JP2020116759A - Recording device, and method for opening/closing recording device shutter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To open and close a shutter without generating an extra space and an extra cost. A carriage 60 to which a recording head 40 and an imaging unit 50 are attached and movable in a scanning direction X, and a shutter 56 which is slidably attached to the carriage 60 and controls light incident on the imaging unit 50. A maintenance unit 70 having a maintenance unit 71 that moves upward or downward intersecting the scanning direction X and maintains at least one of the nozzle surface 44 and the nozzle 43. The maintenance unit 71 includes a shutter 56. The shutter 56 slides in the scanning direction X with respect to the carriage 60 by moving the carriage 60 in the scanning direction X in a state where the shutter 56 and the contact member 77 are in contact with each other. It is characterized by that. [Selection diagram] Fig. 3

Description

The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a shutter opening/closing method in the recording apparatus.

For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a recording device in which a reading unit and a recording head are mounted on a carriage. The reading unit includes a lens, a light source that illuminates the recording medium, a reading sensor that reads a reflected image of the recording medium, and a shutter that prevents ink and dust from adhering to the lens and the light source.
In the recording apparatus, an image is recorded on the recording medium by ejecting ink onto the recording medium supported by the platen while the recording head moves in the scanning direction. The platen is provided with a pair of protrusions outside the portion that supports the recording medium. The shutter moves in the scanning direction together with the carriage, and slides in the scanning direction by coming into contact with one of the pair of protrusions, so that the shutter is opened and closed.

JP, 9-191357, A

In the recording device described in Patent Document 1, a region where the shutter contacts the protrusion, an region where an image is formed on the recording medium, and a region where the shutter contacts the protrusion are sequentially arranged along the scanning direction. It Therefore, there is a problem in that the area in which the shutter abuts the protrusion increases the dimension of the recording device in the scanning direction, making it difficult to save space.

A recording apparatus according to the present application is provided with a recording head having a nozzle surface provided with a nozzle for ejecting a liquid on a medium, an image pickup unit capable of picking up the image of the medium, the recording head and the image pickup unit, and mounted in a scanning direction. A movable carriage, a shutter that is slidably attached to the carriage and controls the incidence of light on the imaging unit by sliding in the scanning direction, and an upward or downward direction that intersects the scanning direction. And a maintenance unit having a maintenance unit for maintaining at least one of the nozzle surface and the nozzle, the maintenance unit having a contact member capable of contacting the shutter, and the contact member, When the maintenance unit contacts the shutter at the upward position in the upward direction, the maintenance unit separates from the shutter at the downward position in the downward direction, and the shutter is in contact with the contact member, the carriage is The shutter slides in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage by moving in the scanning direction.

In the recording apparatus of the present application, the carriage has a bottom surface to which the recording head is attached in the downward direction, the contact member has a contact portion extending in the upward direction, and a part of the maintenance portion is provided. When contacting the nozzle surface and maintaining at least one of the nozzle surface and the nozzle, it is preferable that the bottom surface be formed with a recess so that the contact portion does not contact the bottom surface.

In the recording apparatus of the present application, when the carriage moves in the scanning direction with the shutter and the contact portion in contact with each other, the nozzle surface and the contact portion overlap each other in a plan view seen from above. Preferably not.

In the recording apparatus of the present application, it is preferable that the shutter and the contact portion contact each other in the upward direction with respect to the bottom surface when the maintenance portion is arranged at the raised position.

In the recording apparatus of the present application, it is preferable that the shutter is attached to one side of the scanning direction of the carriage, and the contact member is attached to a side opposite to the one direction of the maintenance section.

A method of opening and closing a shutter of a recording apparatus according to the present application is configured such that a recording head having a nozzle surface provided with a nozzle for ejecting a liquid onto a medium, an imaging unit capable of imaging the medium, the recording head and the imaging unit are attached. A carriage that is movable in the scanning direction, a shutter that is slidably attached to the carriage and that controls the incidence of light on the imaging unit by sliding in the scanning direction, and a contact member. A shutter opening/closing method for a recording apparatus, comprising: a maintenance unit that moves in a direction; and a first method for moving the carriage to a raised position in the upward direction to bring the contact member into contact with the shutter. A step, a second step of moving the carriage in the scanning direction with the contact member and the shutter in contact with each other, and sliding the shutter in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage; And a third step of moving to a lowered position in the direction.

In the shutter opening/closing method for a recording apparatus of the present application, if the shutter does not move in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage in the first step to the third step, the first step to the third step are performed once or plural times. It is preferable to issue an alarm when the shutter does not move in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage even after repeating the first step to the third step once or a plurality of times.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment. The perspective view which looked at the shutter from the visible direction. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of a recording part and a maintenance unit. The perspective view which shows the state of a shutter and a contact member. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing a shutter opening/closing method of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows the state which contacts a shutter and a contact member and opens and closes a shutter. Sectional drawing which shows the state which contacts a shutter and a contact member and opens and closes a shutter.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Such an embodiment represents one aspect of the present invention, does not limit the present invention, and can be arbitrarily modified within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. In each of the following drawings, the scale of each layer and each part is different from the actual scale in order to make each layer and each part recognizable in the drawings.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a recording device 10 according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state of the carriage 60 and the shutter 56 attached to the carriage 60. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configurations of the recording unit 4 and the maintenance unit 70. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state of the shutter 56 and the contact member 77. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the recording apparatus 10 according to this embodiment.
Note that FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along the direction in which the medium M is transported. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the shutter 56 seen from a visible direction. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along a direction (scanning direction) orthogonal to the direction in which the medium M is transported. FIG. 4 illustrates a state immediately before the shutter 56 and the contact member 77 contact each other.
First, the outline of the recording apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 1, the recording apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is a large format printer (LFP) that handles a long medium M. The recording apparatus 10 includes a leg portion 11, a casing portion 12 supported by the leg portion 11, a set portion 20 and a winding portion 25 attached to both ends of the casing portion 12, and one of the casing portion 12. And an operating portion 17 attached to the end.
As the medium M, for example, high-quality paper, cast paper, art paper, coated paper, synthetic paper, and a film made of PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) or PP (Polypropylene) can be used.

Inside the housing unit 12, a transport unit 30 that transports the medium M, a recording unit 4, a control unit 5 that controls each unit of the recording apparatus 10, and a medium support unit 22 are provided.
In the following description, the direction in which the medium M is transported will be referred to as the Y direction and will be referred to as the transport direction Y. The direction orthogonal to the transport direction Y is defined as the X direction. The height direction of the recording apparatus 10 is the Z direction, which is orthogonal to the X direction and the transport direction Y. Further, in the figure, the tip side of the arrow indicating the direction is defined as the + direction, and the base end side of the arrow indicating the direction is defined as the − direction.
The +X direction and the −X direction are examples of the scanning direction in the present application, and are hereinafter referred to as the scanning direction X. The −X direction is an example of one of the scanning directions in the present application. The +X direction is an example of a direction opposite to the one direction in the present application. The +Z direction is an example of the upward direction in the present application. The −Z direction is an example of the downward direction in the present application.

The medium M is unwound from the roll body R stored in the setting unit 20, and is fed into the housing unit 12 from the feeding port 13. The medium M fed from the setting unit 20 is supported by the medium support unit 22 and guided to the transport unit 30. The medium M guided by the transport unit 30 is transported toward the recording unit 4 by the transport unit 30. Then, after the image is recorded in the recording unit 4, the medium M is ejected from the ejection port 15 to the outside of the housing unit 12, and is wound into a roll by the winding unit 25.
Note that the medium M may be cut paper instead of roll paper.

The transport unit 30 is arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction Y with respect to the recording unit 4, and includes a drive roller 31 and a driven roller 32. The drive roller 31 and the driven roller 32 sandwich the medium M. The drive roller 31 is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown), so that the medium M is transported in the transport direction Y. The driven roller 32 is pressed against the drive roller 31 via the medium M and rotates following the drive roller 31.
The operation unit 17 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display device having a touch panel. The user can perform various settings for the recording device 10 using the operation unit 17.

The recording unit 4 includes a recording head 40 (see FIG. 3) capable of ejecting ink, which is an example of a liquid, onto the medium M, an image capturing unit 50 (see FIG. 3) that captures an image of the surface of the medium M, and an image capturing unit 50. It has a shutter 56 (see FIG. 2) that controls the incidence of light, a carriage 60, a platen 45 that supports the medium M, and a guide shaft 47.
The guide shaft 47 is a member extending in the scanning direction X.
The carriage 60 has a main body portion 61 and a support portion 62 arranged in the −Z direction with respect to the main body portion 61. The surface in the −Z direction of the support portion 62, that is, the surface in the −Z direction of the carriage 60 is the bottom surface 62a to which the recording head 40 is fixed, and the carriage 60 moves the bottom surface 62a to which the recording head 40 is mounted in the −Z direction. Have. The carriage 60 is supported by the guide shaft 47 and is movable in the scanning direction X in which the guide shaft 47 extends.
The image pickup unit 50 and the recording head 40 are fixed to the support portion 62 of the carriage 60 and are movable in the scanning direction X together with the carriage 60. Further, the shutter 56 is attached to the support portion 62 so as to be slidable in the scanning direction X with respect to the carriage 60.

As shown in FIG. 2, the support portion 62 of the carriage 60 is provided with an opening 64, eight head mounting portions 63, and a recess 67 which are sequentially arranged in the +X direction.
The opening 64 is a hole penetrating the support portion 62, light of the image pickup unit 50 is irradiated onto the medium M through the opening 64, and reflected light of the medium M enters the image pickup unit 50 through the opening 64. The head mounting portion 63 is a hole that is located in the +X direction with respect to the opening 64 and that penetrates the support portion 62. The four recording heads 40C, 40M, 40Y, 40K (see FIG. 3) and the four dummy heads 41 (see FIG. 3) are fitted into the eight head mounting portions 63, and the carriage 60 has a supporting portion. It is fixed to 62.
Further, the recess 67 is provided on the +X direction side of the bottom surface 62 a of the support portion 62. In a plan view when viewed from the +Z direction, the position of the recess 67 in the Y direction and the position of the head mounting portion 63 in the Y direction are different.
The recess 67 is an example of the recess in the present application.

FIG. 2 illustrates a state in which the shutter 56 closes the opening 64.
When the shutter 56 is in a state of closing the opening 64 shown in FIG. 2, the incidence of light on the imaging unit 50 (see FIG. 3) is blocked. Furthermore, when the shutter 56 closes the opening 64, the imaging unit 50 is protected by the shutter 56, and is less likely to be contaminated by mist or foreign matter floating in the air.
When the shutter 56 in the state shown in FIG. 2 slides in the −X direction with respect to the carriage 60, the shutter 56 does not close the opening 64 (see FIG. 8). When the shutter 56 does not close the opening 64, the light from the medium M can enter the imaging unit 50, and the light emitted from the imaging unit 50 can be applied to the medium M. Furthermore, when the shutter 56 that does not close the opening 64 slides in the +X direction with respect to the carriage 60, the shutter 56 enters a state that closes the opening 64.
In this way, the shutter 56 controls the incidence of light on the imaging unit 50 by sliding in the scanning direction X with respect to the carriage 60.

In the following description, the case where the shutter 56 is in the state of closing the opening 64 is referred to as the shutter 56 being in the closed state. Sliding the shutter 56 with respect to the carriage 60 so as to close the opening 64 is referred to as closing the shutter 56. When the shutter 56 is in a state where it does not block the opening 64, the shutter 56 is referred to as an open state. Sliding the shutter 56 with respect to the carriage 60 so that the opening 64 is not blocked is referred to as opening the shutter 56. Further, opening and closing the shutter 56 is referred to as opening/closing processing of the shutter 56.

In FIG. 3, the carriage 60 arranged in the recording area R1 is shown by a solid line, the carriage 60 arranged in the standby area R2 is shown by a chain line, the carriage 60 arranged in the standby area R2 is shown by a broken line, The maintenance part 71 arranged at the raised position P1 is shown by a solid line, and the maintenance part 71 arranged at the lowered position P2 is shown by a chain line.
The recording area R1 is an area where the medium M and the platen 45 are arranged, and the carriage 60 is arranged when an image is recorded on the medium M or when an image formed on the medium M is read by the imaging unit 50. This is the area to be processed. The standby region R2 is a region where the carriage 60 is arranged when the maintenance unit 70 performs the capping process on the recording head 40.

As shown in FIG. 3, the support portion 62 of the carriage 60 includes eight head mounting portions 63, openings 64 located on the −X direction side of the head mounting portion 63, and the head mounting portion 63. A recess 67 located on the +X direction side is provided.
In the head mounting portion 63, four recording heads 40C, 40M, 40Y, 40K shown by solid lines in the drawing and four dummy heads 41 shown by broken lines in the drawing are fitted, The dummy head 40 and the dummy head 41 are fixed to the support portion 62 of the carriage 60. The shutter 56 and the imaging unit 50 are arranged on the +Z direction side of the support portion 62.
The shutter 56 is attached to the −X direction side of the scanning direction X of the carriage 60. The shutter 56 is attached to the support portion 62 of the carriage 60 so as to be slidable in the scanning direction X with respect to the carriage 60. The image pickup unit 50 is fixed to the support portion 62 of the carriage 60.

The image pickup unit 50 has a housing 51, a condenser lens 52, an image pickup element 53, and a light source 54. The condenser lens 52, the image pickup element 53, and the light source 54 are housed in the housing 51. The condenser lens 52, the image sensor 53, and the light source 54 are sequentially arranged from the side close to the shutter 56.
As the image pickup device 53, a device such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor that converts light into an electric signal can be used. As the light source 54, an LED (Light Emitting Diode), a halogen lamp, or the like can be used.

When the shutter 56 is in the open state, the light emitted from the light source 54 is applied to the medium M via the condenser lens 52 and the opening 64. For example, a test pattern is formed on the medium M, and the reflected light of the light irradiated on the test pattern of the medium M enters the image pickup device 53 through the opening 64 and the condenser lens 52. The condenser lens 52 condenses the light reflected from the medium M and forms an image corresponding to the test pattern on the image sensor 53. Then, the image sensor 53 outputs a signal (image data of a test pattern) based on the reflected light reflected by the medium M to the control unit 5.

The recording head 40 has a common liquid chamber (not shown), a pressure generating chamber (not shown), a piezoelectric element (not shown), a nozzle surface 44 provided with a nozzle 43 for ejecting ink, and the like. The piezoelectric element is a flexural vibration mode piezoelectric actuator or a longitudinal vibration mode piezoelectric actuator. In the recording head 40, in a state where ink is supplied to the pressure generating chamber via the common liquid chamber, the piezoelectric element vibrates the diaphragm that forms a part of the pressure generating chamber to cause pressure fluctuation in the pressure generating chamber, By utilizing this pressure fluctuation, ink is ejected from the nozzle 43 onto the medium M.
Further, when viewed in a plan view from the +Z direction, the position of the recess 67 in the Y direction is different from the position of the head mounting portion 63 in the Y direction. Therefore, when the recording head 40 is mounted in the head mounting portion 63, The position in the Y direction is different from the position in the Y direction of the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40.

In this embodiment, the recording head 40C that ejects cyan (C) ink, the recording head 40M that ejects magenta (M) ink, the recording head 40Y that ejects yellow (Y) ink, and the black (K The recording head 40K that ejects the ink) is sequentially arranged along the +X direction in the scanning direction X. That is, the recording device 10 has four recording heads 40.
The number of recording heads 40 included in the recording device 10 may be less than four or more than four.
In the recording apparatus 10, the operation of ejecting the ink to the medium M while the recording head 40 moves in the scanning direction X and the operation of the conveying section 30 conveying the medium M in the conveying direction Y are alternately repeated to obtain the desired medium M. Record the image of.

The standby area R2 is located in the −X direction with respect to the recording area R1 and is a so-called home position. When the recording device 10 does not record an image on the medium M, the carriage 60 is arranged in the standby region R2 and the recording device 10 is in the standby state.
Although details will be described later, when the carriage 60 reaches the predetermined position PC in the standby region R2, the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is performed. When the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is executed, a part of the carriage 60 overlaps the recording region R1 in the scanning direction X. That is, when the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is executed, the carriage 60 is arranged across the recording region R1 and the standby region R2. As a result, when the carriage 60 is moved in the +X direction to open and close the shutter 56, the carriage 60 is moved in the +X direction at least in the recording region R1, which is the range in which the carriage 60 reciprocates when recording an image. Since it is utilized as a space of the recording device 10, the space saving of the recording device 10 in the scanning direction X can be improved.

The maintenance unit 70 is arranged in the standby region R2.
The maintenance unit 70 includes a maintenance unit 71, a lifting shaft 72, a moving mechanism 73 that moves the maintenance unit 71 in the Z direction, and a maintenance driving unit 74 that drives the moving mechanism 73. The maintenance drive unit 74 is an electric motor that drives the moving mechanism 73. The moving mechanism 73 is driven by the maintenance driving unit 74 and moves the lifting shaft 72 up and down in the Z direction.
The maintenance unit 71 includes a support member 76, a cap member 75, and a contact member 77. The cap member 75 is fixed to the surface of the support member 76 in the +Z direction. The contact member 77 is fixed to the end of the support member 76 on the +X direction side.
The distance d between the end of the contact member 77 in the +X direction and the end of the platen 45 in the −X direction is about 70 mm in this embodiment. The width of the carriage in the X direction is about 450 mm in this embodiment. That is, by making the distance d smaller than the width of the carriage in the X direction, a part of the carriage 60 can be overlapped with the recording region R1 in the scanning direction X when the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is executed, which saves space. Can be improved.
The cap member 75 is an example of a part of the maintenance unit in the present application.

As shown in FIG. 4, the contact member 77 has a body portion 78 bent in an L shape, and a contact portion 79 provided at an end in the +Z direction of the body portion 78 bent in an L shape. The contact member 77 has a body portion 78 and a contact portion 79 integrally formed by a method such as metal sheet processing. The thin portion of the contact member 77 that protrudes in the +Z direction is the contact portion 79. In this way, the contact member 77 has the contact portion 79 extending in the +Z direction.
A concave portion 65 is formed on the surface 56a of the shutter 56 in the −Z direction. A wall surface 65 a is arranged on the −X direction side inside the recess 65. Further, the shutter 56 has an end surface 65b on the −X direction side with respect to the wall surface 65a. The end surface 65b is a part of the outer peripheral surface that forms the contour of the shutter 56. As described above, the shutter 56 has the wall surface 65a arranged on the −X direction side inside the concave portion 65, and the end surface 65b which is a part of the outer peripheral surface of the shutter 56.
Although the details will be described later, the contact portion 79 can contact the wall surface 65a of the shutter 56 or the end surface 65b of the shutter 56.

Returning to FIG. 3, when the recording apparatus 10 does not record an image on the medium M, the carriage 60 is arranged in the standby area R2 and the recording apparatus 10 is in the standby state, as indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in the figure.
When the carriage 60 is arranged in the standby region R2 and the recording apparatus 10 is in the standby state, the maintenance drive unit 74 is driven, the maintenance unit 71 moves up from the lowered position P2 to the raised position P1, and the cap member 75 of the maintenance unit 71 moves. It contacts the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40. Then, a closed space is formed on the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40, and the ink is less likely to evaporate from the nozzle 43 formed on the nozzle surface 44. That is, in the standby region R2, the maintenance unit 70 performs a capping process on the recording head 40 to suppress the evaporation of ink from the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40. In other words, it can be said that the maintenance unit 70 maintains the nozzle 43.
The position where the cap member 75 of the maintenance unit 71 contacts the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40 is the raised position P1 of the maintenance unit 71. The maintenance unit 71 is movable in the +Z direction with respect to the raised position P1 at least when the recording head 40 is located in the recording region R1.
If the ink evaporates from the nozzle 43, the viscosity of the ink is increased, and the increased viscosity of the ink may block the nozzle 43. If the ink thickens or the nozzles 43 are blocked by the thickened ink, it becomes difficult for the recording apparatus 10 to properly record an image on the medium M. Therefore, when the recording apparatus 10 is in the standby state, the cap member 75 of the maintenance unit 71 forms a closed space in the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40, and suppresses evaporation of ink from the nozzles 43.

Further, although not shown, when the carriage 60 is arranged in the standby region R2 and the maintenance part 71 is arranged in the raised position P1, the contact part 79 of the contact member 77 is a recess provided on the bottom surface 62a of the carriage 60. The contact portion 79 of the contact member 77 and the bottom surface 62a of the carriage 60 are not in contact with each other. That is, when the carriage 60 is arranged in the standby region R2 and the maintenance part 71 is arranged in the raised position P1, the cap member 75 of the maintenance part 71 contacts the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40 and the contact part of the contact member 77. 79 does not contact the bottom surface 62a of the carriage 60.
Thus, in the present embodiment, when a part of the maintenance part 71 (cap member 75) contacts the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40, the contact part 79 of the contact member 77 does not contact the bottom surface 62a of the carriage 60. In addition, a recess 67 is formed on the bottom surface 62a.
As a result, the contact portion 79 and the bottom surface 62a of the carriage 60 come into contact with each other to deform the contact portion 79, and the contact portion 79 and the bottom surface 62a of the carriage 60 come into contact with each other, causing mechanical damage to the bottom surface 62a. The problem that occurs is suppressed.
In addition, if the contact portion 79 of the contact member 77 contacts the bottom surface 62a of the carriage 60, the contact between the cap member 75 and the nozzle surface 44 becomes insufficient, and the cap member 75 closes the nozzle surface 44. Is difficult to form. Since the contact portion 79 of the contact member 77 does not contact the bottom surface 62a of the carriage 60, the cap member 75 can stably form a closed space with respect to the nozzle surface 44.

When the carriage 60 is arranged in the standby region R2 and the maintenance portion 71 is arranged in the raised position P1, the contact portion 79 is arranged inside the concave portion 67, so that the contact portion 79 and the concave portion 67 are arranged in a plan view from the +Z direction. Overlap. Further, since the position of the recess 67 in the Y direction and the position of the nozzle surface 44 in the Y direction are different when the recording head 40 is mounted in the head mounting portion 63, the position of the contact portion 79 in the Y direction and the position of the nozzle surface 44 in the Y direction. Different from the directional position.
When the position of the contact portion 79 in the Y direction is different from the position of the nozzle surface 44 in the Y direction, for example, when the carriage 60 moves in the scanning direction X while the shutter 56 and the contact portion 79 are in contact with each other, from the +Z direction. The contact portion 79 and the nozzle surface 44 do not overlap with each other in a plan view, and the contact portion 79 does not contact the nozzle surface 44. As a result, the contact portion 79 and the nozzle surface 44 come into contact with each other to deform the contact portion 79, and the contact portion 79 and the nozzle surface 44 come into contact with each other to cause mechanical damage to the nozzle surface 44. Is suppressed.
As described above, in the present embodiment, when the carriage 60 moves in the scanning direction X with the shutter 56 and the contact portion 79 in contact with each other, the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40 and the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40 are seen in a plan view seen from the +Z direction. The contact portion 79 does not overlap with the contact portion 79.

As shown by the broken line in the figure, when the carriage 60 is arranged in the standby region R2 and the maintenance portion 71 is arranged in the raised position P1, the contact portion 79 of the contact member 77 causes the wall surface 65a of the shutter 56 or the shutter. It contacts the end face 65b of 56.
Further, when the maintenance portion 71 is arranged at the lowered position P2, the contact portion 79 of the contact member 77 is separated from the wall surface 65a of the shutter 56 or the end surface 65b of the shutter 56.
In this way, the contact portion 79 of the contact member 77 comes into contact with the shutter 56 when the carriage 60 is arranged in the standby region R2 and the maintenance portion 71 is arranged in the raised position P1, and the maintenance portion 71 is arranged in the lowered position P2. Is separated from the shutter 56.

When the carriage 60 is arranged in the standby region R2, the maintenance portion 71 is arranged in the raised position P1, and the contact member 77 and the shutter 56 contact each other, the contact portion 79 of the contact member 77 and the wall surface 65a of the shutter 56 contact each other. The portion and the portion where the contact portion 79 of the contact member 77 and the end surface 65b of the shutter 56 contact each other are arranged on the +Z direction side with respect to the bottom surface 62a of the carriage 60, and thus are protected by the bottom surface 62a of the carriage 60. It becomes a state. As a result, it becomes difficult for foreign matter to adhere to the portion where the shutter 56 and the contact portion 79 contact each other.

In addition, if the portion where the contact portion 79 and the shutter 56 contact each other is arranged on the −Z direction side with respect to the bottom surface 62a of the carriage 60, the portion where the contact portion 79 and the shutter 56 contact each other is the carriage 60. In this state, the protrusion 62 is projected toward the medium M side with respect to the bottom surface 62a of the recording head 40, and it becomes difficult to adjust the distance between the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40 and the medium M to a short distance. That is, in order to improve the accuracy of the image formed on the medium M, the gap adjustment for adjusting the distance between the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40 and the medium M to a short distance may be obstructed.
In the present embodiment, the portion where the contact portion 79 and the shutter 56 are in contact does not project to the medium M side with respect to the bottom surface 62a of the carriage 60, so recording is performed in order to improve the accuracy of the image formed on the medium M. The distance between the nozzle surface 44 of the head 40 and the medium M can be adjusted to a short distance.

Further, the shutter 56 is attached to the −X direction side of the carriage 60 in the scanning direction X, and the contact portion 79 is attached to the maintenance portion 71 on the opposite side (+X direction) to the −X direction. Therefore, when the carriage 60 is arranged in the standby region R2, the maintenance part 71 is arranged in the raised position P1, and the contact part 79 and the shutter 56 contact each other, the contact part 79 and the shutter 56 contact each other. The carriage 60 is arranged on the +X direction side and the maintenance section 71 is arranged on the −X direction side, and the carriage 60 does not overlap the maintenance section 71 in a plan view seen from the +Z direction.
When the contact portion 79 and the shutter 56 are in contact with each other, if the carriage 60 and the maintenance portion 71 are overlapped with each other in a plan view seen from the +Z direction, the cap member 75 of the maintenance portion 71 and the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40 are separated from each other. There is a possibility that the carriage 60 may come into contact with the carriage 60 and hinder the movement of the carriage 60 on which the recording head 40 is mounted in the scanning direction X.
When the contact portion 79 and the shutter 56 are in contact with each other, the cap member 75 of the maintenance portion 71 and the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40 do not overlap with each other unless the carriage 60 and the maintenance portion 71 overlap in a plan view seen from the +Z direction. There is no contact, and movement of the carriage 60 in the scanning direction X is less likely to be hindered.

Although details will be described later, in the opening/closing process of the shutter 56, the carriage 60 is moved in the scanning direction X in a state where the contact portion 79 and the shutter 56 are in contact with each other, and the shutter 56 is moved relative to the carriage 60 in the scanning direction X. To move.
For this reason, when the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is performed, the movement of the carriage 60 in the scanning direction X is less likely to be hindered. It is preferable that the portion 79 is attached to the side of the maintenance portion 71 opposite to the −X direction (+X direction).

As shown in FIG. 5, the recording apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a control unit 5, a transport system drive unit 82, a carriage drive unit 83, a head drive unit 84, a maintenance drive unit 74, and a communication unit 88. And an operation unit 17 and an image pickup unit 50.
The control unit 5 controls each unit of the recording device 10 and includes a CPU 6 and a storage unit 7. The CPU 6 performs various logical operations necessary for carrying out processing such as conveyance of the medium M and recording on the medium M, and also reads and writes various information used in the logical operations. Further, the CPU 6 has a counter 8. The counter 8 acquires the number of times (count value n) the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is performed.
The storage unit 7 is composed of a ROM for storing predetermined information in a readable manner and a RAM for storing various information in a writable/readable manner. Various programs used for controlling the recording device 10 are stored in the storage unit 7, and the logical operation result of the CPU 6 is stored in a readable manner.

The control unit 5 is connected to the operation unit 17 and can accept information input to the operation unit 17. The control unit 5 can be connected to the external device 2 via the communication unit 88. The external device 2 is, for example, a personal computer, and is, for example, a portable information device that can be carried by a user.

The control unit 5 includes a transport system drive unit 82 such as an electric motor that drives the transport unit 30, a carriage drive unit 83 such as an electric motor that drives the carriage 60, and a head drive unit 84 that drives the recording head 40. A maintenance drive unit 74 such as an electric motor that drives the moving mechanism 73 is connected.
The transport system drive unit 82 rotates the drive roller 31 of the transport unit 30 or stops the rotation thereof under the control of the control unit 5. Under the control of the control unit 5, the carriage driving unit 83 moves the carriage 60, which is drivingly connected via a pulley or an endless belt, along the guide shaft 47, or stops the movement. Under the control of the control unit 5, the head drive unit 84 applies a voltage to a piezoelectric element or the like that is driven when the recording head 40 ejects ink as droplets, or stops applying the voltage. ..
That is, the control unit 5 causes the transport system drive unit 82 and the carriage drive unit 83 to record a desired image on the medium M based on the print information input from the operation unit 17 or the print information from the external device 2. And the head drive unit 84.

The image pickup unit 50 is connected to the control unit 5, and the control unit 5 turns on the light source 54 when the image pickup device 53 of the image pickup unit 50 takes an image, and turns off the light source 54 when the image pickup of the image pickup device 53 is completed.
If the ink ejected from the nozzle 43 does not land on the target position of the medium M and a dot is not formed at the target position of the medium M due to a mechanical error of the recording head 40, the image quality of the image formed on the medium M Will deteriorate. Therefore, the control unit 5 performs the dot position adjustment so that the dot is formed at the target position of the medium M.

The dot position adjustment is performed by a test pattern for adjusting the position of the dots formed on the medium M by ejecting the recording head 40 onto the medium M with ink. The test pattern for performing the dot position adjustment is, for example, a chart in which the dot position deviation is the density difference. The image pickup device 53 of the image pickup unit 50 picks up an image of a test pattern for adjusting the position of dots formed on the medium M, and outputs image pickup data of the test pattern for adjusting the position of the dot to the control unit 5. To do. The control unit 5 calculates a correction value that minimizes the positional deviation of the dot based on the imaged data acquired from the image sensor 53, and adjusts the dot position from the correction value. For example, the correction value is a correction value regarding the ink ejection timing.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a shutter opening/closing method of the recording apparatus 10 according to this embodiment. 7 and 8 are diagrams corresponding to FIG. 3, and are cross-sectional views showing a state in which the shutter 56 and the contact member 77 are brought into contact with each other to open and close the shutter 56. Further, FIG. 7 illustrates a state in which the shutter 56 in the closed state is opened. FIG. 8 illustrates a state in which the shutter 56 in the open state is closed.

When the recording device 10 records on the medium M or when the recording device 10 is in the standby state, the shutter 56 is closed and the image pickup unit 50 is protected by the shutter 56, so that mist or foreign matter floating in the air is prevented. It is hard to adhere to the image pickup unit 50.
When the dot position adjustment is performed, the shutter 56 is opened and the image pickup unit 50 can take an image of the test pattern formed on the medium M. Further, when the dot position adjustment is completed, the shutter 56 is closed and the image pickup unit 50 is protected by the shutter 56.

For example, when the operator selects the icon for adjusting the position of the dots provided on the operation unit 17, the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 in S11 is started. Further, the operation unit 17 is provided with an icon for opening the shutter 56 and an icon for closing the shutter 56, and when the operator selects these icons, the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 in S11 is started.

Subsequently, in S12, the control unit 5 sets the count value n of the counter 8 to 0 (initial value). The count value n is the number of times the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is performed. More specifically, the count value n is the number of times S13, S14, S15, and S16 described below are performed.

Subsequently, in S13, the control unit 5 drives the carriage driving unit 83 to move the carriage 60 to the standby region R2.

Subsequently, in S14, the control unit 5 drives the maintenance driving unit 74 to raise the maintenance unit 71 from the lowered position P2 to the raised position P1, and subsequently drives the carriage driving unit 83 to move the carriage 60 in the X direction. The position is finely adjusted and the shutter 56 and the contact member 77 are brought into contact with each other.
Specifically, in S14, the control unit 5 drives the maintenance drive unit 74 to raise the maintenance unit 71 from the lowered position P2 to the raised position P1. At the time when the maintenance section 71 is moved up to the raised position P1, the contact member 77 is not in contact with the shutter 56, but is disposed at a position where it can be contacted with the shutter 56 (raised position P1). When the contact member 77 is arranged at the raised position P1, the contact member 77 contacts the shutter 56. That is, the control unit 5 finely adjusts the position of the carriage 60 in the X direction in the standby region R2 to bring the contact member 77 and the shutter 56 into contact with each other.
In S14, the controller 5 brings the contact member 77 and the shutter 56 into contact with each other so that the movement of the shutter 56 in one of the scanning directions is suppressed by the contact member 77.
At this time, the control unit 5 acquires the position information of the carriage 60 and the maintenance unit 71 by the encoder and performs the above-described control. Specifically, the control unit 5 acquires the position of the carriage 60 in the scanning direction X by the encoder and detects that the carriage 60 has reached the predetermined position PC. Here, the predetermined position PC is a position where the contact member 77 can come into contact with the shutter 56 in the standby region R2, and is evaluated in advance by experiments or the like. Then, when the carriage 60 reaches the predetermined position PC, the control unit 5 sends a signal to the maintenance drive unit 74 to raise the maintenance unit 71 from the lowered position P2 to the raised position P1.
In the present embodiment, the timing at which the control unit 5 sends a signal for raising the maintenance unit 71 from the lowered position P2 to the raised position P1 to the maintenance drive unit 74 is based on the position of the carriage 60 in the scanning direction X. It is fixed, but it is not limited to this. For example, instead of the position of the carriage 60 in the scanning direction X, the position of a member that moves in synchronization with the carriage 60 is detected magnetically or optically, and the maintenance drive unit is based on the fact that the member has reached a predetermined position PC. 74 may be controlled. Alternatively, a specific magnetic pattern or optical pattern is formed on the shutter 56, the position of the shutter 56 in the scanning direction X is directly detected, and the maintenance drive unit 74 is controlled based on the shutter 56 reaching the predetermined position PC. Good.

Subsequently, in S15, the control unit 5 drives the carriage driving unit 83 to move the carriage 60 in one of the scanning directions X. Since movement of the shutter 56 in one of the scanning directions is suppressed by the contact member 77, when the carriage 60 moves in one of the scanning directions X, the shutter 56 moves in the scanning direction X as viewed from the carriage 60. Slide in the other direction. That is, the control unit 5 moves the carriage 60 in the scanning direction X to move the shutter 56 relative to the carriage 60 in a direction opposite to the direction in which the carriage 60 moves.
As described above, in the shutter opening/closing method of the recording apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the carriage 56 moves in the scanning direction X while the shutter 56 and the contact member 77 are in contact with each other, so that the shutter 56 moves relative to the carriage 60. Slide in the scanning direction X.

Next, the states of S13 to S15 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.
When the shutter 56 in the closed state is opened, as shown in FIG. 7, the contact portion 79 of the contact member 77 is brought into contact with the wall surface 65a of the shutter 56 in the closed state by S13 and S14, and the shutter is released by the contact member 77. The state in which the movement of 56 in the +X direction is suppressed is set.
In S15, while the movement of the shutter 56 in the +X direction is suppressed, the carriage 60 is moved in the direction of the arrow in the drawing, that is, the +X direction of the scanning direction X.
Since the movement of the shutter 56 in the +X direction is suppressed, when the carriage 60 moves in the +X direction, the shutter 56 moves relative to the carriage 60 in the −X direction, and the shutter 56 is shown in FIG. It will be open.
In this way, the shutter 56 shifts from the closed state to the open state through S13 to S15.

When closing the shutter 56 in the open state, as shown in FIG. 8, the contact portion 79 of the contact member 77 and the end surface 65b of the shutter 56 in the open state are brought into contact by S13 and S14, and the shutter is released by the contact member 77. The state in which the movement of 56 in the −X direction is suppressed is set.
In S15, the carriage 60 is moved in the direction of the arrow in the drawing, that is, in the -X direction of the scanning direction X while the movement of the shutter 56 in the -X direction is suppressed.
Since the movement of the shutter 56 in the −X direction is suppressed, when the carriage 60 moves in the −X direction, the shutter 56 moves relative to the carriage 60 in the +X direction, and the shutter 56 is shown in FIG. It will be in the closed state shown.
At this time, the control unit 5 acquires the position of the carriage 60 in the scanning direction X by the encoder, and detects that the carriage 60 has reached the predetermined position PC before the +X direction. Then, the control unit 5 sends a signal for raising the maintenance unit 71 from the lowered position P2 to the raised position P1 to the maintenance drive unit 74 when the carriage 60 arrives at the front side of the predetermined position PC in the +X direction. .. Accordingly, by raising the maintenance portion 71 from the lowered position P2 to the raised position P1 in advance, the end surface 65b of the shutter 56 in the open state can be surely brought into contact with the contact portion 79 of the contact member 77.
In the present embodiment, the timing at which the control unit 5 sends a signal for raising the maintenance unit 71 from the lowered position P2 to the raised position P1 to the maintenance drive unit 74 is based on the position of the carriage 60 in the scanning direction X. It is fixed, but it is not limited to this. For example, not the position of the carriage 60 in the scanning direction X, but the position of a member that moves in synchronization with the carriage 60 is detected magnetically or optically, and the maintenance drive unit is based on the fact that the member has reached a predetermined position PC. 74 may be controlled. Alternatively, a specific magnetic pattern or optical pattern is formed on the shutter 56, the position of the shutter 56 in the scanning direction X is directly detected, and the maintenance drive unit 74 is controlled based on the shutter 56 reaching the predetermined position PC. Good.
In this way, the shutter 56 shifts from the open state to the closed state by S13 to S15.
Note that S13 and S14 are an example of the first step in the present application. S15 is an example of the second step in the present application.

Subsequently, in S16, the control unit 5 drives the maintenance drive unit 74 to lower the maintenance unit 71 from the raised position P1 to the lowered position P2, and separates the contact unit 79 from the shutter 56. In this way, the control unit 5 performs the first opening/closing process of the shutter 56 including S13 to S16.
Note that S16 is an example of the third step in the present application.

Subsequently, in S17, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is normally performed in the first opening/closing process of the shutter 56.
The shutter 56 is made of, for example, white resin or resin coated with a light reflecting film, and has a high light reflectance. In S17, the control unit 5 turns on the light source 54 of the image pickup unit 50, and acquires the intensity of the reflected light from the shutter 56 by an optical sensor (not shown) provided in the image pickup unit 50.
When the shutter 56 is in the closed state, the intensity of the reflected light from the shutter 56 is strong, and when the shutter 56 is in the open state, the intensity of the reflected light from the shutter 56 is weak. The intensity of the reflected light from the shutter 56 determines whether the shutter 56 is in the open state or the closed state, and determines whether the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is normally performed.

In S17, when it is determined that the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is normal (when Y is determined in S17), the control unit 5 executes S18 and ends the opening/closing process of the shutter 56.
In S17, when the control unit 5 determines that the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is not normal (when N is determined in S17), the second opening/closing process of the shutter 56 (S13 to S16) is performed through S21 and S22. ) Is carried out.

When it is determined in S17 that the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is not normal (when N is determined in S17), S21 is performed. In S21, the control unit 5 increments the count value n of the counter 8 from 1 to 2.
Since the count value n counted up in S21 is 2, it is determined in S22 that the count value n is smaller than 3 (N), and the second opening/closing process of the shutter 56 (S13 to S16) is performed. It

Subsequently, in S17, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is normally completed in the second opening/closing process of the shutter 56.
In S17, when it is determined that the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is normal (when Y is determined in S17), the control unit 5 executes S18 and ends the opening/closing process of the shutter 56.
In S17, when the control unit 5 determines that the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is not normal (when N is determined in S17), the control unit 5 increments the count value n of the counter 8 from 2 to 3 in S21.

Since the count value n counted up in S21 is 3, it is determined in S22 that the count value n is 3 or more (Y), and S23 is executed.
In S23, the control unit 5 determines that it is difficult to normally open/close the shutter 56 by the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 in S13 to S16, and causes the operation unit 17 to display an error (fault) message. Then, when an error message is displayed on the operation unit 17, the worker performs a work to eliminate the error.
In this way, the operation unit 17 notifies the operator of the abnormality that the shutter 56 does not move in the scanning direction X with respect to the carriage 60 due to the opening/closing process of the shutter 56, so the operator detects the abnormality early, The abnormality can be dealt with early. For example, when the contact member 77 is deformed so that the contact member 77 cannot contact the shutter 56, the operator can detect the defect of the deformation of the contact member 77 at an early stage, and the contact member at an early stage. The 77 deformation can be corrected early.
In S23, the operator may be notified of the error by sound or light.

As described above, in the shutter opening/closing method of the recording apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the shutter 56 does not normally move in the scanning direction X with respect to the carriage 60 due to S13 to S16, and the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is not normally performed. In this case, even if the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 in S13 to S16 is repeated a single time (one time) and the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 in S13 to S16 is repeated a single time, the shutter 56 moves in the scanning direction X with respect to the carriage 60. When it does not move normally, it has a configuration that issues an alarm.
In the shutter opening/closing method of the recording apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, when the shutter 56 does not move normally in the scanning direction X with respect to the carriage 60, the opening/closing process of the shutter 56 is repeated once (one time). However, the number of times the shutter 56 is opened and closed may be repeated a plurality of times. That is, when the shutter 56 does not normally move in the scanning direction X with respect to the carriage 60, the number of times the opening and closing process of the shutter 56 is repeated is not limited to once, and may be twice or more than twice. ..

Further, the carriage 60 movable in the scanning direction X has an important role of moving the recording head 40 in the scanning direction X, and is an essential constituent element of the recording apparatus 10. The maintenance unit 71 that moves up and down in the +Z direction or the −Z direction has an important role of maintaining the recording head 40 in a normal state, and is an essential component of the recording apparatus 10.
In this embodiment, the shutter 56 is slid in the scanning direction X with respect to the carriage 60 by diverting the essential components (carriage 60, maintenance unit 71) of the recording apparatus 10. As compared with the case of sliding in the scanning direction X with respect to 60, an extra space and an extra cost are unnecessary, and space saving and cost reduction are realized.
Furthermore, since the component (maintenance part 71) for moving the contact member 77 up and down is provided in one direction (+X direction) of the scanning direction with respect to the platen 45 (recording region R1), the contact member 77 is The size of the recording device 10 in the scanning direction is shortened as compared with the structure in which the components that move up and down are provided in both directions (+X direction, −X direction) of the scanning direction with respect to the platen 45, and the size of the recording device 10 is reduced. Saves pace.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be appropriately modified within the scope not departing from the spirit or idea of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and various modifications other than the above-described embodiment are possible. Conceivable. Hereinafter, a modified example will be described.

(Modification 1)
The maintenance unit 71 may have a wiping member that wipes off the dirt on the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40, and may be configured to restore the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40 to a normal state by wiping. That is, the maintenance unit 70 is configured to have the maintenance portion 71 that wipes the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40, and the contact member 77 may be provided to the maintenance portion 71 that performs wiping.
The maintenance unit 71 may be configured to spray the cleaning liquid on the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40 and restore the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40 to a normal state by flushing. That is, the maintenance unit 70 is configured to have the maintenance portion 71 that flushes the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40, and the contact member 77 may be provided to the maintenance portion 71 that flushes.
The maintenance unit 71 may be configured to have a suction hole that sucks the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40 and applies a negative pressure to the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40. That is, the maintenance unit 70 is configured to have the maintenance portion 71 that applies a negative pressure to the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40, and the contact member 77 may be provided to the maintenance portion 71 that applies a negative pressure to the nozzle surface 44. ..
The maintenance unit 70 includes a maintenance section 71 for wiping the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40, a maintenance section 71 for flushing the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40, and a maintenance section for capping the nozzle surface 44 of the recording head 40. It is sufficient that at least one of the unit 71 and the unit 71 is provided. Therefore, for example, one maintenance unit 70 may be simultaneously provided with a mechanism corresponding to the above three configurations.
That is, maintaining at least one of the nozzle 43 and the nozzle surface 44 means performing at least one of the above processes on at least one of the nozzle 43 and the nozzle surface 44.

(Modification 2)
The contact member 77 may be provided to the cutting portion where the cutting blade for cutting the medium M moves up and down. The cutting unit is an essential component for vertically moving up and down and cutting the medium M with a cutting blade so that the recording device 10 can make the medium M have a predetermined size.
Since the contact member 77 is provided as an indispensable constituent element of the recording apparatus 10, an extra space and an extra cost are unnecessary as compared with the case where a new constituent element for vertically moving the contact member 77 is provided.
Furthermore, the contact member 77 is not limited to the maintenance unit 71 and the cutting unit described above, and may have a configuration in which the contact member 77 is provided for another component that moves up and down.

(Modification 3)
The shutter 56 may be configured to be opened or closed by a push lock mechanism instead of being opened or closed by sliding in the scanning direction X. That is, the configuration may be such that the carriage 60 is moved in the scanning direction with the shutter 56 and the contact member 77 in contact with each other, and the contact member pushes the shutter 56 to open or close the shutter 56. ..
Furthermore, the shutter 56 may be configured to open or close by rotating. That is, even if the carriage 60 is moved in the scanning direction while the shutter 56 and the contact member 77 are in contact with each other and the contact member 77 rotates the shutter 56, the shutter 56 may be opened or closed. Good.

The contents derived from the above-described embodiment will be described below.

A recording apparatus according to the present application is provided with a recording head having a nozzle surface provided with a nozzle for ejecting a liquid on a medium, an image pickup unit capable of picking up the image of the medium, the recording head and the image pickup unit, and mounted in a scanning direction A movable carriage, a shutter that is slidably attached to the carriage and controls the incidence of light on the imaging unit by sliding in the scanning direction, and an upward or downward direction that intersects the scanning direction. And a maintenance unit having a maintenance unit for maintaining at least one of the nozzle surface and the nozzle, the maintenance unit having a contact member capable of contacting the shutter, and the contact member, When the maintenance unit contacts the shutter in the upward position in the upward direction, the maintenance unit separates from the shutter in the downward position in the downward direction, and the carriage is in contact with the shutter and the contact member. The shutter slides in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage by moving in the scanning direction.

In the recording apparatus of the present application, a shutter that is slidable in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage is attached to the carriage that is movable in the scanning direction, and a contact member that can contact the shutter is provided in a maintenance unit that moves up and down. The contact member is brought into contact with the shutter so that the contact member impedes movement of the shutter in one of the scanning directions. Further, if the carriage is moved in one of the scanning directions while the contact member and the shutter are in contact with each other, the movement of the shutter in one of the scanning directions is hindered, so that the shutter scans with respect to the carriage. It will move relative to the other direction.
As described above, the shutter that is slidable in the scanning direction is attached to the component (carriage) that can move in the scanning direction, and the contact member is provided to the component (maintenance part) that can move up and down. When the carriage is moved in the scanning direction while the movement of the shutter in the scanning direction is obstructed by the contact member, the shutter slides in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage, and the incidence of light on the imaging unit can be controlled. it can.

Further, the component (carriage) that is movable in the scanning direction is an essential component for recording an image on a medium. The component (maintenance part) that can move up and down or up and down keeps the recording head in a normal state or restores the recording head to a normal state, so it is an essential configuration for recording an image on a medium. Is an element.
In the recording apparatus of the present application, since the essential constituent elements for recording an image on the medium are diverted and the shutter is slid in the scanning direction, compared to the case where a new constituent element for sliding the shutter in the scanning direction is provided, Space and extra cost are unnecessary, and space saving and cost reduction are realized.

In the recording apparatus of the present application, the carriage has a bottom surface to which the recording head is attached in the downward direction, the contact member has a contact portion extending in the upward direction, and a part of the maintenance portion is provided. When contacting the nozzle surface and maintaining at least one of the nozzle surface and the nozzle, it is preferable that the bottom surface be formed with a recess so that the contact portion does not contact the bottom surface.

When a part of the maintenance part comes into contact with the nozzle surface and suppresses the evaporation of liquid from the nozzle surface, the contact part does not come into contact with the bottom surface of the carriage, so that the contact part comes into contact with the bottom surface of the carriage. Is suppressed. For example, it is possible to suppress the problem that the contact part is deformed due to the contact between the contact part and the bottom surface of the carriage and the problem that the bottom surface is mechanically damaged due to the contact between the contact part and the bottom surface of the carriage.

In the recording apparatus of the present application, when the carriage moves in the scanning direction with the shutter and the contact portion in contact with each other, the nozzle surface and the contact portion overlap each other in a plan view seen from above. Preferably not.

When the carriage moves in the scanning direction, the nozzle surface and the contact portion do not overlap with each other when viewed in a plan view from above. Therefore, even if the carriage moves in the scanning direction, the nozzle surface and the contact portion do not come into contact with each other. Problems caused by contact between the surface and the contact portion are suppressed. For example, it is possible to suppress the problem that the contact part is deformed due to the contact between the nozzle surface and the contact part, and the problem that the nozzle surface is mechanically damaged due to the contact between the nozzle surface and the contact part.

In the recording apparatus of the present application, it is preferable that the shutter and the contact portion contact each other in the upward direction with respect to the bottom surface when the maintenance portion is arranged at the raised position.

When the maintenance unit is arranged at the raised position and the shutter and the contact unit contact each other, the portion where the shutter and the contact unit contact each other is arranged above the bottom surface and not below the bottom surface. That is, the portion where the shutter and the contact portion contact each other is arranged inside the carriage and is protected by the carriage.
As a result, it is difficult for an extra force to act on the contact portion between the shutter and the contact portion, and it becomes difficult for foreign matter to adhere to the contact portion between the shutter and the contact portion.

In the recording apparatus of the present application, it is preferable that the shutter is attached to one side of the scanning direction of the carriage, and the contact member is attached to a side opposite to the one direction of the maintenance section.

When the shutter attached to one side of the scanning direction of the carriage and the contact member attached to the other side of the scanning direction of the maintenance portion come into contact with each other, the shutter and the contact member are brought into contact with each other. The main part of the carriage is arranged on the other side, and the main part of the maintenance part is arranged on the one side. That is, when the shutter and the contact member are in contact with each other, the main part of the carriage and the main part of the maintenance part do not overlap with each other in a plan view seen from the upper direction intersecting the scanning direction.
If the main part of the carriage and the main part of the maintenance part overlap with each other and a foreign object is sandwiched between the main part of the carriage and the main part of the maintenance part, the movement of the carriage in the scanning direction is blocked by the foreign object, and the shutter is released. Becomes difficult to move relative to the carriage in the scanning direction.
If the main part of the carriage and the main part of the maintenance part do not overlap, foreign matter is not caught between the main part of the carriage and the main part of the maintenance part, and the movement of the carriage in the scanning direction is less likely to be obstructed. , The shutter easily moves relative to the carriage in the scanning direction.

A method of opening and closing a shutter of a recording apparatus according to the present application is configured such that a recording head having a nozzle surface provided with a nozzle for ejecting a liquid onto a medium, an imaging unit capable of imaging the medium, the recording head and the imaging unit are attached. A carriage that is movable in the scanning direction, a shutter that is slidably attached to the carriage and that controls the incidence of light on the imaging unit by sliding in the scanning direction, and a contact member. A shutter opening/closing method for a recording apparatus, comprising: a maintenance unit that moves in a direction; and a first method for moving the carriage to a raised position in the upward direction to bring the contact member into contact with the shutter. A step, a second step of moving the carriage in the scanning direction with the contact member and the shutter in contact with each other, and sliding the shutter in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage; And a third step of moving to a lowered position in the direction.

In the first step, the contact member is brought into contact with the shutter so that the contact member impedes movement of the shutter in one of the scanning directions. In the second step, when the carriage is moved in one of the scanning directions while the contact member and the shutter are in contact with each other, the movement of the shutter in one of the scanning directions is hindered. On the other hand, it moves relative to the other direction of the scanning direction. That is, when the carriage is moved in the scanning direction while the movement of the shutter in the scanning direction is obstructed by the contact member, the shutter slides in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage to control the incidence of light on the imaging unit. You can
Further, when the maintenance section is moved to the lowered position and the contact member is separated from the shutter in the third step, the carriage becomes movable in the scanning direction. As a result, the recording device is ready to record an image on the medium.

In the shutter opening/closing method for a recording apparatus of the present application, if the shutter does not move in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage in the first step to the third step, the first step to the third step are performed once or plural times. It is preferable to issue an alarm when the shutter does not move in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage even after repeating the first step to the third step once or a plurality of times.

When the shutter does not move in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage in the first step to the third step, the shutter easily moves in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage when the first step to the third step are repeated once or a plurality of times. Become.
When the shutter does not move in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage even if the first step to the third step are repeated a single time or a plurality of times, when an alarm is issued, the worker detects an abnormality early and the abnormality is detected early. Can be dealt with. For example, if the contact member is deformed and the contact member is in a state where it cannot contact the shutter, the worker must discover the defect of the deformation of the contact member early and correct the deformation of the contact member early. You can

5... Control unit, 10... Recording device, 40, 40C, 40M, 40Y, 40K... Recording head, 43... Nozzle, 44... Nozzle surface, 45... Platen, 50... Imaging unit, 51... Housing, 52... Condensing Lens, 53... Image pickup element, 54... Light source, 56... Shutter, 60... Carriage, 61... Main body section, 62... Support section, 62a... Bottom surface, 63... Head mounting section, 64... Opening, 65... Recessed section, 65a... Wall surface , 65b... End face, 67... Recess, 70... Maintenance unit, 71... Maintenance part, 72... Lifting shaft, 74... Maintenance drive part, 75... Cap member, 76... Support member, 77... Contact member, 78... Main body part, 79... Contact part.

Claims (7)

A recording head having a nozzle surface provided with nozzles for ejecting a liquid onto a medium;
An imaging unit capable of imaging the medium,
A carriage to which the recording head and the imaging unit are attached and which is movable in the scanning direction,
A shutter that is slidably attached to the carriage and that controls the incidence of light on the imaging unit by sliding in the scanning direction;
A maintenance unit that moves upward or downward intersecting the scanning direction and has a maintenance unit that maintains at least one of the nozzle surface and the nozzle;
Equipped with
The maintenance unit has a contact member capable of contacting the shutter,
The contact member is configured such that the maintenance unit contacts the shutter at an upward position in the upward direction, and the maintenance unit is separated from the shutter at a downward position in the downward direction,
A recording apparatus, wherein the shutter slides in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage when the carriage moves in the scanning direction while the shutter and the contact member are in contact with each other. The carriage has a bottom surface to which the recording head is attached in the downward direction,
The contact member has a contact portion extending in the upward direction,
When a part of the maintenance part comes into contact with the nozzle surface and at least one of the nozzle surface and the nozzle is maintained, a recess is formed in the bottom surface so that the contact part does not come into contact with the bottom surface. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: When the carriage moves in the scanning direction while the shutter and the contact portion are in contact with each other, the nozzle surface and the contact portion do not overlap with each other in a plan view seen from above. The recording device according to claim 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the maintenance unit is arranged at the raised position, the shutter and the contact unit are in contact with each other in the upward direction with respect to the bottom surface. 5. The shutter is attached to one side of the scanning direction of the carriage, and the contact member is attached to a side opposite to the one direction of the maintenance section. The recording apparatus according to any one of items. A recording head having a nozzle surface provided with a nozzle for ejecting a liquid onto the medium; an image pickup unit capable of picking up the medium; a carriage having the recording head and the image pickup unit attached thereto and movable in a scanning direction; A shutter that is slidably attached to a carriage and controls the incidence of light on the imaging unit by sliding in the scanning direction, and a maintenance unit that has a contact member and that moves upward and downward are provided. A method for opening and closing a shutter of a recording device,
A first step of moving the carriage to a raised position in the upward direction of the maintenance part to bring the contact member into contact with the shutter;
A second step of moving the carriage in the scanning direction while the contact member and the shutter are in contact with each other, and sliding the shutter in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage;
A third step of moving the maintenance part to the lowered position in the downward direction,
A method for opening and closing a shutter of a recording apparatus, which comprises: When the shutter does not move in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage by the first step to the third step, the first step to the third step are repeated singly or plural times,
The alarm is issued when the shutter does not move in the scanning direction with respect to the carriage even after repeating the first step to the third step a single time or a plurality of times. Method for opening and closing the shutter of the recording device.

Images