JP3573278B2 - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet printer in which adjustment of paper gap and release of a toothed roller can be performed easily and uniquely. SOLUTION: The ink jet printer comprises a means 200A for switching the paper gap by moving a recording head 100, a sheet discharge roller release means 200D for switching a toothed roller 12 between a normal position touching a recording medium and a waiting position not touching the recording medium, and an operating means 200C. Since switching of the paper gap and release of the toothed roller can be performed by operating only the operating means 200C, they can be performed correctly and smoothly and convenience of a user can be enhanced.

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus that performs printing by discharging ink droplets from a recording head on a recording medium.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Generally, as shown in FIG. 25, the ink jet recording apparatus is constituted by a main driving roller 203 and a driven roller 202 by supplying paper P as a recording medium by an automatic sheet feeder (automatic continuous paper feeding mechanism) or a manual feed. The ink is ejected from the nozzle openings of the recording head 100 to record information on the paper P while the paper P is sandwiched between a pair of paper feed rollers and the paper P is rotated to feed the paper P to the recording unit 51. The printed recording medium P is sent out and discharged by a paper discharge roller including a paper discharge drive roller 11 and a toothed roller 12 provided downstream of the recording unit 51.
[0003]
In the ink jet printer having such a configuration, the driven roller 202 disposed on the supply side of the paper P is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the paper is fed by friction with the paper. Further, the toothed roller 12 disposed on the paper discharge side has a peripheral edge formed in a saw blade shape, so that the paper P can be smoothly discharged by preventing swelling of the paper at the time of discharge. ing.
[0004]
By the way, recently, an optical disk capable of recording information such as a CD-R has become widespread, and among them, a demand for printing a label of the optical disk has been increasing. Some types of currently available ink jet recording apparatuses are capable of printing optical disk labels by fixing a CD-R on a tray made of plastic or the like and supplying the CD-R into the apparatus.
[0005]
However, as described above, the inkjet recording apparatus is provided with the paper ejection drive roller 11 and the toothed roller 12 to prevent the swell of the recording medium P at the time of sending, and to smoothly eject the recording medium P. In general, the toothed roller 12 comes into contact with the recording medium P from the upper side of the paper discharge roller 11, that is, from the printing surface side of the recording medium P. Therefore, when the recording medium P is an optical disk, 12 has a problem that it cuts into and scratches the printed surface of the optical disc. An optical disk generally has an information recording layer, a laser light reflection layer, a protective layer, and a printing layer coated on a plastic substrate on the order of microns, so that if the printing surface is damaged by the toothed roller 12, the information recording is performed. There is a possibility that the layer or the laser light reflection layer is destroyed and the information recording characteristics of the optical disk are deteriorated (deteriorated).
[0006]
For this reason, conventionally, a method has been adopted in which a special attachment is attached to a paper discharge device during CD-R printing so that the toothed roller 12 is separated (released) so as not to contact the CD-R surface. However, this method has the following problems in addition to the complicated mounting operation of the attachment.
[0007]
Ink jet recording apparatuses are generally means for displacing the recording head so that the distance between the paper surface and the nozzle opening surface of the recording head, that is, the paper gap is always substantially constant, in order to maintain printing accuracy according to the type of recording medium. (Paper gap adjusting means) is provided to adjust the paper gap. For example, in the case of plain paper, the thickness is about 0.6 mm or less, including the variation depending on the type, so that the paper gap is adjusted to be about 1.2 mm. In the case of thick paper, the thickness is about 0.7 mm to 1.5 mm including the variation depending on the type, so the paper gap is adjusted to be about 1.5 mm longer than that of plain paper. Further, the thickness of the tray for fixing the information recording disk is about 1.6 mm to 2.5 mm. Therefore, in order to perform CD-R printing, the paper gap is about 2.8 mm more than when the plain paper is used. It has been adjusted to be larger. This paper gap adjustment is performed, for example, by employing an eccentric mechanism such as an eccentric shaft or an eccentric bush in the support portion of the carriage guide shaft, and displacing the entire carriage on which the recording head is mounted.
[0008]
However, since the release of the toothed roller 12 performed by attaching the conventional attachment is performed irrespective of the mechanism for adjusting the paper gap, the release is performed at the time of the minimum paper gap during normal printing or the intermediate paper gap during thick paper printing. If the attachment is attached by mistake, the toothed roller 12 is released and moves upward, and comes into contact with the carriage located above, so that there is a problem that the movement of the carriage in the main scanning direction is hindered.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described various problems, and an object of the present invention is to release a toothed roller by a simple operation when printing a CD-R or the like, and to adjust a paper gap. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that cooperates with the printer.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To solve the above problems, Of the present invention An ink jet recording apparatus includes a recording head that ejects ink droplets onto a recording medium, a carriage that is equipped with the recording head, and that is provided to be reciprocally movable in a main scanning direction, and that sandwiches the recording medium toward the recording head. An ink jet printer comprising: a paper feed roller including a driving roller and a driven roller for feeding the recording medium; and a toothed roller disposed downstream of the recording head and rotated by the feeding force of the recording medium while being in contact with the recording surface of the recording medium. A recording apparatus, wherein the recording head is displaced to change a distance between the recording head and the recording medium; and a paper gap switching unit that displaces the toothed roller so that the toothed roller is moved to the recording medium. A toothed roller release means for switching between a normal position where the recording medium contacts and a retracted position where the recording medium does not contact the recording medium. It said release means, characterized in that so as to interlock in said paper gap switching means.
[0011]
According to this feature, since the release means of the toothed roller for switching between the normal position where the toothed roller contacts the recording medium and the retracted position where the toothed roller does not contact the recording medium is interlocked with the paper gap switching means, With the switching of the paper gap, the toothed roller can be automatically released by a simple operation.
[0012]
In a preferred aspect of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention, The toothed roller is held by a holder having a structure in which the tip end side can swing up and down with the base end side as a fulcrum, and the release means rotates a cam provided on a fixed rotation shaft. A cam mechanism for abutting and releasing the cam follower on the base end side of the holder by using the swing of the holder to switch between the normal position and the retracted position of the toothed roller. .
[0013]
According to this feature, since the toothed roller held by the holder having the structure in which the tip side can swing up and down is swung together with the holder using the cam mechanism and released, the release is reliably performed with a simple structure. It becomes possible.
[0014]
In a preferred aspect of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention, The paper gap switching means includes a first paper gap during normal printing, a second paper gap larger than the first paper gap, and a third paper gap larger than the second paper gap. It is provided so as to be switchable, and the release means is interlocked with switching between the second paper gap and the third paper gap.
[0015]
According to this feature, the paper gap switching means is provided so as to be switchable in three stages, for example, the first paper gap during normal printing, the second paper gap during printing on thick paper, and the like. In printing a CD-R, it is easy to set the third paper gap. In addition, since the release means of the toothed roller is interlocked with the switching between the second paper gap and the third paper gap, paper release is not limited to a case where a large paper gap is required such as CD-R printing. The toothed roller does not release regardless of the gap. Therefore, there is no possibility that the toothed roller is released by mistake during normal printing, and there is no possibility that the toothed roller contacts the carriage during printing and becomes an obstacle.
[0016]
In a preferred aspect of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention, The release means is connected at one end to the paper gap switching means by a hinge structure, and at the other end is provided with a connecting arm having a protrusion, and is attached to the rotating shaft, and is connected to the protrusion by engaging the protrusion. A receiving portion configured to rotate a rotation shaft in response to the movement of the arm; and a guide structure that defines a movement trajectory of the protrusion of the connection arm, wherein the first paper gap and the second paper gap are provided. In the switching between the second paper gap and the third paper gap, the guide structure does not act on the cam mechanism by causing the protrusion of the connecting arm to linearly move, and in the switching between the second paper gap and the third paper gap, The guide structure causes the protrusion of the connecting arm to move in a circular motion, thereby rotating the rotation shaft to actuate the cam mechanism. And wherein the door.
[0017]
According to this feature, the cam mechanism is not operated at the time of switching between the first paper gap and the second paper gap by the guide structure that defines the movement trajectory of the projection of the connecting arm, and the second paper gap is switched. Since the cam mechanism is operated at the time of switching to the third paper gap, a simple structure is adopted as the link mechanism for connecting the paper gap switching means and the switching means of the toothed roller, while ensuring the required timing. , The release of the toothed roller can be performed. In addition, since the guide structure may be any as long as it can define the movement trajectory of the protrusion of the connecting arm, a simple structure such as a guide hole provided in a side frame of the ink jet recording apparatus can be used.
[0018]
In a preferred aspect of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention, Among the plurality of toothed rollers arranged in the width direction of the recording medium, a toothed roller displaced by the release means is provided so as to be deviated to a predetermined width from the receiving portion side. According to this feature, the toothed roller displaced by the release means is provided so as to be deviated to a predetermined width from the receiving portion side, for example, to correspond to the width of the CD-R, so that it is provided on the rotation shaft of the release means. Such a load can be minimized.
[0019]
In a preferred aspect of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention, The amount of displacement of the toothed roller is substantially equal to the amount of displacement of the recording head. According to this feature, since the displacement of the toothed roller is set to be substantially the same as the displacement of the recording head, the carriage on which the recording head is mounted is displaced by the same displacement when the toothed roller is released. The toothed roller does not hinder the movement of the carriage.
[0020]
In a preferred aspect of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention, Further, a linear scale as a means for detecting the position of the carriage in the main scanning direction is provided so as to be displaceable in conjunction with the paper gap switching means. According to this feature, the linear scale is provided so as to be displaceable in conjunction with the paper gap switching means, so that when the carriage is moved up and down for paper gap adjustment, the linear scale also moves up and down in synchronization with the carriage. Displace. Therefore, the relative position of the linear scale with respect to the carriage does not change, and the position detection of the carriage in the main scanning direction can be maintained with high accuracy.
[0021]
In a preferred aspect of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention, Further, a separating means of the driven roller for separating the driven roller from the main driving roller is provided, and the separating operation of the driven roller by the separating means is performed in the third paper gap. According to this feature, the separation operation of the driven roller by the separation unit is performed in the third paper gap. For example, a large paper gap (third paper gap) such as CD-R printing can be obtained. When the release of the toothed roller and the separation of the driven roller need to be performed at the same time, the switching operation can be greatly simplified, so that the operation is simple and printing can be performed without erroneous operation.
[0022]
In a preferred aspect of the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention, The switching of the paper gap and the separation of the driven roller are performed by one operation unit, and the operation unit includes the first paper gap, the second paper gap, the third paper gap, It is characterized in that four stages of switching positions, i.e., the separation operation of the driven roller, are provided in series. According to this feature, the switching of the paper gap and the separation of the driven roller are performed by a single operation unit, so that the release of the toothed roller and the displacement of the linear encoder linked to the paper gap switching are all performed by a single operation unit. Operability can be greatly improved. In addition, since the four-stage switching positions of the first paper gap, the second paper gap, the third paper gap, and the separation operation of the driven roller are continuously provided, for example, plain paper, thick paper, Switching of CD-R printing can be performed easily and without erroneous operation.
[0023]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0024]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a configuration example of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed obliquely from the front, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same as viewed obliquely from behind. The inkjet printer includes a carriage 105 having a recording head 100 in a main body 101 covered by a cover 101a, a carriage driving mechanism (not shown), an automatic sheet feeder (automatic continuous paper feeding mechanism) not shown, and a paper gap switching unit / toothed. A roller release unit / driven roller separation unit 200 is provided, a paper discharge port 102 is provided on the front surface of the main body 101, and a manual paper supply port 103 is provided on the rear surface of the main body 101.
[0025]
Further, a tray 104 for an automatic sheet feeder is provided above the paper feed port 103 on the rear surface of the main body 101, and beside the paper feed port 103, a paper gap switching unit / a toothed roller release unit / a driven roller separation unit An operation lever 201 constituting an operation means 200C (see FIG. 3) of the means 200 is disposed so as to protrude from the main body 101.
[0026]
The recording head 100 includes, for example, ink cartridges (not shown) of a total of four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, and is configured to perform full-color printing. Then, the ink ejection timing of the recording head 100 and the scanning of the head drive mechanism are controlled by a dedicated controller board or the like built in the main body 101, and high-precision ink dot control, halftone processing, and the like are performed. ing.
[0027]
The recording medium fed to the tray 104 is automatically fed out by an auto sheet feeder, is further fed out while being sandwiched between a paper feed driving roller (not shown) and a driven roller (not shown), and is discharged from the paper outlet 102. It has become. The recording medium fed manually into the paper feed port 103 is similarly nipped and fed by a paper feed roller and a driven roller, and is discharged from the paper discharge port 102.
[0028]
As the recording medium fed from the tray 104, plain paper, special paper, recommended OHP sheet, glossy paper, glossy film, label sheet, postcard made by government, etc. can be used. As the recording medium fed manually, in addition to the above-mentioned papers, thick papers such as thick papers and extra-thick papers (including a tray for information recording disks), that is, those hardly bent can be used.
[0029]
The operation lever 201 constituting the operation means 200C slides stepwise in the direction of arrow a shown in the figure along the slit 110 provided linearly in the main body 101, and the paper gap switching means / the toothed roller release means / the driven roller The separating means 200 can be set. Here, the paper gap switching unit is configured to control the distance between the paper surface and the nozzle opening surface of the recording head 100, that is, the paper gap, in order to always maintain the printing accuracy at a substantially constant high accuracy regardless of the thickness of the recording medium. The recording head 100 can be moved and adjusted so as to be almost always constant. The toothed roller release means can release the toothed roller to a retracted position where the toothed roller does not come into contact with the recording medium if necessary according to the type of the recording medium. The driven roller separating means applies pressure to the driven roller and applies pressure to the driven roller in order to pinch the recording medium between the paper feed driving roller and the driven roller, or to remove the recording medium from between the driven roller and the driven roller. Is pressed against the driving roller, or the pressure is released to separate the driven roller from the driving roller.
[0030]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the relationship between the operating means 200C and the paper gap switching means 200A, the toothed roller releasing means 200D, and the driven roller separating means 200B in the paper gap switching means / toothed roller releasing means / driven roller separating means 200. It is. As shown in FIG. 3, the operating means 200C is mechanically connected to the paper gap switching means 200A and the driven roller separating means 200B, respectively, and the paper gap switching means is connected to the toothed roller releasing means 200D. are doing. That is, the paper gap switching means 200A, the toothed roller release means 200D and the driven roller separation means 200B are operated by the stepwise sliding operation of only one operation lever 201 constituting the operation means 200C, and the recording head 100, The toothed roller 12 and the driven roller 202 can be set in a desired state.
[0031]
FIG. 4 is a side view showing a detailed example of the operation unit 200C, the paper gap switching unit 200A, the toothed roller release unit 200D, and the driven roller separation unit 200B. The operating means 200C includes a first missing gear 211, a second missing gear 212, and a third missing gear 214 having an operating lever 201. The paper gap switching means 200A includes a first link 231, a second link 232, a third link 233, a fourth link 234, a fifth link 235, and an eccentric cam 236 to which a carriage including the recording head 100 is attached. . The toothed roller release means 200D includes a camshaft 35 having a U-shaped receiving part 317 and a cam 31, a toothed roller holder having a cam follower 23, an arm part (sixth link 311) connected to the paper gap switching means 200A, And a guide groove 315 as a guide structure (see FIGS. 12 to 15). In the driven roller separating means 200B, a fourth partially toothed gear 213 and a fifth partially toothed gear 213 having a shaft 213a having a part of the peripheral surface formed in a flat surface, and a driven roller 202 are rotatably mounted at one end. A driven roller arm 204 and a coil spring 205 are provided.
[0032]
The operation lever 201 is integrally formed so as to protrude from a circumferential portion of the first partially toothed gear 211, and a ratchet 222 is engaged with the first partially missing gear 211. As a result, the operation lever 201 can reciprocate in the direction of the arrow a shown in the figure around the shaft 211a of the first partially toothed gear 211, and can be positioned in steps A, B, C, and D stepwise. Has become.
[0033]
Here, when the operation lever 201 is positioned at the position A, it is a position using a normal recording medium, for example, plain paper, and when the operation lever 201 is positioned at the position B, the thickness is slightly increased. This is a position where a thick recording medium, for example, a thick paper is used. When the recording medium is positioned at the position C, it is a position where a considerably thick recording medium, for example, an extremely thick paper including an information recording disk tray is used. Further, when the operation lever 201 is positioned at the position D, it is a position where the driven roller 202 is separated from the driven roller 203.
[0034]
The first missing gear 211 is arranged to be able to mesh with the second missing gear 212, and the second missing gear 212 is arranged to be able to mesh with the fourth missing gear 213. Further, the third missing gear 214 coaxially arranged with the second missing gear 212 is arranged so as to mesh with the fifth missing gear 215.
[0035]
The shaft 213a of the fourth partially toothed gear 213 is a so-called D-axis in which a part of the peripheral surface is formed as a flat surface. The other end of a driven roller arm 204 to which the driven roller 202 is rotatably mounted is rotatably attached to the D shaft 213a. A substantially central portion of the driven roller arm 204 has one end locked to the driven roller 202 and the other end locked to the center of a coil spring 205 in contact with the D-axis 213a.
[0036]
The free end of the first link 231 of the first and second links 231 and 232 connected in a substantially L-shape by a hinge 231a is fitted into the shaft 215a of the fifth partially toothed gear 215. The free end of the second link 232 is connected to the hinge 233a of the third link 233 among the third, fourth, and fifth links 233, 234, and 235 connected in a substantially U shape by the hinges 233a and 234a. It is connected to the end by a hinge 232a. The free end of the third link 233 is connected to the carriage 105 via the eccentric cam 236, and the free end of the fifth link 235 is rotatably supported by the main body 101.
[0037]
The sixth link 311 is a crank-shaped connecting arm, one end of which is connected to a hinge 234a connecting the fourth and fifth links 233, 234, and the other end of which is a U-shaped (not shown) by a pin 313 as a projection. It is engaged with the mold receiving portion (see FIGS. 12 to 14).
[0038]
The toothed roller holder includes a main holder 21 as a first holder and a plurality of small holders 22 as a second holder. The main holder 21 itself is integrally formed, and has a space inside the main holder 21 for holding all the small holders 22 and the toothed roller 12. The toothed roller 12 includes a pair of two rollers having teeth 13 on the outer circumference and stored in parallel in one small holder 22 (hereinafter, referred to as “two-piece roller”), and one tooth. The roller in which the toothed rollers are stored in the small holder 22 (hereinafter, referred to as “single roller”) is alternately arranged, and the single roller is located slightly upstream in the transport direction from the double roller. (See FIG. 19).
[0039]
Each toothed roller 12 is rotatably supported by a small holder 22 by a shaft 14. Here, the shaft body 14 may be a metal rod, but is preferably an elastically deformable shaft body having a centering action. In this embodiment, a rod spring is employed.
[0040]
Further, an inclined surface 28 is provided at the tip of the small holder 22, and the recording medium conveyed is discharged through the discharge path (FIG. 15) regardless of whether the small holder 22 is in the normal position or the retracted position. Is defined by the toothed roller 12 and the paper discharge drive roller 11).
[0041]
The small holder 22 is held by the main holder 21 and has a cam follower 23 of a cam 31 at a base end thereof. As shown in FIGS. The holding tip side is provided on a bearing (not shown) of the main holder so as to be able to swing up and down independently of the main holder 21 with the support 24 as a fulcrum. A bar spring 33 presses the small holder 22 at a central portion from the base end side to the distal end side of the small holder 22 (upstream in the transport direction from the support portion 24), and is in a state of being urged downward. . The switching of the vertical position of the small holder 22 is performed by a cam mechanism including a cam 31 and a cam follower 23.
[0042]
That is, in this example, the cam 31 is rotatably provided, and is configured to be switchable between a state of contacting the cam follower 23 (FIG. 15B) and a non-contact state (FIG. 15A). This allows the toothed roller 12 to be released. When the cam 31 is not in contact with the cam follower 23, the distal end of the small holder 22 is lowered with the support portion 24 as a fulcrum by the urging force of the bar spring 33, and is in a normal position where it can contact the recording medium [ FIG. 15 (a)]. On the other hand, by bringing the cam 31 into contact with the cam follower 23, the distal end side of the small holder 22 swings upward with the support portion 24 as a fulcrum, and shifts to the retreat position, against the downward biasing force of the bar spring 33. [See FIG. 15 (b)]. With this cam mechanism, two positions can be selected: a normal position where the toothed roller 12 can come into contact with the recording medium and a retracted position where the toothed roller 12 does not come into contact with the recording medium.
[0043]
A limit switch 241 for turning on / off the automatic sheet feeder and a limit switch 242 for turning on / off the printer are provided below the first missing gear 211 by rotation of the first missing gear 211. An encoder 243 used for control at the time of printing on a recording medium is attached to the driving roller 203.
[0044]
As described above, since the paper gap switching means 200A, the toothed roller release means 200D, and the driven roller separation means 200B are provided with the operation means 200C for operating the three systems in series, the paper is operated only by the operation means 200C. The gap can be switched, the release state of the toothed roller can be switched, and the separation state of the driven roller can be switched. For this reason, it is possible to smoothly perform the paper gap switching, the toothed roller release operation, and the driven roller separation operation without making a mistake, thereby improving the usability of the user.
[0045]
Further, since the functions of paper gap switching, toothed roller release, and driven roller separation and their operation functions are integrated, the operation means 200C, the paper gap switching means 200A, the toothed roller release 200D, and the driven roller The structure of the separating means 200B is simplified, the design is facilitated, design errors can be reduced, and the cost and man-hours for manufacturing and assembling can be reduced.
[0046]
An outline of the operation in such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. In the state of FIG. 4, that is, when the operation lever 201 is positioned at the position A, the driven roller 202 presses the plain paper P sent between the driven roller 202 and the driven roller 203 as shown in FIG. The elastic force of the coil spring 205 pressed by the D-axis 213a is applied. The recording head 100 is set to have a paper gap ha corresponding to the plain paper P. At this time, since the recording head 100 has a thickness of, for example, about 0.6 mm or less including variations in plain paper, the movement is adjusted so that the paper gap ha is about 1.2 mm.
[0047]
In FIG. 4, the sixth link 311 is in the most inclined state, and the pin 313 provided at the free end of the sixth link as shown in FIG. It is located near the tip of the shape portion, and is in a state where the U-shaped receiving portion 317 has not yet been pressed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15A, the cam shaft 35 is not rotating, and the cam 31 is not in contact with the cam follower 23 of the small holder 22. Therefore, the toothed roller remains at the normal position where it can contact a recording medium such as plain paper.
[0048]
At this time, the limit switches 241 and 242 are both turned on, and the lamps 106 and 107 shown in FIG.
[0049]
Next, when the operation lever 201 is positioned from the position A to the position D in the state of FIG. 6, first rotation of the first partially toothed gear 211 in the direction of the arrow b1 is performed together with the second partially toothed gear 212. The four missing tooth gear 214 rotates in the illustrated arrow c1 direction, and the fifth missing tooth gear 215 further rotates in the illustrated arrow d1 direction. This causes the links 231 to 235 to pivot in the direction of the arrow e1 shown in the figure, so that the recording head 100 moves in the direction of the arrow f1 shown in FIG. Since the recording head 100 has a thickness of about 1.6 mm to 2.5 mm including variations in extremely thick paper, for example, the recording head 100 is further elevated by about 2.8 mm from the position of plain paper in FIG. .
[0050]
Further, during the above operation, as shown in FIG. 6, the third partially toothed gear 213 starts to rotate in the direction of the arrow g1 in the drawing, so that the coil spring 205 engages the flat portion of the D-axis 213a as shown in FIG. The driven roller 202 is released from the elastic force of the coil spring 205 and is separated from the driven roller 203 in the direction indicated by the arrow m1.
[0051]
Further, by switching the operation lever 201 from the position A to the position D, the sixth link 311 shifts to the most upright state. The pin 313 at the free end of the sixth link 311 moves from the distal end position of the U-shaped receiving portion 317 (see FIG. 12) to the position where it is most deeply engaged with the U-shaped receiving portion 317 (see FIG. 14). Then, the U-shaped receiving portion 317 is pressed, and the U-shaped receiving portion 317 is further pressed to rotate the U-shaped receiving portion 317 in the r2 direction in FIG. 13 along the arc portion 315b of the guide groove 315. As a result, as shown in FIG. 15B, the cam shaft 35 rotates, and the cam 31 comes into contact with the cam follower 23 of the small holder 22 to push down the base end side of the small holder 22. As a result, the tip side of the small holder 22 swings against the pressing force of the bar spring 33 with the support portion 24 as a fulcrum, and the toothed roller 12 is in a position where the toothed roller 12 does not come into contact even when a very thick paper such as a CD-R tray is inserted. Evacuate until The toothed roller 12 in this state (standby position) is displaced upward by about 3 mm from the normal position. Here, the object to be released to the retracted position may be all the toothed rollers 12, but here, the toothed roller to be released among the plurality of toothed rollers 12 arranged in the width direction of the recording medium is used. 12 are provided so as to be biased to a predetermined width. That is, when viewed from the U-shaped receiving portion 317 side, only the toothed roller 12 corresponding to the width of the CD-R is released. In this way, no unnecessary load is applied to the cam shaft 35, so that the cam shaft 35 can be released stably and reliably.
[0052]
At this time, the limit switches 241 and 242 are both turned off, and the lamps 106 and 107 shown in FIG.
[0053]
Next, when the operation lever 201 is moved from the position D to the position B in the state shown in FIG. The tooth gear 214 rotates in the direction of the arrow c2 shown, and the fifth toothless gear 215 further rotates in the direction of the arrow d2. This causes the links 231 to 235 to pivot in the illustrated arrow e2 direction, so that the recording head 100 moves or descends in the illustrated arrow f2 direction, as shown in FIG.
[0054]
At this time, since the recording head 100 has a thickness of about 0.7 mm to 1.5 mm including variations in the thickness of the thick paper, for example, the recording head 100 is positioned about 1.5 mm apart from the position of the plain paper in FIG. So that the movement is adjusted. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 8, the third partially toothed gear 213 rotates in the direction of the arrow g2 in the drawing, and as shown in FIG. 9, the coil spring 205 is pushed by the D-axis 213a. The elastic force of the coil spring 205 pressed by the D-axis 213a is applied so as to turn in the direction of the arrow m2 in the drawing and press the thick paper PP sent between the main driving roller 203 and the driving roller 203.
[0055]
When the operation lever 201 moves to the position B, the pin 313 of the sixth link 311 engages with the U-shaped receiving portion 317 at the bottom of the U-shape, and along the guide groove 315 as shown in FIG. In the circumferential direction, the guide groove 315 moves to the vicinity of the boundary between the arc portion 315b and the linear portion 315a, and accordingly, the U-shaped receiving portion 317 engaged with the pin 313 also rotates in the r1 direction. As a result of the cam shaft 35 rotating in synchronization with the rotation of the U-shaped receiving portion 317, the cam 31 releases the contact with the cam follower 23, and the distal end side of the small holder 22 is pushed down by the pressing force of the bar spring 33. Then, it returns to a normal position where it can come into contact with a recording medium such as plain paper or thick paper [see FIG. 15A].
[0056]
At this time, the limit switch 241 is turned off, the limit switch 242 is turned on, the lamp 106 shown in FIG. 1 disposed on the front surface of the main body 101 blinks, and the lamp 107 lights.
[0057]
Next, when the operation lever 201 is positioned from the position D to the position C in the state of FIG. 10, the rotation of the first partially toothed gear 211 in the direction indicated by the arrow b2 causes the second partially toothed gear 212 and the fourth The gear 214 rotates in the direction of the arrow c2, and the third gear 213 rotates in the direction of the arrow g2. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, the coil spring 205 is pushed by the D-axis 213a, so that the driven roller 202 turns in the direction of the arrow m2 in the drawing and is fed between the driven roller 203 and the extra thick paper PPP. The elastic force of the coil spring 205 pressed by the D-axis 213a so as to press is applied.
[0058]
On the other hand, when the operation lever 201 is switched between the position D and the position C, since the fifth toothless gear 215 does not interlock with the fourth toothless gear 214, the links 231 to 235 do not move, and the recording head 100 does not move. Therefore, the recording head 100 is maintained at a position displaced by about 2.8 mm from the position of the plain paper in FIG. Further, since the sixth link 311 is not displaced, the engagement state between the pin 313 and the U-shaped receiving portion 317 is the same as that in FIG. 13, and the toothed roller 12 is maintained at the retracted position.
[0059]
At this time, the limit switch 241 is turned off, the limit switch 242 is turned on, the lamp 106 shown in FIG. 1 disposed on the front surface of the main body 101 blinks, and the lamp 107 lights.
[0060]
As described above, in the ink jet printer of the present embodiment, by switching the operation lever 201, the paper gap is switched to three levels: normal paper at the position A, thick paper at the position B, and CD-R tray at the position C. The attached roller 12 is not released at the positions A and B, but is released at the positions C and D (separated driven rollers). In order to release the toothed roller 12 only at a necessary timing while interlocking with the paper gap switching means 200A, a guide groove 315 including a linear portion 315a and an arc portion 315b and a U-shaped receiving portion 317 are used. That is, in the switching of the operation lever 201 from the position A to the position B, the movement of the paper gap switching means 200A is escaped as the movement of the linear portion 315a of the pin 313, and is not converted into the rotation of the U-shaped receiving portion 317. By switching from the position B to the position C, the pin 313 moves along the arc portion 315b, and the movement of the paper gap switching means 200A is converted into the rotation of the U-shaped receiving portion 317, and the cam mechanism is operated. I have.
[0061]
In the above-described paper gap switching means 200A, when the paper gap is erroneously set to normal (operation lever 201 is at position A) or thick paper (operation lever 201 is at position B) when printing a CD-R. In addition, a thickness error occurs due to a paper thickness detecting means provided separately with a CD-R tray, and printing cannot be performed.
[0062]
As described above, in the ink jet printer of the present embodiment, the recording head 100 is moved to switch the paper gaps having different intervals, and the paper gap switching unit 200A is switched between the normal position and the retracted position by displacing the toothed roller 12. The switching of the three driving operations between the release means 200D of the toothed roller and the driven roller separating means 200B for applying or releasing pressure to the driven roller 220 and adjusting the pressing force on the recording medium having a different thickness is operated. Since it can be realized by one operation lever 201 constituting the means 200C, a reliable and highly accurate switching operation can be performed.
[0063]
That is, the operation of one operating lever 201 sets the paper gaps at different intervals of the recording head 100 by the paper gap switching means 200A via the second and third missing gears 212 and 214, and sets the paper gap. The release and return of the toothed roller that switches the toothed roller 12 from the normal position to the retracted position in conjunction with the rotation of the toothed roller 12, the application of the pressure of the driven roller 202 by the driven roller separating means 200B, and the operation of the driven roller separating means 200B The stepwise switching with the release of the pressure of the driven roller 202 can be performed smoothly. Further, the operation unit 200C, the paper gap switching unit 200A, the toothed roller release unit 200D, and the driven roller separation unit 200B can be realized with a simple configuration including a gear mechanism, a link mechanism, and a cam mechanism.
[0064]
The ink-jet printer according to the present embodiment has a toothed roller release unit (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as a “first release unit”) 200D interlocked with the paper gap switching unit and a user's purpose of use. A release unit (hereinafter, referred to as “second release unit”) capable of releasing the toothed roller 12 even when printing normal paper or thick paper is provided. Hereinafter, the second release means will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0065]
The second release means can release the toothed roller 12 independently of the first release means 200D. In the present embodiment, a plate 80 illustrated in FIG. 16 is used.
[0066]
The plate 80 is, for example, a flat plate made of a material such as SUS, and is mounted on the discharge frame 2 from below the small holder 22 as shown in FIG. At the front part of the plate 80 (upper side in FIG. 16), seven hooks 83 are formed, and are engaged with the main holder 21 so as to be slidable back and forth. Similarly, the four engaging portions 82 are engaged with claws (not shown) formed on the paper discharge frame 2 so as to be slidable back and forth. The plate 80 is mounted with two positioning portions 87 inserted into the slits of the paper discharge frame 2 so that the left and right positions are defined. Unlike the first release means, in the second release means, the width of the plate 80 corresponds to the width of the arranged toothed rollers 12 so as to swing all the toothed rollers 12. A large opening 88 is provided at a position corresponding to the discharge roller 60 (see FIG. 19) when the plate 80 is mounted, and when the toothed roller 12 swings to the standby position, the small holder 22 is closed. The small opening 89 is formed so that the front end on the base end side can escape. Further, the plurality of small protrusions 84 form a sliding surface for positioning in the height direction of the plate and sliding.
[0067]
Since the plate 80 is mounted on the paper discharge path side of the lower surface of the paper discharge frame 2, one end 87 of the plate 80, that is, one side 87 that is printed by the recording unit and faces the recording medium that is discharged, is formed in a waveform. Even if the recording medium jumps up to the plate 80 due to curl or the like and is conveyed, the leading edge of the paper is diverted at the wavy side 87 to avoid jamming, thereby preventing the occurrence of paper jams and paper jams. I can do it.
[0068]
FIG. 18 is a view for explaining the operation of releasing the toothed roller 12 by the second release means. FIG. 18A shows a state in which the toothed roller 12 is in the normal position, and when the plate 80 is slid forward (to the right in FIG. 18) from this position, as shown in FIG. When the upper surface of the plate 80 comes into sliding contact with the bottom of the small holder 22, the tip side of the small holder 22 swings upward with the support portion 24 as a fulcrum. This swing causes the toothed roller 12 to release to the retracted position. The swing width (displacement amount of the toothed roller 12) in the second release means is smaller than the swing width by the cam mechanism in the first release means 200D described with reference to FIG. 15, for example, 1 mm for the following reason. It is set to have a swing width of the order. In the first release unit 200D, the release operation of the toothed roller 12 is linked with the paper gap switching unit 200A, and the displacement width at the time of release is set to the same width as the paper gap adjustment. Therefore, when the toothed roller 12 is released, the paper gap is always in a large state, and the carriage is necessarily displaced to the upper position with the same width. On the other hand, in the second release means, the toothed roller 12 can be released independently of the paper gap adjustment, for example, with the paper gap kept in a minimum state. If the amount of displacement is too large, the toothed roller 12 at the retracted position may collide with a carriage that reciprocates at a low position with a minimum paper gap, thereby hindering normal printing. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the displacement of the second release means is set to, for example, about 1 mm to avoid contact with the carriage at a low position.
[0069]
FIG. 19 is a plan view of a main part of a paper discharge device of the ink jet printer, for explaining the operation unit 90 in the second release means. The operation section 90 is provided near the center of the front of the ink jet printer so as to protrude to a position where the second operation lever 91 can be easily viewed and operated from the front of the ink jet printer. The second release means can be switched by swinging the 91 left and right. More specifically, the operation unit 90 is rotatably mounted on the paper discharge frame 2 with the support unit 93 as a fulcrum, and the engagement unit 92 at a position slightly away from the support unit 93 is directed downward. An engagement projection (not shown) is provided, and is inserted into the engagement hole 81 of the plate 80 via the guide hole 86 of the paper discharge frame 2. When the second operation lever 91 is swung to the right from the state shown in FIG. 19 at the reference position toward the paper surface, the engagement protrusions are set on the lower side through the guide holes 86 of the paper discharge frame 2 with the support portion 93 as a fulcrum. 18 is slid forward to bring the toothed roller 12 into a retracted state [FIG. 18 (b)]. Conversely, when the second operation lever 91 is swung to the reference position to the left toward the paper surface from this state (the separated position of the second operation lever 91), the engagement projections are supported by the support portion 93 as a fulcrum. Is slid backward to return the toothed roller 12 to the normal position [FIG. 18 (a)].
[0070]
FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the ink jet printer according to the present embodiment as viewed from the front upper side, and shows a state in which the paper discharge tray 109 is expanded. When the tray 109 is closed, the second operation lever 91 is returned to a reference position (a left position in FIG. 20) at a position corresponding to the second operation lever 91 when the tray 109 is closed. There is provided a return means 94 for causing the return. The return means 94 is provided when a part of the upper surface of the paper discharge tray 109 comes into contact with the second operation lever 91 at the separated position in a state where the paper discharge tray 109 is closed, and when the lever returns to the reference position 91. Is formed as an inclined surface having a small coefficient of friction at an angle that does not make contact. This inclined surface may be the entire upper surface of the paper discharge tray 109, or may be, for example, a surface curved and inclined in an arc shape. If the user attempts to close the discharge tray 109 while keeping the second operation lever 91 at the separated position of the toothed roller 12 (the right position in FIG. 20), the second operation lever 91 Of the second operating lever 91 is slid along the inclined surface by using the pressing force at the time of the closing operation, so that the reference It can be automatically returned by swinging to the position. If necessary, a rotating structure may be provided at the tip of the second operation lever 91 so that the pressing force of the closing operation of the discharge tray 109 can be efficiently converted to the returning operation.
[0071]
As another example of the return means 94, a structure is provided in which the carriage 105 can be engaged with the second operation lever at the time of the initial operation of the carriage 105 driven when the power supply of the inkjet printer is turned on. A mechanism that returns the second operation lever 91 to the reference position in association with the reciprocating movement of the carriage in the operation may be employed.
[0072]
In the ink jet printer according to the present embodiment, the linear scale, which is a means for detecting the movement position of the carriage 105 in the main scanning direction, can be displaced in conjunction with the paper gap adjustment by the paper gap switching means. Hereinafter, the interlocking mechanism of the linear scale will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0073]
FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a main part showing a state where the holder 510 is mounted on the ink jet printer of the present embodiment, and FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of a main part around the holder 510 in FIG.
[0074]
The carriage guide shaft 502 is supported by the left and right side frames 501 via an eccentric mechanism 530 so as to be vertically displaceable. An eccentric shaft may be used as the eccentric mechanism 530, but here, an eccentric bush is used as the eccentric mechanism 530. By using this eccentric bush, a shaft having a concentric cross section can be used as the carriage guide shaft 502, and the displacement distance can be increased without increasing the diameter of the carriage guide shaft 502 itself. The width can be increased, and the degree of freedom in adjusting the paper gap increases.
[0075]
The shape of the holding tool 510 is arbitrary as long as the carriage guide shaft 502 and the linear scale 504 can be linked with each other. In this embodiment, a flat member is used. An attachment portion 513 for the linear scale 504 is provided at the upper portion so as to engage with the guide shaft 502, and a middle portion between the two portions has a rising portion 512 which rises substantially vertically upward from below and abuts on the wall surface of the side frame 501. ing. The holder 510 has a substantially semicircular bearing shape portion corresponding to the outer periphery of the small diameter shaft 503 of the carriage guide shaft 502 at an engagement portion with the carriage guide shaft 502, and the carriage guide shaft is provided on the bearing shape portion. The carriage guide shaft 502 is engaged so that the small-diameter shaft 503 of the 502 is fitted. The bearing-shaped portion of the holder 510 is larger than the outer circumference of the carriage guide shaft 502 to the extent that the rotation of the carriage guide shaft 502 is not hindered, and the carriage guide 510 does not come off during the displacement operation of the carriage guide shaft 502. It is formed so that it can move in synchronization with the axis 502. A disc spring 551 is sandwiched between the engagement portion with the carriage guide shaft 502, and is biased so as to press the holder 510 against the side frame 501.
[0076]
The shape of the peripheral holding tool 510 that engages with the carriage guide shaft 502 is formed in a substantially inverted U-shaped cross section, and the upper and lower sides of the inverted U-shaped contact the side frame 501. However, a plate-shaped flat surface around the engagement portion forms a separated shape portion 511 so as to be separated from the wall surface of the side frame 501. With the separated shape portion 511, the load on the carriage guide shaft 502 is released to the side frame 501 in such a manner as to straddle the eccentric mechanism 530 fitted to the side frame 501, and the load on the eccentric mechanism 530 is reduced. ing.
[0077]
That is, the carriage guide shaft 502 receives a horizontal load due to the reciprocation of the carriage in the main scanning direction and a vertical load due to the weight of the carriage and the vertical displacement caused by the eccentric mechanism 530. These loads are applied to the carriage guide shaft. Since the shaft 502 is concentrated on the eccentric mechanism 530 that supports the shaft 502 at both ends, the load applied to the eccentric mechanism 530 is reduced by releasing the load to the side frame 501, which is a structural member, by the separated shape portion 511 of the holder 510. are doing.
[0078]
The mounting portion 513 of the linear scale 504 is arranged substantially perpendicularly to the flat surface of the holding tool 510 at the upper part of the holding portion 510 mounted so as to rise from below (that is, in parallel with the tape-shaped linear scale 504). A so-called hook-shaped engaging hook portion 514 is formed by bending a part of the bent attachment portion two more times at substantially right angles. The linear scale 504 is attached such that the hook 514 is hooked on an engagement hole at the end of the linear scale 504.
[0079]
FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a main part of the recording apparatus of the same embodiment, showing a state of the holder 510 mounted on the side frame 501 on the opposite side to FIG. The basic configuration of the holding tool 510 is the same as that shown in FIGS. 21 and 22. (A U-shape) is provided, and is engaged with the carriage guide shaft 502 at this portion. In FIG. 23, unlike FIG. 21, the linear scale 504 is not directly attached to the holder 510, but is attached to a leaf spring 520 attached to the holder 510. That is, an opening is formed near the center of the holder 510, and the leaf spring 520 is inserted into the opening. The leaf spring 520 is locked to the holder 510 at a lower portion by means not shown, and is attached so as to be vertically displaceable along the same path as the carriage guide shaft 502 and the holder 510. At the upper part of the leaf spring 520, there is provided an attachment portion for the linear scale 504 formed by bending so as to be substantially perpendicular to the flat surface of the leaf spring 520 (that is, so as to be parallel to the tape-shaped linear scale 504). A hook portion for attaching the linear scale 504 is formed in the same manner as the attachment portion 513 of the linear scale 504 in FIG. 21, and the hook portion is hooked on an engagement hole at an end of the linear scale 504. A linear scale 504 is attached. By attaching the linear scale 504 to the leaf spring 520 inserted into the holder 510 in this manner, and attaching the linear scale 504 to this attachment part, the tension is applied while using the urging force of the leaf spring 520. The linear scale 504 can be held. In this embodiment, the leaf spring 520 is formed as a separate component from the holder 510, but it is also possible to provide a part of the holder 510 so as to be elastically deformable and obtain the same biasing action as the leaf spring 520.
[0080]
The upper part of the holder 510 in FIG. 23 is bent so as to be substantially perpendicular to the flat surface of the holder 510 (that is, so as to be parallel to the linear scale 504 in a tape shape), so that the height of the linear scale 504 is increased. A direction positioning unit 515 is provided. A protruding piece 516 is formed by further bending a part of the bent positioning portion 515 at substantially a right angle. By inserting the protruding piece 516 into a height positioning hole provided on the linear scale 504, The height of the linear scale 204 can be defined so that the vertical position does not shift.
[0081]
As shown in FIG. 22 and FIG. 24, a protrusion 521 is provided on a flat rising portion 512 of the holding tool 510 that rises substantially vertically from below, and the protrusion 521 is formed on the side frame 501. Together with the guide hole 541, a guide structure that defines a trajectory when the holder 510 is moved up and down is formed. Since the shape of the lower half of the guide hole 541 is formed to be the same as the displacement locus of the carriage guide shaft 502, the protrusion 521 fitted in the guide hole 541 moves inside the guide hole 541 during the displacement operation. It is guided along the same trajectory as the carriage guide shaft 502. Accordingly, the linear scale 504 attached to the holder 510 moves on the same path as the carriage guide shaft 502 and, consequently, the carriage, and the displacement in a state where the relative position between the linear scale 504 and the carriage is secured. enable. Further, the tip side of the protrusion 521 is formed in a T-shaped cross section, and functions as a retaining action portion 522 from the guide hole 541. The upper portion of the guide hole 541 is formed wider than the locus shape of the lower portion, and when the holder 510 is mounted, the protrusion 521 is inserted from the upper portion of the guide hole 541 so that the guide hole 541 of the protrusion 521 is inserted. It can be easily fitted into the device. Further, the protrusion 521 is connected to the side frame 501 by a play preventing spring 552 for preventing play in the guide hole 541, and is guided in the guide hole 41 in a stable state.
[0082]
Based on the above, the operation of the linear scale interlocking mechanism in this embodiment will be described.
[0083]
The linear scale 504 is attached to a holder 510 (or a leaf spring 520 mounted on the holder 510). The holder 510 is provided with a carriage guide shaft 502 having an eccentric mechanism 530 for adjusting the paper gap. Since the linear scale 504 is vertically displaced in synchronization with the displacement, the linear scale 504 is vertically displaced in conjunction with the carriage guide shaft 502 as a result.
[0084]
As described above, the carriage guide shaft 502 employing the eccentric mechanism 530 and the holder 510 of the linear scale 504 are tuneably mounted, and as a result, the carriage guide shaft 502 and the linear scale 504 are displaced in conjunction with each other. That is, it is possible to adjust the paper gap and change the position of the linear scale 504 with only one switching operation. The eccentric mechanism 530 is not limited to the eccentric bush described above, but may be a known mechanism such as an eccentric shaft.
[0085]
As described above, the present invention has been described with respect to various embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and is applicable to other embodiments within the scope of the invention described in the claims. Of course. For example, the second partially toothed gear 212 and the third partially toothed gear 214 for switching the drive operation between the paper gap switching means 200A (and the toothed roller release means 200D) and the driven roller separation means 200B are manufactured separately. May be joined so as to be coaxial with each other, or may be integrally manufactured in advance.
[0086]
In the above-described embodiment, the switching position of the operation lever 201 is a position A where a recording medium having a normal thickness, that is, plain paper, is used, and a position where a recording medium having a relatively thick thickness, that is, a position where a thick paper is used, is used. B, a position C where a very thick recording medium, that is, a very thick paper including an information recording disk tray is used, and a position D where the driven roller 202 is separated from the main driving roller 203 are continuously provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the position P for setting the first paper gap, the position Q for setting the second paper gap larger than at least the first paper gap, and the driven roller The present invention can be applied to a case where three stages of a position R where the 202 is separated from the driving roller 203 are continuously provided.
[0087]
Further, the switching positions that are continuously provided are not limited to the order of A, B, C, and D, and the present invention can be applied in any order. For example, in the case of the switching positions P, Q, R, the switching positions P, Q, R, the switching positions R, P, Q, and the switching positions P, R, Q can be applied.
[0088]
In the above embodiment, the first release means 200D uses the cam mechanism including the cam 31 and the cam follower 23, and the second release means uses the slide mechanism of the plate 80, respectively. It is also possible to employ other mechanisms that can achieve.
[0089]
Further, the pressing means of the driven roller 202 by the driven roller separating means 200B is not limited to the coil springs 205 and 305, but may be any elastic member such as rubber. If the D-axis 213a is formed in an acute fan shape, the operation angle of the operation lever 201 can be increased.
[0090]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the inkjet printer of the present invention, the paper gap switching means and the release means of the toothed roller can be operated by operating only the operation means, so that the paper gap switching and release can be performed in one operation. It can be performed smoothly, and the usability of the user can be improved. In addition, since the structures of the operation unit, the paper gap switching unit and the toothed roller switching unit are simplified, the design is facilitated, design errors can be reduced, and manufacturing and assembly costs and man-hours are reduced. Can be done.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a configuration example of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed obliquely from the front.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inkjet printer of FIG. 1 as viewed obliquely from behind.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a relationship among an operation unit, a paper gap switching unit, a toothed roller release unit, and a driven roller separation unit of the inkjet printer of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a side view showing a detailed example of a first state of a paper gap switching unit / toothed roller release unit / driven roller separation unit of the inkjet printer of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a side view showing a first operation example of the paper gap switching unit / toothed roller release unit / driven roller separation unit of the ink jet printer of FIG.
FIG. 6 is a side view showing a detailed example of a second state of the paper gap switching unit / toothed roller release unit / driven roller separation unit of the inkjet printer of FIG. 1;
7 is a side view showing a second operation example of the paper gap switching unit / toothed roller release unit / driven roller separation unit of the ink jet printer of FIG.
8 is a side view showing a detailed example of a third state of the paper gap switching unit / toothed roller release unit / driven roller separation unit of the inkjet printer of FIG.
FIG. 9 is a side view showing a third operation example of the paper gap switching unit / toothed roller release unit / driven roller separation unit of the inkjet printer of FIG. 1;
FIG. 10 is a side view showing a detailed example of a fourth state of the paper gap switching unit / toothed roller release unit / driven roller separation unit of the inkjet printer of FIG. 1;
FIG. 11 is a side view showing a fourth operation example of the paper gap switching unit / toothed roller release unit / driven roller separation unit of the inkjet printer of FIG.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a main part for explaining toothed roller release means in the state of FIG. 4;
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an essential part for explaining toothed roller release means in the state of FIGS. 6 and 10;
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a main part for explaining toothed roller release means in the state of FIG. 8;
FIGS. 15A and 15B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the toothed roller release means, where FIG. 15A is a normal position, and FIG.
FIG. 16 is a plan view for describing a plate used for a slide mechanism of a second release unit.
FIG. 17 is a view for explaining a state in which the plate of FIG. 16 is mounted.
FIGS. 18A and 18B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the second release means, where FIG. 18A is a normal position, and FIG.
FIG. 19 is a drawing for explaining an operation unit of a second release unit.
FIG. 20 is a view for explaining a return unit of a second release unit.
FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a main part for describing a linear scale interlocking mechanism of the inkjet printer of FIG. 1;
FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of a main part for describing a linear scale interlocking mechanism of the inkjet printer of FIG. 1;
FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a main part for describing a linear scale interlocking mechanism of the inkjet printer of FIG. 1;
FIG. 24 is a side view of a main part showing a state outside the side frame of the ink jet printer of FIG. 1;
FIG. 25 is a diagram provided for describing a configuration near a recording unit of a general inkjet recording apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 Paper ejection frame
11 Paper ejection drive roller
12 Toothed roller
13 teeth
14 Shaft
21 Main holder
22 Small holder
23 Cam Follower
24 Support
28 slope
31 cams
33 bar spring
35 camshaft
51 Recorder
60 Discharge roller
80 plates
81 Engagement hole
82 Engagement
83 hook
84 Small protrusion
85 Wavy edge
86 Guide hole
87 Positioning unit
88 Large opening
89 Small opening
90 Operation unit
91 Control lever
92 Engagement part
93 Support
94 Return means
100 recording head
101 body
101a cover
102 paper exit
103 Paper Feed Slot
104 trays
105 ink cartridge
106 lamp
107 lamp
109 Output tray
110 slit
200 Paper gap switching means / toothed roller release means / driven roller separation means
200A paper gap switching means
200B driven roller separating means
200C operation means
200D toothed roller release means
201 Operation lever
202 driven roller
203 Paper feed roller
204 driven roller arm
205 coil spring
211 First missing gear
212 Second missing gear
213 4th missing gear
214 3rd missing gear
215 Fifth missing gear
213a D axis
222 ratchet
231 Link 1
232 Second link
233 Third link
234 4th link
235 5th link
241 limit switch
242 limit switch
243 encoder
311 6th link
313 pin
315 Guide groove
315a Straight section
315b Arc section
317 U-shaped receiving part
501 Side frame
502 Carriage guide shaft
503 Small diameter shaft
504 linear scale
510 Holder
511 Spaced part
512 rising part
513 Mounting part
514 hook
515 Positioning unit
516 protrusion
520 leaf spring
521 Projection
522 retaining part
530 Eccentric mechanism
531 Paper gap adjusting bush
532 Parallelism adjustment bush
533 locking part
541 Guide hole
542 mounting hole
543 locking means
551 disc spring
552 Anti-Rotation Spring

Claims (8)

A recording head for discharging ink droplets on a recording medium,
A carriage mounted with the recording head and reciprocally movable in the main scanning direction;
A paper feed roller composed of a driving roller and a driven roller that pinch and feed a recording medium toward the recording head;
A toothed roller disposed downstream of the recording head and driven and rotated by the feeding force of the recording medium while being in contact with the recording surface of the recording medium;
Paper gap switching means for switching the distance between the recording head and a recording medium by displacing the recording head,
By displacing the toothed roller, the toothed roller switches between a normal position where the toothed roller is in contact with the recording medium and a retracted position where the toothed roller is not in contact with the recording medium. So,
The toothed roller is held by a holder having a structure in which the distal end side can swing up and down with the base end side as a fulcrum,
The paper gap switching means includes a first paper gap during normal printing, a second paper gap larger than the first paper gap, and a third paper gap larger than the second paper gap. Provided to be switchable,
The release means utilizes a swing of the holder by a cam mechanism for rotating a cam provided on a fixed rotating shaft to abut and release a cam follower on a base end side of the holder. The toothed roller is switched between a normal position and a retracted position. One end is connected to the paper gap switching means by a hinge structure, and the other end is attached to the connecting arm having a protrusion and the rotating shaft. A receiving portion for rotating the rotation shaft by receiving the movement of the connection arm by engaging with the projection, and a guide structure for defining a movement trajectory of the projection of the connection arm. ,
In switching between the first paper gap and the second paper gap, the guide structure does not act on the cam mechanism by linearly moving the protrusion of the connection arm,
In switching between the second paper gap and the third paper gap, the guide mechanism causes the protrusion of the connection arm to make a circular motion, thereby rotating the rotation shaft to actuate the cam mechanism. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized in that the release means is interlocked with the switching between the second paper gap and the third paper gap. 2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein, among the plurality of toothed rollers arranged in the width direction of the recording medium, the toothed roller displaced by the release means is provided so as to be deviated to a predetermined width from the receiving portion side. Characterized by an ink jet recording apparatus. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a displacement amount of the toothed roller substantially coincides with a displacement amount of the recording head. 4. The ink-jet apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a linear scale serving as a position detecting unit in the main scanning direction of the carriage is displaceably provided in conjunction with the paper gap switching unit. Recording device. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a driven roller separating unit configured to separate the driven roller from the main driving roller. 6.
An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the separating operation of the driven roller by the separating means is performed in the third paper gap. The switching of the paper gap and the separation of the driven roller are performed by a single operation unit according to claim 5 ,
The operation unit is provided with four stages of switching positions of the first paper gap, the second paper gap, the third paper gap, and the separating operation of the driven roller. An ink jet recording apparatus. A recording head for ejecting ink droplets on a recording medium,
  A carriage mounted with the recording head and provided so as to be able to reciprocate in the main scanning direction;
  A paper feed roller including a driving roller and a driven roller that pinch and feed a recording medium toward the recording head;
  A toothed roller disposed downstream of the recording head and driven and rotated by the feeding force of the recording medium while being in contact with the recording surface of the recording medium;
  Paper gap switching means for switching the distance between the recording head and a recording medium by displacing the recording head,
  Separation means for a driven roller for separating the driven roller from the main driving roller,
  By displacing the toothed roller, the toothed roller switches between a normal position where the toothed roller contacts the recording medium and a retracted position where the toothed roller does not contact the recording medium,
An inkjet recording device comprising:
  The toothed roller is held by a holder having a structure in which the distal end side can swing up and down with the base end side as a fulcrum,
  The paper gap switching means includes a first paper gap during normal printing, a second paper gap larger than the first paper gap, and a third paper gap larger than the second paper gap. Provided to be switchable,
  The release means utilizes a swing of the holder by a cam mechanism for rotating a cam provided on a fixed rotating shaft to abut and release a cam follower on a base end side of the holder. Switching between the normal position and the retracted position of the toothed roller, interlocking with switching between the second paper gap and the third paper gap,
  The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the separating unit performs the separating operation of the driven roller in the third paper gap. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the switching of the paper gap and the separation of the driven roller are performed by a single operation unit.
  The operation unit is provided with four stages of switching positions of the first paper gap, the second paper gap, the third paper gap, and the separating operation of the driven roller. An ink jet recording apparatus.

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