JP2001146043A - Image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus which can perform double-sided recording, is small, inexpensive, and easy to handle. In order to solve the above problem, a typical configuration of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a recording material loading means for loading and supporting a recording material, and a recording material loading means from the recording material loading means. Feeding means for feeding the recording material, a first recording unit for recording an image on one surface of the recording material, and a discharging means for discharging the recording material to a discharging unit, the image recording apparatus, A second recording unit for recording an image on the other surface is provided on the downstream side of the first recording unit so as to be detachable from the apparatus main body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus for recording an image on both sides of a recording material by using an ink jet recording system for performing recording by discharging liquid ink.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recording devices used for printers, copiers, facsimile machines, etc., or recording devices used as output devices for complex electronic devices and workstations including computers and word processors, etc., use paper or plastic based on image information. It is configured to record an image on a recording material such as a thin plate. Such recording devices include:
Depending on the recording method, inkjet, wire dot,
It can be divided into thermal type and laser beam type.

There are a serial scanning method and a line method as recording methods. 2. Description of the Related Art In a serial-type recording apparatus employing a serial scan system in which recording is performed in a direction (main scanning direction) intersecting with a conveying direction (sub-scanning direction) of a recording material, the recording material is stopped at a predetermined recording position. The image is recorded while the carriage on which the recording means is mounted is moved along the recording material. After the recording of one line is completed, the recording material is conveyed by a predetermined amount (pitch conveyance), and then the operation of recording the image of the next line on the stopped recording material is repeated. Is recorded.

On the other hand, in a line type recording apparatus that performs recording only by conveying the recording material in the sub-scanning direction, the recording material is stopped at a predetermined recording position, and recording for one line is collectively performed. By repeating the operation of transporting a predetermined amount after performing the operation and collectively recording the image of the next row, the recording of the entire recording material is performed.

[0005] Among the above recording apparatuses, an ink jet recording apparatus performs recording by ejecting ink from a recording means to a recording material, so that the recording means can be easily made compact and a high-definition image can be formed at a high speed. It can record, does not require special processing on plain paper, has low running cost, is non-impact, has low noise, and it is easy to record color images using multicolor inks. It has such advantages.

[0006] In particular, an ink jet type recording means (recording head) for discharging ink by using thermal energy,
High-density liquid path arrangement (discharge port arrangement) by forming electric converters, electrodes, liquid path walls, top plate, etc. formed on the substrate through semiconductor processes such as etching, vapor deposition, sputtering, etc. Can be easily manufactured, and further downsizing can be achieved.

[0007] Among them, the main scanning serial scan type apparatus can perform recording with a head having a width of a nozzle row shorter than the sheet width, and can produce a recording unit at low cost, and can use an inexpensive recording apparatus. Because it can be provided, it is currently the mainstream recording method.

A line type apparatus in which a large number of ejection ports are arranged in the sheet width direction can further increase the recording speed, but generally increases the manufacturing cost in proportion to the number and length of the ejection ports. Therefore, it is often used for high-end machines instead of popular machines.

[0009]

In recent years, the development of computers has been remarkable, and the spread of personal computers has been rapidly expanding. As a result, the consumption of recording materials used in a printer as an output device has been remarkable. Is growing. Therefore, from the viewpoint of resource saving and energy saving, it is desirable to use the recording material on both front and back sides to enhance the use efficiency of the sheet. Also, with the spread of personal computers, general users have started recording on cards such as New Year's postcards and business cards, and the demand for double-sided recording has been increasing.

However, in a conventional image recording apparatus, when an apparatus capable of double-sided recording is compared with a single-sided recording apparatus,
In either case of the serial system or the line system, the apparatus becomes complicated and large, and the initial investment is increased, and it has not been spread to general users. Therefore, if a general user needs to perform double-sided recording, especially on cards such as New Year's cards and business card cards, it is necessary to perform single-sided recording separately on the front and back sides, which is troublesome to handle. There was a problem.

Therefore, the present invention enables double-sided recording,
An object of the present invention is to provide a small, low-cost, and easy-to-handle image recording apparatus.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a typical configuration of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention comprises a recording material loading means for loading and supporting a recording material, and the recording material loading means. Means for feeding the recording material from the means, a first recording unit for recording an image on one surface of the recording material, and a discharging unit for discharging the recording material to a discharging unit. A second recording unit for recording an image on the other surface of the recording material is provided on the downstream side of the first recording unit so as to be detachable from the apparatus main body.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an image recording apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an image recording apparatus according to another embodiment. The image recording apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a feeding unit 2, a conveying unit 3, a discharging unit 4,
It comprises a first recording unit 5. A second recording unit 6 is detachably attached to the apparatus main body. These will be described below in order.

(Feeding Unit) The feeding unit 2 is based on a pressure plate 11 on which the recording material P is loaded and a feed rotator 12 for feeding the recording material P.
It has a configuration attached to 10. A movable side guide 13 is movably provided on the pressure plate 11, and regulates the loading position of the recording material P. The pressure plate 11 is rotatable about a rotation shaft connected to the base 10, and is urged by the pressure plate spring 14 to the feeding rotating body 12. A separation pad 15 made of a material having a large coefficient of friction, such as artificial leather, for preventing double feeding of the recording material P is provided at a portion of the pressure plate 11 opposed to the feeding rotating body 12.

Further, the base 10 is provided with a separation claw (not shown) for covering a corner in one direction of the recording material P and separating the recording material P one by one. The base 10 has a bank 16 to separate things that cannot be used with a separation claw, such as cardboard.
Are formed integrally, and separation is performed by a separation claw in the city where plain paper is separated, and separation is performed by the bank 16 while the separation claw is retracted when separating thick paper.

(Conveying Unit) The conveying unit 3 has a conveying roller 17 for conveying the recording material P, and a sheet sensor 22. The transport roller 17 is driven by an LF motor (not shown), and the pinch roller 18 is urged by the LF motor to rotate by rotation. The pinch roller 18 is held by a pinch roller guide 19, and is urged by a conveying roller 17 by a pinch roller spring (not shown) to pinch and convey the recording material P.

Further, an upper guide 20 and a platen 21 for guiding the recording material P are provided at an entrance of the transport section 3 to which the recording material P is transported. The upper guide 20 is provided with a sheet sensor lever 23 for transmitting the detection of the leading and trailing ends of the recording material P to the sheet sensor 22. Further, a recording cartridge 7 that forms an image based on image information is provided downstream of the transport roller 17 in the recording material transport direction.

In the above configuration, the recording material P sent to the transport section 3 is guided by the platen 21, the pinch roller guide 19 and the upper guide 20, and is sent to the nip between the transport roller 17 and the pinch roller 18. At this time, the sheet sensor lever 23 detects the leading end of the conveyed recording material P, and thereby obtains the recording position of the recording material P.

(First Recording Unit) The first recording unit 5 is a serial recording unit, and performs recording by mounting the recording cartridge 7 on the carriage 24. The carriage 24 is supported by a guide shaft 25 and a guide rail 26 that holds the rear end of the carriage 24 and maintains a gap between the recording cartridge 7 and the recording material P, and is perpendicular to the transport direction of the recording material P. Scan back and forth. The guide shaft 25 and the guide rail 26 are attached to the chassis 8 of the apparatus main body.

The carriage 24 is driven by a carriage motor (not shown) attached to the chassis 8 via a timing belt (not shown). This timing belt is stretched and supported by an idle pulley. Further, the carriage 24 includes a flexible substrate (not shown) for transmitting an image signal from the electric substrate 9 to the recording cartridge 7.

When an image is formed on the recording material P in the above-described configuration, the transport roller 17 and the pinch roller 18 transport the recording material P to a line position (a position in the sub-scanning direction) where the image is formed, and a carriage 24. Is moved to a row position (a position in the main scanning direction) where an image is to be formed, and the recording cartridge 7 is opposed to the image forming position. Then, the recording cartridge 7 ejects ink toward the recording material P in accordance with an image signal from the electric substrate 9, whereby an image is formed. In addition,
The recording cartridge 7 integrally forms an ink tank and an ink jet recording head, and is configured to be replaceable with respect to the carriage 24. The recording cartridge 7 causes film boiling of the ink by a heater or the like, and discharges the ink from the recording head by a pressure change caused by growth or shrinkage of bubbles due to the film boiling, thereby forming an image on the recording material P.

(Discharge Unit) The discharge unit 4 makes the transmission roller 27 abut against the discharge roller 28, and transmits the driving force to the discharge roller 28 via this. The spur 29 is rotatably supported.
Is urged by the discharge roller 28 and is configured to rotate following the discharge roller 28. Further, a discharge tray 30 is provided at the lower part of the apparatus, and is configured to be able to be pulled out from the position of practice in the figure to the position of the dashed line.

Here, in the case of single-sided recording, the recording material P on which an image has been formed in the first recording section 5 by the above configuration is conveyed through the nip between the discharge roller 28 and the spur 29, and is positioned at a position indicated by a dashed line. Is discharged to the discharge tray 30.

(Second Recording Unit) Next, the configuration of the second recording unit 6 and the case where double-sided automatic recording is performed using the same will be described. The second recording unit 6 includes a line recording head 32 detachably attached to the base 31, a second platen 33, a second discharge roller 34, and a second spur 35 that is urged by the second spur 35 and driven to rotate. I have. Drive is transmitted to the second discharge roller 34 from the transmission roller 27 via transmission rollers 36a to 36c.

As the line recording head 32, a replaceable ink jet recording head integrally formed with an ink tank is used, and the ejection ports are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the recording material P. The ejection ports are arranged corresponding to a width corresponding to a predetermined recording material such as a card, a business card, and a postcard, and are configured to be shorter than a recordable width by the first recording unit 5 of the apparatus main body.

By configuring the ejection ports of the line recording head 32 shorter than the recordable width of the first recording section 5 in this manner, the recording material P that can be recorded is limited, and the second recording section is inexpensive. 6 can be configured. However, the first recording unit 5
Even if the recording width is the same as that described above, the other effects of the present invention are not lost, and since it is detachable, several types of second recording units 6 can be provided to allow the user to select.

When replacing the line recording head 32, the head replacement cover 40 rotatably provided around the fulcrum 40a is rotated, and the head is pulled out vertically downward in the drawing, thereby holding the head down. The structure is such that the spring 41 releases the bias of the head against the contact portion 42 and the line recording head 32 is withdrawn. In addition, a line recording head
When a new 32 is mounted, the head may be pushed to a predetermined position in a direction opposite to the direction in which the head is removed.

The second recording section 6 and the apparatus main body 1 are provided with connectors 37 and 38 for supplying a signal from the electric board 9 to the line recording head 32. These connectors
37, 38, when attaching the second recording unit 6 to the apparatus body 1,
When the locking claw 31a of the base 31 is attached to a predetermined position as related to the claw receiving portion 39 of the apparatus main body 1, electrical conduction is provided.

Since the second recording unit 6 is configured to be detachable as described above, the initial installation cost of the apparatus body is the same as that of the conventional single-side recording only apparatus, based on the basic configuration without the second recording unit. It becomes possible to suppress to. In addition, since the second recording unit 6 is attached to the ejection unit 4 of the apparatus main body, it is not necessary to prepare a configuration such as reversing the recording material P in advance, which may lead to an increase in the size of the apparatus. Absent.

Next, the operation of double-sided recording will be described.
When performing double-sided recording, recording is performed by the double-sided unit after recording by the first recording unit 5 of the serial system. When the recording by the first recording unit 5 is completed, the recording material P has a rear end located at a position covering the first recording unit 5 and a front end passing through the second recording unit as shown in the drawing. In this state, a predetermined time is waited until the ink ejected from the recording cartridge 7 is fixed on the recording material P.

Next, the recording material P is retracted in the direction A in the figure to a predetermined position at which the line recording head 32 of the recording material P starts recording. At this time, the retreat amount is calculated based on the recording start position of the recording cartridge 7 obtained by the above-described sheet sensor 22 and the transport amount during recording by the recording cartridge 7 and the distance between the recording cartridge 7 and the line recording head 32. I have. Then, in response to a signal from the electric substrate 9, the line recording head 32 ejects ink toward the recording material P to record an image.

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, the recording material P after single-sided recording or double-sided recording has been configured to be discharged to the discharge tray 30. As a result, the discharged recording materials P may be uneven. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, a discharge stack 43 may be provided in the second recording unit 6. A discharge stack cover 44 is provided on the upper surface of the discharge stack 43, and is configured to rotate in the direction of arrow C about a shaft 44a to take out the recording material P discharged inside.

With this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those of the first embodiment, and it is also possible to prevent irregularities in the discharged recording materials P due to a mistake in setting the discharge tray 30.

[0034]

As described above, in the image recording apparatus according to the present invention, a line type second recording head having a short head length corresponding to a card width is added to an apparatus having a serial type first recording unit similar to the conventional one. The recording unit was provided detachably. By providing the second recording unit in this way, when performing double-sided recording on a card or the like, the conventionally troublesome handling becomes unnecessary, and the head length of the second recording unit is shortened, thereby increasing the production cost. By making it possible to suppress and detach the apparatus, it is possible to suppress an increase in the cost of the apparatus main body as an apparatus configuration having no second recording unit. In addition, when only single-sided recording is performed, despite the fact that such double-sided recording is possible, the second recording unit is not mounted, so that the apparatus can be downsized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an image recording apparatus showing another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 P: Recording material 1: Image recording device 2: Feeding unit 3: Conveying unit 4: Ejecting unit 5: First recording unit 6: Second recording unit 7: Recording cartridge 7a ... Serial recording head 8: Chassis 9: Electricity Substrate 10… Base 11… Pressing plate 12… Feeding rotating body 13… Movable side guide 14… Pressing plate spring 15… Separation pad 16… Bank 17… Transport roller 18… Pinch roller 19… Pinch roller guide 20… Upper guide 21… Platen 22 ... sheet sensor 23 ... sheet sensor lever 24 ... carriage 25 ... guide shaft 26 ... guide rail 27 ... transmission roller 28 ... discharge roller 29 ... spur 30 ... discharge tray 31 ... base 31a ... locking claw 32 ... line recording head 33 ... Second platen 34… Second discharge roller 35… Second spur 36… Transmission roller 37… Connector 38… Connector 39… Claw receiving part 40… Head replacement cover 40a… Support point 41… Head pressing Spring 42 ... Contact part 43 ... Discharge stack 44 ... Discharge stack cover 44a ... Shaft

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Nakai 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Manabu Yamazoe 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon (72) Inventor Kenichi Moriya 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Masayuki Motoe 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. F term (reference) 2C055 KK00 KK02 KK10 KK11 2C056 EA00 EA01 EA22 EB07 EB39 EB44 FA02 FA10 FA13 FB08 HA09

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A recording material loading means for loading and supporting a recording material, a feeding means for feeding a recording material from the recording material loading means, and an image recorded on one surface of the recording material. In an image recording apparatus having a first recording unit and a discharging unit that discharges a recording material to a discharging unit, a second recording unit that records an image on the other surface of the recording material is provided downstream of the first recording unit. An image recording apparatus, which is provided on the side so as to be detachable from the apparatus main body. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second printing unit includes: a printhead; a mechanism for attaching and detaching the printhead; joining means for connecting an electrical contact for sending an image printing signal to the printhead; 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a discharging unit. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a detecting unit configured to detect the presence or absence of the second recording unit. Without completely discharging the recording material, the recording material is set in a waiting state until the ink ejected to the recording material is fixed, the recording material is retracted to the recording start position of the second recording unit, and then the recording is performed by the second recording unit. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first recording unit and the second recording unit have an inkjet recording head. 5. The image recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first recording section is of a serial type that performs recording by scanning a recording head in a direction perpendicular to a conveying direction of a recording material. . 6. The image recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second recording section is of a line type in which discharge ports are arranged in a direction perpendicular to a conveying direction of the recording material. 7. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a width of the ejection port of the second recording unit corresponds to a width of a predetermined recording material, and is shorter than a recordable width of the first recording unit. 7. The image recording device according to 6.