JP2884544B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for recording on a recording material by recording means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording device having a function such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, or a recording device used as an output device of a multifunction machine or a workstation including a computer or a word processor is based on paper or a plastic thin plate based on image information. It is configured to record an image on a recording material (recording medium) such as (OHP). The recording apparatus can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, a thermal transfer type, a laser beam type, and the like according to a recording method of a recording unit to be used.

In a serial type recording apparatus employing a recording method in which a main scanning is performed in a direction crossing a conveying direction (sub-scanning direction) of the recording material, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position, and then the recording material is set. An image is recorded (main scanning) by a recording means (recording head) mounted on a carriage moving along the line, and after a recording of one line is completed, a predetermined amount of paper is fed (sub-scanning). By repeating the operation of recording (main scanning) the image of the row, image recording of the entire recording material is performed. On the other hand, in a line type recording apparatus that performs recording only by sub-scanning in which the recording material is fed in the transport direction, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position, and recording is performed for one line at a time. By performing a fixed amount of paper feed (pitch feed) and repeating the operation of collectively recording the next line, image recording of the entire recording material is performed.

Among them, the ink jet type (ink jet recording apparatus) performs recording by ejecting ink from a recording means (recording head) to a recording material, so that the recording means can be easily made compact and high definition. Images can be recorded at a high speed, recording can be performed on plain paper without special processing, running costs are low, and the non-impact method reduces noise and uses multicolor inks. This makes it easy to record a color image.

[0005] In particular, an ink jet type recording means (recording head) for discharging ink by using thermal energy,
Through a semiconductor manufacturing process such as etching, vapor deposition, sputtering, etc., an electrothermal converter, an electrode,
By forming the liquid path wall, the top plate, and the like, it is possible to easily manufacture a device having a high-density liquid path arrangement (discharge port arrangement), and to further reduce the size. On the other hand, there are various requirements for the material of the recording material,
In recent years, ordinary recording materials such as paper and resin thin plates (OHP
Etc.), the use of thin paper or processed paper (paper with perforated holes or perforated paper for filing, paper of any shape, etc.) or cloth has come to be required.

[0006]

However, in the conventional recording apparatus, the recording means (recording head), the recovery means for preventing the recording performance of the recording means from deteriorating, and the recording medium being fixed with respect to the recording means. Since the recording material holding means and the like for holding at the position are attached to different frame members with respect to the apparatus main body, they are detached from the apparatus main body at the time of maintenance or component replacement, and then attached to the apparatus main body. In some cases, the accuracy of their relative positions may not be accurately reproduced.

Therefore, when the recording means is returned to the home position and the recovery operation is performed, the capping for covering (sealing) the discharge port forming surface of the recording means and the like becomes incomplete, and the removal of air bubbles from the discharge ports is performed. In some cases, the recovery process was not sufficiently performed. Further, if the recording operation is performed while the recovery means is insufficient, a recording operation such as normal ink ejection is not performed, and there is a problem that the quality of a recorded image is deteriorated.

Further, the relative position between the recording means and the cap in the capping direction is likely to shift, and if the shift occurs, the pressing force (pressing force) between the suction port of the recovery means and the recording means (or carriage) changes during capping, For this reason, there is a problem that the motor load when the carriage (or the recording unit) is moved is changed, whereby the operation at the start of the main scanning becomes unstable.

In addition, since parts related to main scanning recording, such as recovery means and a carriage, are often concentrated in the lower part of the apparatus main body and relatively relatively inside, the recording means, recovery means, etc. There is also a problem that workability when assembling or replacing parts is extremely low.

The present invention has been made in view of the above technical problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a recording means (recording head)
The accuracy of the relative position between the recording means and the recovery means can be easily increased, the recording performance of the recording means can be improved, and the image quality can always be maintained at a high level. Moreover, the assemblability and serviceability of the apparatus are improved. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording device capable of causing the recording to be performed.

[0011]

According to the present invention, in a recording apparatus for recording on a recording material by a recording means, the recording means and a recovery means for preventing a decrease in the recording performance of the recording means are integrated as one unit. The above object is achieved by adopting a configuration in which the unit is detachably attached to the apparatus main body. According to another aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, a recording material holding unit for holding the recording material at a predetermined position with respect to the recording unit is integrated with the unit,
The above object is achieved more efficiently by adopting a structure in which the unit is detachable from the apparatus main body.

[0012]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a recording section of the recording apparatus of FIG. This embodiment shows a case where the present invention is applied to an ink jet recording apparatus. 1 and 2
Is configured to intermittently feed (convey) the recording material 1 in a predetermined direction by a conveying roller mechanism, and perform recording while moving (main scanning) the recording means 2 in a direction crossing the direction. ing.

As shown in FIG. 1, the main frame of the apparatus comprises a left side plate 50, a right side plate 51, a bottom plate 52, a rear stay 53 and the like. 1 and 2, a sub-scanning roller (conveyance of a recording material) 13 and a sub-scanning driven roller 14 pressed against the sub-scanning roller 13 have both ends in the axial direction thereof.
5 and rotatably supported by a bearing portion 31 and a bearing portion 32, and the recording material 1 entering from the direction of arrow A can be conveyed forward by the rotation of the rollers 13 and 14. It is. At a position downstream of the sub-scanning roller 13 in the conveying direction, a platen 19 for supporting the recording material 1 being conveyed is fixed to the sub-scanning base 25. The sub-scanning base 25 is removably positioned and fixed to a bottom plate 52 of the apparatus main body.

At a position downstream of the platen 19 in the transport direction, a paper discharge roller 20 for transporting (discharging) the recording material 1 to the outside of the apparatus and a paper discharge driven roller 21 pressed against the paper discharge roller 20 are provided. Are located. Both ends of the discharge roller 20 and the discharge driven roller 21 in the axial direction are connected to the sub-scanning base 2.
5 and rotatably supported by a bearing portion 33 and a bearing portion 34. Since the sub-scanning roller 13 and its driven roller 14 and the bearings 31, 32, 33, and 34 of the paper discharge roller 20 and its driven roller 21 are provided on the same base 25, the sub-scanning roller 13
And the sub-scanning driven roller 14, the upper surface of the platen 19 (recording material supporting portion), and the connecting portion between the discharge roller 20 and the discharge driven roller 21 increase the relative height between them. It is easy to arrange with high accuracy in a state where the accuracy is restricted. Also, the parallelism between the joint at the sub-scanning roller 13 and the joint at the paper discharge roller 20 can be easily and accurately defined.

Sub-scanning roller 13 and paper discharge roller 20
Has aluminum particles having a particle size of $ 1000 to 2000 adhered to its surface.
Chloroprene rubber is baked on the surface of 1.
Such a treatment of the roller surface enables the recording material 1 to be conveyed with high conveying force and with high accuracy.

The upper guide 11 provided on the sub-scanning base 25
And a lower guide 12 for moving the recording material 1 to the sub-scanning roller 13.
And is provided on the same sub-scanning base 25 together with the bearings 31 and 32 of the sub-scanning roller 13, so that the positional relationship between the joints is provided. Can be easily specified with high accuracy. A discharge guide 24 for guiding the recording material 1 discharged by the discharge roller 20 and the discharge driven roller 21 to the outside of the apparatus main body is provided on the upper surface of the sub-scanning base 25. .

A sub-scanning pulley 15 is fixed to the left end of the sub-scanning roller 13, and a discharge pulley 22 is similarly fixed to the left end of the discharge roller 20. On the other hand, a transport motor 17 is fixed to the sub-scanning base 25 at a lower left portion of the sub-scanning base 25 via a motor stopper (not shown). A transport motor pulley 18 is fixed to a rotating shaft of the transport motor 17, and transmits a rotational driving force to the sub-scanning pulley 15 and the discharge pulley 22 via a sub-scanning belt 16 and a discharge belt 23. At this time, the diameter of the discharge pulley 22 is set such that the transport speed of the discharge roller 20 is slightly higher than the transport speed of the sub-scanning roller 13. The sub-scanning roller 13 for the recording material 1
And the grasping force of the driven roller 14
And the gripping force of the driven roller 21 is set to be stronger than that of the driven roller 21. Therefore, the transport amount of the recording material 1 (paper feed amount)
Is defined on the sub-scanning roller 13 side.
In this way, the recording material 1 on the platen 19 is prevented from becoming loose.

Above the platen 19 (specifically, above the upstream side in the recording material transport direction), the main scanning rail 6 is arranged in parallel with the axial direction of the sub-scanning roller 13. The main scanning rail 6 is fixed to a main scanning base 26. The carriage 7 is guided and supported movably in the axial direction (left-right direction) along the main scanning rail 6 by fitting the bearing portion 7A to the main scanning rail 6. The main scanning motor 2 for reciprocating the carriage 7 includes:
It is arranged near the left end of the main scanning rail 6. The main scanning motor 2 is also fixed to the main scanning base 26. A main scanning motor pulley 3 is fixed to a rotating shaft of the main scanning motor 2 and can rotate integrally with the rotating shaft. The main scanning base 26 is removably positioned and fixed on a bottom plate 52 of the apparatus main body.

On the opposite side (right side) of the main scanning motor pulley 3, an idler pulley 5 is disposed. The idler pulley 5 is also rotatably attached to the main scanning base 26. The main scanning belt 4 for moving the carriage 7 is hung between the main scanning motor pulley 3 and the idler pulley 5, and is coupled to the carriage 7 between the pulleys 3 and 5. Therefore, by controlling the rotation and the rotation direction of the main scanning motor 2, the reciprocating movement and the position (main scanning movement) of the carriage 7 are controlled via the belt 4. A roller 7B that can roll in the carriage moving direction is rotatably attached to a lower portion of the carriage 7. The rollers 7B are provided to constantly regulate the distance between the carriage 7 and the recording material 1 in the height direction by rolling on the upper surface of the recording material 1 supported by the platen 19.

A recording means 8 for recording on the recording material 1 is mounted on the carriage 7 in a positioned state. In this embodiment, the recording means 8 is a plurality of (four) recording means (recording heads) for recording using different inks.
8B, 8C, 8M, and 8Y. In the case of color recording, these recording means 8B, 8C, 8M, 8Y
For example, it is configured to record in black, cyan, magenta, and yellow ink colors, for example. Hereinafter, when referring to all or any one of these four recording means 8B, 8C, 8M, and 8Y, they will be simply referred to as recording means (recording head) 8.

In this embodiment, each recording means 8 is constituted by a replaceable ink cartridge in which a recording head and an ink tank are integrated. An ink ejection unit (inkjet head unit) 80 is provided at a portion (the lower portion in the illustrated example) of each ink cartridge 8 facing the platen 19. The inkjet head unit 80 includes a plurality of ejection ports arranged in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage 7 and a driving unit for applying ink ejection energy to each ejection port. Therefore, each ink jet head unit 80 can eject ink from the ink tank as ink droplets toward the recording material 1 supported on the platen 19 based on an electric signal (image signal or the like).

The recording head 8 (ink-jet head section 80) is an ink-jet recording head for discharging ink using thermal energy, and has an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy. Also,
The recording head 8 performs recording by ejecting ink from an ejection port using a pressure change caused by growth and shrinkage of bubbles caused by film boiling caused by thermal energy applied by the electrothermal transducer. .

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of an ink ejection section (ink jet head section) 80 of the recording means 8. In FIG. 3, a plurality of discharge ports 42 are formed at a predetermined pitch on a discharge port forming surface 41 facing a recording material 1 with a predetermined gap (for example, about 0.5 to 2.0 mm). An electrothermal converter (heat generating resistor or the like) 45 for generating energy for ink discharge is provided along the wall surface of each liquid path 44 connecting the common liquid chamber 43 and each discharge port 42. I have. In this example, the recording head 8 is mounted on the carriage 7 in such a positional relationship that the ejection openings 42 are arranged in a direction crossing the scanning direction of the carriage 7. In this manner, the corresponding electrothermal transducer 45 is driven (energized) based on the image signal or the ejection signal to cause the ink in the liquid passage 44 to boil, and the ink is ejected from the ejection port 42 by the pressure generated at that time. Recording means (recording head) 8 is configured.

1 and 2, a carriage 7 and an ink cartridge (recording means) mounted on the carriage 7 are provided.
When the recording operation is not performed, the carriage 7 and each of the ink cartridges 8 can be moved to the home position by the drive control of the main scanning motor 2. FIG.
In the figure, the home position is set on the right side of the apparatus, and the carriage 7 and the ink cartridge 8 located at the home position are indicated by two-dot chain lines.

When the carriage 7 is at the home position, each recording head 8 is located at the home position.
Suction port 10 (10B, 1B) for sealing the discharge port 42 of
0C, 10M, and 10Y). These suction ports 10 are provided on a main scanning base 26. In addition,
These suction ports 10 are for preventing ink in the discharge ports 42 from drying and keeping the discharge ports 42 from clogging by keeping them in a wet state. In addition, these suction ports 1
0 indicates that the carriage 7 moves toward each recording head 8 in conjunction with the movement of the carriage 7 to the home position, and a rubber-like elastic material (sealing member) provided around each suction port 10 is discharged from the ejection port 42. Each outlet 42 is hermetically sealed (capped) by pressing against the periphery (discharge port forming surface 41).

Further, each suction port 10 (10B, 10C, 1
0M, 10Y), there is provided a recovery unit 9 for performing recovery processing of ink discharge abnormality due to bubbles or impurities generated inside the discharge port 42 of the recording head 8. The recovery unit 9 is also disposed on the main scanning base 26. Each suction port 10 is provided inside the recovery unit 9.
Is connected to the suction pump. This suction pump reduces the air pressure in each suction port 10 in the capping state, suctions bubbles and impurities inside the discharge port 42 of each recording means together with ink, and removes them from inside the discharge port 42. Things. Further, the suction pump has a mechanism for converting a rotational driving force into a negative pressure, and obtains a pump driving force from a rotational driving force of the sub-scanning roller 13 via a gear. The recovery unit 9 and the suction port 10 constitute a recovery unit for recovering the ejection failure of the recording head 8.

Here, since the suction port 10 is provided, the platen 19 cannot be extended to the home position. Therefore, when the carriage 7 approaches the home position, the rollers 7B provided on the carriage 7 come off the platen 19. Therefore, at a position off the platen 19, the carriage 7 can move on a guide plate (not shown) provided on the recovery unit 9.

The recording operation of the recording apparatus (inkjet recording apparatus) described above is as follows. First, the recording material 1 is supplied in the direction of arrow A by the paper feeding mechanism, and is inserted between the upper guide 11 and the lower guide 12 fixed to the sub-scanning base 25. Further, the recording material 1 includes two guides 11,
The sub-scanning roller 1 is guided by the
3 and the sub-scanning driven roller 14.
The positional relationship between the guides 11 and 12 and the sub-scanning roller 13 and the sub-scanning driven roller 14 can be easily regulated with high precision because they are integrally provided on the same sub-scanning base 25. it can. Therefore, the recording material 1 is
Reach the junction exactly.

When the transport motor 17 is driven and controlled, the sub-scanning roller 13 and the sub-scanning driven roller 14 rotate, the recording material 1 is transported onto the platen 19, It reaches the joint of the driven roller 21. Here, the conveyance is temporarily stopped. Since these transport mechanisms are all provided on the same sub-scanning base 25,
A junction between the sub-scanning roller 13 and the sub-scanning driven roller 14,
Upper surface of platen 19 (recording material support), paper discharge roller 2
0 and the height of three joints between the discharge driven roller 21 and
It is defined with relatively high precision, and the parallelism between the joint on the sub-scanning roller 13 side and the joint on the paper discharge roller 20 side is also defined with high precision. Therefore, the recording material 1 is provided with a uniform conveying direction and a uniform conveying speed in the width direction, is conveyed accurately, does not loosen on the platen 19, and does not cause conveyance failure.

Next, the carriage 7 is moved in the main scanning by controlling the driving of the main scanning motor 3. During this movement, an ink ejection signal corresponding to the image is supplied from the main body control unit to the ink jet head unit (ink ejection unit) 80 of each cartridge (recording unit) 8, and the platen 19
The ink is ejected onto the recording material 1 supported by the recording medium, and recording for one line is performed. When the printing for one line is completed, the main scanning motor 2 is driven in the reverse direction to move the carriage 7 in the opposite direction to move it out of the printing area. Next, the recording material 1 is conveyed (sub-scan) by a predetermined amount (for example, until the next line), and recording of the next line is performed. As described above, the entire recording material 1 is recorded by repeating the movement of the carriage 7 (main scanning) and the paper feeding of the recording material 1 (sub-scanning). In this case, when the trailing end of the recording material 1 is detected by a sensor (not shown) arranged in the vicinity of the recording area, the recording operation is terminated, and the recording material 1 is rotated by the rotation of the discharge roller pair 20, 21. An operation of discharging the sheet to the outside of the apparatus along the sheet discharge guide 24 is performed.

The recording material 1 is conveyed (paper feed) in the recording section.
Assembling of the main components for carrying out the above is performed by assembling these components on the sub-scanning base 25 in advance, and then positioning and mounting the sub-scanning base 25 itself on the bottom plate 52 of the recording apparatus. That is, the relative positional relationship of the main components of the recording material transporting means is maintained on the sub-scanning base 25 by being assembled to the sub-scanning base 25.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, all the components related to the main scanning recording for recording while moving the carriage 7 are mounted together with the recovery unit 9 on the main scanning base 26. The main scanning recording member and the recovery means 9 and 10 for maintaining the ink ejection performance are assembled on the main scanning base 26 and completed as one unit, and then mounted on the apparatus main body. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, the unitized main scanning base 26 is accurately positioned on the bent portion 50A of the left side plate 50 and the bent portion (not shown) of the right side plate 51 by a positioning mechanism (not shown). Is mounted in a suitable position.

In replacement of parts or regular maintenance by a serviceman or a user, the main scanning base 26 is attached and detached in the direction of arrow B to replace the main scanning recording mechanism and the recovery means 9, 10 and perform maintenance and inspection. Work can be easily performed. Then, even after such an operation, the main scanning recording mechanism (carriage 7, recording means 16)
And the drive mechanism thereof) and the recovery means 9 and 10 are maintained with high accuracy, so that a good state where the recovery failure of the recording means 16 does not occur can be maintained. Further, since the relative position between each of the suction ports 10 and the recording head 8 is also maintained with high accuracy, the pressing force and the pressing state when the suction port 10 is capped with the discharge port forming surface 41 can always be kept properly. it can. Further, load fluctuation when the carriage 7 is moved can be reduced, and stable movement of the carriage 7 can be realized. From the above, it is possible to maintain the quality of the recorded image constant and good.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In this embodiment, a platen 19 as a holding unit for holding the recording material 1 at a predetermined position with respect to the recording head 8 is integrated with a main scanning base 26 to which the carriage 7 and the recovery units 9 and 10 are attached. It is attached. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in FIG. 1 in this point, but has the same configuration in other parts, and the corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and their description is omitted. . In FIG. 4, for simplicity, bearings such as the sub-scanning roller 13 and the discharge roller 20, motors for driving sub-scanning, and pulleys are omitted.

In the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the platen 19 is supported on the sub-scanning base 25. In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the platen 19 is supported on the main scanning base 26. Have been. That is, bent portions 61 and 62 are formed at both ends of the platen 19 in the main scanning direction, and are fixed to the main scanning base 26 at the bent portions 61 and 62.
According to such a configuration, the platen 19 and the carriage 7
Relative position between the platen 19 and the recovery means 9, 10
Can be positioned with high accuracy. Therefore, the parallelism of the platen 19 with respect to the carriage 7 (or the main scanning rail 6 for guiding the carriage 7) is maintained with high accuracy, and good recording without inclination or distortion of the image on the recording material 1 can be easily performed. It is possible to do.

When the carriage 7 starts the main scanning movement from the home position, the roller 7B moves from the guide plate of the recovery unit 9 onto the platen 19, but in this embodiment, the platen 19 and the recovery unit 9 are moved. Is determined with high precision, the impact force acting on the carriage 7 during the transition can be reduced as much as possible.
Then, vibration when the carriage 7 rises can be reduced, and a high-quality recorded image with almost no image blur at the beginning of the main scanning recording can be obtained. Furthermore, since the main scanning base 26 can be attached and detached from the main body in the direction of arrow B at the time of assembling the recording apparatus or at the time of service maintenance, the work for that can be performed more easily.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, as described above,
The platen 19 and rollers such as the sub-scanning roller 13 and the discharge roller 20 are mounted on different bases (support plates). That is, the rollers are mounted on the sub-scanning base 25. On the other hand, the recording material 1 during recording, which is in a state of being pulled by being sandwiched between each pair of the sub-scanning roller 13 and the discharge roller 20, is a roller 7 of the carriage 7.
Since B performs main scanning while rolling thereon, it is necessary to be in close contact with the upper surface of the platen 19. for that reason,
It is necessary that the upper surface of the platen 19 and the plane passing through the pressure contact portion of the roller pair of the sub-scanning roller 13 and the pressure contact portion of the roller pair of the paper discharge roller 20 accurately match. However, in the configuration of FIG. 4, the plane passing through the pressure contact portion of each roller pair and the upper surface of the platen 19 are more accurately matched than when the platen 19 and the rollers are mounted on the same support plate (base). Tends to be difficult, and may be required to be adjustable. Further, when the main scanning base 26 and the sub-scanning base 25 are removed from the apparatus main body for component replacement or the like, it becomes somewhat difficult to reproduce the relative positional accuracy between the press-contact portion of each roller pair and the platen 19. It is also possible.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. This embodiment can solve the above-mentioned uneasiness of the second embodiment of FIG. . In FIG. 5, the main scanning base 26 includes a main scanning motor 2, an idler pulley 5, a main scanning rail 6, a recovery unit 9, and a suction port 1.
0 is attached. The carriage 7 is guided and supported by the main scanning rail 6. On the other hand, on the sub-scanning base 25,
Platen 19, sub-scanning roller pair 13, 14 (bearing 3
1, 32), paper discharge roller pairs 20, 21 (via bearings 33, 34), paper guides 11, 12, 24, and the like.

The third embodiment of FIG. 5 is different from the first embodiment of FIG. 1 in that the main scanning base 26 and the sub-scanning base 25 are connected and fixed to each other in the third embodiment. is there. That is, the positioning pins 71 are provided on the sub-scanning base 25, and the positioning holes formed in the main scanning base 26 are fitted to the pins 71, whereby the sub-scanning base 25 and the main scanning base 26 are The relative position is determined, and further, both are fixed by screws or the like. The main scanning base 26 and the sub-scanning base 25 are detachably fixed to the apparatus main body by attaching parts 72 and 73 in a state where both are integrated. The third embodiment of FIG. 5 differs from the first embodiment of FIG. 1 in the above points, but has substantially the same configuration in other parts, and the corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the same reference numerals are used. Description is omitted.

In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the attachment / detachment direction of the unit composed of the main scanning base 26 and the sub-scanning base 25 fixedly connected to each other is determined by the relationship with a sheet feeding unit (not shown) in FIG. In the direction of arrow C. In addition, as for the attachment / detachment operation, first, a paper ejection door (not shown) on the front side of the recording apparatus is opened, and then, the fixing bracket is removed from the mounting portions 72 and 73. The unit in which the table 25 is integrated is drawn out. Then, after performing the operation for the jam removal of the recording material 1, the replacement of parts, or the maintenance, the unit is mounted again and the discharge door is closed.

According to the third embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the relative positions of the pair of sub-scanning rollers 13, 14 and the pair of discharge rollers 20, 21 and the platen 19 can be positioned with high precision. Accuracy is maintained as it is even after the unit is attached and detached. Further, the sub-scanning base 25
And the main scanning base 26 is coupled to the main scanning rail 6, the sub-scanning roller pairs 13, 14, and the paper discharge roller pair 2.
The degree of parallelism between 0 and 21 can be easily adjusted with high accuracy, and the reproducibility of the relative position is very good. Therefore, according to the third embodiment of FIG.
It is possible to eliminate conveyance errors during conveyance of the recording material (paper feed) and to eliminate image tilt and image distortion during recording.
It is possible to perform high-quality image recording without distortion or the like, and it is possible to greatly improve the reliability of the recording apparatus.

In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the entire unit in which the sub-scanning base 25 and the main scanning base 26 are connected to each other can be extended and displaced by a slide rail having one end fixed to the apparatus frame member. It may be configured to be attached to the camera. With such a configuration, the units can be easily taken in and out, and the efficiency of maintenance work can be further improved.

According to the embodiment described above, at least the recording means 8 and the recovery means 9 and 10 are integrally formed and are configured to be detachably attached to the apparatus main body. The accuracy of the relative position between the recording means 8 and the recovery means 9 and 10 can be easily increased, and the high accuracy can be maintained even by attachment / detachment at the time of maintenance or the like. Further, since the recording operation unit can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body as one unit, a recording apparatus capable of easily performing an assembly operation and a maintenance operation is obtained.

In each of the embodiments described above, the case where the present invention is applied to an ink jet recording apparatus has been described as an example. However, the present invention relates to a wire dot recording apparatus, a laser beam recording apparatus, a thermal transfer recording apparatus, and the like. The present invention is applicable to various recording apparatuses regardless of the recording method of the recording means (recording head), and can achieve the same operation and effect.

When the present invention is applied to an ink jet recording apparatus, it can be applied to, for example, an apparatus using a recording means (recording head) using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element. The present invention brings about an excellent effect in an ink jet recording apparatus using a recording means of a method of discharging ink using energy.
According to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical structure and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
Preferably, this is done using the basic principles disclosed in US Pat. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling to an electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which Then, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and the film is boiled on the heat acting surface of the recording means (recording head). As a result, air bubbles in the liquid (ink) can be formed one-to-one corresponding to the driving signal. It is valid.

The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of a liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, US Pat.
Those described in 463359 and 4345262 are suitable. In addition, US Pat. No. 4,431,131 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise of the heat acting surface.
If the conditions described in the specification of JP-A No. 24 are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (linear liquid flow path or right-angle liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of Japanese Patent No. 459600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 123670/1984 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an aperture for absorbing pressure waves of thermal energy. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit. That is, according to the present invention, the recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording material (recording medium) on which a recording apparatus can record. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration as one integrally formed recording head. In addition, even with the serial type printer as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the main unit or attached to the main unit enables electrical connection with the main unit and supply of ink from the main unit. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip type print head or a cartridge type print head having an ink tank provided integrally with the print head itself is used.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the printhead, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like provided as a configuration of the printing apparatus in the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If you list these specifically,
For the recording head, a capping unit, a cleaning unit, a pressurizing or suctioning unit, a preheating unit using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element or a combination thereof, and a discharge other than recording. Performing the preliminary ejection mode is also effective for performing stable printing.

The types and the number of recording heads to be mounted are, for example, not only one provided for a single color ink but also a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. May be provided in plurality. That is, for example, as the recording mode of the recording apparatus, not only the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black,
The recording head may be formed integrally or by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, but the present invention is also extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of multiple colors of different colors or full color by mixing colors.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, an ink which solidifies at room temperature or lower and which softens or liquefies at room temperature, or an ink jet ink is used. In general, in the method, the temperature of the ink itself is adjusted within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range. What is necessary is just to be liquid. in addition,
Whether to positively prevent temperature rise due to thermal energy by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or use ink that solidifies in a standing state to prevent evaporation of the ink In any case, the ink is liquefied by the application of the heat energy according to the recording signal, and the liquid ink is ejected,
The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time by thermal energy, such as one that starts to solidify when it reaches a recording medium, is used.

The ink in such a case is disclosed in
As described in JP-A-56847 or JP-A-60-71260, a form in which the liquid sheet or the solid sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter while being held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. It may be. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, the form of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention is not only used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, but also a copying apparatus combined with a reader and the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. And the like.

[0055]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, in a recording apparatus for recording on a recording material by a recording means, a recording means and a recovery means for preventing a decrease in the recording performance of the recording means are provided. Are integrated as one unit, and the unit is detachably attached to the apparatus main body. Therefore, the accuracy of the relative position between the recording means (recording head) and the recovery means can be easily increased, and There is provided a recording apparatus capable of always maintaining high image quality by improving recording performance, and improving assemblability and serviceability of the apparatus. According to another aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, recording material holding means for holding the recording material at a predetermined position with respect to the recording means is integrated with the unit, and the unit is provided in the apparatus main body. Since the recording apparatus is configured to be detachable from the recording apparatus, a recording apparatus capable of achieving the above effects more efficiently is provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a first embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a partial longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration of a recording unit of the recording apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view schematically illustrating a structure of an ink ejection unit of a recording unit of the recording apparatus in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a second embodiment of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a third embodiment of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording material 2 Main scanning motor 4 Main scanning belt 6 Main scanning rail 7 Carriage 7B roller 8 Recording means (ink cartridge) 9 Recovery unit 10 Suction port 11 Upper guide 12 Lower guide 13 Sub scanning roller 14 Sub scanning driven roller 17 Transport Motor 19 Platen 20 Discharge roller 21 Discharge driven roller 24 Discharge guide 25 Sub-scanning base 26 Main scanning base 41 Discharge port forming surface 42 Discharge port 45 Electrothermal transducer 50 Left side plate 51 Right side plate 52 Bottom plate 61 Bending part 62 Bending part 71 Positioning pin 72 Mounting part 73 Mounting part 80 Ink ejection part (inkjet head part)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tsukasa Uehara 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-3-290260 (JP, A) JP-A-1 -291947 (JP, A) JP-A-3-227654 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 2/01

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] In a recording apparatus for recording on a recording material by a recording unit, a recording unit and a recovery unit for preventing a decrease in recording performance of the recording unit are integrated as one unit, and the unit is integrated into a main body of the apparatus. A recording device which is detachably mounted. 2. A recording material holding means for holding a recording material at a predetermined position with respect to a recording means is integrated with the unit, and the unit is detachable from the apparatus main body. 2. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recording means is an ink jet recording means provided with an electrothermal converter for generating thermal energy used for discharging ink. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said recording means discharges the ink from a discharge port using film boiling generated in the ink by thermal energy generated by the electrothermal transducer.