures and an area for expanding a predetermined amount of image data.
Is.

Further, in the figure, 17A indicates various setting switches provided on the operation panel 17, which are a size selection switch for the recording medium PP, a selection switch for the conveyance paths PC, PR, PI, a recording start command switch, and an online connection with the host device 1000. Including switches, etc. Reference numeral 17B is a display unit, which includes a display section for displaying various messages such as a display of the selected mode and an error message.

MON1 and MON2 are drive signals for the carriage motor 210A and the tank carriage motor 210B, respectively. F /
B is a carriage motor 21 for moving the carriage 201 and the tank carriage 203 forward and backward in the scanning direction.
This is a control signal that causes 0A and the tank carriage motor 210B to rotate in the forward and reverse directions.

301 is a conveying roller of each part such as an upper conveying roller 341 provided in the recording medium conveying system 300, and 303 is a conveying motor such as a motor 342 for driving the conveying roller 301. Reference numeral 150 denotes a paper floating sensor, which is a pair of sensors 150 shown in FIG.
It consists of A and 150B. Alternatively, the contact sensor 160 shown in FIG.
Alternatively, the pressure sensor 415 shown in FIG. 28 may be used. Reference numeral 359 denotes a guide position sensor provided at the set position and the retracted position of the guide member 350. When a pulse motor is used as the guide drive motor 382, the position is set by monitoring the number of drive pulses instead of providing the sensor 359. You can also

30 (A) to (D) show an example of a control procedure by the control unit 501 shown in FIG.

After the power switch 15 is turned on, when this procedure is started by a recording start command switch or a command from the host apparatus 1000, first, initial setting is performed in step S1. For this initial setting, set switches 17A or host device 1000
In order to select the suction section (see FIG. 10) according to the size of the recording medium PP specified by, the switching setting of the distributor 407 and the selection of the conveyance paths PC, PR, PI are performed, and the conveyance members of the concerned path are selected. Processing such as preparing for drive control is performed. Further, at this time, it is assumed that the guide member 350 is positioned at the set position, the recording head 101 is at the home position, and capping is performed while the door 456 is closed by the cap portion 450.

Next, in step S3, the solenoid 459 is energized to open the door 456, and in step S5, the switching valves 420 and 421 are set to the blowing side, that is, the mode in which air is supplied from the blower 410 through the nozzle 451.

In this state, the gear pump 105 is driven in step S9 to pressurize the ink supply path to the recording head 101, and the recording head 101 forcibly discharges the ink. As a result, when air bubbles or dust are mixed in the liquid chamber 101C or the nozzle 101B, or when ink thickening occurs, these ejection failure factors are removed. Then, the ejected ink is collected by the absorber 453, and the discharge port end surface 101A
Are cleaned by the high speed air flow from the nozzle 451. After the pressurizing or cleaning process is continued for a predetermined time in the standby procedure of step S11, the gear pump 105 and the blower 410 are turned off in steps S13 and S15, respectively.

Next, in step S17, the switching valves 420 and 421 are switched and set so that suction is performed from the suction side, that is, the platen side 401 side, and the door 4 is set in step S19 in preparation for the subsequent recording process.
Close 56. Note that, in connection with the pressurization or cleaning process of steps S7 to S15, for example, after the process or instead of performing the pressurization by the gear pump, all the ejection energy generating elements of the recording head 101 are driven to perform the ejection. Ink discharge processing may be performed.

Next, in step S21, the motors 303 related to the transportation are driven to start the transportation of the recording medium PP. After that, in step S23, it is determined whether or not the leading end of the recording medium PP that has been conveyed is pinched by the upper conveyance roller 341 downstream of the platen 401, and if a positive determination is made, the motors in step S25 Stop 303. In the determination of step S23, for example, the paper passage sensor 399 may be regarded as being held by the recording medium PP after a lapse of a predetermined time.

The leading end of the recording medium PP is smoothly moved by the roller 331 by the guide member 351 and other restriction members (see FIGS. 22 to 24).
However, if a paper feed error occurs due to a paper jam or some other reason or before the guide, the paper passing sensor 399 does not detect it. This can be displayed to notify the operator.

After the processing of step S25, the motor 38 is operated in step S27.
2 is driven to set the guide member 350 to the retracted position, and the blower 410 is turned on in step S29 to set the platen of the recording medium PP.
Adhere to the front surface of 401. Then, in step S31, the cap feed motor 461 is rotated in the reverse direction to disengage the cap portion 450 from the recording head 101 and set to the cap off position.

Next, in step S33, the relative distance is corrected by correctly positioning the carriage 201 and the tank carriage 203 at the home position. This can be performed as shown in FIG. 31 by controlling the outputs of the motor drive signals MON1 and MON2 while monitoring the outputs (HP1 and HP2) of the home position (HP) sensors 211 and 212.

Next, in step S35, the presence or absence of paper floating is determined using the sensor 150. When a negative determination is made here, the process proceeds to the recording process of step S43 in FIG. On the other hand, when the floating of the paper is detected, the process does not shift to the recording, and the step S3
After turning off the blower 410 in 7, it is determined whether or not the selected recording medium PP is roll paper, and in the case of roll paper, after cutting with the cutter 326 in step S41, other In that case, immediately proceed to the discharge process of FIG.

In step S43, the motors 210A and 210B are rotated in the forward direction to move the carriages 201 and 203 in the scanning direction.
Recording is performed in units, that is, in the case of this example, one scan. For example, if the recording head 101 is provided with ejection ports extending 16 mm in the sub-scanning direction, recording of 16 mm × 1 scanning area is performed. Since the recording medium PP is adsorbed by the platen 401 in this recording process, high-quality recording is possible. Then, in step S45, the motors 303 are drive-controlled to convey the recording medium PP by a predetermined amount.

Next, in step S47, the motors 210A and 210B are reversed, the carriage 201 and the tank carriage 203 are set to the reverse position (RP), and the distance between them is corrected. This monitors the outputs (RP1, RP2) of RP sensors 213, 214,
This can be done by controlling the output of the motor drive signals MON1 and MON2.

That is, as shown in FIG. 31, the output RP1 of the RP sensor 213 during reverse rotation of the motor (when the F / B signal is at the H level)
Is stopped and the drive of the motor 210A is stopped when it is detected that the carriage 201 has reached the reversal position, and when the output of the RP sensor 214 becomes H and the tank carriage 203 has reached the reversal position, it is detected. When motor 210B
Stop driving. As a result, the distance between the carriages 201 and 203 is maintained at an appropriate value, so that collision of both carriages and disconnection of the supply pipe 103 due to accumulated error do not occur.

Note that such correction can be performed using the outputs HP1 and HP2 in association with the HP sensors 211 and 212. Further, instead of performing each scan as described above, it may be performed every multiple scans. Further, for example, the head 101 may be capped for every plural scans to perform the ejection recovery process or the cleaning process by the pressurization or the ejection.

After the correction, in step S49, it is determined whether or not the recording medium currently used is roll paper, and if negative determination is made, the process immediately proceeds to step S55. On the other hand, in the case of affirmative determination, in step S51, in consideration of the length from the arrangement position of the cutter 326 to the recording head 101, whether or not the paper has been fed by an amount commensurate with the size and recording amount of the recording medium PP. To determine. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S55. If the determination is positive, the roll paper is cut in step S53, and then the process proceeds to step S55.

In step S55, it is determined whether or not a predetermined recording amount, that is, recording for one page has been completed. If not completed here, return to step S43 and repeat the subsequent steps,
If the end determination is made, step S5 in FIG. 30 (D)
Move to 7.

If a negative decision is made in step S39, or step S
After the process of 41, or when an affirmative determination is made in step S55, the motors 303 are controlled to eject the recording medium PP in step S57. Next, in step S59, the carriage 201 and the tank carriage 203 are set to the home position, and in step S61, the recording head 101 is capped.

Then, in step S63, the guide member 350 is repositioned to the set position, and in step S65, the blower 410 or the like is stopped. That is, the head 101 is capped with the door 456 closed, and the guide member is set to the set position, so that the head 101 is protected after recording,
It is possible to set the recording medium PP quickly when recording is resumed. Then, in step S67, after performing necessary post-processing such as resetting each part, this procedure ends.

(Effects of Embodiments) According to the embodiments described above, the following effects are obtained.

First, since the suction of the recording medium PP and the air supply for cleaning the ejection surface 101A are performed by the single blower 410, the cost and size of the device are reduced and the noise is reduced due to the reduction of the number of parts. Was able to contribute to the reduction of Also, the blower
Supply path from 410 to cap section 450, and platen 401
Switch valve (4
21, 420) is provided, and these are appropriately switched to control the supply and suction. Therefore, ejection failure due to excessive air flow being supplied to the recording head 101 and the like, and the nozzle 461 also serves as the discharge port during suction. It was possible to prevent a decrease in suction force caused by high load resistance at the time, and a reduction in the life of the driving source due to repeated start / stop when a blower was provided for each suction / exhaust.

Next, at the time of cleaning the ejection surface 101A by air ejection, since the door provided on the rear wall of the cap member 450 can be opened, turbulence does not occur in the ejected airflow, and the fine ink separated from the ejection surface 101A. Drops, dust, etc. do not reattach. Further, the position control of the cap unit 450 only needs to be performed at the capping position and the cap off position, and the complexity of the position setting control that occurs when air is ejected by slightly separating it from the head 101 can be eliminated.

Further, in order to ensure the positional accuracy of the head 101 during recording, etc., the head 101 and the ink tank 110 are mounted on respective carriages (201, 203) and driven by respective motors (210A, 210B), Since the relative distance between the carriages is corrected for each scanning, both carriages may collide with each other due to slippage of the transmission member or accumulation of errors and disturb the recording quality, or conversely, the carriage and head may be significantly separated from each other. It is possible to prevent inconveniences such as disconnection of the supply pipe between and.

At the time of setting the recording medium PP, a guide member 350 that faces the platen 401 to support the smooth movement of the tip of the recording medium PP is provided, and at the time of recording, the member 350 is retracted to a position separated from the facing position. Therefore, regardless of the type of recording medium PP used (roll paper, cut paper, etc.),
In addition, even if the recording medium PP is bent, it is possible to set the recording medium without causing a conveyance error such as a jam. Also,
Since the guide member 350 is retracted after confirming that the paper passing sensor 399 or the like has surely set, the scanning by the recording head 101 is not hindered.

Further, a member (353A to 353C) that restricts the behavior of the leading end of the recording medium PP at the time of conveyance for setting by narrowing the distance between the guide member 350 and the platen 401 at a portion facing the platen 401.
Since the recording medium PP is provided, the recording medium PP is surely adsorbed to the platen 401 from the start of recording by the subsequent suction and regulated, and therefore the recording head 101 and the recording medium PP do not come into contact with each other, and the recording medium is contaminated or the recording head 101 is damaged. It was possible to prevent deterioration in recording quality due to ejection failure or deterioration of sub-scanning accuracy.

In addition, the guide member 350 is elastically supported, and the guide member 3
At least 3 on the surface facing the peripheral part of the platen 401 of 50
Platen with abutting members provided at four locations (four locations in this example)
Since the guide member 350 can be made to contact the platen 401 and face the surface of the platen 401 with a uniform gap when facing the platen 401, other than the stop position accuracy of the guide member 350 and the abutting member. It became possible to eliminate the strict control of the parts accuracy of

A partition wall 405 of the platen 401 that partitions the inside of the platen 401 according to the size of the recording medium PP (a portion where the suction hole 403 does not exist)
The position of and the position of the divided portion such as the biasing roller 341B that is divided according to the size of the storage medium PP are not made to coincide in the sub-scanning direction, so the biasing force of the roller or the suction hole 403 of the platen 401 is used. At least one of the suction force always acts on the recording medium PP, so that even if the recording medium PP swells due to recording, the paper float W does not occur in the recording area, and the recording medium PP is not polluted or the recording head 101 is not ejected or destroyed. I was able to prevent it.

In addition, since the floating of the paper is detected before the recording head 101 starts scanning, the recording medium PP is not contaminated or the recording head is damaged.
It has become possible to prevent the occurrence of ejection failure of 101.

(Modifications) The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments or the above-described other configuration examples described in each place, and can of course have various configurations.

For example, although the above-described air supply to the cap portion 450 was for cleaning the ejection surface 101A of the recording head 101, an air passage in the cap portion is appropriately formed, that is, for example, at the ejection port. It is also possible to replace the discharge recovery process by pressurization using the gear pump 105 by sucking the ink near the discharge port by the Venturi effect to recover the discharge by forming the flow path having the narrowed portion in the vicinity.

In the above example, roll paper RP is used as a continuous paper type recording medium.
However, fan hold paper may be used, for example.
Furthermore, in the above example, an apparatus for recording on a large-sized recording medium of A4 size or larger has been described, but the recording medium may have any size.

In addition, in the above example, the recording medium PP is conveyed in the vertical direction with respect to the recording head that ejects ink droplets in the horizontal direction, but it is needless to say that the ejection direction or the conveying direction can be arbitrarily set. Further, the platen is not limited to the flat plate-like one as in the above example, and may be, for example, an arcuate one.

Further, in the above example, the roller is used as the carrying member (the upper carrying roller or the like), but other members such as an endless belt wound around a pulley may be used as the carrying member.

In addition, the present invention is directed to the recording head 101 as in the above example.
The present invention can be applied not only to a serial type inkjet printing apparatus that prints by scanning with a carriage 201, but also to a line printer type apparatus in which ejection ports are aligned over the entire width of a printing medium. In this case, a mechanism for relatively moving the recording head and the platen is provided so that the cap portion can face the recording head during cleaning, or the guide member faces the platen when setting the recording medium PP. It should be possible to do it.

Further, the present invention is not limited to a recording apparatus having an ink jet type recording head as in the above example as long as it has a recording head for recording on a recording medium, and other types such as a thermal head. It is needless to say that even a recording apparatus including the above can be effectively and easily applied.

[Advantages of the Invention] A guide member is provided so as to face the platen when setting the recording medium to assist the smooth advance of the leading end of the recording medium, and at the time of recording, this member is retracted to a position separated from the facing position. Therefore, regardless of the type of recording medium used (roll paper, cut paper, etc.) and even if the recording medium is bent, it is possible to perform a set in which a conveyance error such as a jam does not occur. Further, the guide member is integrally provided with the detecting means, and when the recording medium is set, the detecting member is positioned near the downstream side conveying means to detect that the recording medium is conveyed to near the downstream side conveying means. Thus, the recording medium can be set reliably. Further, since the detecting means is displaced to a position apart from the recording head and the conveying path together with the guide member during setting outside, the contamination by the recording head, paper dust or the like is less likely to occur.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration example of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing an internal configuration example of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 centering on a recording medium conveying system. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the air system and the like of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram thereof, and FIGS. 5 and 6 show the configuration of a switching valve that can be adopted in the air system. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing two examples, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing one structural example of the cap part coupled to the air system, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are two examples of the structure of the cap part and its moving mechanism. FIG. 10 is a side view, FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a constitutional example of a platen coupled to an air system, FIG. 11 is an explanatory view for explaining the occurrence or growth of paper floating, and FIG. 12 is this embodiment. The relationship between the configuration of the platen and the configuration of the biasing roller, which may cause the growth of the paper float, is shown. Schematic diagram, FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship of the configuration of the platen and the biasing roller in the present embodiment, and FIGS. 14 to 18 are diagrams of the configuration of the recording system and the recording system unit transport system to which the present invention can be applied. 5 is a perspective view showing an example, FIG. 19 is an explanatory view for explaining a conveyance state of a recording medium when the guide member according to the present invention is not provided, and FIG. 20 is a schematic configuration example of the guide member according to the present invention. 21A and 21B are perspective views showing a state in which the guide member shown in FIG. 20 is positioned at the recording medium setting position and the retracted position, respectively, and FIGS. Side views showing three examples of the recording medium regulating member applicable to the guide member according to the present invention, FIG. 25 and FIG. 26 are respectively a structural example of an abutting portion applicable to the guide member according to the present invention. Shown in perspective and side view, Figures 27 and 28 FIG. 29 is a schematic diagram showing two examples of a paper floating detection sensor that can be clearly applied, FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing one configuration example of a control system of the device of the present invention, and FIGS. 30 (A) to (D) are illustrations of 29. FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing an example of a control procedure by the control system of FIG. 31, and FIG. 31 is a timing chart for explaining the timing for correcting the relative positions of the carriage and the tank carriage according to this example. 1 ... Inkjet recording apparatus main body, 17 ... Operation panel, 100 ... Recording system, 101 ... Recording head, 101A ... Discharge surface, 103, 104 ... Supply tube, 105 ... Gear pump, 110 ... Ink tank, 150, 160, 415 …… Paper floating sensor, 200 …… Recording system transport system, 201 …… Carriage, 203 …… Tank carriage, 210A, 210B …… Motor, 211,212 …… Home position (HP) sensor, 213,214 …… Reverse position (RP ) Sensor, 300 …… Recording medium transport system, 326 …… Cutter, 331 …… Lower transport roller, 331A, 341A …… Main roller, 331B, 341B …… Biasing roller, 341 …… Upper transport roller, 342 …… Conveyor motor, 350 …… Guide member, 351 …… Abutting part, 353A to 353C …… Regulating member, 355 …… Abutting plate, 356 …… Spring, 357 …… Positioning pin, 370 …… Arm, 380 …… Rotating shaft, 382 …… Guide drive motor, 399 …… Paper thread Sensor, 400 ... Air system, 401 ... Platen, 403 ... Suction hole, 405 ... Partition, 407 ... Distributor, 410 ... Blower, 420, 421 ... Switching valve, 440 ... Filter, 450 ... Cap Part, 451 ... Nozzle, 453 ... Ink absorber, 455 ... Waste ink tank, 456 ... Door, 459 ... Solenoid, 461 ... Cap feed motor, 466,486 ... Capping position detection switch, 467, 487 ... Cap Off position detection switch, 488 ...... Door open detection switch, 500 ...... Control system, 501 ...... Control part, 503 ...... CPU, 505 ...... ROM, 1000 ...... Host device, PC, PR, PI, P ...... Recording medium transport path, PP ... Recording medium, RP ... Roll paper, CS ... Cut paper, MON1, MON2 ... Carriage motor drive signal, F / B ... Forward / reverse control signal, HP1, HP2 ... HP sensor Output, RP1, RP2 ... RP sensor output.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A platen for restricting a recording surface of a recording medium; a recording head which faces the platen and performs recording on a recording medium whose recording surface is restricted by the platen in a predetermined recording area; An upstream transport unit and a downstream transport unit, which are provided on the downstream side and the upstream side of the platen on the transport path, hold and transport the recording medium, and the recording head is retracted to the outside of the recording area to remove the recording medium. At the time of setting the recording medium to be conveyed until it is held by the downstream conveying means, a guide path is formed on the platen so as to face the platen, and the leading end of the recording medium to be set is conveyed from the upstream conveying means to the downstream side. A guide member that guides the side conveying means, a displacement member that displaces the guide member to an opposed position that forms the guide path, and a retracted position that does not interfere with the recording head during recording. A step, the recording medium conveyed to the downstream side conveying means between the platen and the guide member is displaceable integrally with the guide member, and when the guide member faces the platen. A detection means provided so as to be able to detect the passage of a position in the vicinity of the side conveying means; and when setting the recording medium, the guide member is displaced integrally with the detection means to the facing position so that the recording medium is downstream. It is determined that the setting is completed by being held by the side conveying means based on the detection of the recording medium by the detecting means, and after the setting is completed, the guide member is displaced integrally with the detecting means to the retracted position. And a control unit for controlling the displacement unit. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head is driven in a traveling direction along the platen during recording. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the displacing means has a swingable arm that holds the guide member at an end thereof. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording head has a form of an ink jet head for recording by ejecting ink.