JP2641200B2 - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium using ink.

2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet printing apparatuses have many advantages such as extremely low noise during printing and the ability to print on plain paper, and have been receiving increasing attention in recent years.

Among them, piezoelectric and magnetostrictive elements, which are electromechanical transducers,
Alternatively, an on-demand type ink jet recording apparatus that discharges ink at the time of recording by using an electrothermal conversion element or the like consumes ink only when necessary for recording, so that unnecessary ink collecting means and deflecting means for deflecting ink are used. There is a great advantage that a high voltage power supply or the like is not required.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, with the recent spread of so-called OA equipment, there has been an increasing demand for downsizing of a recording apparatus as an image forming apparatus and high-speed recording. It is strongly desired that an on-demand type ink jet recording apparatus having the above-mentioned method be improved to meet such a demand.

On the other hand, since an ink jet recording apparatus generally uses a liquid as a recording agent, there is a possibility that ink of a recording unit such as a head may be clogged or the like, and improvement in operability of maintenance of the recording unit is desired. Further, since a recording medium such as paper may be jammed in the transport path, it is desired to improve operability of so-called jam processing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that is reduced in size, and further improves the operability of maintenance of a recording unit and the operability of jam processing.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an upper unit having a head supporting portion for supporting an ink jet recording head so as to discharge ink downward, and recording by an ink jet recording head. A lower unit having a platen for supporting a recording medium in a recording area to be performed, an ink storage unit for storing ink supplied to an inkjet recording head, and a transport unit for guiding the recording medium to the recording area. An ink jet recording apparatus in which an upper unit and a lower unit are relatively vertically openable in a recording area where an ink jet recording head and a recording medium are arranged in a non-contact manner, and the upper unit and the lower unit are Ink supply for supplying ink from the ink storage means to the ink jet recording head A communication member forming a passage is provided, and the communication member is displaced in accordance with the separation between the upper unit and the lower unit to maintain the ink supply path.

[Operation] That is, according to the present invention, since the upper unit and the lower unit can be separated and opened at the recording position, the space for maintenance of the recording unit can be increased, and the transport path can be reduced. Can be opened.

Further, since the ink supply connection member is made displaceable, the separation between the upper unit and the lower unit is allowed, for example, without separating the ink supply system.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an external configuration of an inking jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which an outer cover is removed for convenience.

Here, 1 is a main unit unit, and the upper unit 1a as an upper unit and the lower unit as a lower unit.
1b, and the upper unit 1a has the hinge 11 as a center of rotation,
It is rotatable up and down with respect to the lower unit 1b. Here, the upper unit 1a includes a recording head 101, an electric circuit unit 103, a fan 150, a discharge roller 115,
13, a paper guide 201 and a paper feed roller 111 are provided. On the other hand, the lower unit 1b is provided with a platen 203, an ink absorber 235, an ink tank 231, a paper cassette 221, a discharge tray 9A, and idlers 213 and 215. Also,
Reference numeral 5 denotes a cover arranged so as to cover the upper side of the main body unit 1. The cover 5 is an operation unit in which various command switches 7a and 7b such as an online switch for the host device H and a display 7c for displaying a mode are arranged. 7 is provided. Reference numeral 9 denotes a discharge port provided on one side of the apparatus. A recording medium S on which recording has been performed is stacked on a discharge tray 9A via the discharge port 9.

FIGS. 2 and 3 each show a cover 5 of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 for explaining an example of the internal configuration of the apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the device is removed, and a diagram showing a side cross section of the device shown in FIG. In these figures, reference numeral 101 denotes an ink jet recording head arranged in the vicinity of the discharge port 9 and, for example, a recordable width (for example, A
It has a so-called full multi-type configuration in which the nozzles 101a are arranged in a range corresponding to the entire width of the four-plate recording paper). An electromechanical conversion element (not shown) or an electrothermal conversion element (not shown) may be provided at an appropriate position in the ink liquid flow path such as the nozzle.
The ejection energy is applied to the ink in response to the supply of the drive signal from the host device H according to the image to be printed, whereby the ink is ejected from the ejection port 101b. In the present example, the recording head 101
The discharge port 101b is provided so as to open downward in the vertical direction.

103 is a recording head via a flexible cable 102
A main electric circuit section of the present apparatus in which a power supply circuit, a control circuit, various circuits in the apparatus, an interface circuit with a host apparatus H outside the apparatus, and the like are provided on the substrate 103A, in addition to a driver circuit for driving the 101, In this embodiment, since the main electric circuit section 103 is provided in the same upper unit 1a as the print head 101, even if ink is ejected during printing or unexpected ink leakage occurs, the influence of the ink is not affected. Electric circuit part 10
That would be less than three. That is, even if ink may leak from the ejection port 101b, the flow path is formed on the lower unit 1b side, and therefore, in this embodiment, the electric circuit portion 103 is disposed above the flow path. Will be
The influence of the ink does not reach the main electric circuit section 103 of the present apparatus. Further, in this embodiment, the electric circuit section 103 is arranged at a position higher than the arrangement position of each ejection port 101b of the recording head 101. As a result, the influence of the ink does not reach the electric circuit section 103. However, the above-described arrangement of the electric circuit portion 103 and the discharge port 101b is not always necessary.

Reference numeral 111 denotes a paper feed roller formed by cutting out a part of an arc, for example, a recording head S from a cassette 221 for accommodating the recording medium S such as paper, film or cloth.
This is a roller for feeding the recording position to the recording position indicated by 01.

Reference numerals 113 and 115 denote a transport roller disposed on the upstream side of the recording medium transport path P and a discharge roller disposed near the downstream discharge port 9 with respect to the recording position of the recording head 101, respectively. Belt 119
Is driven to rotate. Accordingly, in response to this rotation, the transport roller 113 and the discharge roller 115 cooperate with the idlers 213 and 215 arranged to face each other, and move to the recording position with the recording medium S held therebetween. Of the recording medium S, or discharge of the recording medium S from the recording position to the discharge tray 9A.

Reference numeral 201 denotes a paper guide that is provided on the transport path P of the recording medium S and regulates the transport path P. Reference numeral 203 denotes a paper guide that is provided on the lower unit 1b side facing the ejection port 101b of the print head 101, and performs printing by the print head 101. When recording on the medium S, the platen maintains the recording medium S at the recording position, that is, regulates the recording surface.

The recording medium S loaded on the above-mentioned paper cassette 221 cooperates with a separating means (not shown) by the paper feed roller 111 to be 1
The sheet is separated and transported toward the recording position. Reference numeral 225 denotes a bottom plate of the apparatus.In this example, the bottom plate 225 is also used as a partition wall for preventing leakage of leaked ink from the recording head 101 or the like to the outside of the apparatus even if unexpected ink leakage occurs. I have.

Reference numeral 231 denotes an ink tank as an ink supply source for the recording head 101, which is disposed below the platen 203 and supplies ink to the recording head 101 via a supply tube 233 as a flexible communication member. Reference numeral 235 denotes an ink absorber formed of a water-absorbing porous material. In this example, the ink absorber is disposed above the ink tank 231 below the platen 203. The ink absorber 235 is configured so as to be able to face or contact the ejection port 101b of the recording head 101 by appropriately replacing the position with the platen 203, and to perform the ejection recovery process or the capping process of the recording head 101. It may be. Thus, the ink dropped from the recording head 101 is appropriately collected.

Further, a fan 150 cools each part by taking in air from outside of the apparatus. In this example, the fan is arranged on the side of the apparatus opposite to the discharge port 9 so that a contact arrangement part is provided. An air flow (indicated by an arrow a in FIG. 2) from the air intake port 5a to the discharge port 9 is generated. As described above, since the recording head 101 is provided in the vicinity of the discharge port 9 in the present example, the ink that is generated on the surface of the satellite or the recording medium S that can be generated by the recording head 101 when ink droplets are ejected from the recording head 101 is formed. Ink mist and dust that may be generated by the scattering, paper dust of the recording medium, etc., are immediately transported out of the apparatus through the discharge port 9 by the airflow, adhere to various parts in the apparatus, and contaminate them, or The failure of the 103 can be prevented. That is, in this example, the cooling fan 150 that cools the electric circuit is also used as a blowing unit in the device that removes ink mist.

In addition to the above configuration, in this example, the main unit unit 1 can be further separated and opened into an upper unit 1a and a lower unit 1b as described below, so that repair work of each part and jam clearance can be easily performed. I do.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of a mechanism for securing the work space by separating the upper unit 1a and the lower uniticcho 1b and opening the inside. Here, reference numeral 11 denotes a hinge disposed on the side opposite to the discharge port 9 for rotating the upper unit 1a with respect to the lower unit 1b, and 13 denotes an upper unit.
This is a spring for holding 1a in the open position.

In this example, as described above, the recording head 101, the rollers 113 and 115, and the like are disposed near the discharge port 9 in the main unit 1a, and the platen 203, the idlers 213, 215,
Paper cassette 221, ink tank 231, and ink absorber 23
5 and the like are disposed in the vicinity of the discharge port 9 in the lower main unit 1b, so that when the main unit 1 is open as shown in FIG. 4, the recording head 101, the ink tank 231 and the ink absorber Ink system including 235 etc., and paper cassette 2
The paper feeding or conveying system including the roller member 21 and each roller member is largely opened.

That is, in the present embodiment, the upper unit 1a and the lower unit 1b are separated from each other along the path where the recording medium S is sent from the cassette 221 and reaches the discharge port 9, so that the upper unit 1a is located above the lower unit 1b. If it turns, the conveyance path will be opened.

Accordingly, in this state, a work space required for repairing each part, replacing the ink absorber, and removing the jam is ensured, and therefore, the work is facilitated. In this state, replenishment of the recording medium S and replenishment of ink may be performed. In this example, an example is shown in which the recording medium S is separated and opened along the entire conveyance path of the recording medium S. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Can be.

Also, the configuration for securing the work area in this way is as follows.
The invention is not limited to the one shown in FIG. For example, a suitable support for supporting the upper unit 1a at the four corners with the lower unit 1b may be provided, and the upper unit 1a may be vertically movable along the support, or the upper unit 1a may be horizontally inclined obliquely upward using a parallel link mechanism. The upper unit 1a and the lower unit 1b may be opened in the left-right direction without being limited to opening the upper unit 1a and the lower unit 1b in the vertical direction.

By the way, in this example, in the ink system, the recording head 101 is arranged on the main unit 1a side, and the ink tank 231 is arranged on the lower unit 1b side, and they are communicated via a supply tube 233. FIG. 5 (A) is a schematic side sectional view showing a connected state of the supply tube, and FIG. 5 (B) is a perspective view thereof.

In this example, as shown in FIG. 5A, the recording head 101, the ink tank 231 and the ink supply tube 23
Rotatable ink joint members 101A and 231A are provided at the connection portions with 3, respectively, so that the displacement accompanying opening and closing of the main body unit 1 is absorbed by the rotation of the rotary ink joints 101A and 231A. In the figure, 101B
And 231B are O-rings for sealing ink.

FIG. 5 (B) shows the details of the supply tube connection part, and shows the configuration on the ink tank 231 side.
Here, 231D is an elbow provided integrally with the supply tube 233 at its end, 231C is a holding ring of the O-ring 231B, 231E
Reference numeral denotes a holding plate fixed to the ink tank 231 and for regulating the elbow 231D in the vertical direction with respect to the ink tank 231 to hold the elbow 231D so as not to fall out of the ink tank 231. Thus, the elbow 231D can be slid with respect to the ink tank 231, the O-ring 231B, the holding ring 231C, and the elbow holding plate 231E.

Further, in this example, such a configuration is used for the recording head 10.
The same applies to one side.

With such a configuration, the supply tube 233 is made of a flexible tubular material such as polyethylene, so that the upper unit 1a and the lower unit 1b can be smoothly separated and opened without significantly affecting the ink flow path. it can. Further, in this example, since the elbow 231D is configured to be rotatable with respect to the ink tank 231 and the recording head 101, the elasticity of the supply tube 233 itself when the upper unit 1a is separated from the lower unit 1b is opened. The mounting angle can be displaced naturally.

This allows the upper unit 1a and the lower unit 1b
When the supply tube 233 is closed, the slack of the supply tube 233 can be reduced, and the amount of deformation of the supply tube 233 can be reduced.
When each of the units 1a and 1b is separated and opened at the maximum open angle, the ink tank 231 and the recording head 101 can have a length (see FIG. 4) sufficient to connect the recording head 101 almost linearly.
The flexibility required for the supply tube 233 can also be designed to be small. These facts make it possible to make the supply tube thick and short as a supply tube, reduce the flow path resistance of the ink supply path from the ink tank to the recording head, prevent air from entering the pipe, or By making the deflection space of the supply tube 233 small, it greatly contributes to downsizing of the device.

If such an effect is sufficiently expected, the configuration of the connecting portion shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B is such that only one of the ink tank 231 side and the recording head 101 side is used. Is also good.

Further, the configuration for receiving the separation opening of the units 1a and 1b is not limited to the above configuration in which the flexible supply tube and the rotary joint are combined.For example, a relatively rigid supply tube may be connected via a bellows or the like. May be connected.

By the way, in the ink jet recording, the flying distance of the ink droplet, that is, the distance between the nozzle opening of the recording head 101 and the paper is one of the factors that greatly affect the recording quality. In particular, in this example, since the upper unit 1a having the recording head 101 and the lower unit 1b having the platen 203 for regulating the paper can be separated, the recording head and the platen accurately and parallelly face each other in the joined state. It is desirable to take care of it.

In order to realize this, for example, the recording head 101 is held so as to be vertically movable with respect to the frame of the upper unit 1a, and the abutting member fixed to the platen 203 of the lower unit 1b is attached to the upper and lower units. In the joined state, the recording head may be made to abut a part of the recording head.

In the present embodiment, in order to realize this compactly and easily, the recording head 101 is fixed to the upper unit 1a, the platen 203 is fixed to the lower unit 1b, and the upper and lower units 1a, 1b
In this connection state, the abutting members (not shown) provided in the upper and lower units are respectively abutted at two points near both ends of the recording head 101. Further, an appropriate locking means may be provided to secure the joining state.

According to this, by precisely managing the mounting dimensions of the recording head 101 or the platen 203 with respect to the abutting members of the upper and lower units 1a and 1b, easily and with high accuracy,
In addition, when opening and closing the upper and lower units 1a and 1b, it is possible to maintain a recording head-paper distance with good reproducibility.

In the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment as described above, the on-demand type recording head 101 is disposed in the vicinity of the discharge port 9 of the apparatus with the discharge port directed vertically downward, and below the electric circuit section 103. Arrange the paper cassette 221 and
Since the recording medium conveyance path including the platen 203 is formed below the head ejection port, the conveyance distance of the recording medium is short, the conveyance system is simplified, and the apparatus configuration can be extremely small. Was.

Further, since the main electric circuit section 103 is provided on the same upper unit 1a side as the recording head 101, even when ink is ejected or leaked ink should be generated, the electric circuit section 103 can be used.
No more adverse effects on 3

In addition, since the inside of the apparatus is set at a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure and an air flow flowing out through the outlet 9 is formed, ink mist generated when ink droplets are ejected by the head 101 provided near the outlet 9 is reduced. Paper dust and the like generated by the conveyance of the recording medium are quickly conveyed to the outside of the apparatus, so that contamination and accidents due to ink adhesion to various parts in the apparatus can be reliably prevented.

In addition, the upper unit 1a is rotatable with respect to the lower unit 1b by a hinge 11 arranged on the side surface opposite to the discharge port 9, so that the ink system and the transport system are largely opened at the time of the rotation. Therefore, the work required for repairing each part, clearing jams, and the like is facilitated.

In the above example, the case where the present invention is applied to an on-demand type and a full multi-type recording head using an electromechanical conversion element or an electrothermal conversion element has been described. It is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to an ink jet recording apparatus employing various driving methods and scanning methods.

Further, although the recording head is provided near the discharge port to reduce the size of each part such as the transport system, the arrangement position is not necessarily limited to the vicinity of the discharge port. In this case, an air outlet may be separately provided near the recording head so that the ink mist or the like is quickly discharged.

Further, in the above example, the case where the host device H is used as the supply source of the recording data has been described. However, such a data supply source may be of any type. For example, in place of the host device H or in addition to the host device H, a reading means for reading a document image is provided in the upper unit 1a, and the read image information is converted into an electric signal and supplied to the recording head 101. It may be.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize an ink jet recording apparatus that is reduced in size and has improved operability in maintenance and jam processing.

In addition, since the ink supply pipe is displaceable, the opening of the upper unit and the lower unit can be permitted without separating the ink supply system, and for example, as in the above example, the ink tank is provided in the lower unit, and the recording head is provided. Appropriate configuration, such as disposition in the upper unit, becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a cover portion of the apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention has been removed, FIG. Is a side cross-sectional view of the apparatus according to the embodiment, FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing the apparatus according to the embodiment with the main unit unit and the paper feeding unit separated, and FIGS. 5 (A) and (B). 3A and 3B are an explanatory view showing a configuration example of a connection portion between a recording head and an ink tank and a supply tube in the embodiment, respectively, and a perspective view showing a main part thereof. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Body unit part, 1a ... Upper unit, 1b ... Lower unit, 5 ... Cover, 9 ... Discharge port, 9A ... Discharge tray, 11 ... Hinge, 101 ... Recording head, 101A, 231A ... Rotating ink joint 101B, 231B ... O-ring, 103 ... Electrical circuit section, 103A ... Substrate, 111,113,115 ... Roller, 117 ... Motor, 119 ... Timing belt, 150 ... Cooling fan, 201 ... ... Paper guide, 203 ... Platen, 213,215 ... Idler, 221 ... Paper cassette, 225 ... Bottom plate, 231 ... Ink tank, 233 ... Supply tube, 235 ... Ink absorber.

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An upper unit having a head supporting portion for supporting an ink jet recording head so as to discharge ink downward, a platen for supporting a recording medium in a recording area where recording is performed by the ink jet recording head, and the ink jet. A lower unit having an ink storage unit for storing ink supplied to the print head, and a transport unit for guiding the print medium to the print area, wherein the upper unit and the lower unit are An ink jet recording apparatus which can be relatively opened in a vertical direction in the recording area where the ink jet recording head and the recording medium are arranged in a non-contact manner, wherein the upper unit and the lower unit are arranged between the upper unit and the lower unit. Ink supply for supplying ink from the ink storing means to the ink jet recording head Is communicating member is disposed to form a the communicating member is an ink jet recording apparatus characterized by maintaining the ink supply passage and displaced in accordance with the isolation between the upper unit and the lower unit. 2. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said communication member has a flexible ink supply pipe. 3. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said communication member is connected to said ink storage means via a rotatable joint mechanism having an ink supply path. . 4. An ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said communication member is connected to said ink jet recording head via a rotatable joint mechanism having an ink supply path. .